The kiss of death!

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Our lovely kitchen

There is a cloud of doom that follows us on house projects. Weird things happen to contractors. I keep shaking it off. Must be a coincidence but I’ve watched too many crime investigation shows to know that there are very few coincidences.

We are about to start a bathroom renovation. It’s extensive with walls removed and new stuff going in. We started planning in October. We got multiple quotes and picked a company that does a lot of kitchens and baths. A company that is more than a single person. Depth on the bench. If one person gets sick, the world doesn’t stop. Or so I thought.

We’ve been working with a delightful designer. She accommodates our weirdness and has worked through some sticking points. She’s helpful when I can’t decide, offering both points of view, but she’s not pushy.

When the first quote came in higher than our budget, she worked with us and agreed to the beloved husband making the cabinets on one wall. She would provide the vanity cabinets and everything else. Almost. As we were going through the selection process it became clear that their “supplier” either didn’t discount or the discount wasn’t passed onto us. When I found the (same) mirrored medicine cabinets on the internet for a third of the cost, she told me to buy them and took it out of the contract.

Many contractors do not like “owner supplied” parts because they don’t have control. The part may not arrive in time or may not be complete causing a delay in their schedule.

We are down to the last selections and are waiting for a change order listing upgrades or downgrades based on our selections.

We heard from her Saturday. She was terminated. I am stunned. She was great to work with but evidently there was workplace drama going on. Now I’m waiting for news on who will take over her projects; what we need to do to bring them up to speed; and exactly what delay, if any, there will be. The job was to start in June (yes, that’s next week but when a contractor says a month, the absolute earliest they will start is the last day of the month).

In case you think I’m being whiney (I am), Here is a litany of catastrophes we’ve had since we’ve moved.

Kitchen project – The main and only carpenter hurt his knee on a long weekend trip. He was on crutches for two weeks followed by physical therapy appointments during our project. He had difficulty doing anything that involved climbing on a ladder.

Kitchen window project – The wife of the window contractor (who worked by himself) cancelled our window order (which had a four-month lead time) and absconded with the money and a local pig farmer. It wasn’t just our window, she cancelled all his project orders. Our contractor imploded, requiring hospitalization. We did not get a new window but had the old one fitted at the new location. He never was the same.

The deck project – A year passed. After the above contractor “recovered,” he was eager to work and bid on our deck replacement project. He’s a great contractor (when he’s not crazy) so we gave him another shot. (We are slow learners.) A two-week deck job took eight weeks. There were lots of issues requiring time off — meetings with school administrators (kids acting out) and attorneys. By the end of the job, we were glad to see him go. I finished the painting myself.

Our bathroom designer – About a month after signing the contract, she was in a car accident and out of work for over a month. Now she’s gone.

This is our last big project. In addition to the disruption to life, I always have the feeling that another shoe will drop. I try to hop around so it doesn’t fall on me, but I haven’t been successful. It’s a spooky version of Imelda Marcos. (If you don’t get that, google her and her shoes.)

66 thoughts on “The kiss of death!”

        • It’s later than we hoped but they shut down for the 1st week in July. Recent projections were for the end of June. Nothing is worse than having them start and then take a week off so it’s better than a late June date.

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              • We had a house painter/paper hanger for a job for the entire house and she was about halfway through the job when 9/11 happened. She went home that day – well, no problem with that as it was such a shocking event, but then said she was traumatized and didn’t make the rest of the week. She had smoke breaks once an hour and also hot flash breaks where she would stop what she was doing and race outside and if it was raining, she had brought a fan and put the fan on and sat in front of it ’til she cooled off. This house is small and she was here nearly a month.

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                  • My poor mom had to deal with the mess/inconvenience more than me as she was here all day and didn’t drive so she was stuck with her. And we never discussed her hours when contracting with her. She drove her granddaughter to school, got here by 10:00 and left around 3:30 to pick her up – that was her day. We had used a male painter/wallpaper hanger twice in the past, but he retired. He would start at 8:00 a.m., brought a bag lunch and left at 5:00 – whole house done in a week and a half. To make matters worse, I was getting a new bedroom suite and gave my bedroom suite to my neighbor Marge for one of her kids. So they moved it out before she started and I was just going to share my mom’s bed or sleep on the couch. So we had to delay the delivery and I was living out of boxes for my dresser and chest drawers for all that time.

