I give up

UPDATE:

Well. He fixed most of the issues I had so far. But then did mess up the pattern again and has to rip it down and redo. Running out of tile, went to buy more. Different lot = different shade. So he is currently trying to finish using the scraps he thankfully saved in a bucket and the 9 whole tiles he has left. I got a new box of the lighter shade tiles to use on our doggie backsplash because that’s at least not near the other tiles and won’t be noticeable.

Shit show.



I am now finally getting my backsplash done as I type this. It’s day 2 and it’s not good. It’s really not. It took me 4 people to finally find someone who SHOWED UP and he’s here. He’s working hard. He’s a sweet guy. But... it’s really not good. And I want to cry.

This has been going on since August with this kitchen. Problem after problem. Having no choice but to accept things that didn’t turn out the way I hoped. And now this. Plus it gonna take him 5 days Instead of the 3 he said originally.

At this point, it’s 1/3 of the way done. 60% of it looks OKAY. the rest is not right. Lines aren’t right. Spaces aren’t even, and I saw a scratch on my new stove where the cardboard I placed down has shifted.

I have spent the entire morning feeling so sad about this whole thing. I have lost faith in all contractors. Literally every. Single. One. Down to the painter I had to hunt down with calls and texts who will grace me with his presence some time before Saturday.

This kitchen was my dream from the day I moved into the house. I couldn’t wait to have it turned into all of those pins and magazine pages I flipped the corner of. And now here we are, almost 6 months later. Nowhere near complete and I’m
Gonna have to have my backsplash ripped out, new Sheetrock and all new tiles and start the search again. I may just have it painted for now and worry about tile another day.

My soul hurts

Message edited 1/18/2019 10:24:34 AM.

Re: I give up

I am so sorry you have had such an awful renovating experience. Hang in there!

Re: I give up

If this guy is screwing up is there any recourse?
Does he work for a company or is it just him?
This is not acceptable and he does not sound like a professional.
A professional job that you are paying for should not be like this. It should look perfect.
Is there anything you can do?

Re: I give up

Re: I give up

Re: I give up

Re: I give up

If it doesn't look good, say something! Either he needs to fix it or you need him to be replaced. Either way, if you are not happy, you need to speak up. You're paying so you need to be happy.

Re: I give up

Re: I give up

I have a really great tile guy. Cancel this guy and start over

Re: I give up

Oh gosh. I am so sorry. I was actually thinking of you the other day and wondering how your kitchen turned out. I am doing my bathroom now and they are laying the flooring. I cannot see where a couple of the tiles were cut crooked from the manufacturer. But you could not really see it until they were laid down. I already said to the guy they need to pop the tile out. It is frustrating.

Re: I give up

Update in OP

Re: I give up

This post honestly makes me never want to hire a contractor. Ever.
I told DH the other day that if we ever do the kitchen over, he's doing it. We thought of hiring someone for that, since it's a big job, but eff it
He'll do it. He'll figure it out like he figured out how to redo the bathroom and how to change the expansion tank on the boiler and how to change a water heater.

I cannot even deal with these assholes.
All of them.

Re: I give up

I would see if you can find more tiles in your shade. You might have to go box by box to look with one of your pieces. Unfortunately, shade varieties are really common in tiles. It is the same as bridesmaid dress dye lots.

Re: I give up

It gets worse


Last night he finished laying the tile and told me he was coming back today to grout. So I decided to clean up the kitchen. My sink was covered with cardboard. So was my brand new $$$$$ stove. Both the sink AND the stove had mortar and glass tile fragments in/on them. How it all got UNDER the cardboard, I’ll never know. Sink has scratches. Fine. At this point I don’t give a shit. But my stove. My brand new stove I’ve used for 1 month ....



Showed him. Didn’t fight me on the fact that it’s obv on him. Called Frigidaire to see if I have any coverage for this and if I don’t, if they can just replace the top and he’ll have to pay for it. He’s Insured.
They aren’t open til Tuesday.

NOW he needs me to sign off on this job before he leaves today and I can’t because I’m afraid if I sign anything, I’ll be screwed with the stove ! Even if I write something on the invoice and we both sign it, I’m guessing that holds zero legal weight , right?
DH was away and is on his way back
Now. I’m praying he gets back in time
To deal with this himself because I am so done

Re: I give up

Wow, this is beyond incompetence. I would not sign off.

Re: I give up

Message edited 1/19/2019 1:08:13 PM.

Re: I give up

Did you have a contractor?

Re: I give up

I give up

My backsplash guy scratched my brand new sink. We told our contractor and he came by with some mixture solution and was able to get out the scratches. He said it was all superficial scratches and looked like the tile guy may have placed a bucket in the sink.

Maybe google how to scrub out scratches.

Re: I give up

You poor thing. I'm so sorry. I have been shopping around for kitchen contractors and honestly, it's been an unbelievably difficult experience.

Re: I give up

Ugh I feel for you! I know someone who took over 5 years to get their job finished and that involved going to court. So sorry you're going through this. I don't know how these f#ckers stay in business and keep finding jobs to screw people, and I feel like they're ALL like this. I never hear good stories where they do what they're paid to do in a timely manner. Always a long drawn out battle with them.

In what other line of work would this behavior be remotely acceptable? Imagine going to cut your hair and halfway through they stop and tell you to come back next month to finish the other side?! Or taking a cab and the driver kicks you out halfway and tells you to walk the rest of the way because a bigger job came along?!

It's such a common occurrence that Sebastian Maniscalco even jokes about it in his new Netflix special.

Message edited 1/20/2019 1:25:34 PM.

Re: I give up

Re: I give up

I just wanted to give you hugs. Reno's are hard enough when they go great. I can't imagine how you must feel.

Re: I give up

I wouldn't pay for any of it.
And they need to pay for a new stove or to fix the scratches.
And if it comes down to it, go to court.
This is horseshit.

Re: I give up

We didn't sign anything. Dh is gonna have him come back to fix a few spots the grout didn't take. He also left a spacer in one of the grout lines. I shit you not. A green spacer flush to the tile inside a grout line. That will have to be chipped out and grouted again. There are other spots I'm not thrilled with BUT int he end, it's not too terrible of a job. Am I 100% satisfied? Not at all. Even if the tile came out perfect, the stress alone is enough to never want to do another renovation again. DH is calling Frigidaire tomorrow to see what we can do about the stove. Hopefully the top piece can just be replaced and we don't have to wait for a brand new stove. It's quite expensive and by the time this guys insurance pays for it, it'll be an eternity. The stove cost 3x what the tile job did so even if we said well screw this, we aren't paying you. We still lose.

SHIT SHOW. SHIT. SHOW.

It's all in DHs hands now because I swear I can't handle another second of this.

I am however beginning to see the light at the end of this whole thing. Painter set for this Sunday coming up. Waiting on contractors availability to come back and finish added the molding to the cabinets among other small things to finish up his end of it and then the floor people come back right after the painter to get rid of all the friggin scratches these assholes made and add an additional coat of poly.

Then my job starts with cleaning the entire first floor from top to bottom. 6 months of dust, Spackle dust, men sweating, etc. I've cleaned where I can reach - but it's just not clean like I need it to be. I was going to hire a cleaning crew to come in and get it done but with the way my luck is, they'd make it worse

The spacer :

Message edited 1/21/2019 10:10:07 AM.