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Contractor Nightmare...

Bella07

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I am just sad right now, I am about to burst into tears.....I hope you don't mind me complaining here, but I just need to write it down to help....:Cry:

I am trying to completely renovate my kitchen from top to bottom. At first, I hired one contractor. He screwed us over, took our $2,500 from us, wasted hundreds of dollars worth of supplies, and barely even started the job.

We hired another contracter.....I went away for a few days and came back home to see that the new drywall they put up is horrible. The ceiling and walls are bumpy everywhere, and look just disgusting....He painted and did another awful job. A 10 year old could have done a better job at painting.

The beautiful and expensive new floor tile that I bought, he put the wrong grout in, and it looks awful once again. Another $1000 down the toilet.....

Everything is wrong. Completely wrong.

That's not even the worst part. I had a beautiful 100 year old brick wall and brick fireplace in the kitchen. He "cleaned" it with acid, and it is HORRIBLE. It turned a nasty white white red flicks in between. He used way too much acid and destroyed my entire wall. There is no way to fix the brick back to it's former beauty....I can't even look in the kitchen. I can't even look at the contractor. I just want to bawl :Cry:

We've put about $15,000 extra, not including the lost money into this kitchen already ,and it looks like crap. I don't even know a better way to say it. Nothing is done. Nothing.

.....I don't know what to do. My kitchen is ruined.....We've lost so much money already.....I can't take all this stress anymore :Cry:
 

ckutkuhn7

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Gosh - this is just awful. There are so many people in this world that just prey on those with money and totally screw things up.
Different situation but this reminds me of my car repair back in Jan. I have a minivan,,just paid it off last Jan, I swear, the day I paid it off I put brand new tires on it (all 4) and I'll be dang if it didn't blow the motor the same day!!!! I was already mad enough with finally having it paid off and looking forward to not having a car payment and now I had to get the motor fixed.
The place that fixed it 2 years prior quoted me $1400.oo with possibility of it being higher once they got into the job and could see what all needed done. Oh,,did I mention I was laid off the day after my car blew up?!
So I got a reference from a friend that a guy down the road from me could fix my van in his garage. He came with several good references and not to mention he quoted me $600...with just being laid off and needing to save as much money as possible it seemed like the reasonable choice.
He had my car for 2 weeks, I told him to take his time because it wasn't like I had a job to run off too...he brought it back, I took it for a test drive and nearly got whip-lash!!! Told him it wasn't good enough, he didn't fix it and now my heat didn't work. A car in Januaray in Ohio with no heat is unacceptable!!!
I only paid him $200 to cover what parts he had put in it and so he could continue his work on it,,he said that was fine he'd would "get'er done". NOT!!!!
He finally ended up dropping my van off saying it was fixed, I didn't doubt him for some reason and I paid him the remainder of the money I owed him. THEN HE LEFT TOWN! I went outside 20 minutes after he left maybe to test it out and it would barely putter up the street. (this is making my chest hurt writing this,,makes me so mad). Went to his house and I'll be dang if he didn't leave town!!! OMG I was so mad. My van is still sitting in my driveway,,Im waiting for money to fall from the sky so I can fix it...I just cant bring myself to sell it because its PAID FOR.

Stupid me never got receipts so I cant even take him to small claims court for my money back.
My dad came up in July to visit, he is a auto machinist, builds and rebuilds high performance motors in NC,,he looked at it, says there is about 6 times the amount of oil it needs, he tore out some cables and didn't tie them back down correctly so they are getting tangled in my belts, he cut my power steering cable!!!!! There are bolts on the top of my motor to hold it down missing...If I see this guy walking in the street I will probably go insane and run him over as long as no kids are with me.
We are now down to our "beater" car and its on its last wheel. I really could just scream. Anyway...sorry to get off on a tangent but I totally understand how you feel. Yes I'm only out $600 but when your unemployed and scrambeling for bills $600 can go a long way!!