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  3. E-gads. I remember all those setbacks, but seeing them all in one place does remind me of the pitfalls that every homeowner faces. So sorry about your contact no longer working there. She seems like someone who really had your best interests at heart. I hope the project will move forward as promised in spite of her not being there to steward it. In spite of everything, that kitchen is still beautiful! – Marty

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  4. I read in comments that you said the company owner reached out to you yesterday. At least you don’t feel abandoned. I think that is an excellent sign that, as you say, things seem to be okay. I think it will all come together. Maybe this was a good thing, Things like this is why we stopped. We had enough. Good luck, Kate.

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    • This is our last. I may buy a new bedspread or do something that doesn’t involve contractors but depending on others isn’t in my wheelhouse. Today is the last day for the painter who has been absolutely wonderful. He’s doing a small inside job I can’t reach today but he could have done it last week. They got rained out and had to quit at 1 pm one day last week and he could have knocked this out but he packed up and left. He starts the other two units next week so we’ll see him around but our job is done. My recommendation to anyone buying a house that needs renovations is to do them before you move in if you can.

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  6. OK……you’ve convinced me……there is a dark cloud over you when it comes to home improvements. Goodness – you HAVE had every single nightmare available in the process happen to you. You have to wonder when someone you felt confidence in who seemed knowledgeable, etc. gets FIRED. Had to be something BIG but I suppose you can look at it as “good thing we weren’t halfway through things when this happened”……you may have a delay in starting the project (again) but maybe once it starts it won’t stop until completion – there’s always hope – it springs eternal (yeah I know – I hate that saying too). Mostly I’m just sorry this stuff keeps happening to you! Not fair!

    Hugs, Pam

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    • It hit me when both carpenters on the kitchen project (window and rest of kitchen guys) had bad things happen AT THE SAME TIME! What are the chances? Our painter finishes today and I’ll be glad. He was great although he works with his son and they had a huge fight outside out the house this week. The son walked off the job. Fortunately, his dad pulled in another guy and finished up on schedule. Seriously, this stuff happens to us all the time.

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  7. When I had my kitchen cabinets replaced the wall was measured wrong and the cabinets didn’t fit. Had to start over. Had some problems with the company supplying the cabinets, they wanted me to pay more money than what was quoted by the person who did the incorrect measurements. Was a pain in the butt. The work got done but it’s not exactly what I wanted.

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    • If it was their guy doing the measurements, they should complete the job at any extra cost to themselves. We have gotten very anal about measurements because sometimes they are different from top to bottom or the wall itself bows out. You need skilled people to do these things.

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  9. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I don’t envy those issues. We need a ton of updating done but we can’t afford it in this economy. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have to deal with that stuff. Good luck.

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  10. I wonder if she got fired for telling you to order them yourself which would cut into their profits. No offense, but I would not want to work for you. 🙂

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  11. I am so sorry about all the chaos. Have you considered writing a screenplay? It might be a way to get all that stuff paid for at the inflated prices your contractor recommends? Am I misunderstanding that?

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  15. Maybe your house does not like change or maybe your house needs a sage cleansing. Just kidding! Your projects always turn out well in the end and are gorgeous.

    But remember the movie “The Money Pit?” Everything was two weeks!

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  17. What an awful lot of chaos and misery!! I feel almost guilty that our bathroom renovation went without a single problem. Maybe the upcoming kitchen one, starting in two weeks, will have some adventures, but I sure hope not!! I hope things get back on track for your remodel

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  19. OMG! Makes me nervous at the prospect of new kitchens and bathrooms involving workmen as Hubby and I have managed to do them ourselves. Our bathroom last year should have taken a couple of weeks but took 8 because we had a couple of glitches and bank holidays. It was our last DIY job.

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  20. She was terminated!!! Oh this would make me crazy to have gotten this far in the process with someone you like, then. she’s. just. gone. I understand your concern and after reading your list [a refresher course for this longtime blog friend], I am so sorry. It’ll work out, of course, but at what emotional cost to you?

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    • I’m working on positivity now! In the end the kitchen worked out well and I would use that carpenter again for small projects. He is in his mid 60s so there are jobs he won’t take because they are too hard on his body. It was quite a shock and I was miffed that they hadn’t reached out to us on Monday but I have to let it roll off.

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  22. I’m with the grey beauty(seen here).Stop fretting,have a nap(all legs in the air if that is your thing),and learn to RELAX!It will all come right in the end(trust me on this -I should know).

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