Are we being unreasonable? Feedback on subcontractor please!!
Alison
9 months ago
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tile guys, am I being COMPLETELY unreasonable?
Comments (36)We're done with the herringbone. This is the border on top of the running bond on the walls that he's having a problem with (figuring out how to cut it at - you guessed it - the crease again). He got one side and I can't figure out why he couldn't figure out the other side except that he's screwing with me. I really don't get it. I also bit my tongue until it bled but after the third question today that was basically "help me figure out how to lay tile" I "slipped" and told him that I can't explain to him how to do his job and the only way I could figure it out is to get up there and mess with it and just do it. I told him to go take a lunch break while I did that and he said he doesn't take lunch and grabbed his stuff and stormed out. I don't think the herringbone messed him up per se - I was explicit about that from the beginning and he was okay with it. At this point I think he was just asking me every stupid question to make some kind of a point, like "okay smart@ss, you figured out the ceiling, now figure THIS out." I really TRIED to be patient but I just wasn't seeing the problems he was seeing. It sounded like he was making a mountain out of every molehill he could possibly find. Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to walk out on the job when it was obvious that he wasn't going to get done in one day like he wanted to. I really don't know. I don't get people sometimes. There is so little left, I'm wondering if I can work with my contractor to finish it up. He's done some tile before, he's just slow and this job was just too big and complicated for him. At this point so little is left i can't imagine any real tile guy coming in to do it. Part of me wants to do it myself but after how hard it was to do the part I did do, there is no way DH is going to allow a repeat of that. I think grouting it all will be a bigger deal than setting the rest of the tile....See MoreAm I being unreasonable?
Comments (31)I'm not understanding why you need a contractor for these jobs. A counter top fabricator does the laminate....even if you buy your laminate counter top at the hardware store (local or big box) they're just farming it out to the fabricators. Find the best local fabricator. Find the best tile guys in town and have them bid the backsplash. Same with the floor installers. I hire a contractor when I have a big project....pulling permits, moving walls, electrical and plumbing.A complicated project with a tight time line that needs a great manager who is juggling at least 5 trades. Someone who either has their own team or who the subcontractors give a priority schedule to because this is their future work also. And it's written in the contract that they have 30 days to complete the project or they lose money every day it's late. If I wanted a 3-6 month remodel project then I would be my own general. if I'm paying that contractor $45-60/hr to manage then they'd better be managing that job well. Everything else is a separate project, such as tiling my front hallway. By subbing that out myself I save $75/hr. and I can choose the best tile guy in town. If I have projects in different areas of the house I treat them as separate projects. I get a better bid from the contractor because the scope is clearly defined...and there is future work. I also have ALL of my drawings made before bid, including electrical and plumbing. Everything is specified, with appliance installation sheets in the bid packet. All cabinets and appliances and tile are pre-ordered and waiting to be installed on the start date so that there are no delays. And I don't change my mind or do a "while we are at it" because change orders throw the original schedule out the window and erase delayed construction penalties. A quick way to drive yourself crazy, IMO. I'm on my 4th house remodel, that is, complete house remodels for 4 different houses. For what you need doing I wouldn't think of hiring that expensive manager...you don't need to pull permits....See MoreAm I being unreasonable?
Comments (44)I'm sorry that I've caused such a stir. I know that when traditional gender roles are challenged that all sorts of feelings come out about it. Honestly, it works for some but I think for the vast majority, it's too hard to get past the traditional role of what I am supposed to do as a woman and what he's supposed to do as a man. I feel like it's my job to clean some even though he's home all day. I feel like it's also my job to care for my kids when I'm home from work. I'm a VERY driven person and I always have been. He's not but when we were dating he put himself out there like he was. It was almost a little smoke and mirrors but we all do that when we are dating a little bit, I know this. I don't exactly know how I'm going to broach the subject of putting some of my kids child support away for them. I know he's going to be really upset when I tell him that's what I want now that he is working. After all, he has the same opportunity to go after BM but he chooses not too. She lives on the other side of the country from us (she moved right after we got married), never sees the kids and never calls them. It's really sad. DH says he's just lucky to have his kids out of the deal and that he's not willing to go after her for support b/c he fears losing the kids. I know his thinking is very backward (he'd never lose those kids to a deadbeat mother like she is) but I can't tell him that he must take that chance b/c what if by some twist of fate, he does lose them. So therein lies my problem with that whole mess. But - I do think that I should be able to do whatever I please with my children's child support. I fought hard for that support with my ex and just b/c he makes good money and I didn't have kids with a loser (like BM) my kids should have the benefits of that support to themselves. Am I wrong to feel that way? Is that a bad way of thinking and will it ultimately divide our family? G-d, some days I just hate being in a stepfamily. It's so so hard. Harder than I ever thought it would be. The Brady Bunch can go suck an egg. ROFL!...See MoreMitered Siding (Boral) - is this bad or am I being unreasonable?
Comments (25)For some reason I though ARG's photo was intended to show the tightness of the tapered joints of a newel post and porch column. Maybe it was his statement that: All joints (columns and newels were field constructed) are snug and mitered with 100% contact and no gaps. It would be painful to watch someone try to field miter cedar shingles. Shakertown makes mitered corners bonded to plywood that are glued and secured with stainless steel fasteners. They're so perfect they look unnatural, as if each one had been carved out of a block or cast in a mold. Not for me....See MoreAlison
9 months agoAlison
9 months agoAlison
9 months ago
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