I clicked the GW link. I scanned all of both. I am not familiar with Texas pricing. But I would say for size of project and scope, and the quality you wanted /expected, you were at least 100k shy on BUDGET . Your kitchen cabinetry budget alone should have been double or your budgeted allowance.

Long story short, I am afraid you got what you paid for, inclusive of some bad design - a result of no pro in charge . Pay a fixer, and not these guys.......who way back proved unreliable and deficient in finesse.

You expected a massive remodel to look like 350k on 250.0 . It was NEVER going to happen. Very sorry for your trouble.

Wow, I am so sorry. Not a pro, just a homeowner, but I would select option 2 but see why a draw would need to be made at all for such subpar work. If they said they could do the remodel for $250k it would be reasonable that finishes would be done properly. You could have ordered a kitchen from Home Depot with a better result. I don’t understand the level of project supervision. Some of these errors should have been discovered right away. When I’ve had work done in my home if an existing problem is discovered work stops, we discuss how to resolve it, and how much more it will cost.

Unless your contract is cost plus a fee on top of the actual invoices, you have zero rights to any of the contractor’s invoices. In a fixed price contract, that information belongs to the contractor only. Those numbers are his private proprietary business. The only number that you are entitled to is the bottom line price to be paid. And he needs to furnish no justification for charging what he charges.

Change orders can be either way. Either they must be substantiated as a mini cost plus contract, inside the fixed price, or they are allowed to be whatever the contractor decides he wants to charge. That’s the approach many new construction builders maintain, and change orders are where the profit is. It doesn’t matter that their actual cost is $100. If they want to charge you $160, or $200, plus an “administrative fee”, they can. If it was written into the contract that way, they can.

The cabinet work is typical builder grade TX backyard “custom guy” work, painted in the house. Not very good outside of TX. But that’s pretty much industry wide down there, and for some reason, no one there will think it unusual.

You need to look at your contract. With a lawyer.

And be realistic about what your standards vs your budget could really buy. If you have another 100K to get to that level? And can get a refund from the contractor after he removes that dreck from your house? You may be able to get where you want to be in the end. After a lot of angst and money spent on lawyers.

Sophie Wheeler

My contract states
“Owner agrees and promises to pay Builder the “Cost of the Work” and a “Builder’s Percentage” as specified in Paragraph 3 of this Contract, plus any additional authorized expenditures.”

“Upon Owner’s written request, Builder will have a reasonable time to provide copies of all invoices, proposals, contracts and canceled checks which support the Builder’s Draw Requests, although payment of a pending Draw Request is not contingent upon receipt of such records.”

I understand that this was severely underbid so I won’t be able to get what I want for the same price and the contractor isn’t going to absorb the cost of doing it correctly.

My question is what do I want?

I think it’s reasonable to say what’s done is done, we’re not paying any more, and that’s it. I don’t get what was promised because it was underbid but I also don’t pay for shoddy work and not approved overages.

I’ll deal with fixing the stuff myself or saving up to hire another contractor in the far future.

Maybe I missed something about the type of contract you have. But if the contractor underbid the job, then that's their fault. If you had a fixed price contract, they have to honor it. How come everything ended up being so much more expensive? It's as if the contractor just threw any ole' number at the job without actually bidding it. Then the contractor expects the homeowner to just cough up the extra money when his numbers don't cover the work. The final insult IMO, is the crappy job they did. Is that shoddy of work an "acceptable standard" in Texas? I haven't been in the construction biz for 25 years and it's unbelievable to me how things have changed. I continue to be flabbergasted at the unscrupulous practices that contractors get away with these days. I wish I had some good advice for you other than to shut your checkbook and not give anyone another dime. I'm really, really, sorry you are having to deal with this.

"But if the contractor underbid the job, then that's their fault. If you had a fixed price contract, they have to honor it."

Sure, in theory. But in the real world, the last person you want working on your home is a guy who's bleeding red ink. He's gonna keep his losses to a minimum, and that means shoddy materials, workmanship, or both.

