These guys are hacks. Fire them now.

Can I actually fire them? What are the rules? If I can tell them to leave, then what? I am wiring through over 1k weekly, while they’ve got some of my items in storage and my house hostage. If I fite them, won’t the sue me, and I how then do I pass code to get back in?

Have you contacted your insurance company about this? Or rather, if the contractor is one via your insurance company, you should forward this to them. They should know their contractor is like this. If you got a payout and hired your own contractor, then you need to check into your contract with them to see what you can do.

It’s been over a year since the event. The contractor is an independent company. The PA referred him. I’m pretty sure the contract only protects him. I was reluctant to sign, but the PA was sure that it was A proper contract. I had been led to believe for the entire six months before I got the check, that it would be significantly more. When I was shocked. He basically said, he can’t change my insurance policy.

Forgive me. I was trying not to be confusing, and that last post probably is. Suffice it to say, I don’t know how I would get out of this situation. I will go check with the building inspectors office, to see if I can move the timeline, but I don’t think there’s much else I can do. Unfortunately, the errors are causing delays now.

The insurance company paid you, or paid them? That's the first question. If it paid them, then they need to yank a knot in him and get him gone. And pay to rectify his mistakes. If they paid you, and you hired this joker, then you can fire this joker. With the right paperwork and documentation.

Exactly, how and who hired and is paying this guy is first question. A public adjuster recommended this guy? Is it his brother-in-law?

I hired the restoration builder on the strength of the PA recommendation. They seem to have a cozy relationship for decades. I hired the PA based on a recommendation of the fire chief.

" I hired the restoration builder on the strength of the PA recommendation. "

If you are paying him, you are the boss. Is he a GC or a contractor, what exactly are you paying him to do as far as selections and work? You should be dictating what you want non the front end, not after he did it, conversely he should be having conversations with you prior to making decisions as well. It is up to you to manage expectations, expoecting someone else to is usually a fools errand

Is the PA a private adjuster?

If so - where is s/he in this debacle? You pay a PA to watch out for your interests, and ensure you are getting real replacement quality from your insurance company.

You need to stop the work, reshape his head around your expectations (like - don't damage sh*t I haven't even had the pleasure of using yet...), keeing the jobsite clean, document what's already messed up (i.e. damaged), what hasn't been executed to plan, and what needs to be covered, cleaned, protected.

After that, they can restart, but you will AT LEAST have weekly meetings on status, decisions that need to be made, budget, timeline, etc. After which you will DOCUMENT EVERYTHING IN WRITING (quick email).

" Is the PA a private adjuster? "

just_janni My thoughts were "Public Adjuster".

Thank you both. Really appreciate it. Yes, the PA is a Public Adjuster. I won’t bore you with the long story. Basically a lot of promises were made, and instead of him filling me in on my policy and advising me, he basically ghosted me. The only time I heard from him, it was for him to get info from me so he could move the process toward his pay day. Nothing more. By the time I met with the contractor to give him a check, everything for me was already very, very sideways.. I was in no position to do a renovation. I asked if I needed to get designer assistance or an architect, or even an interior designer…the contractor said he was a designer and would help. That all turned out to be untrue, so I wound up totally even more dead in the water. I can very clearly see where things fell apart, and I can see that if the PA had sat with me for 45 minutes early on when he had a full understanding of my situation, and armed me with the proper info regarding my policy, and a couple tips on the preparing for the renovation process, ALL this loss wouldn’t have happened. Instead he misinformed me telling me I was in great shape, and would have plenty for a great renovation. I only found out there was a mere pittance, when the renovator guy gave me lists showing there was a few bucks spread across a whole list of items at sign on with him. 500.00 for a countertop… things like that. I was highly shocked and asked the PA about it, and he shrugged it off, saying “can’t help what your policy says.” So you can see, it’s a long story, and it’s just a giant mess. I feel very badly for anyone who has a disaster at their home now. I had no idea what hell they go through.

Sorry to hear Samuel. I know you have been posting about these issues for a year or so.

Sorry for this bad experience but perhaps you can protect some things yourself. Duct tape cardboard to countertops and floors you are worried might get damaged. Tile is tough and Is unlikely to need covering. I wouldn't worry about things that can be swept, vacuumed or wiped up, construction is dirty but only address actual damage with your team. It looks like its going to be very nice when you get done, hopefully soon!

