[Southbay Bomber]

Well after a year in our new (1956) house I decided to use a contractor to catch us up to speed on various projects. Crown molding ,baseboards, casing around some doors and windows. Installation of 5 interior doors. The moldings/casing went well but the doors were the problem. Things were not square and so the new doors were trimmed down. Three guys working on them and unfortunately their english was not so good and my concerns were not addressed. The business owner was not there to supervise and they rushed to get things done by days end. Things seemed to be Mickey Moused to say the least. It seems things would have been better if we went with pre-hung doors but the contractor did not suggest this or mention what possible problems could arise going the way we did. Now they will return this weekend to put a pre-hung fire safe unit in my hallway entering the garage. Since this unit would cost more than a standard door I agreed to pay for this upcharge and will not be charged for the labor. The contractor stated he will adjust all the other doors as part of his warranty. I was going to be fine with this until I removed two other doors to paint them. The new hinges had been shimmed with some thin wood and the hinges appeared to be bent. Should I hit him up for pre-hung units all around? The casing work will have to be redone as well. I know I'm anal about things but I don't think I'm being unreasonable.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Originally posted by Southbay Bomber
I know I'm anal

ewww.

 

[ummbikes]

How would you have fixed the doors so they worked in a 50 year old house?

You are missing the real concern, WHY do your doors need shimming to open?

How's that foundation doing?

 

[Skookum]

Next time do some homework and hire real carpenters. Most contracters are just salesman who sub out cheap labor, so you get what you pay for......
In the meantime just ride the contracter and demand what you want, otherwise you won't get it.....

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Hey Rich, tell them that you'll refuse to pay untill the job is completed to your satisfaction. How ever the catch is they can place a lien on your house. The bottom line is the dooors were hung in a poor manor. The door casings should have been removed and adjusted there if they could not get the door square in the frame from just cutting the hinges. A GOOD finish carpenter, should have been able to make them look real close if the doors were out of square.

 

[Southbay Bomber]

Well I do agree with you get what you pay for. I have had good and bad experiences to date. My house did check out very well with the home inspector. The reason for going with new doors was based on cosmetics. I wanted six panel units versus a crapy refinish from the original home owners. This contracter did have good references. I did go with him because he was available. Other contractors were difficult to get out for the bid and others stated they were booked for the next several months. The guy just seems a little unorganized. He left his job book at the house and I saw he was doing very big jobs such as kitchen remodels and room additions. I wonder if he sent some less experienced workers over for my small job. I had him inspect the doors and he did not put up a fuss on the replacement although he initially wanted more than the cost of the new door. I will call him tomorrow about my latest findings and see what we can agree upon.