Who wrote the contract? Were the construction design documents not part of the contract? Was additional project management part of the design contract and design fee paid? Was construction management even actually discussed?

Why has the homeowner gotten ahead of the draw schedule for fees that was included in the contract? Why was a site supervisor or construction manager not utilized by the GC for project management?

Did the “favor” only include access to the trades and rough scheduling, but no actual GC oversight or project management? Did the homeowner understand the lack of professional oversight that the favor entailed? And that it meant that the HO was actually running the show?

What does the written and signed contract say? And who are you? The decorator-designer? Because that’s what it sounds like.

This was a very casual arrangement. The only contract which was very basic was written by the GC- outlining what he would do and how much it would cost. There was no mention of site supervisor. The contract was very vague. It was not a very big job- small kitchen and bath remodel. (we're talking a 100 sq ft kitchen and 40 sq ft bath)

The designer was also sort of doing this as a favor and as a learning experience ( she is new to the field)... there was no contract. Again, she was a friend of the HO . It was a very informal arrangement. She was not being paid much as the HO was on a tight budget. I know the designer bent over backwards for the HO during the design process.

I have no idea how to solve this problem. This was from the sounds of it a no contract situation and believe me you need a contract even with friends BTW a GC is the guy who should be overseeing his crew and if there are problems with the design then the designer and GC have a talk to solve the problem. I do check on jobs to make sure things are done the way I designed but I speak to the GC not the crew if there is a problem, he speaks to the crew.

I wasn’t aware that a designer was responsible for fixing a door that won't open/shut properly, reseal grout, finish tiling, repair damage that occurred during appliance installation, and straighten crooked outlets, etc.

This is a ridiculous situation and the contractor needs to get on his big boy

"He took the job as a favor to a mutual friend of the homeowner (it was a small gig compared to his typical ) " > "The designer was also sort of doing this as a favor... there was no contract."

Say no more... You could kiss that job goodbye from the get-go.

Most of those problems are fairly small....I would recommend the HO find and pay a 3rd party to fix them and think of the cost as his/her educational fee. Next time, no more loosey goosey special favor unwritten arrangements as they beg for misunderstandings and attract the loosey goosey practitioners.

I paid extra for my architect to be involved with oversight of my addition. This architect also offers to just sell plans for a lesser cost but often plans and building feasibility do not mesh 100 % so it was nice to have the architect work with my GC to resolve issues when they came up so that the overall vision for the space was maintained. This being the case my GC, per contract, was still responsible for implementation issues and punch list completions not my designer.

If your friend tried to save money by using friends to help rather than pay and employ them via a strong contract and fair market pay than she gets what she paid for....you can hire professional friends but you should never ask them for their help....if she had treated them as professionals, signed a valid contract and paid them as such this could have been avoided.

It comes down to, this ain’t your circus and these ain’t your monkeys. Butt out. Don’t give real advice to people because they do nothing but resent you and get mad at you when you are right. You can see that on a daily basis on Houzz. They want kitten unicorns and platitudes. That’s what your friend wants.

The project was doomed from the beginning without a strong take charge homeowner with some sort of construction or project management background. The helpless woe is me passive aggressive everyone do poor me a favor type is nothing but trouble. And everyone involved in doing a favor resents a homeowner like that.

It can only go from bad to worse with another oar stuck into it. Butt out for your own good. Even if it’s your mom.

Sophie just used my line: Not your circus, and NOT your monkey.!!!

BTW....... there is no casual agreement, ever. Unless you want THIS result. There are never any kitties or unicorns,

@ Sophie Love the new look Sophie :-)

Sophie - Are you being served?

I see so much of this unfortunately. Designer owns the vision, selections, placement & furnishings. General contractor puts the vision into motion & owns quality control. Though without specifying in writing every blames everyone. In honest human terms- the general contractor is responsible for his crew & blaming this on the designer is absurd. Good luck to you...if everyone would just do their job... ;/

The worst "favor " any trade can do you, is to do you any favor which means a pricing FAVOR , usually. Unless it's a ride to the hospital ER. Neither is good for you , really. Count me with GN above.

