If he doesn't want to answer a question, he won't. He'll double talk you, tell you that you have nothing to worry about, ignore your request, or tell you that this is not the right time to think about it. The thing is, it's never the right time for John. He'll dictate to you what is done and when.
- Before we signed a contract, I wanted to hear his approach for how he'll tie the new gutters into the existing ones. Granted, it was a relatively small detail, but I wanted to work though it. John brushed me off. This should've been a red flag that I'll have a hard time talking to him to get details on information he's not ready (or unwilling) to give... which turned out to be true.
- John showed up at our house to start work a month before his anticipated start date. We didn't have our financing in place yet and asked him to delay starting. He didn't, and we scrambled to get something in place to pay for the rest of the job. We settled for a higher interest loan to fund things until we could put better financing in place. This added a lot of stress to what should've been an exciting time at the beginning of the project.
- After they started digging the foundation, they ran into a septic pipe that ran next to the planned foundation. They hand dug around the pipe, but the next day I came home to find the entire hole filled with cement. My concern was that they encased the pipe in the cement. When I called John and asked him how they dealt with the pipe, again I got the runaround and he didn't answer my questions directly. He did call back later and explained in detail what they did, but I always felt uncomfortable that he needed to call me back before giving me the full story - like he needed to concoct something. I still don't know for sure what happened.
I would've liked him to call my wife or I outside before filling the trench to say "Look, this is how we're going to deal with this situation". And then either explain "this is a good idea because x, y, z" or ask "what do you think".
Yet more stress at the beginning of the project.
- We had a vacation planned and made John aware of the dates well before he started. We made it clear that we didn't want any work being done while we were gone. Of course he starts 2 weeks before we are to leave - again dictating that either the house will be open and exposed to the weather while we're gone or he's going to continue work.
The day before we leave, there are big questions with the electrical plans. The electric planner who came out said that some limbs need to be removed to make way for the new service run. John also told us that we need to upgrade to 200 amp service (which turned out not to be true). He said that "he knows a guy" to do the tree and the electric work and gives us some ballpark estimates... and then asks us what to do? We tell him that we need actual estimates and we spend the day before our vacation scrambling to line up people to come out and price the work. It turns out John's "ballpark numbers" were off by 50% in both instances. Of course, John got his way (again) and continues work while we're gone.
This is a stressful way to start and spend a vacation.
- The original job was also supposed to include installing 4 vinyl replacement windows in the rest of the house. In the original estimate John insisted in keeping these out - estimating the addition only. He assured us that he would complete these as part of the overall work. My wife had the windows measured and priced by John's window distributor and had yet more "ballpark estimates" for installation from John. We thought everyone was on the same page, but when the addition windows were delivered there were no vinyl replacements. Once we realized this oversight, John told us the lead time to order the windows was an additional 2 weeks (well after they were to complete the original job). John also wanted to re-quote the price. It was little surprise that new estimates were close to $100 more per window than John's original "ballpark" price.
- As the job came to a close, we asked that they not hang our new ceiling fans until we had a chance to paint the ceiling. As they would be working on a job we referred them to at our neighbors, they readily agreed.... until they realized this would push back their completion date a few days and they would need to wait for final payment.
There were 4 items that needed to be completed before they were done - install the fans, final electric inspection, the electric wires outside needed to be raised (tightened) back to their original level (John lowered them to move the service), and the dumpster for the job needed to be removed. John wanted us to make full final payment before any of these things were complete. When we refused to pay until all work was completed (we did offer to make a partial payment early), he insisted on installing the fans to get the electrical inspection done. He said that the dumpster would be removed Friday, but still insisted on payment Thursday.
He said that the electrical service was not his responsibility - the electric company was in charge of that sort of thing. My reasoning is that he lowered the wires on his own and that the job was not complete until all these services were back to where they're supposed to be. We disagree on this point.
Yet again, we should be excited to be in our new space but are frustrated by John's insistence on being paid before the job is complete. More stress.
Again, we're happy with the new space but I don't feel that the added stress that comes in dealing with John offsets the cost of dealing with a more professional contractor. It definitely wasn't as bad as some of the contractor horror stories you hear, but it wasn't a great experience either.
The other thing I fail to understand is why John was so insistent on being paid before the job was complete. He knows our future plans call for a complete kitchen remodel (and installing the above mentioned windows). My father also asked John to look at some work at his house. His stubbornness and ignorance cost him at least 2 future jobs. Why would he risk that by insisting to be paid a few days early for a job he hasn't completed yet?
