Should I fire my contractor?

11 years ago

I hired this guy to fix a leak from my shower/tub drain. He is a journeyman plumber and the plumbing job looks great. I had told him I wanted to replace the tile in the tub surround as well since it was a crappy ugly tile job that was there when we moved in. He did the demo, fixed the plumbing and is on his third day of laying tile and isn't even halfway done. I don't like how he has tiled around the niches in the shower, there is a gap of about an inch and a half between the Schluter finishing edge and the tile on the wall. I guess he's going to cut a small thin piece of tile to fill it but I'm using 12x24 tile and I'm not too sure how that's going to look. He quoted me a week for the job to be done and there is no end in sight after 8 days. I don't have much confidence in him at this point while my husband thinks we should just let it roll and see how it all comes out in the end. The tile that he has installed is all level and evenly spaced so far. I just don't know what to do and what I thought would be a simple quick job is turning into a nightmare. This is the only shower in my house and I'm getting really tired of showering at work.

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Judy Mishkin

11 years ago

so let me get this straight, you hired a plumber to tile?

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Comments (6)

dbh
11 years ago
haha. My rule of thumb is-- no matter how competent the contractor/sub-contractor (or even a plumber posing as a tiler)-- whatever days they say it's going to take, I always multiply by three. So if they say "done in 10 days" that typically means a month. If they say "done in 5 days," that typically means 15. So if he said a week, make that 3 weeks, or 21 days. :)
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Suzy Q
Original Author
11 years ago
@nnigrt... He advertises himself as a complete renovation guy but has been a journeyman plumber for years.
User
11 years ago
If he's been a journeyman for years and not made it to master, do you really want him cutting a thumb off doing the carpentry behind the walls that it takes to level them out for a good tile install? How about installing the cement board and screwing through a forefinger? Applying the waterproofing and splatting it into his eye? Being medium competent in one trade doesn't qualify him to hold a General Contractor's licence. Which, I'm sure you checked out to see if he held, right? And a current insurance certificate in his name? Permits and inspections in his name?
PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
11 years ago
Plumbers do plumbing, tile setters do tiling, electricians do electrical...the list goes on. I'm sorry but he bit of more than he can chew. Now you have to make him swallow it and get someone in to fix his work. And yes, it will cost almost double to fix his mistakes.
dbh
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Well, so far he doesn't appear to have made any mistakes. "The plumbing job looks great . . . and the tile that he has installed is all level and evenly spaced so far." That's saying a lot. So your main complaint is that it's taking him too long? That's the nightmare so far? That you have to shower at work? Lucky you that you have a shower at work. If he quoted you a week for the job, maybe that was a week for the tile job.

So the niche area seems to be the main question. Before he finishes that out, you need to ask what he plans for that. I suspect he will cut some strips to finish that out, but I'm not sure why you don't simply ask him what his plan is for that.

He is probably very competent at tiling, but since that's not ALL he does, it might take him longer to finish than someone who does nothing but tile. I'd rather him take his time and get it right than rush through and do a sloppy job.

No bathroom renovation job will ever be quick and easy.