It would bother me a lot that you can't get these answers from your contractor. Particularly when it comes to "supplying materials." Your contract should spell out what is your responsibility and what you are getting for your money from the contractor. And if it doesn't, your contractor should be able to fill in those blanks. It sounds like that's not the case here. People from the internet are going to have a hard time answering what "should" happen when it comes to who buys and delivers grout. Only (1) your contract or (2) your contractor can answer that question.

I remodeled my home - primarily the kitchen - about 18 months ago and none of what you are experiencing was true for me. Are you sure you want to continue with this contractor? I am/was a novice as well and this just doesn’t sound right to me.

Thank you for your replies!

Re: Grout -- not bothered about getting it, but didn't know sanded from eproxy, etc. Also just went to order tiles from Home Depot since we rented a car for tomorrow. I didn't realize it would be 600 lbs... not sure how the car will handle that and how we will get it up to our apartment...

Mom - was the foreman on site every (or most) days?

Some of this should be specified in your design work with your designer. What designer doesn’t know what type of tile and grout are suitable for different purposes. (A lot, which is why you vet them as much as you do the contractor.)

In a multi family building, contractors have to jump through so many hoops to get approval to work there that they may be out of hoops to jump through. That’s no excuse for not clarifying logistics for you. A homeowner who supplies basic materials *can* be expected to supply delivery into the unit, and do inspection of them for damage and suitability as well. That’s part of the burden of supplying materials. It should be clarified in your contract.

It’s not how most contractors would do it though. Because most contractors would insist on purchasing all of the materials themselves, so they could offer a warranty on the project work. Good Contractors truly hate jobs where customers supply all the materials. It mucks up the time line and they often do get the wrong thing. It sets the stage for expensive delays and change orders.

Your description makes me very nervous. What’s the point of hiring someone to do the work if you’re doing all the heavy lifting? We had a small kitchen remodel - double height island cut down To countertop height with some bath updates included. Involved demo, haul away, new supplies etc. we hired a company which specializes in remodel. Our contract spelled out the scope of work & who was providing what& itemized the costs & Payment schedule & terms. We were given a list of his preferred vendors to visit to choose tile & countertops & new sink. We had choice to use them or anyone else we wanted. The supply items were delivered or brought to site by subs. He hired &paid subs which were plumber & electrician, tile setter. There was an on site project manager who was here whenever a sub was here. The carpenter who did the work on our island which is wood wrapped, is his employee. I think you need to review whatever you signed to understand what you agreed to. BTW, our contract also specified face masks by all 100% of the time.

Your description makes me nervous too. No, you cant get all that tile in your car. You could have had it delivered. I would stop at the tile, since its too late to do differently there, and let the contractor go, and look around for someone that is more reliable, and lets you pick out what you want, but, they go get it and if something is wrong, they will fix it. Do you even have a written contract. Is he licensed. Is he insured? If not, someone that gets hurt on your property, could go after your insurance. Give this a lot of thought before proceeding. Its better to have a later start day, and have a contractor you can count on.

In answer to your question, both the GC and the foreman were onsite every day - the GC wasn’t there all day, but off and on during each day and certainly at the beginning and end of each day. The crew cleaned up the work areas every day - there was no 12% fee for this. The GC also ordered and either picked up or had delivered all materials after I had chosen them. The contractor also pulled the permits and worked with the structural engineer and architect, and was present for all inspections.

I know remodeling is a daunting experience (it was for me, anyway!) and I do hope all goes well for you. Good luck!

This is all so helpful. Thank you all so much.

The contractor's previous work (end result) is very, very good and they are one of a handful of the co-op's preferred suppliers. They have the ridiculous $10M umbrella insurance policy that is required.

I'm starting to think that something is wrong -- they're understaffed, they don't have foremen, that kind of thing.

you have a big problem. No way you should be starting work on Monday with all those unanswered questions. you need to make a list of all the questions and go thru it line by line with the contractor and agree on the responsibility and accountability for each issue. what you have right now with all those unanswered questions and the poor communications is a blueprint for disaster.

Did you do your work before hiring the contractor? Did you provide a list of items by make, model, color, etc and specify finishes? Did the contractor include in the contract a list of all they would do in detail and a floor-plan to follow?

I own my home so it is a bit different, plus I did my own demo. Why should I pay someone to have all the fun? I also did the clean up every evening, waste of time and money to use professionals as maids.

Oh, this situation does NOT sound good. Would stop and reassess. Talk to the references about their experiences.