How to handle a bad contractor who won't fix poor work

“The story I heard from the flooring contractor is that he spoke to his crew, but thinks we should leave it as is, but moving forward he will get it done right.”source ↗

“I foolishly paid the invoice before asking for photos or inspecting the job because I thought that it was straightforward and there was no way that it could be done so poorly as this.”source ↗

“He’s saying something about the pieces connecting to the ends but I think he’s just being lazy and doesn’t want to cut up small pieces.. unless this is really best practice??”source ↗

“There is no attic above the master bedroom or the kitchen so the solution was to run flex duct through my son’s room. I didn’t pay for this; my landlord was very quick to tell me he paid $45,000 for this. Aesthetically it obviously looks like shit but I’m told it’ll still work fine. Only 5 months left in this shithole fortunately”source ↗

“My real question is they took the exchanger with them and wouldn’t bring it back until next day. The furnace looks like they destroyed it and left it as a pile of parts is this normal?”source ↗

“Do I have any recourse? The whole job cost me $3,500 and all of the parts were under warranty. All I had to pay for was the man hours and the refrigerant.”source ↗

“I feel like I've been taken for a fool”source ↗

“They took a piece of your furnace without your permission? Yeah that's definitely not okay. That's beyond sleazy, that's criminal theft.”source ↗

“EDIT** OK people. There is a ton to unpack here and I am now on verge of a breakdown adn cannot keep up with the comments - I need solutions please”source ↗

“I just went in and measured up the notch in the joist and its fully beyond the half way mark.”source ↗

“Now that the work is done, he is demanding another $8k immediately, *before* the house sells! That is above the max $15k he quoted me, and he won't give me a detailed breakdown of his work.”source ↗

“He did things like open the decedent's SAFE without asking me and without me being present, then claimed there was nothing in the safe.”source ↗

“I walked in a rental once and said “god damn that drywall patch looks like shit”… then the tenant told me that he did it because he couldn’t get maintenance to come out.”source ↗

“Avoid Two Men and a Truck in Burlington, VT: use literally any other mover. They do not meet the standards of other Two Men and a Truck locations, and they cost me over $7,000 in damaged furniture, lost equipment, and doubled shipping costs because they packed the truck so poorly.”source ↗

“Tile pros tell me what do you think about this BS contractors tile work be honest”source ↗

“One time I was at a residential customers house working on their water softener. The customer had recently installed geothermal heat pump air handler. The installer scrawled in huge thick sharpie (like the really big thick ones) something like 'heat pump installed by proud union tradesman, plumbing installed by non union scab hacks'”source ↗

“Since I'm starting to lose confidence in what was done...”source ↗

“Photos of the soffit that I'm a bit concerned is wonky:”source ↗

“Basically all cuts have small chips in the new porcelain. Both steps looks terrible and poorly finished. Straight edges are squint. Grouting missing all over the place.”source ↗

“The company who completed the work are no longer answering my calls and messages.”source ↗

“Iv got someone coming to have a look to price up fixing the issues. Do I ask for money back to fix issues? Or what are my options.”source ↗

“We repeatedly had to follow up ourselves to get updates, find out if samples had shipped, ask what had changed between formulation rounds, get preparation instructions, and figure out what the next step was.”source ↗

“We also ran into issues with commercial feasibility.”source ↗

“One formulation round came back at roughly four times our stated target, and the sample was sent without written dilution or caffeine instructions.”source ↗

“We hired a guy three weeks ago to tile our bathroom shower.”source ↗

“Then the work started going sideways.”source ↗

“I want to let him go. But here's the thing—he's a genuinely nice guy.”source ↗

“I've never fired anyone before, and I'm dreading this.”source ↗

“Not feeling good about the prospect that we were taken for a ride.”source ↗

“GC says her painters didn't mention anything so she thinks it's from city construction out on the street.”source ↗

“GC says nothing to be done, just a 1973 house problem.”source ↗

“Given that, do I actually have grounds to hold that last draw until this stuff gets fixed? Or should I just hold back enough to cover quotes for fixing these items and pay the rest? Or am I out of luck and just have to trust them to come finish it?”source ↗