I'm sorry about your kitchen, I hope you find a solution or someone kind enough to help you figure this out...hopefully I'll find my angel here soon too! xoxo
 

Candys

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OK sweety - we are going to clean up this mess. First of all we are going to put the contractor and crew in a room and make them listen to the meow meow meow song for an hour, then we are going to rub coconut oil on their butts and man bits then wash it with a scrubby (they don't get the warm towel from the dryer because they are super naughty) then we clean their ears with a toilet brush...woops excessive imagination. I agree with Susie. Go after their license. Start with the city licensing department - did they get a permit? If not they are in trouble. Start there and let me know. I have been through this and work in the real estate business. They WILL be accountable and you WILL have your dream kitchen. Those #$%#$#@@#*&((&* people. Go ahead and cry tonight because tomorrow is kick @$$ day.:Angry::Angry::Angry:
 

ckutkuhn7

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OK sweety - we are going to clean up this mess. First of all we are going to put the contractor and crew in a room and make them listen to the meow meow meow song for an hour, then we are going to rub coconut oil on their butts and man bits then wash it with a scrubby (they don't get the warm towel from the dryer because they are super naughty) then we clean their ears with a toilet brush...woops excessive imagination. I agree with Susie. Go after their license. Start with the city licensing department - did they get a permit? If not they are in trouble. Start there and let me know. I have been through this and work in the real estate business. They WILL be accountable and you WILL have your dream kitchen. Those #$%#$#@@#*&((&* people. Go ahead and cry tonight because tomorrow is kick @$$ day.:Angry::Angry::Angry:

Wow candys, that vision you just gave me left me speechless...cuz you know I'm imagining hot sweaty "men at work" guys right!! lol:LOL:

Yea - kick @$$ tomorrow!!!!!!!:Angry:
 

MissMySphynxBoys

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My heart aches for you, Bella07 and Ckutkuhn7. The loss of money and the loss of use of your kitchen and van would bring anyone to tears. But what really hurts is the broken trust and lost faith.

I'm with the others in going after the contractors who have no integrity. Candys' method sounds delightfully satisfying.
 

Bella07

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Thank You everyone for your words, I'm still sick to my stomach from this renovation destruction....but had a firm word with the contractors. They assured me the kitchen would be done right....Gotta trust them at this point :Sweat:

Did you use a licensed contractor? If so, make him repair it or go after his license--he'll fix it rather than lose his livelihood.

No we didn't use a licensd contractor.....stupid mistake. You live and you learn I suppose. I have never done a renovation of such before, and went with these contractors because they were referred to me by an extended friend. He gave them rave reviews, and said we wouldn't regret it if we hired them....I have to have faith in them now, and hope they step up and make my kitchen beautiful like I have been dreaming for the past 10 years.

Gosh - this is just awful. There are so many people in this world that just prey on those with money and totally screw things up.
Different situation but this reminds me of my car repair back in Jan. I have a minivan,,just paid it off last Jan, I swear, the day I paid it off I put brand new tires on it (all 4) and I'll be dang if it didn't blow the motor the same day!!!! I was already mad enough with finally having it paid off and looking forward to not having a car payment and now I had to get the motor fixed.
The place that fixed it 2 years prior quoted me $1400.oo with possibility of it being higher once they got into the job and could see what all needed done. Oh,,did I mention I was laid off the day after my car blew up?!
So I got a reference from a friend that a guy down the road from me could fix my van in his garage. He came with several good references and not to mention he quoted me $600...with just being laid off and needing to save as much money as possible it seemed like the reasonable choice.
He had my car for 2 weeks, I told him to take his time because it wasn't like I had a job to run off too...he brought it back, I took it for a test drive and nearly got whip-lash!!! Told him it wasn't good enough, he didn't fix it and now my heat didn't work. A car in Januaray in Ohio with no heat is unacceptable!!!
I only paid him $200 to cover what parts he had put in it and so he could continue his work on it,,he said that was fine he'd would "get'er done". NOT!!!!
He finally ended up dropping my van off saying it was fixed, I didn't doubt him for some reason and I paid him the remainder of the money I owed him. THEN HE LEFT TOWN! I went outside 20 minutes after he left maybe to test it out and it would barely putter up the street. (this is making my chest hurt writing this,,makes me so mad). Went to his house and I'll be dang if he didn't leave town!!! OMG I was so mad. My van is still sitting in my driveway,,Im waiting for money to fall from the sky so I can fix it...I just cant bring myself to sell it because its PAID FOR.

Stupid me never got receipts so I cant even take him to small claims court for my money back.
My dad came up in July to visit, he is a auto machinist, builds and rebuilds high performance motors in NC,,he looked at it, says there is about 6 times the amount of oil it needs, he tore out some cables and didn't tie them back down correctly so they are getting tangled in my belts, he cut my power steering cable!!!!! There are bolts on the top of my motor to hold it down missing...If I see this guy walking in the street I will probably go insane and run him over as long as no kids are with me.
We are now down to our "beater" car and its on its last wheel. I really could just scream. Anyway...sorry to get off on a tangent but I totally understand how you feel. Yes I'm only out $600 but when your unemployed and scrambeling for bills $600 can go a long way!!

