C
cdavidson
Guest
Virginia:
We had a hot water pipe break in the ceiling of our finished basement. The work to fix the damage entailed patching a 10"x10" hole in the drywall where the plumber went in to fix the pipe, sealing the drywall that had been wet, retaping some joints, sanding, and painting the room. We collected estimates for our insurance & chose a licensed, insured contractor because they could start the soonest.
My fiancee, who owns the house, signed a contract with them stating the work would be completed within approximately 7 working days after it was started. We removed as much stuff as we could from the room and pushed the furniture into the middle of the room & removed all the paintings off the walls & laid them on the sofa so they could just lay a dropcloth over everything. The contractor didn't have to move ANYTHING. We also agreed to lock our 2 dogs up each morning when we left for work so they wouldn't bother the workmen.
Well, it took them 13 working days to finish the work, and it's very poorly done. The patch obviously wasn't sanded down to the level of the original drywall, so you can tell there was work done. The paint is very uneven and they didn't cover or remove any of the light fixtures, smoke detectors, light switches, heater vents, etc. They also got paint on the carpet & on one of the pictures, even though it was with the other stuff. They painted onto the switches & over the vents. The drywall tape they put on the joints is all peeling or bubbling and there are cracks in the new paint across the ceiling.
I had the owner of the company come out last Thursday and look at the work and he agreed the paint on the picture was their fault and would have it fixed. He also said he would have the crew come back out and fix what I pointed out to him, but in general he said it was a good job and doesn't understand why we're complaining. In fact, they already billed us and are demanding payment!
Our question: what can we do? We want them to finish what they started, but not if it's going to take another 13 working days! Should we pay part of the bill & tell them they'll get the rest when it's finished to our satisfaction? Or should we pay nothing until it's finished? Help!
We had a hot water pipe break in the ceiling of our finished basement. The work to fix the damage entailed patching a 10"x10" hole in the drywall where the plumber went in to fix the pipe, sealing the drywall that had been wet, retaping some joints, sanding, and painting the room. We collected estimates for our insurance & chose a licensed, insured contractor because they could start the soonest.
My fiancee, who owns the house, signed a contract with them stating the work would be completed within approximately 7 working days after it was started. We removed as much stuff as we could from the room and pushed the furniture into the middle of the room & removed all the paintings off the walls & laid them on the sofa so they could just lay a dropcloth over everything. The contractor didn't have to move ANYTHING. We also agreed to lock our 2 dogs up each morning when we left for work so they wouldn't bother the workmen.
Well, it took them 13 working days to finish the work, and it's very poorly done. The patch obviously wasn't sanded down to the level of the original drywall, so you can tell there was work done. The paint is very uneven and they didn't cover or remove any of the light fixtures, smoke detectors, light switches, heater vents, etc. They also got paint on the carpet & on one of the pictures, even though it was with the other stuff. They painted onto the switches & over the vents. The drywall tape they put on the joints is all peeling or bubbling and there are cracks in the new paint across the ceiling.
I had the owner of the company come out last Thursday and look at the work and he agreed the paint on the picture was their fault and would have it fixed. He also said he would have the crew come back out and fix what I pointed out to him, but in general he said it was a good job and doesn't understand why we're complaining. In fact, they already billed us and are demanding payment!
Our question: what can we do? We want them to finish what they started, but not if it's going to take another 13 working days! Should we pay part of the bill & tell them they'll get the rest when it's finished to our satisfaction? Or should we pay nothing until it's finished? Help!