Death by Remodeling

My apologies to the contractors who are honest and take pride in their work. I know a few of you personally, and unfortunately, you are in the minority. The majority of contractors—the least common denominator—have made the honest craftsperson an anomaly. The stories of over-budget and past-deadline projects far surpass in number those of positive, efficient experiences. This is the tale of a worst-case scenario.

A friend of mine decided to do some work on her house. It seemed simple enough, as the original plan for the house included the option of either a loft or another bedroom. The previous owners chose the loft. But, with a new baby on the way, Melissa and her husband decided that they needed another bedroom. The interior of the house also needed a facelift, so they decided to have the walls painted as well.

The first step was to gather quotes. Melissa received quotes for the painting and selected a contractor that could do the work for a good price. Then she thought that it would make much more sense to do the construction first. So she set out to gather bids for that work as well. The painting contractor let her know that he also had a construction arm to his business (which he didn’t market). He asked if he could also bid on the construction work.

The bids came back and the painting contractor’s was the lowest. Melissa decided to go with him, assuming his bid was low because he wanted to get both jobs. Melissa also felt it would be easier to have all the work done by the same company, as there would be no issue with sequencing the work. Another plus to the painting contractor was that he said all of the carpenters he would use were his direct employees, which meant that none of the work would be subcontracted. This was a major bonus, as the contractor seemed dependable, and would take responsibility for the work of his employees.

The contractor showed up on the first day with a random man and his wife in an unmarked car. The contractor, within earshot, began explaining what needed to be done to the couple, who were clearly subcontractors. After the contractor left, Melissa showed the random guy (and his wife) the loft. Being a typical designer, Melissa had generated drawings for the work, but the drawings were apparently MIA. She inquired about the drawings, and Random Man just shrugged. She printed out a fresh set and gave them to the man. Unfortunately, he couldn’t read the plans—and possibly, couldn’t read at all—because he asked several questions that were clearly documented on the drawings.

After a lengthy explanation and tour, Random Man (whose name is actually Rocky) estimated it would take three days—maybe five at the outside—to get the work done. The project was small and included building two walls and a closet.

The work commenced—slowly.