I'm struggling with a contractor who was hired to add a second bathroom to my home. We paid around $20,000 and after 3.5 weeks, only about a quarter of the job is done. Recently, I found out the gas water heater exhaust was leaking into the house, which I had to shut off immediately. The contractor seems to be blaming a subcontractor for delays and hasn't committed to any specific return dates, just vague responses like 'we'll see if we can come on X day.' With everything documented in our project chat, I'm starting to feel overwhelmed and unsure how to proceed, especially since we didn't set a timeline in our contract. Any advice on dealing with this mess is greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
Wow, $20k upfront? That's a lot. I’d suggest just hiring a new contractor who actually shows up. If they haven’t been responsive and can’t give you a solid timeline, it’s probably best to cut your losses.
First off, contact your state’s contractor licensing board. It may sound like a big leap, but officially raising your concerns can really get your contractor's attention and might push them to come back to finish the job.
That sounds good! What's the best way to approach them? Should I give the contractor a deadline first?
You might need to resort to legal action if they keep giving you the runaround. You don’t want to let them walk all over you; a lawyer can put a fire under their butt really fast!
We actually paid in installments, but you're right – they seemed very fast initially and then it all slowed down. Lesson learned!