Correction: Do Your Research Regardless of Recommendation
Reposting bc of error on original post. We recently spent nearly $25,000 to remodel a small bathroom on the ground floor of our brownstone. Our designer recommended contractor Daniel Dabrowski, as she had used him in the past and had only positive results. Given the seal of approval, we thought we had nothing to worry…
Reposting bc of error on original post.
We recently spent nearly $25,000 to remodel a small bathroom on the ground floor of our brownstone. Our designer recommended contractor Daniel Dabrowski, as she had used him in the past and had only positive results. Given the seal of approval, we thought we had nothing to worry about. Wrong. This was by far the best example of “great design, poor executionâ€. To avoid rambling, the following was botched:
-Grout in foyer wasn’t properly removed prior to sealing, leaving a haze over tiles
-Bisazza mosaic tiles in bathroom improperly installed, leaving tiles uneven
-Epoxy grout on mosaic tiles left on surface, leaving a haze over all tiles
-Vanity mirror improperly installed using Velcro. Yes, Velcro!
-Paint on walls and doors lacked primer and therefore the prior color showed through. Also, the corners and borders showed trim stokes
-Paint and caulk splatters on new fixtures and appliances
There is much more to report on our remodel nightmare, but the point of this post is to warn renovation newbies to do research on their contractor, regardless of recommendation. Ask to see photos of finished work, ask for references, etc… Also, if you hire a contractor, make sure he is on site every day. All projects that were passed from Daniel to another worker had to be retouched or reinstalled.
Renovations aren’t fun, especially when you’ve been taken for a ride. Take the time to research contractors in order to avoid a renovation disaster.
Pattunia: You are assuming I wasn’t on site. I’m retired and was on site every day. And mind you, it was a 1 month job that turned into a 3 month long ordeal bc the many redos and retouches. If I weren’t on site, they would have finished in one month leaving a hot mess.
Rick: Yes, Daniel would have subs come in and do work. Then I would have to fight Daniel to see where the work was faulty. He would then have to come back. Or, I would have to fight with the designer to have a factory installer install fixtures and whatnot. I agree, waiting for a good contractor is worth its weight in gold. 🙂
Wow, I hope you didn’t pay them. That sounds really bad and 25k is a great deal of money for a small bathroom. I wonder if the contractor was using subs? or trying out new sub on your job?! Someone was really asleep at the wheel. It kills me that so much shitty work is done in this field, it’s no wonder that there’s such a lack of trust between many clients and contractors. It’s no wonder that the really good ones are busy all the time. I think small contractors are better to work with too because they don’t take on more jobs than they can handle. I would say all the advice above is true. Plus I would say, if a contractor tells you he can’t take your job right now, he just may be worth waiting for.
That’s why you, the owner, must be onsite frequently. You can’t just hire someone highly recommended and return when it’s finished. What the hell.
Hi
I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the contractor.
I’m a contractor myself and to take on a job knowing that I couldn’t is just wrong, some contractors take on tasks that are bigger than they can handle or task they are not familiar with. I really am sorry to hear of your troubles and wish you the best of luck in the future. Also, not all contractors take pictures of their jobs, so it is not neccessarily true to say that only contractors with pictures are better than others (granted it is a positive to take pics, not all do so…maybe they should make a start, it would help them significantly and would help to save home owners so much hassle in the end).
Again, sorry to hear of this and to that contractor, you should compensate the home owner for the type of shabby work done.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. In a previous post, I mentioned that if the work is terrible, it doesn’t matter how nice the materials are, and Vice Versa. You can have a great installation with cheap materials and it’ll look great.
Also, if you’re doing a large renovation, ask to see some of the contractors work. yes, physically go to the spaces. Photos can be re-touched.
It’s not uncommon for contractors to take potential clients to completed jobs. Look at the details.
I wish you better luck in the future.