Good luck. I thought I was holding up pretty well during our remodel, but I've so had it with our GC arguing with me about every little thing. He then goes into this long, boring explanation about why I do not want what I want! You ask him the time and he tells you how to build a watch! Trust me, I feel your pain. Our guy just put in our new mantel and surround, it's so huge and out of proportion with the rest of the room that I could use it for a sitting room! My DH and I are ready to see everyone in our rear view mirror! Just don't understand why these guys don't do things right the first time!!!!

Being a plumber I might be able to offer a different perspective. Did you have explicit plans on the remodel? Was the exact location of the window placement discussed? Often remodeling goes bad because of poor planning on the homeowner and contractor. It's your house and your the boss. When no plan exists other than fixtures, colors, size of cabinets or tub all the other details are left to artistic impression.

What may seem standard or normal for some is not for others. I have learned this the hard way and it has cost me money, and when you talk change to the GC your really talking money in their eyes.

On one remodel I installed the shower head at the "normal" height I usually do. Everything is fine for days and I am almost ready to pull off the job when in walks the 6'8" husband that I never met complaining about the shower head height. So what I am saying is be specific. What height do you want your switches?
What height do you want your shower valve and shower head?
Did you tell them which way you want the doors to swing?
Where does the toilet paper holder go? How high?
Is the bath fan vented thru the roof? What type of duct is being used?

Give these guys a chance. Do you really think they want to rip out what they have already done?
Silence, did you think it would be like a library when they came in? IMHO you appear disorganized and expect others to unfairly read your mind while operating as church mice. I am sorry if I come off to strong but some people just don't get it.

I went to a customers house to install two toilets. He had the area ready for me to work and gave me a cup of coffee. I could tell he wanted me there to do the work and he appreciated what I done. When I was finished he mentioned how his two faucets dripped. I took a quick look and fixed them no-charge. I did it for a cup of coffee and a thank-you. When that customer calls me again I guarantee you I will be there that day. That may sound dumb to you but that guy really appreciated my work and it felt good.

plumberty, that does not sound dumb to me.

We had our GC engage a plumber who told us of a problem we had and it was going to cost us $100/hour and might take several days. I was a little mistrusting of this guy and called another who said he would do it for $85/hour and could do it in three days. Still wanting to see if I could get a better price, I called a plumber of a friend, who told me he had no idea but he would do the best he could. I put my money on this man. He did the job for $500 and the last day he was here told me what a nice lady I was to work for. He later called and told me if the GC had called him he would not have done the job but there was a pleading in my voice and yet I was so nice to offer him a cup of coffee early in the morning and offered him a book to read that I had already read that he was thinking of buying. I don't need the book. I have already read it. It is his now and I am about $2000-$3000 better off, plus I made a friend.

The tile guys did me the same way. I gave them a little pizza get-together, a bottle of wine for each to take home and always had cokes for them during the day. At the end I was charged less than the original bid, given a lot of excess tile (enough to do my laundry room and a slab of marble and some granite tiles to use for hot plates from my job and other jobs they had done but the slab of marble was for my dresser). Just being nice to people and communicating means a lot.

The same with the painters. They told me I was the only person they ever painted for that offered them cokes, coffee and brought them a snack. They ended up painting my laundry room free of charge. Kindness and communicating count because I was not pleased with one of my bathrooms the painters were doing but after making them a cup of coffee on a cold afternoon and offering them some cake, we were able to talk in a reasonable manner and get everything done to my satisfaction and theirs.

I agree, be specific.

But sometimes, the guys on the ground ( the contractors_) need to offer you the opportunity to be specific.

I was reminded this weekend, of my kitchen GC. I'd told him we wanted to put the phone on the refrigerator panel. I didn't tell him exactly where, bcs he wasn't anywhere near that part of the job. and I thought it would be one of the last things he'd do.

Then, i come home from work for him to proudly say, "I put the phone in!"

yeah, too high--the door banged into it. Too far forward--I wanted it UNDER the cabinets, not out where shoulders can brush it. And crooked.

i'm still disgruntled. i never got the chance to tell him where I wanted it.

There are SO many details, we can't think of it all. Not in advance. And it's hard to tell them where, bcs there aren't always good "tools" (like a schematic of the wall) to use to tell you in some way that they'll be ABLE to remember.

Patricia43, lol you got me laughing. So many people miss it, and you got it! Who would ever think coffee, coke, or a book could accomplish so much. When I think back at all the stuff I have done for coffee and pepsi I laugh about it. It just feels good to be appreciated and it makes me want to work harder for them.

Tally Sue, I agree with you, some things cannot be put on paper and specific. That is where the artistic impression comes in. One thing I ask customers to do when they want things done is to put a sticky note on it and label it. Be calm and polite and do not stay disgruntled. Tell him you do not like it at all. I can't stress enough how important it is to be polite when you do this. I know this is a very stressful venture. Try the coffee and cookie thing lol. I would like to know how this works out for you.

You are all right. I am that remodeler that appreciates coffee, and I am that homeowner that offers it. We are all human, and when we show it, it shows back. The devil is always in the details. Be clear from the beginning. You are the boss. Don't hire those that question that. It just makes a bad rep for the rest of us.
Never a complaint, two call-backs in 10 years, Len
P. S. I end up fixing what someone else started. (lots of books, lots of friends in the know. Moral? ask your friends their opinion sometimes.)

You know what I found odd? The tile guy and the drywallers we used I kept offering cokes, espressos, water, etc. to and they would never accept it! The tile guy was his own boss, but the drywallers were employees...I thought for sure they'd accept things but no. I finally practically forced a small tip into their hands for coming to work on Labor Day (I didn't ask them to--their boss told them to -- I felt uncomfortable about it).

We didn't have any disagreements, everything was fine and specific, very specific in fact, straightforward, cordial...

Why won't some good, hardworking, kind folks accept these things?

On the other hand, the horrible deck builder I had in NC, whom we eventually had to sue, always accepted the doughnuts I supplied every morning for him and his crew...when they showed...