Bad tile job and bad plumbing = What to do now?

[stan350lt1]

Hello

Recently, I hired a contractor in my area to do two things: 1) demolish my old bathroom tiles and put in new ones and 2) install the plumbing underneath my kitchen sink (since I bought a new sink). The house is a brand new house but I wanted granite countertops installed in the kitchen and new bigger tiles in the bathroom before I moved in.

The contractor demolished the bathroom and installed the tiles that we had purchased prior to his arrival. The contractor installed it and grouted it. But the tiles look offset. Some of them have wider grout lines and even some of the grout does not exist. One clear example is the tiling underneath the mirror. He stated that it was crooked because the mirror wasn't on straight. I used a leveler and the mirror was not crooked at all. Also, the shower corners are not straight.

Also, the plumbing install underneath the kitchen caused the dishwasher air gap above the sink to overflow, thereby causing the pipes to leak below. Luckily, I watched it all happen to stop it from damaging anything else.

I had another plumber come and look at the original contractor's work and he considered the install a "Section 8 cheap plumbing job".

I tried to call the original contractor but he never answers my calls. Even my wife calls and no answer. It just goes straight to the machine. It appears that he is ignoring us. What recourse do I have with this? If anyone can provide me with some advice or any type of legal action, that would be great.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

How crazy are you capable of being?

Have someone else call and ask him to come to their house to discuss another job. Block his truck in with two cars, call the police, tell them you're in a violent mood, and see if the idiot is then in a mood to answer your questions.

[GoHabsGo]

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in news:2bQZg.3484$ [e-mail]:

Now that's crazy!

Hopefully you did not pay up front. Always pay after the job is done to your satisfaction. If they refuse to come back and fix it after you have sent them a registered letter, hire someone else to tear it out and do it right. Then sue the first plumber for your deposit (or full payment).

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Believe it or not, the cops deal with things like this with a fair amount of regularity. Obviously, they cannot hold small claims court in someone's driveway, but some are knowledgable enough to explain the future to a s**nk like the "handyman" who did the job in question.

[GoHabsGo]

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in news:TwQZg.3487$ [e-mail]:

Calling the police to tell them you're in a violent mood seems questionable to me. You could be charged with uttering threats,or mischief or improperly parking your vehicles if they didn't like you.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

A month ago, after trying 5 times (vs the legal limit of 3) to get animal control to deal with my neighbor's dog, which had been digging all over my vegetable garden, I informed the woman that it was legal for me to kill the animal, and handed her a copy of the NY State regs which permit it. I told her next time I saw it would be the last time she did. She called the cops and told them I'd threatened to kill HER. They (or she) must not have taken it very seriously, because they arrived at my door 3 hours later. The cop was no problem at all. I told him exactly what I said to her, and suggested that she might have misunderstood what I said because she was emotional about the impending death of her dog. He was aware of the nuisance wildlife law, and asked that I give him 48 hours to track the the useless animal control thing and have a chat with it.

Really, there's a lot you can say without retribution.

[Joe]

Your best bet is as follows:

1) Start keeping a detailed log of everything involved here 2) Mail them a letter via registered mail citing specific complaints and how you would like them resolved. Keep a copy of the letter. Give them a resonable date to respond by. 3) Once the date has passed in #2, mail a letter via registered mail stating intent to pursue legal action. Give them another date to respond by. 4) Once the date in #3 has passed, take them to small claims court. This is pretty cheap and fast (and doesn't require a lawyer!). Evidence is key--make sure you have ample evidence that the work is bad, including opinions from other contractors. Small claims court can only award money (i.e., they can't make him fix it) so base your asking amount on multiple reasonable quotes to repair the work.

[Steve B]

Send him one more letter, registered.

If he does not mend things satisfactorily, make a complaint with the State Board of Contractors, if you have one in your state. If not, get hold of the Governor's Council on Consumer Affairs, which, AFAIK, every state has.

Good luck

Steve

>

[Al Bundy]

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in news:E2RZg.3492$ [e-mail]:

You need to learn to turn things like the dog around Joe. You load up a yummie with ExLax for ol' Digger and put it in the garden. Poochie goes home and unloads...and unloads...and farts texturing the walls. You get last laugh. Load of laughs.

[Al Bundy]

"Steve B" wrote in news:xLSZg.1772$BC6.62@fed1read01:

I believe certified with signed return proof of delivery will do. Registered is overkill. More for valuables.

[Steve B]

Thank you for the overkill of auditing minutiae.

THE POINT WAS TO SEND THEM A LETTER SO YOU WOULD HAVE PROOF YOU TRIED TO SETTLE THIS, AND THEY IGNORED YOU.

REGISTERED, CERTIFIED, WHO GIVES A FUCK, AL?

I mean, except you.

Steve

[jeffc]

You can usually win cases like these quite easily in small claims court. (For example, there's a very good chance he won't even show up, in which case make any claim you want and you win.) However, winning the case and getting the money are 2 different things. It can be incredibly difficult to get the money (mainly because there isn't any really serious penalty for him not paying.)

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I keep forgetting about that little party favor. :-)

[Sacramento Dave]

Call your state Contractors board ( department of Consumer Affairs) They will give you the advice you need, What legalities you have and how to go about it. That's were I would start

[Al Bundy]

"Steve B" wrote in news:oKTZg.1777$BC6.204@fed1read01:

Bit grouchy there eh...

Point was why piss away another five bucks getting absolutely nothing for it when he's already been taken for so much. Yea, I'm a cheap ass. Point was to give OP info. Not sure what the hell you're getting all CAPS about. But like you say, who gives a f*ck. Woof!

[MLD]

If payment is not forthcoming the next step is to go back to small claims court again. From there it can go into the hands of a sheriff, armed with an arrest warrant. You have to pay for the sheriff but out he goes and drags the dirtbag back to court. In my daughter's case it was pay up or stay in custody until you do. His daughter pulled out a wad and paid cash (about $2000) right on the spot. MLD

[jeffc]

You do have to pay for the sherriff. In NC at least, it's called buying an "execution of judgement". However they don't get dragged to jail by any means. A sherrif shows up and asks for payment. The plaintiff says "No." The sherrif then searches the property for things that can be taken for payment. The laundry list of things they won't take is longer than the things they will. No vehicles that they might need to get to work, no furniture since it won't get enough money to make it worth the hassle at auction, etc etc.