Don Wade was hired to convert an upstairs living room of a 100-year-old home in the Summerhill area into a bedroom. He first quoted $15,000 but ended up agreeing to $5,000 with a slightly smaller scope of work. He requested payments in installments.
Don refused to break down his costs between materials and labour (first red flag). During the first six days of his time on the job, he arrived no earlier than 10am, took repeated breaks and on one occasion, did not show up. His reasons included: truck broken down, having to get materials and picking up canine epilepsy medication from his mother. Over the course of six days, he worked no more than 25 hours.
His workmanship was fair to poor. One small wall he framed was not straight by 5/8" (one stud leaned one way, the other two leaned the other way). His drywall screws pierced the paper of the drywall. He reacted nonchalantly when I pointed out these deficiencies (and the fact that I had to fix the work, even though I work in PR).
The day after cashing the cheque for the second installment of the job, he packed up his tools and left while I ran to the office for a meeting, leaving a mess of ripped out building materials on my deck.
I would be remiss if I did not question how this person is capable of building houses if he can't competently and professionally convert a living room into a bedroom.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,000.00