“when I returned, I saw that the flooring didn’t look right - the colour was completely different from my other flooring, the transitions weren’t consistent at all or considered at all it seems.”source ↗

“I’m wondering if anyone has gone through something like this before and had any ideas I’m not considering for how to get the condo management to right this situation - and even ideas for how I can prove that this job was done incorrectly.”source ↗

“I hired a guy to remodel by bathroom and he said he could do the flooring too.”source ↗

“I gave him a 5k check enough for extra material and he ordered it. Meanwhile he worked on the bathroom he said would take 3wks. Going on 5wks.”source ↗

“I asked him 4 times and he came up with excuses. He brought my flooring, but no receipts.”source ↗

“He won’t give me any receipts. I told him I want any $ that was leftover. He says he will handle it accordingly.”source ↗

“My basement is being remodeled and the drywall guys just finished up. I noticed a trail of white residue leading to a bush on the side of my house and found this”source ↗

“Some guys working on my bathroom left about 20 of some kind of multitool blade on the lawn in my backyard.”source ↗

“From what I’ve read on driveway construction, you need a good base of min. 1” sized crushed angular rocks to “lock the rocks” together. We’ve dug down and there is just more of the same sandy tiny rounded rocks.. it sinks and has zero structural stability.”source ↗

“Was told by the owner of the company that this is what 1.5” crushed rock looks like- and that if I had a specific idea of what I wanted the 1.5” crushed rock, I should have told him where to get it…”source ↗

“We moved into a new build, the surveyor noted that the bathroom vent fan had a pipe attached in the attic, but was not connected to the outside.”source ↗

“We asked the sellers to fix this, and turns out, they just duct tapes two pipes together.”source ↗

“Is this OK? Or should we ask them to correct it?”source ↗

“Used Two Men and a Truck for my move. NEVER again, damaged the house we moved out of, hole in the wall, broken stair treads, broken railing.”source ↗

“The guy who remodeled our bathroom thought this was well plumbed. (I already replaced his "work")”source ↗

“It looks way different from his video.”source ↗

“What looked like a bit of dust on the awning is obviously paint and oily looking stains.”source ↗

“The trim is not smooth. There are other strange brownish stains.”source ↗

“There were other trim spots too that look awful that were covered by the bushes in the video he sent.”source ↗

“Had my siding redone and they put up this box, bought a new light and all of the pictures i see have tabs inside the box for mounting. How do i use this?”source ↗

“The screened in patio had smoke build up so thick you couldn't breathe and I thought we were all going to choke. I also thought a fire might start.”source ↗

“I feel like both installers are incorrect and when I googled it the info I received stated both a duct too small and flex pipe will cause very poor outcomes. Which it has.”source ↗

“How do I hold everyone accountable? Is there a board or society I can contact? Can I get a fire Marshall to inspect and write up a warning letter? How do I get quicker action as everyone drags their feet and has zero sense of urgency.”source ↗

“I feel like the hole could have definitely been cleaner, and given how messy the cut is should there not be something sealing the gap?”source ↗

“My wife and I hired a flooring company back in 2020 to replace the floors in our condo and long story short, they did it very incorrectly.”source ↗

“So after 3 attempts of asking for this report, the guy has dodged the question twice and then finally said he doesn’t know what report we’re talking about, despite us being very clear about what we’re asking for.”source ↗

“Thanks. Yeah, it sucks because the bubbling only became really apparent very recently.”source ↗

“The whole staircase looks like a mess—I preferred it before they finished it. I asked the contractor to come look at my concerns; he hasn’t responded.”source ↗

“It's incredibly bad. This is a full rip out and replace.”source ↗

“We just got our siding replaced with Hardie boards and the contractor just said job's done and handed me the bill, but there's some things that just don't look right.”source ↗

“Could you all please let me know if I'm just nitpicking or if any of these are actual problems I should be telling them to fix before I pay?”source ↗

“been there done that as a novice home owner. did it work? yes. i would pay nobody to do this though”source ↗

“A small area of shingles lifted up and let some water inside the attic.”source ↗

“Should we be concerned with the longetivity of face-nailing vs hidden nail?”source ↗

