I hired him to do my kitchen reno. I always understood he was to be the general contractor as well as do all the work not done by specialists. He gave me a quote after taking measurements and getting the full scope of the work. He said I could reduce costs by doing some of the legwork myself (e.g., sourcing materials). At this point he had taken me cabinet shopping, but from then on I sourced everything myself - tile, granite, paint and appliances. A couple of weeks before he was to start work he presented me with a contract at a price @ 10% higher than he had originally quoted.
He didn’t give me a clear answer as to why the cost had gone up, and he wouldn’t give me an itemized breakdown of the work by cost. But I had materials bought and scheduled for delivery so I felt stuck and accepted the contract.
He often took several days to respond to messages. Certain questions in email and texts he ignored and responded only verbally, so I have no written record of them.
He didn’t ensure the plumber allowed for my counter depth fridge when installing the water line, so the plumber had to come back and move it, which cost me extra money. He wasn’t here for the countertop installation, but when he later inspected it he said it needed to be trimmed. He called the installers back but again wasn’t present when they returned. He finally conceded that they had installed it correctly.
He now denies acting as general contractor, but he engaged the plumber and electrician, took me to the store where I bought the cabinets and countertop, and looked at appliances with me. He advised all the other workers what to do.
His actual work was quite acceptable (installing cabinets, drywall, tiling, painting) except for one floor tile that sticks up on which I continually stub my toe (I suspect the floor was not correctly leveled prior to the tile installation).
He arbitrarily cancelled the contract and walked off the job with work still pending, such as installing the backsplash, touching up paint, removing a baseboard and fixing the raised tile. He has ‘forgiven’ the amount I still owe on the contract, however, I suspect that this is not sufficient to address the balance of work needed to finish the job.
For a Contractor who prides himself in his work and has drawn up a contract that appears, in my opinion somewhat one sided in his favor, I do not believe that he has behaved professionally. Professionals do not leave their jobs for others to finish and their clients to clean up the deficiencies of their work.
