Do not use Lowe's for your bathroom

8 years ago

Do not use
Lowes as a contractor!

On June 23, 2015, my life and my son’s life was turned upside down
causing not only unnecessary stress to us but, causing me to incur thousands of
additional dollars in costs due to the construction of the bathroom. On June
23, 2015 I initiated an agreement with Lowes to remodel a 5X7 bathroom. I paid
in full $14,913.00. My son and his wife were supposed to move in to this
condominium at the end of August as the bathroom was to be completed in 15 days
of actual work or by the agreed upon date of August 15th.

The events of the last 5 1/2 months were perpetuated by the poor and
ineffective project scheduling and by the contractor hired by Lowes. However, it always seemed that Lowes had the
back of the contractor and not us the customer who had paid in full the entire
cost of the bathroom renovation prior to the start of the construction. The guarantee
of satisfaction we signed with Lowes on June 23rd 2015 had no effect on the
construction. Therefore, after
deliberate consideration and consultation it is obvious that the bathroom
renovation was not completed to expected and reasonable standards of
satisfaction.

5 1/2 months’
later the bathroom was never completed to expected and reasonable standards of
satisfaction. Examples of the extremely
sloppy workmanship include: The door and door frame should have been replaced
with a quality door as agreed to in initial contract. Door is damaged, poorly spray painted so its
surface is like sandpaper and the frame is damaged too so that the correct
hardware could not be installed. Old rusted hinges were reused with caked on
paint of years of use. The threshold is not the marble one we selected and it
is the wrong color. The bathroom is beiges and browns and the threshold is an orange
composite material. The wall and the tile molding was never completed behind
the vanity. The grout is coming out from between the tiles in the shower.
Instead of re-grouting the tiles calking was use on the surface only. The ceiling has gouges in it from when the
bathroom was demolished and the light fixture was removed. The vent fan does
not sit flush against the wall due to a wall that is not vertical. The light
switch was poorly installed and now it cannot be aligned. Due to the
inexpensive door when the towel bars were connected to the door the door was
hollow so they could not be anchored correctly.

Other
expenses we incurred were my son's 2 months’ rent in his Manhattan apartment
since the timeline for the renovation changed from the end of August to the end
of November. And you can’t move into an apartment that has no toilet. (Expense
of $3,358.00) Also… *** You have to see
the photos of the mess in the apt. Nothing was covered. Everything is covered by a layer of dust.
Floors, walls, windows, all the furniture, television, bedding, couches all
appliances and more. In the middle of
the living room is a 4-foot pile of bathroom debris (tile, floor, wall board,
ceiling, plumbing and probably asbestos & lead too. The floors were left in such a damaged
condition due to the contractor's dumping the demolition refuse into the living
room that we needed to scrape the damaged floors for $2,126.00. And finally the couches were discarded because
the debris that covered them and it was not worth the risk to use them. Their
replacement value was about $1800.00 In all we are requesting compensation in the
amount of $ 22,197.00 without the cost of painting the entire apartment that is
covered with dust that probably contains asbestos and lead.

Photos are available
if you contact me at Bschreier@aol.com.

Featured Answer

monicakm_gw

8 years ago

My husband is a flooring contractor. He was once approached by Lowes (actually they called me) about working for them...I knew what the answer would be but I told them I'd let him know. When I told him about the call, he didn't just say no, he said "He(( No!" We contract for several builders and 3 flooring stores. When a customer asks for their best installer, they are willing to wait for him :) And it takes more than just being excellent at what you do. It takes people skills, manners and being reliable. Yeah, I'm proud of him :) And if you're an "old lady" (or old couple) you get extra special care and attention because he has a soft spot in his heart for the elderly who are often taken advantage of by trades people.

