For contrast, my contractor told me to pick out my paint colors, but wanted to know what brand I was looking at. He refused to use Behr paint. (Bad paint makes his job more difficult.) Note that he was buying the paint and the price had already been settled.

Comes and takes measurements, wastes a half hour of your time, then never calls back with estimate!! This happens often when some contractors realize my husband is a contractor. My only thought is they want to charge too much or do shoddy work so they have enough sense not to come back.

"Shows up on the doorstep" is right out of "The Riches". ***shudder***

Wasn't Behr the #1 paint recommended by Consumer Reports?
Is it "bad" paint?

I've used Behr paint, it's very good. Yes, Consumer Reports rates it #1. He was probably being critical so he could get the cheaper commercial grade paint and still charge like it was Behr - since the price had already been set.

How about the infamous "oh, you don't need a permit for this", or its sister comment "we could get a permit if you want but it will take alot longer..."

Learned that one thee hard way with my basement remodel three years ago. Wish I had known about GW then! We are currently having all the electrical the contractor did in the basement fixed (to the tune of $2000!). That is why I am the GC for my kitchen remodel I am planning.

Get The Permits!!!! (and call and check yourself that they pulled them, and get copies made). Anybody doubting this should tune in to DIY Network and watch contractor Mike Holmes on the Holmes on Homes show. Between this forum and that show, I am empowered!!

This thread is mixing up a couple of things. There are certain "shortcuts" that many contractors will take and their are scams. The items in the original post are out and out scams.

I would take Consumer Reports ratings with a big grain of salt. Behr may or may not be a good consumer grade paint, however most painting professionals prefer to use better paint, not typically found in the big box stores (ie Sherwin Williams, Pittsburgh Paints, Bennie Moore, etc). The cost of paint is very small relative to the overall cost of hiring a painting contractor. Most good painters would rather pay a little more for better paint because it will save them in terms of ease of application and efficiency

We should definitely add the permits issue.

Consumer Reports does not grade commercial paint, only the stuff we consumers buy to paint the kitchen. My painter had no problem with Behr paint - he said that's what he always uses, and much prefers it to the commercial stuff.

Those so called "shortcuts" are just as much of a problem. I think we have to be vigilant all through the process. Some contractors wait for us to become complacent and then take shortcuts that end up costing us time and money and we don't receive a quality product.

I love Mike Holmes, always learn something new with him.

1. Tells the woman in the house her husband has to be home in order to have a home improvement discussion with her.

How is this a scam? It's annoying, and it's sexist, but it's not automatically a scam.

However, I can see some male contractors saying they don't want to be alone w/ a woman, to protect themselves from unfair accusations.

Do you mean, he won't listen to her complaints in the middle of the job? That's sort of scam-like. But to say he wants her husband there at the beginning of the relationship isn't automatically a bad idea.

Yeah, I'm not getting number one either. If I were a contractor, I'd try to speak to all adults who own the house.

On the other hand, I've had to explain occasionally that my husband REALLY doesn't want to be involved at this level, and it's kind of annoying.

It's more of a business issue than a scam.

Several people on this forum have run into the first one. The explanation was that they wanted to make sure "the man of the house" was on board with the decisions. It is very sexist, and I think, would pretty much guarantee that that contractor wouldn't get the job.

Some contractors, once they have determined that they will be dealing only with a woman, inflate prices, become critical of choices, work slowly, make unauthorized substitutions (that happened to me), and generally behave badly.

Gee... My DH, a professional remodeller, would not be happy if the woman of the house wasn't in on the discussions! In his experience, it has almost always been the woman of the house who knows exactly what it is she wants and how she wants it to look when it's done. Of course, he'd prefer if both spouses were home to discuss the project so he'd know it wasn't a wasted trip -- but he'd always have the two agree which one spouse had the final aproval of any design decisions.

