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Contractor did a horrible job...what can I do?

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blue_chameleon

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California

Short Story: Contractor did a horrible job and is not answering my phone calls.

Long Story: I recently purchased a new home and there was some overlapping time for me to move so I figured that I can use that time to update a few things around the house. I hired a guy to demolish my standard tiles in the bathroom and kitchen and ultimately upgraded them to bigger and nicer looking tiles. The kitchen was upgraded so the plumbing needed to be reworked.

Anyway, that overlapping time was cutting close, as we were about to be kicked out of our old place since our lease was up so after the contractor finished his work, we hurried up and moved in, while he was still working on the house. Both my wife and I were so flustered with the move that we just paid him after he finished without a final inspection of the tiles and grout.

We are regretting doing that now because the grout lines are not even, the tile work is crooked, and some of the grout is even missing. We ran our dish washer for the first time and all of the water began to leak from the bottom of the sink and from the top air gap that is above the sink.

We contacted another plumber and he basically told me that the original contractor "cut corners and took shortcuts" as well as calling it a "section 8 handyman's work".

I tried to call the original contractor back numerous times in the course of two weeks in different times of the day (even left messages for him to call me back) but has not heard from him.

What can I do? Where can I go to get resources? Any good advice can surely help.
 


SoCalLandscaper

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California

Short Story: Contractor did a horrible job and is not answering my phone calls.

Long Story: I recently purchased a new home and there was some overlapping time for me to move so I figured that I can use that time to update a few things around the house. I hired a guy to demolish my standard tiles in the bathroom and kitchen and ultimately upgraded them to bigger and nicer looking tiles. The kitchen was upgraded so the plumbing needed to be reworked.

Anyway, that overlapping time was cutting close, as we were about to be kicked out of our old place since our lease was up so after the contractor finished his work, we hurried up and moved in, while he was still working on the house. Both my wife and I were so flustered with the move that we just paid him after he finished without a final inspection of the tiles and grout.

We are regretting doing that now because the grout lines are not even, the tile work is crooked, and some of the grout is even missing. We ran our dish washer for the first time and all of the water began to leak from the bottom of the sink and from the top air gap that is above the sink.

We contacted another plumber and he basically told me that the original contractor "cut corners and took shortcuts" as well as calling it a "section 8 handyman's work".

I tried to call the original contractor back numerous times in the course of two weeks in different times of the day (even left messages for him to call me back) but has not heard from him.

What can I do? Where can I go to get resources? Any good advice can surely help.

As a CA Contractor, maybe I can help. Does this guy have a CA License to do this type of work? If he does, then you can go to www.cslb.ca.gov and file a complaint. Was the work over $500? If it was, he by law should have a signed written contract with you. If the work was under $500, he does not need a license, and you would need to sue him in small claims court. CA contractor law is pretty tough. If this guy is contracting with a license and no contract, he's in big trouble. Check his license online via the website I gave you. You can do this using his license number, company name, or personnel name. It should be listed on his contract by law. If you send him a demand letter, and he stills ignores you, then you can proceed to file a complaint and place a claim on his performance bond which each CA contractor must have. Once you do that, it will put a fire under him to be extremely cooperative. Because there is one thing I know after doing this for 20 years, a CA contractor does NOT want a complaint filed on him or his bond with the CSLB. Hope this helps.
 

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