Just need to vent

After not having a kitchen nor use of the main living area of our very small condo since the beginning of July, these incompetent idiots have left us with a "brand new" kitchen that looks more banged up and old than the 10 year old kitchen we had in there before and both new floorings we paid EXTRA for have boards sticking up (the laminate and the vinyl) not to mention they forgot to order most of the finishing trim for the laminate and seem in no particular hurry to do so. They chipped a counter yesterday and I fear the repair these people do will be worse than the chip. And being nice, I suggested some fixes for their screw ups they couldn't seem to think of solutions for as people who's JOB this is, which should have looked fine but they insisted on doing it themselves and screwed them up so badly it now looks like some amateur DIY-er who had no clue what they were doing fixed up an old banged up kitchen . It's awful so so awful and I've tried to be nice and understanding and helpful thus far but I am so pissed I don't even know if I can talk to the "project manager" coming today without being a real (female dog) about how *LIVID* I truly am. Not a single subcontractor came in who hadn't had some miscommunication or just didn't care and did a sloppy job. Since I work from home, these guys would make a major screw up and run away without letting me know. This nightmare is just going to live on and I'm so stressed and upset I just feel at the end of my rope. I've been trying so hard to push forward with my art stuff, but I've ended up having to take away from that to babysit supposed professionals and they STILL screw up. I had the first full blown, crippling anxiety attack I've had in years and I can feel my heart start racing because of the stress. I am just beside myself with how upset I am. My husband has 0 interest in helping me with any of this except to say he's upset we still don't have a working kitchen and messed up incomplete floors. We should have taken the insurance money and done it ourselves. It would have looked better at the end of the day and probably been done sooner. I just don't know what to do from here. I don't know whether to sign off and fix their screw ups as best I can myself or demand they fix it properly because they appear incapable to do even simple things like glue some trim to the side of a cabinet to cover the chips they caused installing it. And my poor sweet well behaved little Kiwi has been stuck for 3 weeks in a tiny cage we can easily move around. I feel unsafe moving him back because if they attempt more repairs, none of them have a functioning sense of smell because they've all sworn up and down there are no fumes when I requested they let me know when they use glues or paint etc... I know very well is not ok for Kiwi to be in the same airspace as. They've all acted like I was a paranoid idiot and it wasn't worth the bother to communicate with me about a simple request so I could move my bird to safety. So now the poor little guy will be stuck in a little cage even longer. I just want to curl up and make this whole nightmare go away.

Sounds like you need legal advice. Here in the UK we have a citizen's advice bureau I don't know if you have something similar there. You speak of insurance money but I don't know the full story but if an insurance company is involved and the contractors are on their approved list then a strong call or letter to them is what is needed. The insurance company would not pay for shoddy work. If you are paying then stop all payments, find another contractor to quote for putting it right and tell the current contractor you will pay no more and charge them for the repairs to the cost of the new contractors.
Take a deep breath you don't have to accept bad workmanship. Lock them out if necessary.

ps - whatever you do now keep a diary of everything said and done, with names, dates, bad work, foul ups or anything else that happens. Use your camera and record conversations, keep texts or emails etc. The more evidence you can provide the better your case.

So sorry to hear that!
(yup sounds familiar- last year I was helping a friend by 'babysitting' the workmen employed to fix his new bathroom and old toilet -- one of the guys decided to walk out / appearently he always had the friday afternoons off, exept he failed to communicate that to anyone/ after sawing one of the waterpipes upstairs in half. ... he then turned the waterpressure back on and left for the weekend ...
So a good thing I was already there- we did not trust him after previous ***k-ups)
I am always amazed that no-one seems to have any professional pride or sense of responsability anymore.


The plus of going through something like this: you learn you are actually on par with most "professionals" and Yes - you would have done a better job!
So take that as a compliment (I know it is hard to see anything positive right now).
But way to go miss kiwibird!



No idea how you do things overthere, but here if the work is below standard you can get their arses kicked 7 ways to sunday. Since the insurance is paying those guys?/ Or are you? Not paying those m@r@ns is the best thing you can do-- here you only pay the full amount if everything is done and finished to satisfaction (like both parties agreed on beforehand).


It would be nice if hubby would get of his "let the wifey handle it all" arse and at least stand by you when you tell those idiots off.
(be the strong, silent type or something, but be there!)


Meh about the anxiety, you know how to handle it and frankly with everything going on... most people would crumble at some point. Just hang in there - and if you want to go full parrot and bite anyone ... I understand completely.

I don't know if it's worth it to take this to court. For starters, the US court systems are so clogged up we may not even own this property by the time we'd get a case heard. Plus, would the courts even care about chips and scrapes? It's not any one huge glaring error or cabinets falling off the wall or any massive issue, it's just multiple, multiple little errors all adding up to look bad. Our condo is small, the whole repairs (this includes new cabinets, counters and flooring through the entire main level) were under $15K which is next to nothing price wise for renovations/repair work in the US (which is why I think no one cares, it's not worth as much as bigger jobs to them).

Also we've had several different local companies (subcontractors for the project managers company) doing the various work, so it's not just 1 company screwing up repeatedly. I fear this level of incompetence is systematic to the industry and having it all ripped out again will just lead to more time living in unacceptable conditions with no better result. Not to mention we've had to deal with 2 insurance companies, our private homeowners and the HOA master policy. Both wrote out checks in full to us which contractually we had to pay immediately to the contractor so all the money is gone. These are the guys insurance recommended too, we specifically went with them so everyone was in clear communication

And then there's Kiwi. He's been such a good, accepting boy but he's a bird with no understanding of what's happening or why and there's only so much more of this kind of crap a little guy like him is going to be able to put up with., I almost want to tell them to give me the necessary materials to fix their screw ups and then get the hell out of my house. It seems like the quickest and most effective solution to end up with a nice kitchen at the end of the day. As I said, JULY the leak occurred. I don't want to wait until next July or beyond to have this re-done.

