Look at your contract. What is his responsibility to please you?

I once had a "sensitive" finish carpenter on one remodel. I was so stunned when I saw the new solid brass door knobs he had installed on the double doors that led to the hall closet - they were uneven by about 1/2 to an inch) that I told him they looked as if my husband had installed them. He left and told the GC that I had "hurt his feelings". "Hurt his feelings"? What was he - a five year old girl? She had to cajoal him to come back and finish the job - said he was "very sensitive". Geeze...grow up.

No, your guy does not seem professional at all.

Have you tried talking to him in person? Some people don't react well to emails or texts, but may do better with face to face (or not, but it's worth a try).

Communications can be a major issue in building, I know, and it's important to be very clear about what you want before the contractor does it, rather than assume he's going to do it one way while he assumes something else entirely. We didn't have major issues with our contractor when we were building, but a couple of times we had to point out that something wasn't what we expected - like incorrect placement of a rain shower, or the wine fridge not fitting under the counter. We pointed out the problems and asked what could be done to get things the way we wanted - no accusations, just a request for him to use his ingenuity. He came through on both things, and a few others besides. (Mind you, he was pretty professional, just a bit inattentive to what we told him at times).

Without knowing the dynamics, or whether the problems involve sloppy workmanship or simple misunderstanding, it's a bit hard to comment further.

Your contractor( I assume you mean GC?) is 'completely' unprofessional.....period!!!!! Agree about the contract, what is in it? How far are you in the building faze? I would drop him like a rock and O/B the rest. ALL the 'contractor' is looking at is how much money they can make!!

What does your architect recommend?

Thanks for the comments! To answer questions...

Our contract basically says that my contractor (yes, I do mean GC) should provide me with progress reports at my request within a reasonable time and that there's a process to addressing issues. We have been trying to follow that process however its clear he is upset that we bring issues to him at all. I do not know how to 'keep quiet' about them. I feel there's already been unnecessary delays so at times we are trying to cut back on those. From the beginning to now the issues range:

- back and forth about whether or not his plumbers installed a floor drain in the utility room per plans... we wanted it installed before the slab was poured. Kept telling us it was there when it wasn't and he refused to visit the site to check.
- toilet drain and sink in wrong location in one bathroom (off by more than a foot) ; we wanted this fixed before slab was poured too)
- our master bedroom wall erected 7 feet off from where it should have been per plans. Basically our master bedroom looked like a small storage room at that point but our hall way looked like a place to gather, so it was visibly off.
- eventually issues happened regularly like just to name a few... we fortunately caught that the roof style metal roof was going up before it was installed all over; now we have major floor tile slippage, different grout widths on our hexagon floor tile (which is extremely visible) and tons of other issues with the tile. And mind you these are the time issues that exist now AFTER the first set of tile was chipped up and removed for having issues.

In his last correspondence with me he said I must give him a chance to address anything before I am sending him emails and photos. In my opinion based on repeated comments in separate emails about us visiting our home often he also has an issue with us even being there. But we never see him there.

We have talked in person at least 3 or 4 times since starting construction but he seems to be quick with his keyboard in sending sassy emails in response to our issues.

Sounds terrible.

When you called references did you ask them about the GCs communication style? I ask because that is one of the questions I asked my references.

Do you own the land? And is this a cash build or a bank draw situation?

If the architect is not named in the construction contract as providing construction oversight, the GC should be directing questions to you. Because of these kinds of problems, I will not design a house unless I am named as the architect in the construction contract. Some builders don't like owners looking over their shoulders, not that many like architects doing it either, but an architect can spare the builder the humiliation of being called out in front of his employees and subs. My clients are unlikely to know about many issues that don't involve a change in cost.

I was once hired to mediate between an owner and builder who could not get along. I discovered that they both had understandable complaints and told them to communicate through me and that ended the conflict.

No way! First off my contractor shows me every major cosmetic item along the way and makes sure I like it before installing. Secondly he loves pictures and is very approachable. I’ve never heard of such a thing, that’s insane.

JN3344 - I'll be honest... we noticed him building houses for about 3 to 4 years in areas of town that usually had historical type homes. So these homes had character and that's what attracted us.

We were looking to build on our own lot but use our plans. In our area the typical new construction was without character - large 2 story homes that pretty much mimic a square from bottom to top with one roof and a 2 car garage. We had ONE reference for a custom build. We should have gotten more but focused in more on what we saw. This was our first no no and where we went wrong.

It is being funded through lender draws. I haven't received any lien releases to date. I requested them 8 days ago for the last draw request I received from the bank (initial deposit + 3 draws so far) and I was told by our GC 7 days after requesting them that he has no full releases, only partials and I can get those from my bank if I want them. Well my contract says I can get them from him.

RES - No I don't believe our architect is listed in the contract as being able to provide supervision or direction, etc. He is listed as the architect who designed the plans. Though I will say I would think the GC would rather hear from my architect about beams than me. But no, I would expect him to weigh in on finishing issues.