“He took the job as a favor to the mutual friend of the homeowner ...”. “The designer was also doing this as sort of a favor...”. I REST MY CASE... a recipe for disaster. As my father always said “ never do business with friends , relatives or neighbors!” , & you usually get what you pay for. He was a very successful businessman for many years , owning companies, hiring dozens & dozens of employees over the years, negotiating hundreds of contracts, etc.

the issues you mentioned are not DESIGN issues, selection issues, nor placement issues....they are SHOTTY LABOR issues that need to be adressed by the one who did the labor the CONTRACTOR. The designer is not responsible for the type of work his men did. It is his company and his responsibility....the designer is not responsible.

Sophie I love your new look and attitude! Yes, OP, you should stay out of it, but the HO could threaten to file a complaint with the contractor dept and the BBB for failure to warranty his work. HO should give the contractor a chance to make it right first. The work was done by his subs; he has pull with them. Then if the contractor still won't fix it, HO could have the work done out of pocket and take contractor to small claims to recover costs.

The mutual friend that introduced the HO to the contractor had to get involved... the contractor is going to finish the job... he is just whining about It. The HO is also not the easiest client. She tends to change her mind A LOT. Also the designer is an easy scapegoat for this as she is very inexperienced. An all around recipe for disaster. The good news is, the house looks beautiful and looks like the GC is following through , resentfully.

Great news! Hope all ends well.

Your young inexperienced designer just got some incredibly valuable training that they don't teach in school. I gar-un-tee she will NEVER put herself in this situation again. She doesn't know it yet, but she hit the jackpot. Better to take your spankings with the amelioration of youth and inexperience. Five years from now, that party's over.

The HO is also not the easiest client. She tends to change her mind A LOT.

If HO changed her mind a lot after construction began, this could have added to the GC's costs. It would be no wonder then that the GC is angry at the designer for not reigning in the HO.

Since the focus is on finding fault, and not finding a solution, the one at fault here is primarily the homeowner. She can not have really expected everyone to do the same level of work for semi free / discount as she would have gotten by paying full price. I volunteer my services with several non profit projects, but in no case does anyone receive the level of hand holding and decision coaxing that a fully paid client would receive. You want to be that much of an indecisive PIA? You gotta pay for the privilege. Otherwise, pick beige or gray, stop whining, and move forward.

The trades are also at fault for agreeing to do any of this on a less than fully paid professional contract as well. They paid the price of a priceless education though. TANSTAAFL. Things get paid for one way or another.

I don't agree with the idea of doing poorer work just because you are getting less money. Your opportunity for managing expectations is before taking the money, after that it is too late to play the I did this as a favor game.

I have two service levels, free and full. If you pay at all, then you get full. It doesn't take a long time to figure out where adjusting your quality for price gets you.

The one at fault is the person with the experience to know at the outset what'll be necessary to complete the job to acceptable standards. The general contractor knew what would happen without his supervision. He likely recognized problems as they occurred. He took all the money but is lazy and a little deceitful in trying to blame others. He's at least doing what he should although still whining. Not a lot of character, but some luckily.

Assumptions will kill you every single time. They will kill a homeowner, a contractor, a designer. I assumed you were watching over. I assumed you would meet my expectation which is.....what exactly? I assumed I would get paid . I assumed you knew what I wanted.

The only thing you can very safely assume, is when you pay less than anyone normally expects/gets/requires as fee for any service or goods provided? YOU WILL GET LESS RESULT.

As the adage goes: "Let us not assume. lest we make an ass of you and/or me"

Bry, I have a similar ethic as you but as a customer I know not everyone else does and that is why if the home owner did her due diligence and had a valid contract which she fully read, understood and amended to protect her interests aswell as the contractor then she would have recourse and she would have the work finished by the responsible party or eventually fiscal compensation for the contractor's poor work. She did not protect herself from this possibility because she cut corners to try and get a deal it seems so the blame is partially, if not fully under the law , on her.

Thanks everyone for your words of wisdom. The contractor is following through. He is just unhappy with the to-do list. I am sure he too learned a valuable lesson and will never do this again!

This is one of the dumbest things I have ever read. If I were the designer I would raise hell. This contractor should never have taken the job if he could not do it properly.

Lol... There's been way crazier stuff than this. Way.:)