Think about what is happening. How many different people worked on your house, from how many different companies? Building upon the work of a previous person they probably have never worked with before does not always go smoothly.

Because this is happening in your house where you are in absolute control, this puts the workers you hire on a distinctly unequal footing and it comes out in various ways. Don't take it personally.

I had to reset cabinets that were improperly installed by another contractor. Empire Flooring came the next day and installed the floor when I wasn't there.

The next day I was wondering why the countertops on each side of the stove opening weren't level to each other as they had been. Had I not noticed, it would have been catastrophic when the backsplash tile and stove were installed.

Instead of installing around my set cabinet, the Empire installer removed it, installed flooring underneath, and reinstalled it, to save time/money for himself.

I spent over an hour carefully cutting his floor tile and resetting the cabinet. Calls and emails to Empire for compensation went unanswered.

Sometimes trades screw one another.

I know, it's painful - and happens all the time. I have my general contractors license and have done 9 whole house renovations... and they guys are always complaining... "oh, the plumber didn't do that" or "why didn't the electrician run that wire for me"... and it happens down the road every time there is an issue - the whole, "not my fault, it was the other guy...". It's gotten to where I prefer working with several guys who are all friends (my electrician will have his plumber friend and his HVAC friend come do the work) so I don't have to listen to them gripe about each other...

Just looking at what all is involved; electrician (hired out myself), cabinet/carpenter, and flooring guys. I don't think I could be my own contractor, there is so much involved.

But I can see how great the work is despite how uncomfortable it is hearing their gripes. It's beautiful and 110% improvement on what it was before. I do compliment them every day, because they are doing a wonderful job. I only have one before photo of my living room, the rest lost in a computer crash but I will try to post pictures.

Trebruchet; that should be an industry No-No. They shouldn't have touched your work! If the guys working on my house did that to one another I'm sure it wouldn't end well. I'd probably have to dial 911!

Lol! Lovetorenovate that is funny. Next will be our kitchen remodel and I am staying the *ell out that is for sure! My contractor will be my only contact...I hope!

I think this is why some GCs prefer to work with the same subs over and over. They've gotten to know and trust each other and they don't pull that kind of thing. Our GC told us this up-front, that he'd get multiple bids whenever the "usual" guy's numbers looked high, and that he'd use who we wanted, but he likes to work with the usual gang. Our house isn't done yet, but I've seen numerous times where the fact that they know how the other guy does things has helped us out or prevented a mistake.

I know many homeowners would be suspicious of such arrangements and quick to use the "kickback" word, but these kinds of errors cost someone, either the homeowner or the honest sub who takes pride in his work, fixes someone else's faux pas, and doesn't get paid for that time.

If I had stayed away I would have had many things done not the way I wanted (and I had told the contractor). With the main 2 man crew I heard a lot of "I wasn't told about that" connected with "We aren't going to do that" -- that later turned into "Oh, yeah, we will get that done" once they told the contractor what I was asking for. And also heard a lot of blaming the cabinetmaker when the crew didn't install the cabinets in the proper order, leaving things not quite aligned correctly -- although the cabinetmaker requested that they call him before installing (they knew better, right?)

I agree, complaining about each other to the homeowner is unprofessional.

I'm not expecting it to be all hugs and puppies and them to get together and sing kumbaya at the end of the day, I expect them to act like professionals in front of the customer.

Fortunately we're working with an established team who all like and respect each other. If there has been any of the "blame game" I haven't heard it.

I'm very glad I've been able to be here for most of the work. I find things go more smoothly when I am. If I'm here and a minor issue comes up, I'm consulted. Or at other times I've noticed things early on, brought it up, and got it fixed. If I'm not here they'll make a judgement call on minor things and it's not always the same call I would have made.