Anarchy99
Footballguy
We enlisted a local building contractor to help fix up our house. Lots of interior painting but also redoing a bathroom, redoing a kitchen and bathroom, adding in tile and back splash, and resurfacing our hardwood floors. Jumping to the end of the story, the place is WAY behind schedule (by weeks and now months). They haven't showed up in forever, and they do not return calls / texts / emails. That's Item #1.
Issue #2, they never finished the work, They have done a lot of it, but there is still stuff that needs to be finished in every room in the house. Still things that need to be painted. Third, and somewhat in line with issue #2, they really didn't do a very good job on anything. They installed a sink that leaks. They took off trim but did not reinstall it or paint it. They dripped pain on things but made no effort to clean it up. They made very little attempted to sand out scuffs or scratches in the hardwood floors, so they just put polyurethane over things that clearly needed to have some minor repairs first. Other examples include not measuring things properly, so baseboards and trim were cut and installed but are not the right length. Rehanging doors they cracked the door and door frame. Bottom line, if you say the work, you would be quick to point out that it does not look like a professional did it and it doesn't look right.
There was also some damage to other things in the house (put a huge gouge in a dresser, knocked over and broke several picture frames, damaged a brand new air conditioner, etc.). As things stand now, the entire house is in disarray, as literally every room in the house is still under construction with all our furniture and belongings moved and somewhat inaccessible (it's been 3 months).
We have paid 2/3 of the agreed to amount. Clearly we are not going to pay anything else (at least at this point), but what is an appropriate exit strategy? If we have to go out and hire someone else to finish or fix what they did, legally does the first company have to foot the bill for that?
Also, the company left both their own tools and equipment at our house and rented equipment at our house. Can we just sit on that to force their hand? I'm at a loss on what to do from here . . .
Issue #2, they never finished the work, They have done a lot of it, but there is still stuff that needs to be finished in every room in the house. Still things that need to be painted. Third, and somewhat in line with issue #2, they really didn't do a very good job on anything. They installed a sink that leaks. They took off trim but did not reinstall it or paint it. They dripped pain on things but made no effort to clean it up. They made very little attempted to sand out scuffs or scratches in the hardwood floors, so they just put polyurethane over things that clearly needed to have some minor repairs first. Other examples include not measuring things properly, so baseboards and trim were cut and installed but are not the right length. Rehanging doors they cracked the door and door frame. Bottom line, if you say the work, you would be quick to point out that it does not look like a professional did it and it doesn't look right.
There was also some damage to other things in the house (put a huge gouge in a dresser, knocked over and broke several picture frames, damaged a brand new air conditioner, etc.). As things stand now, the entire house is in disarray, as literally every room in the house is still under construction with all our furniture and belongings moved and somewhat inaccessible (it's been 3 months).
We have paid 2/3 of the agreed to amount. Clearly we are not going to pay anything else (at least at this point), but what is an appropriate exit strategy? If we have to go out and hire someone else to finish or fix what they did, legally does the first company have to foot the bill for that?
Also, the company left both their own tools and equipment at our house and rented equipment at our house. Can we just sit on that to force their hand? I'm at a loss on what to do from here . . .
