I hired a contractor to put and addition on my house. They can't keep a schedule, never have the guys to do the work. This job was supposed to be done by now and they didn't even start until June 20. What is your worst contractor nightmare?
2007-07-20 13:24:07 · 5 answers · asked by Rob J 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
A bill was over by ten dollars, the owner was stubborn and wouldn't pay it. The contractor told them the flashing on the chimney wasn't done and wouldn't be unless the ten dollars was paid, they were just as stubborn. The owner kicked them out and told them the chimney didn't need to be sealed for that much.
That very night they had four inches of hard rain, like, all at once.
The ceiling in the living room washed out, taking the wall around the fireplace with it, the hardwood floors went, the furniture was ruined. The bill came to ten thousand dollars.
The owner sued: the judge kind of smirked at the owner for refusing to pay the ten dollars and gave the owner a lesson in paying a bill: it cost him ten thousand dollars for a ten dollar bill.
He also gave the contractor hell but released him for the damages because he wasn't paid for his work. He was told, as was the owner, since he wasn't paid for the work, he didn't have to do it and, he told the owner and the owner released him by kicking him off the job.
A hard lesson for the property owner: she was a Real Estate consultant and a real B____ I was that contractor.
2007-07-21 00:14:08 · answer #1 · answered by cowboydoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lol, Being in the construction buisiness I have a million stories. Contractor and homeowner stories alike.
A number of years back I was hired as a trouble shooter for an Assisted living type facility where Seniors could actually buy Condo type units in the facility. As residents moved into thier units I would have to help them resolve issues regarding shoddy construction.
There was this one couple that complained so often that eventually it became very irratating. The problems were not construction related issues but not having the ability to operate modern appliances and pushing the right knobs or button issues. Lol. Well one day I had been very busy with many major problems that were loading up on me when I recieved a message that this certain couple was having a problem with making bubbles in their Jacuzzi. Well I grabbed a piece of clear plastic flex tubing from my tool box and told the manager I was going to teach the guy how to get the bubbles working and headed for the unit. This elderely gentleman walked me into the bathroom and showed me the tub and I noticed that he didn't turn on the Jets and had not tried to adjust them. I handed him the plastic tubing and told him that the tubing would solve his problem. He asked me how and I told him to stick it up his **** and he would get all the bubbles he needed. His wife just cracked up laughing. The old man and I have been friends for years now and yes I did show him and his wife how to adjust the jets.
The funniest contractor story I have is when the local Sherrif here hired an out of town contractor to build him a new house. The contractor took a large down payment after the footings were done and then took off. You would think a Sherrif would be a bit more careful.
For cowboydoc, the trick to this day is to install a pane of glass in the chimney. If one is not paid the glass stays intact.
2007-07-20 13:50:09 · answer #2 · answered by Mac 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was working on wiring the new garage. The landscaper arrived to move the cobblestone side walk that now ended in the middle of the garage. I hear him talking with the lady of the house about how an angled side walk would not look right and that the sidewalk should simply be extended straight out from the house then turn and extend to the drive way. The same as it was, but further from the house. The woman told him it was her money and she wanted it angled out to the drive. He worked on that sidewalk with his helper all afternoon while I installed the spa and door openers. They did a really nice job of making it all level and it looked good. The lady came out just at they were loading the truck to quit. She told them the sidewalk looked awful like that and that straight angles would look much better and that they should go ahead and do what they recommended in the first place. The landscaper told her he could certainly do that but she would have to pay twice as much. She had a fit and said they had to do it for nothing, because she wasn't happy with it and it was guaranteed to satisfy her. The fight was on. I tried to keep wiring and not laugh but it was hard. Finally her husband came home and asked the landscaper what the problem was. He calmly explained it. The lady went inside in a huff. The husband asked what the bill was, pulled out his wallet and paid cash. He told the landscaper to just leave the walk as it was. He smiled at me and whispered, "she's like that."
2007-07-21 04:19:45 · answer #3 · answered by John himself 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am a contractor.... the headaches I run into with clients is like living a nightmare at times. It goes both ways. I once remodeled a kitchen for an 89 year old lady. Throughout the whole job she was telling me how to do my job. I thought this was interesting considering she had no construction background. I realized after the job that she is a bit senile. Bless her.
2007-07-20 17:37:35 · answer #4 · answered by twogreeneyz 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This didnt happen to me but it happened to a friend of mine. They noticed a wet spot on their ceiling shortly after they bought and moved into their new home and they hired a contractor to check out what the problem was. There was a water leak that had been leaking for a long time. There was over 20000 in dammages.
2007-07-20 13:30:00 · answer #5 · answered by lonenightwolf13 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