I'm sorry about your kitchen, I hope you find a solution or someone kind enough to help you figure this out...hopefully I'll find my angel here soon too! xoxo

Oh no, how awful! I wish everyone in this world was fair and always did the right thing....Sadly though, people will do anything to make some quick cash and leave. I totally feel for you. I cried over my first contractor, because silly me, trusted him with my money. Lesson learned. Don't pay for anything, unless you are sure it's been done to your satisfaction. I'm not giving my contractors another cent until the kitchen is completely finished and looks good.......But, some things you can't take back. Like my brick wall. It's completely ruined, and though it's just a wall, it was the "feature" and "focal point" in my new kitchen. Money can't even take back their mistake...Good Luck with your car horrors. That's completely awful how he left you with a car that didn't work once he got the money........:Angry:

OK sweety - we are going to clean up this mess. First of all we are going to put the contractor and crew in a room and make them listen to the meow meow meow song for an hour, then we are going to rub coconut oil on their butts and man bits then wash it with a scrubby (they don't get the warm towel from the dryer because they are super naughty) then we clean their ears with a toilet brush...woops excessive imagination. I agree with Susie. Go after their license. Start with the city licensing department - did they get a permit? If not they are in trouble. Start there and let me know. I have been through this and work in the real estate business. They WILL be accountable and you WILL have your dream kitchen. Those #$%#$#@@#*&((&* people. Go ahead and cry tonight because tomorrow is kick @$$ day.:Angry::Angry::Angry:

:LOL: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You so much for this!!! You just made my morning!! Again, silly me. No license. No Permit. I've never done such a huge renovation before, and trusted them....because they said they knew what they were doing, and were going to make my kitchen gorgeous. They are downstairs working right now......They said fixing the drywall was "easy." They told me that in 30 days once the grout was cured, I can stain it a darker color. All I can do is trust them, so fingers are all crossed. They said that they would be finished by Sunday---so we'll see about that. :Sweat:

Thanks again Candy. I am still laughing over your words....I should read that what you wrote, I'd love to see their faces :Wink:
 

Candys

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OK so it sounds like you have the right idea. NO MORE MONEY until it is to your satisfaction. They CAN re-grout in the color you want. They are trying to slip this by on you. I would not take the staining as a fix (and in 30 days?) No No, They can re-grout. Look at the grout color before they put it down. Treat them like children. Everything has to be approved. GO GIRL.:ThumbsUp:
 

MikkiJean

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I'm sorry about all of your troubles Bella. Luckily we've never had to deal with anything like this because my uncle does this kind of stuff as a hobby. He transformed an old building that housed 3 apartments into a beautiful home. He also resided our house and built a new deck.
I hope you get it all sorted out and end up with what you want in the end!
 

kiennasmom

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I'm sorry about all of your troubles Bella. Luckily we've never had to deal with anything like this because my uncle does this kind of stuff as a hobby. He transformed an old building that housed 3 apartments into a beautiful home. He also resided our house and built a new deck.
I hope you get it all sorted out and end up with what you want in the end!

Is your uncle single, by any chance????:Wink: :LOL: Me & my house could use someone like that!!
 
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Oh Bella, I hope you get this resolved and you have your dream kitchen. Make sure you do approve everything they do. YOU hired them to do a job for YOU. YOU are the customer. YOU are paying their paycheck at this point. They are not doing you a favor so make sure that they do not leave anything undone and that nothing is left that is not up to your satisfaction. And if the grout needs to be stained or re-done, they can do it!

As for the van....grrrrr! I know how that feels. Especially when it happens right after it is all paid for. It makes you angry every time you look at it sitting there. I hope you can have it fixed in some way.

I really hate dishonest and incompetent people like that.
 

ckutkuhn7

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This thread is true testamoney that "live n Learn" is apart of life.

And yes,,that van is a huge eye sore for me....but it will sit there until I have the money to fix the darn thing because dangit,,,its a good van and its got brand new slicks on it and throwing $2000 into it is cheaper than buying another car at this point! (A car that will last that is..lol)
 

Bella07

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You live and learn has a been a true philosophyof mine this summer! I've been finding myself say it at least once a day to help me get through the day. Thanks!
 
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