I'm getting abuse from my contractor. I am learing.

wren

Crowing
13 Years
May 27, 2007
765
28
251
St Augustine, FL
We bought a house in august of 2011 in a good neighborhood in FL that needed remodeling. Mauve carpet, light blue tile and light oak with huge water damaged areas. Popcorn ceilings, tiny ugly bathrooms and weird walls that stuck out in the middle of everything. We even had to put on a new roof before we could buy it cause it was completely shot to satisfy the insurers. Why did we buy it? Location location location. It's a great lot with a pond and a few acres. Just beautiful. Best of all I can have chickens and whatever else I want for animals.


We chose a contractor based on recommendations from people we know. We have been remodeling for gosh, a long time. The contractor says that it's my fault because I want to choose the things that go into the house rather than just take whatever he wants to put in. My husband says that we will go with someone else to do the bathrooms because with this contractor we won't get to pick fixtures. I only get to make simple choices. For example, I got to choose silver or brass handles and hardware for the doors. Just the color, not the type or quality. He and I went toe to toe about a month ago. He said. "Do you know how many houses I've done?" To which I said, "Do you know how many remodels I've done? NONE! We are relying on you to guide us!" He said we never should have chosen him because he just takes out old kitchen cabinets and replaces them with new ones with the exact same layout. I said we told you what we wanted to remodel and you said you could do it. So we were wrong to hire him. I sure won't argue that.

Here's my most recent concern. What happens if we don't have a vapor barrier in our brick house? Here's what is happening. The old kitchen vent went through the side of the house. The new vent is going through the roof. So there is a hole covered with metal screening. The contractor said he is going to put up insulation this week. I asked if he was going to patch the six inch round hole first and if he was going to patch the vapor barrier. He said he was going to patch with wood on the inside and the outside. He also said that the crew got a good laugh from my vapor barrier question. He asked me what I was talking about. I said, "you know vapor barrier. The plastic sheet that they use special tape to put up that goes underneath the insulation." He laughed and said that there was no way to put up vapor barrier in our house and get a seal. He has opened up about 40 foot of wall and a part of the ceiling. Apparently we will not get a vapor barrier. Maybe it is not needed. What do you think?
th.gif
 
Last edited:
If I fire him won't he sue me for breaking the contract? I don't want to deal with lawsuits!

Does a house have to have a vapor barrier? How bad is it if I don't have one?
 
Time to have a "come to glory" discussion with your contractor.

He does indeed work FOR you. As long as what you ask or require
is within the legal code, that is what he needs to do. You should not
ask him to go around any building code, neither should he be willing
to go around any code.

But he does indeed work for you. Don't feel bad if you need to let him go.

As far as a vapor barrier...I don't have a clue on Florida code. My home in
Ohio does not have a vapor barrier to the outside walls. I do have a vapor
barrier of heavy plastic under the garage floors and on the roof.


Spook
 
I'll tell you what, MY contractor would be absolutely AMAZED at the shenanigans yours is pulling. Fire him.

I have no idea about a vapor barrier in that location - but I do trust my contractor. He's currently building a deck off the side of my house, after having removed an old double-hung window and replaced it with a French door. He's built homes from the ground up, too. I'll have to ask him when he comes to complete the deck (after the rains stop - nobody likes working in the rain on the outside of the house!

Mine has repaired leaks, transmorgrified the dilapidated old garage into a huge coop, installed two automatic doors through walls (one in the coop for the chickens and one in the house for my dogs and cats), pruned fruit trees, build a gorgeous pergola in the yard, installed new gutters, and has other projects on the list to do around here. He will be replacing the roof of my house this summer. He arranged for tree work to take down a sick Ponderosa pine, dug trenches for new pipes from the well, and ... on top of all his excellent work, likes my poultry. He's been seen picking up chickens and calming them before putting them back down. He's even held my dominant roo in his arms, much to the rooster's surprise (the first time).

I may be spoiled with mine, but you definitely need a new contractor.
 
Go to www.diychat.com these guys can get you going the right way concerning a vapor barrier. We have to have one due to our cold temps up here.

Go through your contract and read it carefully. Did you sign it? Did he sign it?

I would fire his behind quickly. I fired a contractor before for failure to show up. They were half way through the job and did not do what they were suppose to do.

ETA:

I went there and started the question of the vapor barrier for you. Here is the link.
http://www.diychatroom.com/f19/vapor-barrier-needed-fl-133627/#post852666
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom