Research wallpaper removal...there are a lot of posts online where people share their techniques to minimize drywall damage. A steamer might also make the job easier and minimize wall damage. The painter did not want to do this because it is a PITA job...of course when she showed you...it caused damage; it sounds as if she did nothing to mitigate it so it became a job she did not have to do. Removal and repair will be tedious, somewhat messy, but totally doable for someone who researches. Also research drywall repair techniques after removal of wallpaper. Once the wallpaper and paste is off, buy a small piece of drywall; replicate the damage you see on your walls, and practice repairs with drywall compound, types of trowels or blades for the kind of damage, sandpaper/sanding blocks/sponges, and spray texture (recommend for ease of use) if your walls have any kind of texture to them. Remember building up thin layers of compound (dry each layer before you add another) instead of one thick layer works best for repairing any deep damage. You can do this if you research and practice. I taught myself after waiting years for my husband to find someone to repair the walls of our large de-papered family room. I got fed up with his procrastination again and just started...no one can tell what was de-papered/repaired and what wasn't. Patience, diligence, and persnicketiness are important.

Is that 1600 supposed to be just flat base labor for just your active work time... and not including like transportation of equipment, materials used like polish, items needed like painting materials, sink, lightswitch cover, and so on? Is it just you, and you are moving all that machinery by yourself? Or do you have an assistant? If you have help, you need to add that labor and so on into the estimate as well. Are you sure you can fully complete the project along with after-inspection and so on with the owner within the 40 hours? What if the owner isn't happy and wants you to come back for whatever- that goes outside the 40 hours?

@ptreckel If a customer of mine hand-palmed me and talked to me like a child I would have a very difficult time making any concessions for them. Tactics like this are not productive and have no place on a jobsite. Some builders & contractors are guilty of these tactics as well. Expectations can be conveyed without drama or disrespect. Firm does not need to be disrespectful. - Glad your builder didn't put up a fuss. It will be a pain for him to fix, so good he is willing. - I'm curious if you did your cabinet design before or after the framing of the wall? Occurred to me that the original design may not have had the deeper tall cabinet. I agree with others that you would not have noticed the issue had the cabinet been installed at 24" deep. 28" was likely done to match the depth of the refrigerator surround? Not that it's important now that the builder has agreed to fix, but if he thought the cabinet was going to be 24" deep, it would explain why the wall was built 28". If he built it 32" and you only had 24" deep then the question would have ben asked: "Why did you build it so deep?" Again, I'm just curious what the sequence of these decisions was. - As a lesson to others, this is precisely the type of problem that builders run into all the time. Many architects and designers don't do kitchen cabinet layouts, so a seemingly minor detail like this can be a problem at final stage if the cabinets are not designed before framing begins. As mentioned countless times on this forum, getting as many details as possible worked out before you build is so important! - Best of luck

Since the only picture you posted is that window -- and if that is your primary concern -- then before the next rain, you could act to at least temporarily block water into your basement via that window until you can resolve the greater issues. Ultimately you may need a window well and, as Jennifer Hogan suggested, a French drain. Also agree that if the problem is severe ... throughout the yard -- more than just this window -- a landscaper may be your best path. Just make it clear that your objective, at least for now, is only to resolve the water issues not "landscape" for looks, potentially creating more yard work than you have the time or energy or budget to maintain. Short term, if it is supposed to rain today/tonight where you live, you could invest in a plastic flower bed border to create a half circle around the window and cover that border and the window with some thick clear plastic covering the border and window.-- think table cloth plastic from the Walmart fabric department. If, in addition to duct tape, you have old curtain rods or broom handles, they might help you prop up and hold the plastic until you can have a few days of dry weather and a plan to fix the problem with a more permanent solution . Then you can use your flower bed border to create a flower bed.and/or redirect rainwater run off coming into your yard.