Need a reliable & trustworthy contractor for expedited renovation

Developers are a different breed. I have worked for two before and the turnaround time we had on projects was wild, but so was the qaulity that was going into it. Developing property and building a home are two different things.
I have signed deadline contracts before with homeowners where we agreed on an expediate completion date and I was legally tied to finish; those are premium numbers though. Just signed on to do Gas Work for a building being sued. We timed it for 23 days they asked to be completed in 12 days; they are paying a premium to have 20 hour rotating shifts.

lkrshacmzcy

in General Discussion 5 years and 10 months ago

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cmartinez150 | 5 years and 10 months ago

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I’m in a desperate situation. I misguidedly decided to use contractors suggested by my developer friend in October to install a powder room on the parlor floor, to renovate the garden level bathroom and kitchen, all to be completed by the end of January. It has been a nightmare. The estimated 3 week completion date for the powder room has taken over 2 1/2 months; meanwhile I am currently 7 months pregnant and have been sleeping on a mattress downstairs during the renovation. They are “finishing up” the work now, but have now bailed on doing the renovation of the garden level bathroom and kitchen. My friend is pissed and, though he has been able to get them to fix many, many mistakes, is unable to help me further (apart from giving me one contractor contact).

I now am in urgent need to find a contractor that can start work asap on both the downstairs bathroom and kitchen (it can be done simultaneously) to be completed within 5 weeks, because I will be delivering shortly thereafter. Waiting to do renovations after the baby is born would make things extremely difficult for me, (one example, the downstairs bathroom – with the bathtub – has no heat). If anyone has any suggestions of contractors who are reliable, trustworthy, and can work on an expedited schedule, PLEASE let me know. Thanks!

Guest User | 5 years and 10 months ago

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Hi I’m sorry to hear about your situation. I am a liscensed and insured contractor. We may definitely help you out. Please give me a call at 347-549-3597. My name is Adrian from golden talon construction.

GreenThinker | 5 years and 10 months ago

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What you’re asking for is a miracle. A bathroom and kitchen in 5 weeks is impossible. Do you watch HGTV? Cause stuff like that only happens on those programs. Regardless of your budget, it’s unwise to think you can quickly find a contractor for a job like this on short notice. (On a forum no less)They’ll tell you no problem, and the only thing you’ll have after 5 weeks is a Demolished bathroom/kitchen and excuses on why it’s only a quarter done. Best advice I can give you is to leave it as is for now, better to have something than completely nothing.

panda10 | 5 years and 10 months ago

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I really would encourage you to take your time. There is no such thing as “emergency contractors.” You had a bad contractor experience. That happens. But don’t feel like you’re in a panic to get everything done by the time your baby arrives. For example, a newborn won’t be bathed in a tub anyway. You’d get a smaller vessel or even a sink. You don’t need lots of water and can easily fill with large cups. Trying to get a contractor who has a crew ready that can do your reno and clean in the timeframe you want will be difficult at the very least and a nightmare at it’s worst. On the otherhand, I doubt you will remember how bad the house was during those first few months because all memories get edited in our minds to an extent. I know we are all different. But i barely remember all the things I felt like I needed to get ready when my babies (who are no longer babies) were born. Please- take your time. Good luck.

cmartinez150 | 5 years and 10 months ago

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Thanks for the candid responses. The developer friend actually said both could be done in four weeks, which I suspected was not feasible. Now I know!

Lurker | 5 years and 10 months ago

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Very much agree with above. Pump the breaks and accept that the above is not possible and also that if anything goes wrong in attempting it you’ll be in a really unfortunate situation. (We lost a contractor, grabbed another quickly, and a “4 month reno” ended up taking 2 years with all the other attending nightmares. We also had a baby coming 😉

I would triage the situation. Find out how you would make life livable short term so you and your baby are safe and comfortable as possible and not wasting the time you have with a newborn dealing with a contractor and renovation, which is a full-time job. It could be you get space heaters for this winter or a plumber can set up a temporary system that you revisit in summer. Or it could be you have to move out for the next 6 months. But count on taking many weeks to find and meet with contractors, interviewing them, looking at their previous work, get proper bids and then have a plan. Do it right.
Others here may know otherwise but I would be conservative and give yourself 4-6 months if you are doing stuff properly. You have inspections and all that stuff to deal with.

hkapstein | 5 years and 10 months ago

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It’s not impossible, it’s possible. However it’s not what you want to do. If you want the work done fast, you will sacrifice quality and price. Your GC will have to take the quickest bids from subs, whether they are good or cheap won’t matter. When something unexpected happens, you’ll have to choose the fastest solution, not the best for your or most affordable. You won’t be able to use any fixtures, equipement, or millwork that has a significant lead time. However cheap rentals often do a bathroom and kitchen in that kind of timeline. They probably bought everything before hand in anticipation of turning over the unit, do the same design in every apt, and don’t care too much about details.

resident2 | 5 years and 10 months ago

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If all you are doing is replacing a pre-existing Kitchen & Bathroom, not moving anything that would need to be filed. You can get that done in 4-5 weeks. so long as you are using stock cabinets, fixtures, appliances etc.
If on the other hand everything you want is special order… then no.
Then of course finding a competent contractor that is not already booked & scheduled….
You could try Patrick: 718-309-3934 he is a contractor I use for quick turn around high end rental apartments. He was just saying that a large job he had scheduled had just been cancelled last minute.

lkrshacmzcy | 5 years and 10 months ago

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Developers are a different breed. I have worked for two before and the turnaround time we had on projects was wild, but so was the qaulity that was going into it. Developing property and building a home are two different things.
I have signed deadline contracts before with homeowners where we agreed on an expediate completion date and I was legally tied to finish; those are premium numbers though. Just signed on to do Gas Work for a building being sued. We timed it for 23 days they asked to be completed in 12 days; they are paying a premium to have 20 hour rotating shifts.