working with contractor - dirty and cracked baseboard?
HH Kim
5 years ago
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SJ McCarthy
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Why do contractors think we're stupid?
Comments (39)We hired a contractor, a staining and finishing guy who said he could refinish the woodwork in my bathroom (it was previously painted), and also remove the white wash stain on my cherry bathroom cabinets and restain that with a natural stain. He first tried stripping the whitewash with an orange stripper, which I told him beforehand would not work on a whitewash finish - the orange stuff is not a strong enough product. He refused to work with any marine strippers, so instead he started sanding my woodwork - now it has SWIRLS all over it, he broke half of my moulding trying to get it off the walls, and then told me that the windows couldn't be stripped without breaking them. He insisted that he smash out my double hung windows (frame and all) and replace them with a new double hung that I could get for about $60 at a local hardwood store. He showed up at my house drunk when he suggested the smashing out the window bit, and I told my husband I don't ever want to see him again. After stripping the original paint with a paint gun, I have now repainted my woodwork AND my cabinets myself. I am still trying to salvage the rest of the moulding that was destroyed. It's a shame that anyone who walks around with a business card and does some advertising can call themselves a "professional". What a joke!...See MoreContractor is telling me that tile backsplashes don't hold up
Comments (29)I have to laugh when I hear of anyone that says that back splashes get greasy, nasty, grout lines gross, and so on... ALL that I can restate time and time again is the OBVIOUS: the person responsible for cleaning the kitchen doesn't or does not know how to clean. Period. If someone fries a lot and does not clean then WHAT do you THINK any kitchen would look like? It's just utterly ridiculous. The majority of people on this web site probably are the upper echelon of fanatics on kitchen cleanliness and appreciate a beautiful kitchen. And we do know what it takes to maintain a clean kitchen. Some people just do not. And I'm with everyone else: if someone is trying to steer you into a direction that you don't want to go in, then don't go with them! I'd be thankful that they gave you a clear forewarning of your imminent unhappiness to come if you hire them to do a specific job they had no confidence in performing. Some wonderful building talent out there just don't come out and say, "I'm not good at...(whatever), so you would be better off hiring so and so."...See MoreHelp with general contractor conflict, bathroom remodel & faulty tile
Comments (11)The GC told us to go to the showroom where we picked out the tile with the salesperson. The showroom has it's own full-time installers who did the labor. So, I suppose the supplier as the subcontractor "picked up and inspected" the tile. We never saw the tile before it was installed. We did not pick up (installer did), inspect (installer did), nor pay for the tile (GC paid the subcontractor). We complained about this to the GC immediately and said we weren't ready to pay for what we felt was a faulty product after install. He inspected it himself, twice, as did the installer, and they both basically shrugged it off and said it was cheap tile that "likes dirt" (this is not the case). Despite our complaints, the GC paid the subcontractor for the product and install. The tile that was installed was not the tile we picked out. It took over a year of us working directly with the subcontractor with no help from the GC to get the tile in front of a rep from the manufacturer who confirmed that the tile was faulty and should not have been installed. As the GC, I feel that he did not do what we have already paid him to do which was to facilitate the project and manage the renovations to ensure everything was completely properly in a timely fashion. We have paid him for all other subcontractor expenses as well as for his services and profit as the GC. We only withheld payment for this one item, which we knew was not completed properly....See Morenew vinyl floor and old marble baseboards - remove? cover? paint?
Comments (26)You are welcome to put the vinyl over top the marble. Be aware that you will NOT be able to do the preparation needed for the vinyl to be properly installed. The preparation means you have to a SMOOTH and FLAT subfloor (grout lines would, ideally, be level with the tile) and any humps/bumps ground down/flattened and any hollows filled with concrete. Ahhhhhhh. Now you see where this is getting tricky. To "cover" the marble (to "save it") you may have to destroy it to make the vinyl install "proper". If you do NOT do the proper preparation, you will get a vinyl floor that will telegraph ALL THE GROUT LINES through to the surface. You will end up with a "checker board" pattern of grout lines showing through the surface of your newly laid vinyl. Here is my suggestion: Water-Proof LAMINATE! Yep. Something like Aquagard (at several dollars more per square foot) will do it. Why? Aquaguard is RIGID. And it allows UNDERLAYMENT which can help with any minor imperfections. Yes...technically laminate wants a properly prepared subfloor - but it is more forgiving visually. You might get a snick of movement over hollows but I would take a tiny bit of movement over a grid pattern etched into vinyl any day. As for the baseboards....remove them and install something that fits your aesthetics. The one's visible are nothing special. Some of them don't even match the tile they are attached to. Not worth saving in my opinion. Have a look at water proof laminate. It offers the same wearability without the issues with excess heat/direct sunlight and without the issues of a super flat subfloor....See Moreci_lantro
5 years agosuseyb
5 years agoUser
5 years agoFori
5 years agoindigoheaven
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoState Wide Construction & Remodeling
5 years agoUptown Floors
5 years agoindigoheaven
5 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoCreative Tile Eastern CT
5 years ago
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