Last week, we wrote about waterproofing the shower in the bathroom renovation. Let’s see what happens next…

The next day, your designer sends the contractor a text, “Hey, I heard the plan is to waterproof the shower. Out of curiosity, what method are you planning to use?” 

 

His response? 

Not an actual waterproofing method. 

It’s clear he doesn’t know how to waterproof a shower. 

 

Fire your Contractor—right now. Kick him to the curb, take the loss, and be done with the guy. 

Around this time, after a particularly challenging evening, your designer says,“It is my professional recommendation to fire your contractor.” She told me that she’d back me no matter what, and the decision was 100% mine, but this was not going to magically get better. 

 

From a Designer’s perspective…

My client didn’t fire the contractor. Sometimes more things are happening behind the scenes and after my clients discussed it, they decided this wasn’t the right move for them. So we continued and I planned for extra site visits to keep an eye on the work. 

 

Finally, the guy found a way to waterproof the shower following an actual waterproofing method. It may not be the best possible method, but it was still an acceptable solution. Instead of telling him not to use a carcinogenic waterproofing paint, ask what the plan was for ventilation seeing the bathroom didn’t have a window in it. (For real.) The client closes all the bedroom doors and runs the fans extra long to get the fumes out. This is an inconvenience that should have been avoided, but it’s the reality of the situation.

The next day the client sends the designer photos of the waterproofed shower. Ok, great, but what about the spots in the corners that were missed? Why was there cement board still showing through the paint? Why wasn’t the floor waterproofed too? 

 

 

The missed spots were fixed after much prompting and the tile guys came in to begin the tile work. 

The designer was there a few days later to confirm measurements for the shower curb. The inside of the shower curb hadn’t been waterproofed. This poses a huge risk.

After some emails were exchanged, he finally cracked. The contractor sends a not so professional email from him about doubting his work. Well – yes, in all fairness anyone would be doubting the work because he had demonstrated that he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. 

Fire the contractor. 

Shortly later, the new toilet was installed. Not too much longer (hours) later, a wet spot appeared on the dining room ceiling, directly below the toilet. He didn’t install the toilet correctly. 

Fire the contractor. 

He continues to show up late, disappearing for hours on end without explanation, and uses other commitments as a reason to not show up – the list is long and exhausting. Sleepless nights occur. You find yourself awake at night stressing about this project and just wanting the guy gone. 

Fire the contractor. 

The next day you realize that he didn’t switch out the shower arm. It’s still the original one in black instead of the new chrome one. He says that it’s impossible to replace without ripping out the tile, but he recommends painting it. 

 

 

Fire the contractor. 

You verify this with your designer who says that it should be replaceable and tells you that paint won’t hold up. Then she sends you a YouTube video showing how to replace the shower arm… 

Fire the contractor. 

After seeing the YouTube video, he says he can do it. Now you’re panicking about your tile… 

Fire the contractor. 

He’s a no-show the next day. 

Fired. 

Tile tile was grouted, but not correctly. 

Fire the contractor.

When noticing the poor grout job, you also found that some of the tiles were chipped before being installed. 

A good contractor would have checked all the tiles being used for the project before being installed (normally upon arrival, not on tiling day…) and flagged any issues so they could be rectified before they were installed.

Fire the contractor. 

Your designer is checking out the progress and noticed that in addition to the chipped tile, some of the tile cuts around the drain are really sharp. If you stand near the drain, your toes could get cut to shreds. This is unsafe, and now it needs to be added to the very long punch list. 

Fire the contractor.

It’s shower door installation day! The guys are there to install the shower doors that have been sitting in your garage for a week because after all, the project is behind schedule. Suddenly one of them comes downstairs to inform you that they broke a tile. 

Apparently, when they went to drill into the tile to secure the bracket for the rail, the tile broke and they needed to pry it off the wall and replace it with a new piece. Thank goodness that enough extra was ordered, but how does this happen?

Instead of taking just a couple hours for installation, it’s 10pm and they are still there. 

It’s time to fire the contractor. 

They left – finally. It’s after 10pm and time for bed. 

You’re excited that it’s finally done, and soon you’ll be able to take a shower in your new bathroom. Well, once the silicone dries from the shower doors anyway. You snap a photo and send it to your designer.

Then your phone rings. It’s the designer…. 

“If I noticed something, would you want to know, or is ignorance bliss?” Your stomach drops, and you reply that you want to know. It’s then that she tells you that the shower doors are in fact installed backward. 

 

Backwards. 

 

Yes, despite having detailed instructions, they installed the top rail backward and the unfinished part of the header is facing into the bathroom instead of into the shower. 

What the heck?! How did this happen? Could it be because it’s a prefab door and we needed the opening on the right side? Could that have been the only way? 

Nope. The installers just didn’t pay any attention to the instructions, at least not to any level of detail. 

 

 

It’s time to fire the contractor. 

It’s almost 11pm now and you’re standing in your new bathroom, husband next to you, and designer on the phone discussing possible options for remedy. You reach out to the contractor to tell him there’s another issue and he commits to be there by 9am the next day. (Why does this guy always start so late?!) 

Fire the contractor. 

In the contractor’s effort to get in your good graces, the contractor was excited about bringing the baseboard in. The baseboard was selected weeks ago, was a special order piece, was never ordered, and now it’s a close alternate. Whatever. 

So back to the shower doors… You guys chat and he decides he’s going to try to find a decorative piece to cover the exposed hardware. Off to the hardware store he goes. 

The trim is taunting you by lying on the floor nearby. 

He comes back with a sink drain cover, cuts off the back, and then silicons it to a mechanism to cover the exposed hardware. You think it looks good, send a pic to your designer. She approves it. Done.

The contractor tinkers around all day, you’re not sure what he’s actually doing up there, because the punch list is still pending, and the baseboard that’s been taunting you is still laying on the floor… 

Fire the contractor.