I still think that a stern letter and phonecall to the insurers would not be wasted. Direct it straight to the Managing Director/CEO. I wasn't suggesting that you go to court, that would be taking a sledge hammer to crack a walnut but the saying goes that if you keep lying down then people will continue to walk over you.
Here no contractors are paid until the work is done and signed off as fit. Or they might get interim payments if it is a large job.

Having been paid up front puts the contractor in the driving seat, but I still would contact the insurer maybe displaying your dissatisfaction with a threat to change insurers at the very least. The Americans are renowned for their customer service over here, as being on the ball and obliging. This sounds almost like a scam and the insurers need to know.

Of course you could also contact the radio station/TV/run an ad in the press. You'd be surprised how accommodating companies can be when they are called out. Be brave!

We girls can make a difference!

the unfortunate truth of the matter is whilst the project leader may be well trained, the actual guys doing the job most likely have no training above knowing that to tighten a screw you turn right.

I would take pictures of the chips and damages and send them in an email to the insurers and the contractor stating that you are unhappy with the damage done and that you want this matter resolved before the job is complete. I would also add in you are angry about the works having taken so long already. All I would say is to remember in this situation the insurers are working for you, you're the one who pays them to insure your home and they need to kick the contractors into gear and get them doing their job

Okay, since you asked for extra work, I am hoping that you have not paid for that yet, correct?

I am also going to guess that you used the repair group suggested by the Insurance Adjuster, correct?

Call your Insurance Agent and request additional monies to repair the damage their Adjuster's recommended repair Group did to your 'home!' Also, recommend that they not pay for the work completed as it is far below acceptable, in fact, it is dangerous! Request that your insurance agent be onsite when the Project Manager is scheduled to arrive.

If you have the number of the Insurance Adjuster call that person and tell them that you have called your Insurance Agent requesting additional monies to repair the damage of that persons recommended repair Group. Request that your insurance adjuster be onsite when the Project Manager is scheduled to arrive.

When the Project Manager shows: Please use the Both Barrels method aimed dead center of that person's face. The kind of workmanship they are providing is totally unacceptable.

Release Your Inner Amazon! There is no reason to be kind with this level of workmanship! Yes, I am a strong believer in the sugar gets you more respect, but not when this level of messing up occurs.

FYI: Hmmm, I just bet you have the ability of providing a softly worded, extraction of their organs! Kind of like when an Amazon is removing your finger! No screaming just with worded pain!

Our insurance is checked out of the process. We maxed out what they would pay and had to go to the HOA who paid the remainder out of their funds since it was only a couple thousand dollars. If additional funds are needed, I'd have to go through the HOA which requires the feet dragging BOD to all approve of each and every action before proceeding. I had to fight them tooth and nail the first time. I had to ride them daily for weeks to get simple answers on what they already paid. All the money has been given to the contractor already because thee contract stated they legally must be paid as soon as we are. The upgrades we paid for were only a few hundred dollars, nothing major and those too were paid as the materials were delivered and installed (albeit not very well) as well as us actually ordering the sink+faucet ourselves and just having them ready to install (note: no issues with what we measured for, determined compatibility on and ordered).

And again, I don't trust these people or this industry. They do seem to want to fix the mistakes, that isn't the issue. The issue is they appear to be utterly incapable of actually fixing what they've screwed up. Whenever I bring up an issue, they do get back to me right away to schedule a repair but then the repair is botched. And this has happened over and over. And I don't know that a new company would do better because they'd probably use the same major local cabinet/flooring/counter suppliers these guys did. And another how many endless months of living like we have been? 2/3 of our household possessions are crammed into 1/3 of the space, I can't clean, my allergies are through the roof, I can't sleep because of the clutter everywhere... it's awful and I can't deal with it much longer. Decor items ever so slightly out of place bother me, so this has just been beyond overwhelming to my (presumed but never officially diagnosed) OCD issues. As I said, this is more of a venting thing because my hands are pretty tied here.

I think a good verbal evisceration may be my only course of action at this point.

Sorry, but we clearly had Posted over each other! That being the case, you can still call and request additional monies. That Will Get Their Attention Quickly!!!

That is truly sad! However, you can go to the City /Township Code Inspector's and also the City /Township Legal Department and issue a complaint of Poor Workmanship. You Have Rights at the City /Township level!

Hindsight 20 /20, you should never sign a contract, which demands the full amount of the Money be Paid in Full Upfront!

When the Project Manager arrives; State that you will be going to the Local TV Station and reporting the problems you are having. Local TV exposure is something they will not want!

Just because they paid out the Money does not release either insurance group from their responsibilities in this manner!


FYI: I am not sure that this Statement Will Hold Up in Court: "All the money has been given to the contractor already because their contract stated they legally must be paid as soon as we are. Ask your local City /Township Legal Staff!!!

Very sorry to hear this, April. I can only imagine how torturous this situation is for you and especially Kiwi. At least he has your love and support and is not in tune with the physicality of your distressed kitchen.

A shame Joe isn't as passionate, so you'll have to "let out your inner amazon!" Sailboat/Steven seems to have a more global view of remedies, hope you can attack each one and ultimately achieve satisfaction. What a sad commentary on the state of the home renovation industry.

My heart goes out to you! I nearly had a panic attack just reading this!


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