I read this with my mouth hanging open and a feeling of dread and outrage bubbling up. Even after decades of practice, I’m still amazed at how many unscrupulous people are out there, ruining people’s lives with their lies and incompetence. This goes so far beyond Murphy’s Law, it’s in its own category of misery. I’m so sorry this happened. We owned an old house for 12 years that housed four apartments and the plumbing leaks were the absolute worst, most stressful events. We were blessed with good contractors for the most part. But I know the others are out there. I’ve had a couple of projects nearly ruined by them. People deserve better.
Thank you for the support. It's bad and the issues were so widespread and serious that I couldn't afford to fix it. Everything is on hold now and now hoping I will get some damages from the case. After everything they did, I have to sit through day after day of hearings where the contractor's attorneys belittle me and torture me at every opportunity. It's horrible and I wish this on no one.
I have met others who had gone through similar situations that are all troubling. There is no policy and no protection. There's needs to be some news coverage at some point so that there are policy changes.
Plumbing issues can wreak havoc quickly. That's another area where contractors forget to install shut off valves or make them accessible. I was flailing around at about 5 am trying to locate the shut-off while water was pouring through the ceiling.
I hear very familiar things all over this article but I have to ask where was your architect in all this? Those of us with experience can sniff out liars and cheats pretty quickly and we pride ourselves on leading our clients through unfamiliar territory and looking out for their best interests. Even so, it can be difficult, clients often hire contractors with impossibly low bids against our advice. which is why it is important for us to be involved through the construction process.
Thank you for reading my post, sharing your comments and asking an excellent question. When we started we were told, both by the architect and the person that had recommended the contractor, that the GC was more than capable of finishing without oversight. My architect had worked with them before and was surprised to hear all the horror that we went through. I also thought the contractor would consult the architect regularly because of their working relationship but found out they didn't. If I had to do it again I'd have the architect involved.
Owners will sometimes go with the lowest bid and I have made that mistake too. In regards to the contractor mentioned above, if I remember correctly, they were the second highest bid.
I feel there needs to be more clarity around costs and better information on the range of costs that have to be borne during the renovation. I was completely in the dark and I am guessing others may be as well.
I read this with my mouth hanging open and a feeling of dread and outrage bubbling up. Even after decades of practice, I’m still amazed at how many unscrupulous people are out there, ruining people’s lives with their lies and incompetence. This goes so far beyond Murphy’s Law, it’s in its own category of misery. I’m so sorry this happened. We owned an old house for 12 years that housed four apartments and the plumbing leaks were the absolute worst, most stressful events. We were blessed with good contractors for the most part. But I know the others are out there. I’ve had a couple of projects nearly ruined by them. People deserve better.
Thank you for the support. It's bad and the issues were so widespread and serious that I couldn't afford to fix it. Everything is on hold now and now hoping I will get some damages from the case. After everything they did, I have to sit through day after day of hearings where the contractor's attorneys belittle me and torture me at every opportunity. It's horrible and I wish this on no one.
I have met others who had gone through similar situations that are all troubling. There is no policy and no protection. There's needs to be some news coverage at some point so that there are policy changes.
Plumbing issues can wreak havoc quickly. That's another area where contractors forget to install shut off valves or make them accessible. I was flailing around at about 5 am trying to locate the shut-off while water was pouring through the ceiling.
I hear very familiar things all over this article but I have to ask where was your architect in all this? Those of us with experience can sniff out liars and cheats pretty quickly and we pride ourselves on leading our clients through unfamiliar territory and looking out for their best interests. Even so, it can be difficult, clients often hire contractors with impossibly low bids against our advice. which is why it is important for us to be involved through the construction process.
Thank you for reading my post, sharing your comments and asking an excellent question. When we started we were told, both by the architect and the person that had recommended the contractor, that the GC was more than capable of finishing without oversight. My architect had worked with them before and was surprised to hear all the horror that we went through. I also thought the contractor would consult the architect regularly because of their working relationship but found out they didn't. If I had to do it again I'd have the architect involved.
Owners will sometimes go with the lowest bid and I have made that mistake too. In regards to the contractor mentioned above, if I remember correctly, they were the second highest bid.
I feel there needs to be more clarity around costs and better information on the range of costs that have to be borne during the renovation. I was completely in the dark and I am guessing others may be as well.