Reply to What level of perfection can you ask for from your contractor?

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Reply to "What level of perfection can you ask for from your contractor?"

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[quote=Anonymous]The above link is to a reference that calls out tolerances that are used within the industry.

So for the example of redoing the shower above, there are standards for lippage which is the amount out of plane that tiles can be. In that example it is also a function of the tile, the size of the grout, and the substrate.

Again so depending upon the tile, the tile installer may tell you that the grout joint needs to be at least x in order for him to float out the tile.

First it comes down to who you hired. The hiring decision is often a function of price, proposed project duration, level of communication, and quality.

Some tradesman don’t really know good work. And it is because of the space in the market where they traditionally work.

One of my clients hired his cousin to do some work on a job I was working on. Well he worked in commercial construction so he didn’t understand things that folks who work in high end homes just intuitively know. Needless to say, we had to rip out a lot of his work.

There is saying that perfection is the enemy of good. And it is true.

I am a remodeler. I do meticulous work. I tell clients I am not perfect.

If you want good work from me then you need resources - mainly time and money. If you are resource constrained then you are inherently limiting my ability to strive for perfection.

And when I give you a bill and it has extras for me moving things out of the way, fixing the substrate, etc. and then you express your frustration and do not want to pay then you are teaching me that you really do not want quality. I realize most home owners will say I should have told you, priced it, etc. The reality is the good jobs take good clients. They have often done work before, realize when they have a good crew, asked for a budget and then play a supportive role.

That all said, I hate ripping things out. As others have pointed out it usually does not go back together the same way.

And in general if I have to ask any of my trades to fix things that are not going together well I take that as a sign that we do not play at the same level. Better to not use them than try to manage their work.

That said I can do work at the highest level of the residential construction field. But I am small so inherently slower. I oversee a lot of my own work and good work takes supervision. I cannot compete with the truly high end not because of the work but because of the volume and production levels. If you hire me you will get the same work but it will take me longer.

If you hire a ham and ever then he will never be able to produce my work.

There are levels - you need to insure you hired at the level that you want.

My clients know by reputation that my work is very well laid out and executed. They also know that better work takes longer.

I run into trouble when clients are tight on resources - money and time - because that’s not how I work.

So again from your post - a good painter can fix a lot of trim flaws but you really only have one shot at tile.

Good luck.[/quote]

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