Thanks mojavemaria, and MillWorkman. Yeah, it has been just over a year. Good on you for keeping track. Back then, I had only just finished doing the exterior, with new roof and siding etc. I wanted to save some money, and carefully plan the interior. So instead of buying a new fridge, I laid out $600.00 to have mine fixed. Who knew they could catch fire, and take down your whole house? Your car? Your dog? Your life savings? ….and your sanity ALL in one shot? I will for sure get some cardboard, and materials for protecting things. At the very least, perhaps it will make me feel better. THANKS SO MUCH. Only news today, is that the windows are being delivered tomorrow. They’re just going to replace the exact ones I already have, except I changed the front window to a bow instead of a bay. Hope I like it. 🤞

Hi again. Do you know if they should be calling me before they install things, so it goes properly, or even the PM? I feel like I am put in the very awkward position of complaining afterwards, and I’m not sure what stage I’m even looking at. Is it there, because they’re measuring, or do they doing things in an order that’s smarter than I would do it? For instance, they installed the sink and toilet in front of the beadboard which hasn’t been painted yet. So, I wrote a note to the contractor outlining some of the items I’ve mentioned here, and he’s bringing the big guns to the house to speak with me. He was overly nice on the phone, which is what they did the last time before they ganged up on me and lambasted me for an hour. It already sounds like they are going to say “You must accept all these ruined items, or you risk delaying things further… which will cause you not to get your house back.” Pretty evil, so I sure hope they don’t say that. So at any rate, how would you be handling things from here?

" Do you know if they should be calling me before they install things, so it goes properly, or even the PM? "

You have a PM? The GS does not need to call you before before anything is installed you hired a GC to run your project properly. If he cannot create a schedule and keep reasonably to it so you have an idea when what will be finished and he cannot supervise so the material is installed in the proper sequence and properly installed and protected, why have him on your payroll? I would have run this guy off the first time he "lambasted" me or was disrespectful. Remeber he who has the money is at the end of the day in charge. I do believe I told you this a year ago, you need to stand up for yourself NOW.

Yeah, thanks again. You’re insights are bang in MillWorkman. After sleeping on it, I realize I am in the totally wrong remodel with the totally wrong contractors. It would be hilarious, if it weren’t so serious. I think I still could have just worked with them to get to code months ago, so I could save my money and get a proper remodel with careful planning afterwards with the proper team. NOW that’s impossible, because I threw my lot in with him entirely too hard. I may have the money, but he has my house. EVERY day, I burn through a huge bunch of cash while I wait. The guy shouldn’t be near white grout, or marble countertops in any way shape or form. I had no business trusting him the way I did. I went down to the town hall to find out what the status was on the permits, and it looks like he’s completed partials/halves on most things. I had wanted to speak to the building inspector who is handling my case, but she’s on vacation for two weeks unfortunately. Since I’m in a place I don’t belong, it’s awkward to start throwing people out, as much as I’d LOVE to. I’m not even sure where things are with the money, since he asked for a check without providing a receipt last week. I will ask today for that today. I don’t blame him for who/what he is at all. I was in the wrong for not understanding how to best use him in the first place. Wish me luck today, as I once again don’t really know how best to handle things. I’m sure they will not be able to help themselves with sarcasm, and loud rudeness. If I accept things all junked, I lose. If I don’t, I lose AND they know it. I’m sure they’ve done the very best they can. This morning, I’m leaning toward just letting it all go, and just getting them to give me my house back. Got to rely on old sayings, I suppose. What’s done is done, and one can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

I might be wrong but is a lot of what you show just dirt that can be cleaned up? Or perhaps a little touch up of drywall and paint?

It is normal for a less than thorough amount of cleaning to be done by subs until the end of the project because the guy coming next will make a new mess. Also sometimes a GC may call a sub to schedule work and they can’t come right away so he has does things a little out of order to keep the job moving. So long as the end result isn’t compromised thats ok like the painter having to paint around your toilet, awkward but doable.

I don't know if you are being too picky or the contractor making allowances he shouldn’t but hope you can both listen and try to understand each others point of view.

Take your contract to a lawyer so you can understand how you can get out of this without losing too much money and start asking friends for references for companies that have done a good job. If anything is damaged he should be the one to pay for replacement, but it sounds like he won’t. I’ve been there and it was a nightmare. If money is tight you can hire trades directly to get your house to a livable condition and then figure it out from there. Good luck!!!

Keep your cool. Set expectations (broom clean jobsite, protected finished items, weekly meeting to discuss the weeks plans and any decisions that need to be made by you, the homeowner.)

DO NOT stand for anyone yelling at you or belittling you. If you think that is a concern, is there a friend or acquantance you could bring with you that has some basic construction knowledge? If things take a turn - say "I will not be treated like this. You will hear from me regarding next steps and how we will engage in the future" and leave. Having a witness wouldn't hurt.

How are they getting paid? put an immediate stop to that and figure out how to put some acceptance criteria or independent review in place either through your bank or insurance company. You should not be 100% alone on this.

Good luck.

^^following