Sue Ann’s blog from Tuesday discussed what she and Lee saw at a hotel they stayed in. It was obvious that corners were cut (drastically), and the job was probably not inspected before payment was made [Sue Ann says that WAS the rumor she heard]. I want to add to that some of my own experiences.
Always inspect the job upon completion! Most of the contractors that I have worked with are honest, but even the honest ones should expect that you will inspect everything that you have been charged for.
If something is wrong, bring it to their attention before you agree that the job is complete.
- Have all utilities on so they are able to see if any water is leaking or if there is a faulty plug or breaker.
- Check the bathroom and kitchen faucets to make sure that they are placed properly and
- Turn on the temperature of water that the faucet says it should be. This seems to be a mistake that I have heard of happening more than a couple of times now.
One house we have had the kitchen faucet on backwards, and also the bathtub faucet was on upside down.
Check those things before the crew leaves!
Sue Ann and I will be inspecting Rattlesnake together when she gets back. I don’t expect anything to be amiss unless it was just an oversight along the way. Even though we have trust and confidence in Chris’s work, it is just a good practice (and is a great excuse to “Ooooh” and “Ahhhh” over what we see). I also know that if we should find something that is not right, he will make it right. He is very detail oriented, so IF something is not correct, I know well that it was just an oversight and not poor workmanship. On a project of that size, it would be easy to overlook something small.
Be picky with what you’re paying for, but not unreasonable. Make sure it is done right of course, but not so nit picky that you’re just being a pain. If the texture has one dot that doesn’t look right to you, that IS NOT a flag on the workmanship. If the faucets are upside down (even if they work) that IS a flag.
Also, remember the budget that you gave them. Is the budget you allotted for flooring fair, or will the contractor have to cut some corners to make it work by using lower quality materials? Look around the area and see what a fair price is. Fair in a big city does not equal fair in a small town where property values are like night and day, but do consider where the contractor is coming from and how far they are traveling. Be reasonable in consider that information.
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