We are in process of replacing all of our old windows with Pella. I overheard the workers laughing about the contractor..talking about how he cuts corners, etc. just to get the job done. I want to say something to our builder, my husband says no. We are really fighting over this. What should I do?
This is a great question. So much so that I have decided to start and dedicate a new category in Ask Rick called Surviving Home Improvement. Being in the business for over 40 years, I am familiar with all types of problems that home owners encounter when dealing with their contractors, workers and other problem areas.
To answer you question, the first thing I want to warn you about is that workers can sometimes be like office workers. A lot of things get spread around and some of it is true and some of it is not true. But now that you have heard this, you need to take some action just to make sure that you are getting the best possible work that you are paying hard earned money for.
I hope that you started out on the right foot with your contractor and have a good relationship with him or her. If you did your homework and got references and called some of them to discuss the honesty and integrity of the contractor as well as the quality of the work, then you got off to a good start.
After you hired the builder, maintaining good communication is of the utmost importance. With my clients, I tried to keep them informed on everything I was doing and tried to answer all of the questions and concerns. Just as a contractor could not know the details of profession of most of his clients, so the home owner cannot understand the details of the building process.
My suggestion is that you go to your builder and tell him that you are concerned about something one of the workers said and assure your builder that you put your trust in him to do things right, otherwise you would not have hired him, and then ask him to look into the matter for you. If he agrees to do so, then ask him to report back to you within a day or so to let you know what he found out.
Remember, that if corners are cut that could possibly cause structural problems down the line, I good building inspector will pick up on this and make the builder resolve the issue. Most reputable builders try to do everything they can to meet the building codes because they want their inspections to pass.
One other thing you can do, is be present when the building inspector shows up and ask him or her if any areas you have concerns about have been done up to code, with no corner cutting. That should help ease your mind a bit.
The most important thing again is to keep a clear line of communication open with your builder. If you did not do this from the start, then do it now. Remember you hired the builder and you are paying the builder and you both should expect that you will pay for a job that meets your expectations as outlined in the contract you agreed upon.
Once you and your husband agree on these things, then you can be on the same page and your builder will be too, and everyone will know what to expect and you will all sleep better too.
I hope this helps. Rick
Rick Maselli
Founder of Showroom411.com