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Wrong door installed...what do I do?

17 years ago

Hi there. We are actually doing a kitchen remodel, but in the midst of it we knocked the wall down between kitchen and family room and put in a bar. When we did this we needed to change patio doors because the old french door had an active door on the right which would have hit the new bar. The intention was to get a new french door with the active door on the left. My description to the contractor when we added it to the contract was a "double door with active on left"...what he wrote in the contract was "atrium door with left active". I made a bad assumption and assumed I didn't know the lingo and he had the right thing in there. Well...I was wrong. An atrium door has only one door and then a frame in the middle and the other door is just like a window really. It looks really silly.

Do I have any reprecussions with contractor or am I screwed since contract said atrium door even though my email said "double" which to me implies two doors and two door handles even though one doesn't move.

Thanks and sorry for the long post. Amy

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Comments (3)

kudzu9
17 years ago
Sounds to me like imperfect communication on both sides. You knew what you wanted, you both thought he understood (but he didn't), and he wrote down what he thought you had both agreed on (which was wrong), and you didn't ask for clarification. Sometimes nobody -- or everybody -- is to blame.
I can understand your disappointment, but this is not a clearcut case to me (and I'm a homeowner, not a contractor). Have you talked with the contractor? Maybe he can switch it out for the right door at little or no cost.
spanky67
17 years ago
I think a good compromise would be for the 2 of you to split the cost of the correct door, and the contractor does the labor for free. You could then give him the incorrect door, which he could either keep and use on a future project or sell.

You will definitely get allot farther if you approach this subject diplomatically. Do not point fingers or blame. This will be unproductive and spiral into an untennable situation fast. Ask him/her how "we" can fix it, and that it must have happened because "we both got our wires crossed...".

He's obviously not going to be pleased at first. More than likely he's not pissed at you, but at the prospect of fixing what he may very well have known to be wrong from the get go. If you guys have had good communication right along, this should be easy to get passed. I do think it's fair that you take some responsibility(read:$$$), but not all of it. Good luck!
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Is there plumbing in the shear wall? Swinging the door toward the toilet is a much better choice because it not only provides a bit more privacy if someone begins to enter when the toilet is occupied but also because it would not cause an "awkward flow" and it would not be necessary to "squeeze between the vanity and the door" or "go behind the door to use the toilet". In reality, when entering to use the toilet, you would open the door to about 60 degrees, place a foot beyond the edge of the door and swing the door closed while pivoting and stepping back to latch the door, then you would have a clear path to the toilet. You would make the same or similar movement regardless of the door swing or the clearance to the vanity. If the door is bought but not installed, the cost to correct the error would be for a new door unless this one can be used elsewhere or on another project or returned for partial credit. No one should judge who is at fault without speaking with all of the parties involved. In any case, it is in owner's interest to find a solution to any problem in a collaborative spirit before dealing with who should pay for it. IMO reversing the door swing is a better design than both the original pocket door or the design shown on the drawing above.
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troubleseekeral
17 years ago
I doubt very seriously if you are going to have any luck getting the contractor to share the cost of the new door as "sparky" suggested. I agree it is an unfortunate case of communication mix up, but the contractor supplied what the agreement called for, even though it was not what you thought you had agreed to. As a contractor, I would offer to change the unit out, but see no reason why I should pay any of it's cost. This is an example of why I like to have a customer either show me their exact selection in a magazine photo or catalogue, or see my interpretation of what they are describing by looking at an actual house.

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