Hi Dearests! :) This is SO EMBARRASSING that EVERY DARNED TIME I get time to get on here and read, there's no time or I'm about to fall asleep (as is the case now - and I have to get up early)! I'm SURE I look like an opportunist just totally taking advantage of your advise, expertise and patience but please believe me that I simply have less time than I'm used to. Thank you so much for continuing this dialogue. I've gone into the worst depression over this! I just want to turn this over to someone else to represent me who's capable/competent enough but there's no one (or I don't dare ask) and I can't afford a lawyer nor do I want to get that legal. My contractor came back into town last Wednesday, Jan. 19th, if he meant what he said about his schedule, and every day I hope I don't hear from him. I just can't deal with this and barely know how. I mean Rohl said I could have a new sink but if I order it, I'd have to have the old sink out first in order to know which sink will be close enough in measurement to fit into the spot. I don't want to go pick up a new sink and leave it sitting on the side lines for weeks or months and then find out too late in the game that it won't fit in the old spot! So that means I need to get the old sink out, which brings me back to square one. I need to find new contractors or carpenters to get quotes from and feel so low I can't imagine figuring out where to turn, who to ask...who to trust. And who will be willing, after that last guy said he basically won't touch it with a 10-foot pole. My contractor's going to probably show up any day now to "finish the work" and then I'm also told by friends that I should no way let him finish the work but should deduct that which needs to be deducted and then pay someone else with the money. But he could file a lien on my house or whatever the terminology is. On the other hand I may never see him again since I paid him a partial payment that he may figure is close enough... Just to be clear: 1. My contractor bought the sink, not me. I mean I paid him sometime after that but he bought it using his own card. Not the dishwasher or counter or tile honing, cutting and installing which I bought, but the sink, faucet, disposal, flange and tile itself, yes. Now it's always possible he paid in cash and kept the whole order in my name since I had the items on hold in my name in which case there's no evidence he paid for it but who knows... 2. I truly believe that the sweet, young-sounding Rohl guy that I spoke to didn't really care and just called it defective for a couple of the reasons listed above by you guys but I do think if he has any experience at all (and he may not), that he suspects it was over-tightened and doesn't care - he just wants me to be a satisfied customer. My instincts and my own experience tell me so. And I don't think less of him or the company for it. 3. I have no proof that my contractor tightened the flange. I think it's possible that he didn't. But I don't think it's probable that he didn't. The timing of the cracks and the fact that no one else touched the area below it besides him and the way the hairline cracks splay out around the drain all tell me there's a better chance he cracked it than that he didn't. But it doesn't matter much if it can't be proven or that no forensic scientist - haha - will be coming around to pay more than the sink's worth to determine that. As for the issue of lying, I think there's a lot of context here to be considered. I believe he cracked it, and that Rohl is giving me a new sink but knows that he cracked it. My contractor bought the sink and installed it and messed around with it cause he didn't want me to bother his precious plumber when the leak needed to be stopped (don't get me started on how he thinks so highly of this totally flaky and rude plumber) and then it cracked. I think that covering my ARSE after everything else that's gone down is let's just say a fairly reasonable choice at this point, even if some think of that as lying. I get it, but I think that when you believe what I believe about what's really happened, it's not quite the same thing. And even then, I'm still willing to compromise at least a little - just because I'm not a one-dimensional human being and I believe my contractor isn't either. In my favor, sure, I guess, though yes I'm still really super uncomfortable about this whole thing and am as curious as the rest of you to know how strong I'll be and how well or disastrously this whole thing will turn out before it's truly over!! Ok that's it for now - it's 1:35 a.m. and I've gotta be up at 7:00. Yaaaay! ;) More soon. Thank you everyone - I am SO GRATEFUL that you're here. In fact you've been here "for me" more than just about anyone else, I swear!! That includes friends and family members and certainly contractors! How crazy is that!?

Don't confuse the issues. You have a bill for the work done which, from what you've said, really isn't in dispute. 10% increase for unforeseen stuff is not a biggy. I think you must acknowledge their entitlement. However, they must acknowledge their association with the casualty company that's paying the claim for damages. They are linked. The other issue is the casualty loss -- an insurance issue. Very different. From your description, you are likely entitled to more than you received. I think you should get after that. Did you sign a document or endorse a check that indicated the amount paid to you for that was full and complete settlement? Although I do think the vendor is entitled to payment, I also think you are entitled to satisfactory settlement of the casualty claim. Since that claim and work are associated and since the casualty company is associated only with the vendor, the only leverage you have is through the vendor. An alternative may be via your own homeowner's policy. I'm talking through my hat, here, so somebody correct me if I've got it wrong. I'm thinking you may be able to make a claim through your own policy which would allow them to then subrogate against the vendors casualty carrier to recover the money they paid to you. If possible, would get you paid quickly and take the hassle away. You would then reduce the vendor's bill by the amount of your own deductible. Serious conversation time, I think. Have you laid this out to the vendor? If you have, and he bucks, next step is lawyer. Get your documentation lined up. Sorry.

