SoapZone Community Message Board

The contractor and I met this afternoon at 3pm. (I was a bit late. I was having an ant problem resolved by my newest bug guy. He got here at 2pm, so I knew it would be close.)

I finally got there and the receptionist asked if we should meet up in his office or downstairs in a meeting area. He said up in his office. I told the receptionist that I don't climb stairs and haven't climbed stairs to meet him at any of the other previous meetings, so I'm going to the place where we usually meet. She was surprised and said she'd ask him to come downstairs. Bad start to a L-O-N-G story. You may want to pull up a chair.

Met with my contractor this afternoon (after putting a stop on a check I'd given him yesterday, after failing the inspection).

I had the meeting at 3pm this afternoon after the project FAILED the final inspection yesterday based on 4 things: No permit/plans on site during the inspection, no GFCI outlet where they made plans for a sink in the future, no disconnect faceplate on the heat pumps on the roof, 2" space needed between concrete and siding.

The contractor said he was told by the owner of the company that he should have put in a GFCI outlet. He will put in that outlet tomorrow morning. I agreed to have the gates open for access at 8am.

He will have the permit and plans on site. In another "throw someone under the bus" move (when he got the failure notice, he basically said those were things he wasn't responsible for doing), he said the inspector didn't let him know when he was coming, but he got there in less than ten minutes. (Long enough to fail the inspection, but failed to bring the plans with him.) He said that I was supposed to get the data for the heat pump from the company that installed it. I told him that he would call the company if there were any questions during the next inspection because I WON'T BE THERE.

He said that the concrete guy has to fix the spacing issue. He's not going to fix it/have his guys fix it. I told him that my guy would fix it when he starts the job (putting a cover over part of the patio). That job will begin on March 17. The job, trimming the bottom of the siding, should take a day, maybe two, and he can schedule the reinspection after that. He asked if the job could be done sooner. I said he's a busy guy. I suggested his guys do it, if he wants it done sooner. He said they can't. I said, "So 17 March it is." He said that won't work.

He said they've done everything they could and everything related to the project (I said, "Except pass the final inspection), so I owe him the money. I said when it passed inspection.

He said he can't wait. I shrugged. He said this won't do. I told him I guess we'll have to escalate this, got up to leave and said, "You know that I'm never recommending you to anyone, right?" He said, "Yes, ma'am." So, we have an agreement...until we don't.

I expect more conversations, in person, possibly in writing (text/e-mail), or possibly through the courts.

I had a meeting with the landscaper scheduled for this evening to give him a check for half the cost of the next job ($20k check). We talked. I talked to him about the contractor wanting the job done sooner, but it's up to him. I'm not going to push for this to be done sooner. He may be willing to shift assets to get it done sooner, but that's on him and his schedule. I can be flexible, but I'm not accommodating the contractor.

BTW, I put a hold on the check I gave him yesterday. I did that this morning around 8am, after I'd texted him to let him know that I'd call around 10am to set up the meeting time and to hold onto the check. (I texted him at least three times not to deposit the check.)

I called around 10am to schedule the appointment to discuss the issues. He texted me around 11:30am to let me know that the check had been deposited the evening before, but he hadn't know about that. After getting the text over an hour after the call, I called the credit union to make sure the check hadn't cleared, then I texted back that back that I'd already done a hold on the check. "$20 well spent!" The credit union charges $20 to put a hold on a check.