I completely agree with you jrldh. I told them that, I asked to speak to the supervisor and I was put on hold and then told supervisor wasn't there. I KNEW she would say that, and just didn't have the energy or mindframe to call her out on it. sue36, you are right. I will take that approach when I call them again.

Thank you for responding. How elderly? My dad is in his 80's. This contractor knows that my parents are not likely to go to court (at their age). I have done my best to step in to try to get the contractor to fix his mistakes at no additional cost to my parents, but he reminded me that the contract is with my parents, not me. I do need to get on that contract. About the kitchen cabinets, my father wrote to him that there is to be no space above the cabinets. The contractor never discussed anything with us, and suddenly one day those 36-inch cabs arrived and were put up without our knowledge. I then told him about the problem, and he agreed to order taller cabinets. I thought the cabs were being made, but I found out that he never ordered them. The addition was supposed to be finished at that point, so we felt stuck with what was installed. I'm sure he would have charged us for a new set of upper cabs and labor. He made a mistake for the fridge space, and he refused to fix it unless my parents paid. This was holding up installing the appliances and other work in the kitchen. My father felt like he had to pay to get the work going again to completion. I told the contractor that he cannot charge for his mistakes, and his response was: "if you want the changes, you have to pay." This week, a subcontractor was there to do work, and the contractor was not there to supervise. If it were up to me, I would have fired his sorry butt a long time ago. The addition is almost finished now (over 8 months over). This post was edited by grass-cat on Fri, Jan 9, 15 at 10:17

If your contract says you only buy the flooring, then that is all you should buy. However, often when one supplies the 'materials', they would buy the thinset, grout and backerboard if necessary. That would not include things like tile spacers as any self-respecting tile setter would have them, they are a tool. I think the same goes for nails and what not unless they need thousands. Does your contract say you buy 'all' materials? It also does state an amount, how much did you spend? Was this tile person the genrel contractor or a sub? Unfortunately this contract should have been more specific, for this very reason. However, it looks like your contract may have included labor and materials to install, as one cost in which case they would pay for that stuff. You did not say what the space was to be tiled. That gives a better indication of whether or not that 2K is all labor or not. If by chance it is determined that you pay for all of this stuff, make sure you keep all of it. That means if he bought a giant box of nails to use only 20, you keep the rest, same for adheisives, spacers etc. Hope this helps.

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.