I try to be considerate however we dont always see what others see about us so I could have missed the mark. When we would find issues we would direct them to him as our GC, and with us paying him we felt we should send issues to him and no one else. We didn't want to call him out in front of his people (including his family members). We would report issues via email with photos.

I think the bottom line is that he just hates it and we made a mistake. He feels he is doing a major justice to the local area, he does talk to us about the # of homes he has built and in fact in one conversation told us what # we were on the importance meter.

He doesn't seem to leave his office much, his Facebook page is very well-maintained. There is a lady who is supposed to be the one supervising our property and I believe she is the second person that we've been told to contact for information. We see her at the property more than we see him however we are confused about whether or not she's actually supervising anything. I figure that if there are issues, or things are being done incorrectly at the house, that if someone is supervising it they will catch those issues and do something about them before they become extremely permanent. Once their permanent I assumed that it's going to take more time, money and resources to correct them, right?

You should have on site meetings weekly to discuss the plans for the week (readiness) and any open issues. Face to face. Regularly scheduled. Clear expectations. Bring a tape measure, level or anything else you need to make your points. Write down what was discussed, and follow up with an email.

First part of the meeting the next week is to review the issues from last week.

@ Karen Rose - that's what I was hoping for! I wish I was having your experience!

I thought before tile that we would talk and confirm. Instead I showed up at my house and @ the transition pieces where the wood-look tile meets the bathrooms hexagon tile it actually ROLLS downward like a ramp! Instead of leveling the tile they rolled down!

I'm laughing thinking about it but its really not funny. He doesn't consult because he thinks he's building one of his models.

I asked when the roof is going up and heard crickets. My mother happened to call me and say 'hey I drove by the house and the roof is going up.' I was not going to go by but decided to (we are like 25 miles away from our site). When I got there they were putting big box store shed metal on my roof! Not the 5v I requested.

They removed the wrong roof, we told them to make sure to seal the holes... they didn't. We got rain storms for 2 days in a row. Walked in our house and found our top loft clearly had water damage in the ceiling. This is after insulation and drywall.

Nonetheless we are wrong in his opinion to be saying anything about issues and we should stop frequenting our house so much. And he's actually emailing this stuff to us!

We just need the project to come to an end ASAP. It will cost us $ to change contractors. And at this point in the game we are wanting it to be done and we are trying to move him along but he keeps threatening that he has 365 days from permit issuance to finish our house.

Generally, I am against souring a relationship unless it is beyond repair. It sounds like yours is approaching that point. I would advise a 10 minute phone call with your attorney and a response that says something like, "My attorney has advised that I continue communications as they are now. I understand that this is frustrating for you, and apologize for any inconvenience, however, given the situation we currently find ourselves in this is simply what is required."

Having said that, the above is really the nuclear option. If you have an acceptable relationship with just one sticking point, you probably want to avoid telling him that these are not corrections so much as evidence. There is a chance that it will sour things much further, and I would loop in your attorney before you say anything.

Just my 2¢.

Nothing really helpful to add; just wanted to say I’m sorry you’re experiencing this and your GC sounds like an a**. Is he topdog at his company?

Ugh sorry you’re dealing with this. I agree though, it’s getting to be time to end the relationship. If you continue it sounds like you’re just gonna have to let him do what he wants, I don’t see it happening any other way.

bry911 - I like this suggestion... evidence as opposed to issues

Thanks Kirsten, :-( Yes, he is the top dog there.

I do not believe theres much left but to part ways also but I'll see what my hubby says.

Thanks to all for the feedback and advice!

Your architect knows more than we do about the issues and personalities involved so that is the best person to ask for advice. Maybe he would be willing to take a more active role in the project so you could step back from it.

I would not mention your lawyer until you have decided to terminate the contract.

I would also find another contractor who is willing and able to take over before you part ways. If not it could end up taking longer than his 365 days.

Before you decide to terminate your contract with this builder, be sure to read and re-read your construction contract and the conditions pertaining to termination.

Purely my personal opinion, but I wouldn't use the lawyer threat at this stage. By all means, consult one if you want clarity on your legal position, but that will be the end of any relationship with the builder. I'd try the regular meeting route to clarify expectations, and I'd also talk to the architect. I just think Id try to salvage what I could at this stage, because starting with a new builder is a bad option even if it's legally feasible. Sorry you're having to go through this.

Why was the home not dried in before drywall and other finish trades were brought in? Are there other similar big impact errors being made? Some errors are a minor fix at a later stage. Some errors compound themself as they go along. Those are the ones that need to be corrected early.

I’d hire your architect to come in and review the build so far. And talk with your attorney about your contract, and the possibility of severing the relationship. Once you have both of those professionals review the situation, you will have the information needed to weigh in on separating yourself from him, or hiring an Owner’s Representative to be more involved in the site. Either will cost you more money than you budgeted originally. You just have to figure out which has less drawbacks. Good luck with your project!