May 24, 2010

Part Two: The Confrontation

The contractor *did* call me back the next day (which would’ve been last Tuesday, the 18th)... at 9:30pm... and told me he had new doors for me. I know he was lying because he showed me a receipt from the home improvement store dated May 19th. But, I digress.


We made plans for him to deliver the doors Saturday morning. He arrived 30 minutes late. He had a bunch of oldddd scrap lumber in the back of his truck in addition to the trim pieces he took (without asking) from my house when he left on Monday, plus a small table saw and power mitre saw. He unloaded the saws and then unloaded the doors, setting them up against the house. He almost dropped the main door on the concrete! Later, my neighbor told me he saw the guy almost drop the door. The box to the storm door was all smashed up, and the main door looked like it had been sitting outside for months. This is why I asked him if he had a receipt.

I watched the contractor walk around for about 15 seconds before finally saying (which I thought I made it pretty clear on Monday) “You do know I don’t want you finishing this, don’t you?” He looked at me and said, “Uh, no.”

I thought to myself, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” He started to say things like, “I’ve got $450 invested in these doors, and the time...” I cut him off and told him it was NOT my fault this happened. He agreed and proceeded to DRAG the main door to the garage. Drag it! I asked if he wanted help, he didn’t answer and continued to drag. Finally, I just picked up the opposite end and helped him put it in the garage.

He took a notebook out of his truck and went into the garage and started writing. After 5 minutes, I went in and asked what he was doing. He was a writing a receipt for delivery of the doors. I told him I wasn’t about to sign anything without knowing if the storm door was OK (since it was covered in a cardboard box. I looked at the main door closely and saw indentations on the window trim and the brick moulding had been scraped against something. What, I have no idea. He was none too happy with me, but he wouldn’t leave! He just stood in the doorway of the garage staring off into the sky. He also told me he wanted the old doors so he could recoup some of his cost, which I said I was fine with. What am I going to do with two doors, one of which is majorly damaged?

He got out a reciprocating saw and I watched as he cut the spike he used to nail the door frame to the house. One spike! Dad thinks he couldn’t get the door plumb enough so he used the spike to try and pound in place. I told him I had another contractor coming to finish the job, so he wanted to cut the nail so as the “other guy doesn’t make scrap lumber out of the doors.” I said, “He wouldn’t do that.” He said, “Well, I don’t know that.” I thought it was ironic he’d say something like that after what he did to MY doors.

22 comments:

Terry said...

OMG! I just have to say it, GOD please forgive me, but that "contractor" is a complete #@&* MORON!!!!! Does he even have a contracting license???? Doesn't sound like he should, does it??!! I hope (yeah and PRAY) that you never have to deal with another moron like this ever again. WOW!

Come to think of it, send this guy back down to Florida. Sounds like he's one of the JA that were doing the cleanup/fixing up work after the hurricanes in 2004. Oy!

Debra said...

Gees, I bet you couldn't wait for him to leave. I hope your new doors are in good shape.

Berly said...

What an idiot! Seriously, Meari, you need to turn this guy into someone!

Anonymous said...

Glad to see you got some new doors in a timely manner. I hope all works out well for you and you get someone good to put your doors in.

Tina

Rene la Frog said...

You need to report this nut to the contractors licenseing board for his shoddy work. Hope you have better luck with the next contractor (and make sure he is licensed).

Dirty Martini Queen said...

Wow! Why is it that every idiot that owns a saw thinks he's a contractor? I'm sure happy to hear that he did at least get you replacement doors.

Emily in NC said...

Do hope you are getting a qualified contractor this time. But know how handy you are I'm sure you did your research this time. Hope you can get your door put in with no trouble this time. My hubby was looking over my shoulder while reading the last one and he said he could have done a much better job, and he has never installed a door before. He is very handy around the house.

Kathy A. said...

Terrible, just terrible. How did this guy ever get a license?
I hope this gets resolved favorably.

Akila said...

Oh My god!!! That guy really has some nerve. Am at my wit's end just reading this. I can imagine how you would have felt being there. Really hope you get a good contractor this time

Kathy said...

Wow. What a horro story. I do hope you are able to get the doors put in correctly without any further damage. AND I hope you can get some satisfaction from the first guy. Even if it is just reporting him to the BBB.

Lucy said...

The butting heads pic is perfect match for the story!!!

Linda said...

Ok, this is getting good. When do you get to the part where you chase him off with a billy club?
What a nightmare; hopefully it will have a happy ending. And he's mad at you? Geesh....

Vicki in CO said...

Well, at least he did show up with new doors. I sure hope they are in good shape. I agree with what others have said--someone in an official capacity needs to know about this jerk! I wonder how many little ole' ladies he's taken with crummy work?

stitcherw said...

Oh wow, I'm so sorry, what a pain. I can't believe you had to deal with all that. I hope the new doors you got didn't get to dinged with the way he was treating them and you're able to get them installed with no more problems. What a shame you had to deal with this when it should have been such a rewarding new addition to your house.

Love your current WIP of LK's lessons, that's a fun one. Your earlier finish of the doll looked wonderful, and your framing set it off perfectly.
Sue

Anonymous said...

I hope you are well rid of that charlatan. Did you report him to the better business bureau?

Cindy in MA

Anonymous said...

Hope you got your doors put in the right way.

Marl

Lillie said...

Gosh!I hope everything will turn out in your favour.

Anonymous said...

Meari, I don’t blame you for being upset with the work. Here in Canada we have a very popular show called “Holmes on Holmes” where this hunk of a guy – but I digress – this guy, Mike Holmes, comes in and fixes up other contractors’ messes. This is just the kind of contractor that he enjoys going after.

Wanda

Moreen said...

So glad the doors were replaced hope they are ok.
I bet you are glad to see the back of him.

MaryT said...

What an idiot!!! He must have thought you were blind or something. Like maybe she'll never notice!! ROFLMAO!!! Hope you get this all sorted out and 2 new doors

Anonymous said...

Meari,
I hope this story has a good ending. You sure could use one. (((HUGS))).

EvalinaMaria said...

Someone should write a screen play from your story. It could be a comedy or horror, depends on the writer.