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Comments (12)

monicakm_gw
8 years ago
Good grief! What a nightmare!
llcp93
8 years ago
Years and years ago, my parents contracted with The Home Depot Expo, thankfully now out of business, and for good reason. The contractors hired through HDE were substandard. All I can think is that people who couldn't get work otherwise, were hired by them. Took months longer than specified and mediation had to come into play in several areas. The only thing that was flawless was the Corian countertops installed in the kitchen, Gameroom bar and utility room. That fabricator was excellent.
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I'm afraid that might be a nightmare. Bathrooms can actually be more complex than a kitchen remodel. Lowes are not general contractors! I would only buy things in stock from them....I would not trust them to run a large ongoing project! Once the designer at Lowes sells the job....he's done and you then have to work with someone else. A small business, kitchen and bath dealer would be your next best bet after a General Contractor. OR be your own GC. You would need to hire: -carpenter (cabinets, ventilation, installing cabinets/tops) -plumber (buy your products from him....he will know what he needs) -drywaller? -electrician -tile setter, if doing tile -You'd probably need permits for electrical and plumbing.
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I didn't read your whole post, it would be easier to read if you create paragraphs. Have you posted a complaint on their FB page? Unfortunately, things like this happen. I would never have a big box store install anything. It truly is 50/50. Although that is being generous. I only know those who have issues, just not as extensive as yours. Thanks for posting. Sorry you are going through this.
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nicole___
8 years ago
That story sounds awful! I'm sorry that happened to you..
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
You should be writing to the CEO of Lowe's outlining your experience. Take it from one who had trouble with Lowe's and got it resolved to our great satisfaction. Start with the store manager and be persistent. Show the store manager the letter you intend to send to the CEO. Let him know he has a week to come to a satisfactory resolution.
geoffrey_b
8 years ago
My advice, is never do business with a 3rd party. Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, you name it simply sub the job out and get a percentage off the top. Additionally, you need to read the contract (maybe your attorney also).

With all you say that was wrong - a job like this needs to be supervised - by the owner. You or your son should have been inspecting the work as it progressed - and made them correct it as they went along.

Not to blame you, but you were negligent to allow this project (train wreck) to continue for 5 1/2 months.

Additionally, $14,000 is cheap for a bathroom remodel. I did a DIY for $18,000.
kats737
8 years ago
Sorry you had that experience, and hopefully you can get it resolved. But it is a huge red flag on why you don't want to pay someone in full before work is completed.
Jancy
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I would also contact Lowes Customer Care and Lowes Regional Manager. I found Customer Care to be very helpful and they also followed up with the Lowes Regional Manager.
needinfo1
8 years ago
I'm sorry! This is the pits! We too had a negative (not this bad though) experience with a contractor once, and it does really make one absolutely consumed with anger.

But, I too have to question why in the world you paid everything up front to Lowe's. That is a big, big no, no because you as an owner have no leverage if you've already paid everything to the company.

Finally, I have to agree that any remodeling, no matter how simple, needs hands-on owner (or owner's agent) oversight every day or nearly every day. We've learned that there are way too many decisions that need very regular owner input and/or visits to make sure everything is going as planned and that things are done to your satisfaction.

A small example: We are in the midst of a complete basement gut and remodel (including bathroom). Last week we discovered that framing for a pocket door had been installed in the wrong spot and not in the exact location indicated on our plans; it had to be re-done. If we had waited until all of the sheet rocking and trim work and painting was done to catch this error, it would have been a huge mess. As it was, it wasn't even an hour's work to re-do. In our case though we are dealing with a contractor that we interviewed and selected, not someone who was subbed out through a big box store.

I am sorry for you, but I also think a part of this falls on your shoulders for paying everything upfront and then not taking the time to oversee the project, especially since you had no idea who would be doing the actual work on your bathroom.
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The reason a person pays Lowe's is because they don't want to think about the remodel. You just want it to be done. What if you are a person who knows absolutely nothing about remodeling - what error would you be able to catch? Truth is that even Lowes has an A Team installation crew and the trick is to find out who that is. As far as paying up front, when you work with Lowes I don't think you have the choice to pay after the fact.
jellytoast
8 years ago
"As far as paying up front, when you work with Lowes I don't think you have the choice to pay after the fact."

If that is the case, it sounds like a really good reason to NOT use Lowe's. Too late for this customer, but not too late for others who are considering using a company that requires payment in full up front.
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The experience can also be good. It depends on the crew you get. In my previous home, I bought my Schuler kitchen cabinets from Lowe's and they installed them and did a great job. It's really luck of the draw.

Do not use Lowe's for your bathroom

monicakm_gw

Comments (12)

monicakm_gw

llcp93

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