I had hired Bill previously for some framing and drywall which was satisfactory. He made out as if they do all sorts of renovations, so when it came time for my upstairs reno I called for a quote.
The quote was reasonable but now I know "what is cheap is dear..."
He said it was a 4-5 day job (one day reno, one day tile floor, one day tile tub surround and then two days to paint, grout and put back vanity and toilet)
It sounded reasonable, we agreed on a price and I would supply the materials. The price was for labour only.
Day 1 - (monday) he showed up and put down paper but no drop cloths, he stapled plastic to the door frame (I was not happy about him not using tape) He removed the vanity, toilet, placed the drawers on my white lacquered desk with nothing underneath. There was no care to how items were scattered all over the place. He did not protect my staircase at all, there was dust from the demo everywhere. He showed up alone, I was surprised how he would be able to remove all the items by himself. He asked me for some money that day, even though I paid for all the supplies and he had done not even 50% of the work. I gave him $700 cash.
Day 2 (Tuesday)- I called to see if he was at the house as he did not show up. First he said it was his truck, then I called to check later and he said it was a family matter. Needles to say he was a no show
Day 3 - (wednesday) he showed up with his son in law and they tried as they could to catch up. Bill locked himself out of the house and had to come collect my key from me. More time spent not on the job, but screwing around. He replaced the tub and said he did a tub test. He replaced the shower plumbing in the kit I had. I did pick up the wrong kit, but instead of letting me know during the day when I could do something about it he sent me an email at night. Pieces from the box were taken out and scattered.
Day 4 - (wednesday) late because of his truck again??? I had gone out to get the correct shower diverted kit. I had to go back to the store 2 x as he went ahead and installed the diverter from the kit, even though he was unsure it was the correct one. He started to tile the tub surround and when I came home I was again surprised to see he used torn paper from the box rather than use plastic spacers. Really, how much are the spacers? He was cheaping out at my expense and the tiles were crooked. I would have gladly picked up the plastic spacers had I know he did not have enough. The tile was a large subway tile. He said he was going to lay down the floor to dry fit it. There were tools all over the 48 square foot bathroom, it really should have been all cleared out first and then lay out the tiles to install properly. When I took a second look he had laid mortar under the tiles, they were all twisted and uneven spaced and uneven levels as he had stepped on the tiles leaving the bathroom.
Day 5 - Friday - this was supposed to be the last day but he was no where near finished. When I came back the tub was tiled 80%, floor was 70% . All the perimeter needed to be laid. Meanwhile the staircase was trashed with all the activity up and down, it was scuffed as materials had been dragged along the treads. There was more dust. He used mortar rather than tile glue so it was a haze of white dust.
Day 6- (Saturday) I finally talked to Bill and said I was unhappy with the quality of the work and that the tiles needed to be replaced as they were different levels. I needed a real timeline from him to when the job was to be finished. A proper schedule, no more coming late, I wanted to know what tasks were to be done on what day so I could have it all finished. The tiles needed to be ordered from Montreal so to stay on schedule new materials needed to be ordered ASAP. He agreed that the job was not the best he would pay for the new materials.
Day 7 (Sunday) - he did not show up for work, I called him 4 x and text him 2x. He arrived at 2:30pm to pick up his tools and leave the job. The house was a total mess. The bathroom was unfinished, he left the place with not so much as a thought to even try and help clean up, sweep, or wipe down anything. He promised he would pay me back the money I gave him and the supplies he used, he said he would answer my calls. I questioned his word as he was letting me down and did not answer all morning.
I had several other tilers & contractors come by and they all agreed the work was shoddy. He should never laid the floor until everything else was done. The brand new tub was not covered with any plywood to protect it, so there was mortar blotches on the covering that could cause scratching. Nothing was straight, everything was wonky. Every single contractor agreed everything had to be removed and started from scratch, nothing could be salvaged.
After several calls, texts and emails Bill sent me an email agreeing to pay me back the sum of materials used, my cash deposit and the cost for the new demo. We had an agreed repayment schedule. I was frustrated that the project was taking so long as it would be another full week without a bath/shower and in the meantime I had to pay the new trades.
Day 14 - (sunday) 2 of my new contractors were carrying the 39 inch vanity back and we could see there was a large scuff on the side. Bill must have scuffed the vanity when he removed all by himself. It is a really heavy piece. I sent him a pic and he said he would have his cabinetmaker guy quote to repair. That was on the Monday - all week I never heard back.
On the Tuesday there was leaking on my kitchen ceiling. The tub was missing the P trap, he did not hook it up, nor did he mention to anyone the plumbing was incomplete. He also did not correctly hook up the tub spout. Everyone knows you test the plumbing before you tile.
When the deadline Saturday came to make the first payment, no surprise he did make it, nor did he get in touch to tell me he was not able to make the payment. This easy 5 day renovation has turned into the worst experience. He has not gotten back to me after many phone calls, emails and texts. I have no choice now but to take him to small claims court.
OLD SHACK is aptly named, cause that is how my property was left, looking like an old shack
PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT HIRE THIS INCOMPETENT CONTRACTOR
NB in the photo below I placed the mdf on the tub to protect from further damage
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,000.00