Ok, hereÂs one. You hire someone for a job; job is done, but not correctly. Owner of business comes knocking at the door when he knows the little woman will be home for the remainder of his money. He tells you someone will be around during the next week to correct the problems.

Ha, I think not buster. Do I look like I have sucker written on my forehead? It always cracks me up when they come over thinking they can muscle me. Sometimes they get mad for not getting over on ya and sometimes they wonder bewildered back to the truck.

Never pay all until the job is done correctly.

i insist on my hubby talking to all contractors. they either won't return my calls, or won't start work until they have had a chance to talk to him anyway, so why waste time. this is a near universal. however, my hubby is a softie and one contractor tried to charge us more than the estimate we signed for less work than was listed on the estimate. i calculated what was fair, based on their rates, sent them a check, and have not heard back. i guess they backed off surprised that i called them on it. of course, i didn't sign the letter myself...let hubby be the "tough guy". kren

Shoot, my DH could care less what I do to the house or who does it! LOL I have been trying to get him to look at paint chips, counter top chips, cabinet doors for refacing, etc.. etc.. he could care less! Or the REAL reason, is I am a DIY'er...and he doesn't want to help in the first place...which is why it "looks fine the way it is", because he is afraid I will ask him for help!!!! LOL

I set up an appointment to meet with a guy regarding new windows. He required my husband to be home. I told him nevermind- my husband works alot, and when he isn't working we spend time together as a family..... I don't waste his time with quotes. I've heard this is a ploy, they want you to sign right away.... they want to make sure the breadwinner is home so they get a quick ok.

I always ask before making appointments regarding big issues if they require my husband to be here. If their answer is yes, I call the next person. I am quite capable of making decisions on my own (I obviously talk with my husband before hiring anyone).

I called some guy to give me a quote to haul some construction debris. This guy shows up at my door chomping on a cheese stick (I thought it was rude, and didn't he care if he had cheese breath? YUK) and as we walk to the side of the house, I see he has a NICE truck..... I immediately knew his price was going to be high. Sure enough, he wanted twice as much as anyone else. He can buy ALOT of string cheese with that mark-up!!!!

Off the topic, but Remodelqueen reminded me of the time we had an appointment with a contractor who our designer referred us to. He showed up an hour late (kept us and the designer waiting) with alcohol breath! We fired the designer and passed on the contractor. Also, talking about rude, why do so many contractors (men) undo their belt and re-tuck in their shirt in front of people? Do they not have any manners?
Red

I didn't have these with kitchen remodeling contractors but instead had this entire list a few years ago when I was shopping for a place to replace my roof.

Several places insisted my DW be there at the free estimate - I took that to be a huge red flag. Anything that has required both people be there is becuase they try to use some sneaky tactics to play one spouse against the other.

I used Behr paint once instead of Benjamin Moore. Never again. It is like using 2% milk in your coffee when you usually take it with cream. I used the same egg shell finish as I would have with the BM. It didn't cover as well so it actually cost more in the long run because I had to paint an extra coat. It didn't wash well either.

contract , contract , contract!
protect youserself and the contractor what? why? when? how much? simple basic typical kitchen remodeling if everything is on site (not the countertop which cannot be templated until cabinet are installed) is 3 weeks for an nice kitchen few days for a normal remodeling, the contractor has to coordinate plumber electrician carpenter etc.. that why you are paying Him/Her in the mean time if you do change you mind during work it will cost the contractor and it is fair He pass the cost on to you something most peoples cannot understand, make sure he has insurance if he does not you the homeowner will have top pay for injury on the job and that is a nasty fight you cannot win. Some Contractor are louzy , refer them to your State Licensing Board (free) the honnest one will love you for it there are a few scam artist out there and a lot of good peoples .

Here's one: As an answer to why something is crooked, awry, weird color, odd space, etc., "it's supposed to look that way" said in such a tone as to convey "how could you NOT know that; I guess you'd need to be an expert contractor like myself to know that it's supposed to look that way." Rather than just fix it.