The 350.00 bid was way low. I did one tub about 3 weeks ago. A remodeling contractor called me and asked me for a price to do a tub for this woman. He wanted me to give HER the price directly, so she could save as much as possible. Apparently she'd recently separated from her husband, and was getting the house ready for sale, and it was recommended to her by her realtor to change out the tub, being that the one she had was stained and pretty ugly. Well, when they went to pull the first course of tile so they could pull the tub, the walls literally fell apart. In addition, she'd just found out she had cancer and was starting chemo and radiation (this all being told to me by the contractor who I'd worked with before and trusted, especially being he wasn't making anything off of it), and so was out of work because of feeling so sick from the treatment of the cancer, so I felt sorry for her and gave her a break. My normal price for a tub enclosure is 800.00, and that's about normal for up here. When I told her 350.00 (coincidentally), the contractor's head whipped around so fast I was afraid he'd given himself a good whiplash. I got downstairs and he kept asking me if I was sure. I finally told him this was my good deed for 2009-- don't question it. :-)

I agree with Cabot & Rowe. What is the point of a vapor barrier behind the tub. The tub itself is a vapor barrier. Which is pretty much proved by the fact it holds water -- try it yourself and see if I'm not right. (If it does not hold water, you have a more serious problem.) A second barrier behind the tub just traps any minor leaks under the tub and absolutely guarantees mold and mildew. What no-brain wrote your town's building code? I would patiently explain to the inspector, and if no him/her, then his/her superior why this is a very bad idea.

Contractor's dime. I suppose I could think of one angle where you'd need to pay something, though it's a stretch. If his quote hadn't included a vapor barrier, and the finished product will have one, he could argue that you need to pay for it. But said vapor barrier would be all of a $20 sheet of poly, some staples, and 20 minutes to hang it. So perhaps there's justification for $50. If he decides it would be cheaper to spray foam, since removal and replacement of the tub is costly, then you contribute $50 towards the cost of the spray foam, and he eats the rest. BTW, this scenario is the reason that permits and inspections are a good thing, not something to avoid. Inspections ensure you've got a house built to code.

@WestCoast Hopeful @Jon Alan @Tim Cleary thank you all for your input. He didn't specify anything in the contract aside from the initial payment. The project has been a disaster and it's taken more than twice as long as it was expected to and we are at the point where if they left now we would have partial floors installed, electrical wired but not hooked up, doors not yet installed, plaster and painting to still be completed, shingles to be put on and painted, closets to still be completed and a kitchen to still be installed. We have paid 59% of the project at this point and he's requesting another payment to bring us to 84%. Based on his 'actual' spending so far he's used 77% of the budget and he expects to be right around budget (or so he said although I'm sure that'll change). I don't mind paying him but it seems odd to pay him 84% of the budget when I feel like with all those pieces not yet completed we aren't close to being at 84% completion.