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jordan_oleson

Help with general contractor conflict, bathroom remodel & faulty tile

jordan_oleson
6 years ago

Kind of a new world to me working with a contractor. Anyone have experience with this kind of stuff? Any contractors out there who can offer some advice? Here's the gist:

1. Hired contractor in March, 2016 to redo our master bathroom and kids bathroom by mid-June (our 2nd baby was due late June).

2. Comedy of errors that doesn't relate to current situation but is worth noting, master bath was not finished until mid-August (including about an 8 week delay due to the master tub being installed and then noticing a crack, which no one took responsibility for). Work ended up being done with wife and newborn baby at home, major inconvenience.

3. Here's the situation that's still lingering: the tile that was installed in the master by the supplier was no good. Immediately, we noticed that it picked up dirt like crazy, we couldn't clean it, the grout was super spotty and just got worse. We asked / complained about this several times, the contractor and installer each came to look and each just kind of shrugged and said "well, I guess you picked tile that likes dirt."


4. I refused to pay the contractor for anything related to the tile install and materials until some kind of action was taken to help us. They finally acknowledged that something was wrong with the grout (but not the tile), and they agreed to redo only our floor with new tile and grout (same tile was installed on floor, tub apron and shower walls). We figured we could live with the apron and shower.


5. We brought a piece of the installed tile into supplier shop to choose new floor tile and the salesperson looked at it, kind of shocked, and said, "wait, this is the tile that was installed?" She said there was obviously something wrong with it. They had the manufacturer check and sure enough, it was faulty tile, not finished properly.


6. Supplier has now agreed to redo floor, apron and shower at no charge to us. We've scheduled to have it done during a week in December when we'll be away visiting family. Yes - December. 21 months after we hired the contractor, and 18 months after he said it should have been finished.


Here's the thing, the contractor paid the supplier about 15 months ago. At the time, I refused to pay until something was resolved. Now that a resolution is in place, the contractor has texted me to say he heard from the supplier and "he's glad to hear that our tile situation will be resolved in December" and he's "looking forward to receiving payment for the work."

Am I wrong in thinking I should resist paying some how or another? I don't recall the amount exactly, but I think it's around $2000-$2500 (might have been a few other things lumped in with this involving our kids' bathroom). We've lived with nasty, dirty tile for 15 months and have spent a great deal of time and energy working to resolve this, with no help from the contractor. Not saying I would pay nothing at all, but is it unreasonable to only pay part of this? Is it irrational to say the issue of payment is something he needs to resolve with the supplier/installer?


I don't know...kind of a new situation and I feel like we've been hosed. Help? Any advice?

Comments (11)

  • jordan_oleson
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    We picked out the tile, but the tile we picked out was not the tile that was installed. We picked out a nice, glazed, finished looking tile at the showroom, and the supplier installed faulty tile that was not glazed properly. The supplier confirmed that this was the case with the manufacturer and that's why they've agreed to replace everything.

    The contractor didn't do any of the design or installation, but he "facilitated the workflow and schedule with all the suppliers." Which...did not exactly go very well. The only things his guys installed were the bathtubs, and the master bathtub was installed before they "noticed there was a crack in it" (and couldn't confirm whether that happened during delivery or install).

  • thatsmuchbetter
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    you cant withold payment to contract/labor

    Who chose the tile who payed for the tile and "who picked up and inspected and accepted the tile " is responsible

    Homeowners always try to get me to pass aling my tile discounts or they go buy tile then try to have it installed.

    If i buy the tile and pic up the tile i ALSO inspect the tile and get a sign off to install and i notice on the front end if the tule will even work with the jobsite demands. I cater to you, take liability and....bet yer ass your paying my markup ,time and fuel to facilitate "Taking the responsibility " of the exact type mess your in now.

    Im guessin there was a try to shave cost a bit involved

    regardless in court you breach contract by not paying the contractor.

    you should Pay now and resolve with" exactly the right party "later the one single resopnsible party that got paid to handle all that

  • jordan_oleson
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    The GC told us to go to the showroom where we picked out the tile with the salesperson. The showroom has it's own full-time installers who did the labor. So, I suppose the supplier as the subcontractor "picked up and inspected" the tile. We never saw the tile before it was installed. We did not pick up (installer did), inspect (installer did), nor pay for the tile (GC paid the subcontractor).

    We complained about this to the GC immediately and said we weren't ready to pay for what we felt was a faulty product after install. He inspected it himself, twice, as did the installer, and they both basically shrugged it off and said it was cheap tile that "likes dirt" (this is not the case). Despite our complaints, the GC paid the subcontractor for the product and install.

    The tile that was installed was not the tile we picked out. It took over a year of us working directly with the subcontractor with no help from the GC to get the tile in front of a rep from the manufacturer who confirmed that the tile was faulty and should not have been installed.

    As the GC, I feel that he did not do what we have already paid him to do which was to facilitate the project and manage the renovations to ensure everything was completely properly in a timely fashion. We have paid him for all other subcontractor expenses as well as for his services and profit as the GC. We only withheld payment for this one item, which we knew was not completed properly.

  • geoffrey_b
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    When it's done - pay the guy - move on. I'm sure the contract is on his side. It was a mistake - all the way around. He's stuck by, and is making it good. Don't be petty - pay him what's due.

    In any court your not going to get money for inconvenience.

  • Chris D
    6 years ago

    Jordan, based on your last post, I’d say you can try and negotiate some type of consideration with your contractor. You do legally owe him for his work, but you can always discuss with him how this negatively impacted your life, etc. Perhaps you can both agree on a partial credit or something. I doubt you had any schedule constraints as part of your contract.

  • Milly Rey
    6 years ago

    The fault wasn’t with the contractor. You’re being unreasonable.

  • jmm1837
    6 years ago

    From what I understand, the GC paid the tiler for his work. You haven't paid the GC because the work was unsatisfactory. Fair enough. The GC is redoing the work, and presuming it's to your satisfaction, you should pay him the full amount. After all, he's eating the cost of the second tiler himself.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    6 years ago

    The time limit on this guy's lien rights have probably expired and it's unlikely he'll sue. Tell the tile supplier to pay him for the original work or they'll be hearing from your lawyer.

  • PRO
    Linda
    6 years ago

    The GC has paid the supplier for the tile and installation materials. I agree the GC didn't do his job of supervision and quality control as you expected, but that doesn't mean that he should eat the cost of the materials. You shouldn't expect to get the work redone free of charge when you didn't pay for the initial install. In residential remodeling, inconvenience and delays are unwelcome parts of the package deal and don't entitle you to withhold payment.

    I would think payment for the materials from the original invoice is 100% your responsibility. I would also expect that you would pay for the installation labor after deducting a reasonable amount for your time and expense of chasing down the tile problem. I don't know how large your project is or how much you have paid the GC for his supervision and coordination services but he shouldn't expect full payment for his work that you had to redo. If his bill is for $2K, I would probably offer $1200 and negotiate up to $1500 or $1600. Of course, any such payment would not be until the redo is satisfactorily completed

  • User
    6 years ago

    The fact that he hasn’t already slapped a lien on your house proves the poor guy is engaged in paying for some education here. Next time, he’ll do that ASAP. And he will win.

    You need to pay him. And don’t expect to do any more remodeling work in that town without paying a premium for being a deadbeat. Word gets around.