If you have ever had to deal with a building contractor, then you know where I am coming from.
The new addition to my house has been going on for two and a half weeks. The contractor said the project would take three weeks. At the end of last week, I wanted to get together to firm up the final details and agree on the final price of the last minute changes.
Lesson number one: Do not hire a contractor that does not speak English. This has been the biggest down fall to the entire project. I have to rely on Robert to translate and too much is getting lost.
Lesson number two: Do not rely on Robert to handle a project at my house. He does not ask the questions I want answers to. R tells me, “It will get done. Don’t worry about it”.
I need a date. I need a schedule. Something like: Monday paint the outside. Tuesday paint the inside. Wednesday tile and Thursday hang the shelves.
I tried to call the contractor but he didn’t understand me and just asked to talk to R. My only hope of him finishing the job is that the last amount of money I owe him has not been paid out. He will have to come over to get the money. At that point I will say, you can finish this out and I will pay you.
When the tree fell on our house (the day before my crash with the motorcycle) our insurance company (and you know who that is) sent us a contractor whose primary language is Polish. When we reached a point of total misunderstanding he would call his daughter on the cell and we would pass the phone back and forth. Don't despair, it will finally get done...and hopefully you will love it.
ReplyDeleteIt could be worse. When we did our addition, the contractor was Korean. We communicated through his wife who was Japanese, who spoke some English. They did a fantastic job. Hang in there, but don't pay him until they're finished.
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