My thanks to all - even those of you who have asked me to examine my contribution to the problem. Believe it or not, it is my nature to start from a position of equality - equal respect, equal understanding, equal expectations. I was raised to be fair-minded in the extreme (just ask my kids! or my parents, for that matter) and more often than not I am hurt by looking at others and thinking I am looking in a mirror, which may just be human nature, I don't know. I am far from perfect, but I do hold myself to high standards, the least of which are promptness, honesty, and clarity in what I can deliver professionally. I know every job suffers from unforeseen delays, mistakes, and errors in judgment. Sh*t happens. I was pretty understanding in the beginning. Maybe TOO understanding. I'm beginning to think MY mistake was not being tough enough. The problems with this job all resulted from sloppiness - failure to measure properly, to take time to level, to put down drop cloths or protect new appliances when sanding, to take careful notes or pictures with that phone you're busy checking your email on. I do believe those expectations are fairly entry-level, if you want to be a contractor. To everyone at GW - learn from my mistakes! When my island top came in without the overhang, or my granite counters were off-level, or the plumber insisted the water pressure was always weak (turns out he didn't flush the line), or the custom cabinet came in a foot too short - a foot! and this was the second try! - these were not examples of someone opening a wall in an old house and finding the wiring needed to be redone. When my contractor didn't think it was important to show up, as days became weeks, because he was at his closing or doing his walk through or visiting his other jobs, these didn't seem like 'common occurrances' that I should overlook. Maybe I should have been clearer at the top of the post, but I don't think 'well-managed' would be the way anyone would describe this job. Even, at this point, the contractor. And I do count my blessings. I know it could have been worse. But I'd hate to have my performance described in those terms.

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice. It has been extremely helpful. Wanted to provide a little more information & clarification. The remodel is for the basement of our home. It was was partially finished by the last owner but had no plaster walls to preserve or restore, hence the new drywall in the new laundry room. While there is supposed to be some crown molding between the cabinets & ceiling, I don't know if the suggestions on modifying the crown to disquise the slanted ceiling will help but I'll look into it. We actually did have a structural engineer visit, assess the structure, and write up a formal report for permit drawings as we had originally planned to do a whole house remodel with a large addition. Those plans got significantly scaled back due to cost and change of priorities. Engineer found no structural issues of concern. When we first noticed the laundry room ceiling not being level and briefly talked with the contractor about it, he told us that he had known the ceiling was not going to be level as they were working on it. He said he had decided that it would be better to have a ceiling that was higher in some places and shorter than others, than a ceiling that was uniformly 1-2 inches shorter. We are very frustrated that he chose not to inform us and didn't solicit our input before making that decision. We didn't specifically state in our contract that he needed to "level the ceiling" because the old ceiling and walls were to be completely ripped out (even the insulation). We thought that it would be a given that a new room, with brand new walls and ceiling would be installed level. Are we incorrect to have thought that? Casings: Yes, the door and window casings in the room with the wainscot are double the thickness of the casings in the rooms where the beadboard is supposed to be. They did the room with the wainscot first (and it looked great). It never occured to us that they wouldn't make the same thickness casings in the other rooms and only realized that the casings weren't the same until after they had installed some of the casings and then some of the beadboard right next to the casings. So, are we correct that the contractor should have had the casings be uniform in all the rooms and that it wasn't unreasonable for us to expect them to make the casings deeper than the beadboard? As for being on-site and available. . . I am a stay-at-home mom and am at the house almost all the time. I go down to the basement or garage at least once a day. While I'm there I check in with the crew to see how the work is progressing and to see if they have questions or see if there is anything they want to run by me. I also let them know they can come get me upstairs or call me anytime should they need a decision about something or run into something unexpected. Sometimes they ask questions and seek input but more often than not they don't. My hubby and I try to go down to the basement almost every night or at least every couple days to see how it is coming along. We don't dislike the contractor or his crew and certainly want to avoid them having to re-do work they've already completed. So we try to be as diligent as we can to notify the contractor and crew ASAP if something doesn't seem right and we do it in a respectful way. We also have let them know that we'd much rather have them ask us if they aren't sure about something or if they encounter something that isn't covered by the plans, than to just guess our preferences. Unfortuantely we are finding over and over again that the contractor, his crew, and the subs make unilateral decisions and install things incorrectly or without consulting with us and then get upset when we let them know that what they've done wasn't done according to the architectural drawings, wasn't done as we specified in earlier written communication with the contractor, or otherwise not to our liking. As for using a contractor well versed in old house remodels, our contractor was recommended by the local historic preservation society as well as by local architectural firms specializing in old house remodels. We spent a lot of time trying to find someone who did period appropriate work on old houses and from his portfolio and references, he seemed to be the best. Sawdust: There have also been several instances where they were supposed to put up protection between our main home and the basement and they either didn't at all or didn't do it adequately and almost once a week we get significant dust all throughout the house (one time instead of dust, it was black soot from a furnace flue removal--took forever to clean and we are still finding it). We've had multiple conversations with the contractor about this issue to no avail. So the sawdust coating the garage just adds insult to injury. Our last contractor put up a small tent in the yard and did all their wood cutting outside and did a good job cleaning up afterwards. It never occured to me that our current contractor would have wood cutting done in our garage. Had I known they had planned on doing messy work in the garage, I would've put my foot down and told them to do it ouside or would have told them to just do it in the basement because then we wouldn't have had to clean both the house and the garage, we'd only have the house to clean!