Cut him loose as soon as possible. It will only cost you more in the short term.

But you need to get off the internet and into your lawyer’s office. NOW. I hope your lawyer reviewed the contract before you signed as part of your due diligence. If not, then the contract may not be so favorable to you as an aggrieved party.

As part of this, I would strongly suggest posting under a pseudonym rather than one's actual name.

This is very unfortunate. My question is why you hired him, or how you heard of him. Did you check references? It is so important to talk to other homeowners and see completed work. Comparing estimates is only a small portion of selecting the right contractor. Did he hire subs that he doesn't normally use? Or is this his standard quality of work? It doesn't help you now, but I'm just curious how you ended up with this contractor.

Ashley- part of your problem might be your contract. If it is the standard TX Builders' Contract (written by TX Builders Association), you the homeowner are missing a lot of protections. Did you get an attorney beforehand? Most TX RE attorneys morph that document so that their clients are actually considered.

Regardless, there is likely a place in your contract called "Remedies"- I think. Very specific directions as to what makes it a true contractural dispute. That's a document you provide, detailing all that needs to be fixed. It's typically sent by registered mail, return receipt requested. It can and does wake builders up- you are serious, and now following the contract. No plausible deniability, like a text/email that can be conveniently forgotten.

There should also be a place in your contract that details whether you are to expect "new" or "like new". Look for that.

Last push. Send the document. Be as positive, up front, as you can. " I know you want what we do- the best result. Unfortunately we're left with XYZ. We need to speak in person to develop a final punch plan. These are the fixes."

Do it, send it. You are in compliance with your contract then.

Good luck. It seems like Hell, but version it will be Heaven.

We have something similar to what Laurie Schrader is describing in FL with sending a list of defects. Then the builder has 30 days to inspect and a total of 45 to give written notification of how he will fix the problems.

Alison:

You are sharing the risk and saving money for doing so. Had I been your GC on a fixed price contract, I would be accepting all the risk. If I'm accepting all the risk and I don't have a contingency, I'm going to have to make sure my bid is high enough to cover those contingencies. If you think you can't afford them, I really, really can't afford them. I've got a business to run and it must be profitable. Every job.

This thread is a perfect example of what happens when a contractor assumes all the risk, incurs all the unforeseen expenses, and hasn't charged enough to cover them.

Looks like every TX residential finish job.

Somehow tiling is done ultra sloppy in TX. Exposed edges on corners are typical. Trim pieces are rarely used.

I’ve seen cabinets painted like yours with similar gaps in 7 figure houses on the AIA home tours in Dallas.

>>following >>

Stop trying to crowd source legal advice and hire a lawyer. No lawyer is going to post advice here based on you putting part of your contract online (it’s highly ethically questionable, at a minimum, to give specific, individual legal advice without full knowledge of the case) and if they do they’re not someone whose advice you should take. You need a local attorney experienced with construction law.

The real problem here is any state along that southern border is just overflowing with uneducated trades people who don't understand what quality is. Then add contractors that were working at Walmart last week and homeowners who all think they should have marble and gray walls just like they saw on TV for a price that couldn't possibly cover the proper costs.

Illegal workers no matter how you feel about their legal status are a huge problem for the construction business. We have people undercutting bids and have zero idea how to perform the work. The same guy hanging cabinets is your electrical Tuesday and your plumber on Friday. They don't speak or read a word of English which causes even bigger issues. If you cant read how to install something how do you do it?

They are somewhat trained from the country they come from which does not have the same standards that we have here in the USA. I live in SOCAL and I see these greedy flippers and realtors using these illegals to make a property look good in a picture. And then the realtor just keeps saying don't worry you'll have an inspection and a home warranty. Of course the warranty doesn't cover any of it and the inspector is in the realtors pocket.

The real home market crash comes when all these flipped to the hilt overpriced messes start needing corrective work. Homeowners can barely afford them and as you have here the corrective work will cost more then the original repairs.

There is nothing to be salvaged in those pics and what is NOT seen is the real problem.