“I recently had the fascia/eave trim wrapped with aluminum coil as part of a roofing/exterior project. I’m looking for opinions from roofers/siding guys on whether this is acceptable workmanship or should be redone.”source ↗

“I'm trying to separate actual installation/water-management problems from things that are only cosmetic before I give the contractor a punch list.”source ↗

“that 2x2 cutout is basically a bottleneck waiting to happen, especially with the kind of leaf litter and gunk already collecting up there. one good autumn and you'll have an overflowing gutter right at the downspout”source ↗

“exposed screws in a wet zone are gonna rust out way faster than they should, plus they’ll snag every twig that comes through. i’d be calling them back to redo it with a proper 3x3 drop outlet and sealed fasteners”source ↗

“I tried , seems like resistance from above”source ↗

“Company cracked glass in door and had it replaced. But now there is a gap on the outside and I can press and move the window. They claim it is normal yet it does not match the other door which is sealed.”source ↗

“the manual has a big CAUTION about never soaking it in water, only vacuuming it, and this is the first time anyone has tried to wash it with water.”source ↗

“I get that drywall repair would be on us, but yes the cut feels comically bad. It's in a cupboard so I'm not too worried about the appearance moreso any repercussions of the gap!”source ↗

“That was where I went originally, but then I was worried I'd put the wrong thing in the gap - and why am I paying $300+ to have to go drop more at home Depot”source ↗

“The main issues are jagged uneven planks where the risers meet the next step. On several stairs I can fit two cards in these spaces!”source ↗

“A few steps also have gaps between the planks and stair noses.”source ↗

“On a few steps, I can feel the plank give a bit under my foot in specific spots.”source ↗

“Is this a “wait and see if anything fails” thing or is my family in danger?”source ↗

“Just had a blue stone patio installed and I think it looks awful and isnt going to last.”source ↗

“None of the retaining wall bricks are glued\secured which I've heard isn't uncommon, but 50% of the perimeter stones are loose.”source ↗

“It's not horrible but it's a little uneven and it stones sort of flip up at the end which prevents water from running off.”source ↗

“I'm looking at the different size gaps between tiles and the manhole cover is on an angle and the other cover is laid with the pattern in the wrong orientation. Job is still ongoing. Is this ok or should I mention it?”source ↗

“I dont feel good about this. Not sure what to do. There are blatant violations here - performing work without a permit, lying about it, and billing me for a non existent permit (FRAUD).”source ↗

“Im left now with a roof with unpermitted work - the cost of a RETROACTIVE permit here includes a penalty of 9 times the standard price of $500, so he will need to fork over $4500 to come into compliance. Im not sure what to do and as a layperson dont really know if the work completed is up to standards b/c no one has officially inspected it”source ↗

“Any suggestions from you honest contractors on what I should do now? In addition to the permit issue, if the quality of the work requires more coating, should I even let him continue more work (after he gets a retroactive permit), or should i start looking at other contractors NOW to fix the situation?”source ↗

“I climbed up on the roof part way in and the worker is blasting clean through each shingle once and having at least one over-drive per shingle.”source ↗

“When I bring this up to the contractor he says " it's fine they put extra nails in ".”source ↗

“However now I have several light fixtures that are like pushing down from the ceiling no longer flush, and vent screens pushing down to with insulation coming out and new gaps. Am I over reacting or should I not pay the remaining balance until they come in and fix this?”source ↗

“Within the first year defects started emerging — screens pulling completely off the frame, structural posts splitting and twisting, nails becoming exposed, gaps throughout the enclosed deck large enough for rodents, frogs, hornets, and other pests to get inside.”source ↗

“Goliath Exteriors Inc. was administratively dissolved in September 2025 — right in the middle of our unresolved dispute. He now operates as Stampede Construction LLC at the exact same address.”source ↗

“yesterday the guy brought it out and was going to soak it in the sink. I asked him not to, since it's not supposed to get wet, and he looked at me like I had two heads.”source ↗

“oof that's rough, 41k down the drain and now he's playing shell games with company names. the dissolution in the middle of your dispute is such a red flag”source ↗