All Forum Posts by: Cole Walker

THAT IS FANTASTIC!!!! Not that we don't like you guys in DC!..... but I'm tired of getting the key words as well.

@Lee Huffman Did you do a house inspection on this property before you purchased it?

The reason why I ask is with things like an electric panel, replacing coper, and even the sewer line, those should all be known in the inspection. If they were noted in the inspection I'm assuming you gave a report to your contractor... in turn should have no reason to not include those in the bid. The rotten kitchen floor on the other hand is harder to detect.

Did the contractor try to upsell you on those items?

Just my two cents

@Stephen Chan Call a water damage company now! That should have been all opened as soon as someone knew about it. There should be so many fans in there it hurts your ears, dehumidifiers running that will make the room warm, and holes smashed in the drywall that looks wet. ( companies around the seattle area are called Servpro.)

Call your insurance guy and tell him what has happened. Most likely his/her renters insurance if they have any will not be enough to cover it.

@Marcia Maynard  is correct by saying removing the toilet. The water damage emergency company you call will probably do that and tear up the floor for you. They will also probe the drywall for moisture and tear out any that needs to come out.

@Kevin Tran is correct as well. Don't use her family member to fix this. Your insurance guy will help create a scope of work and if you don't feel comfortable calling a contractor on your own, they lots they work with.

@Lee Huffman From my standpoint as a contractor, it is my responsibility to make sure I give a correct number to get a project completed. There are times when I may forget to add some sort of material, or extra labor that my be involved that I forgot to account for, but that is my problem. In my bids I state it will cost $XXXXX to complete x, y, and z. On the other hand, I do have a note in my formal bid that says project time and cost may change with unforeseen site conditions. For example if we open up a wall and there is rot or insects that may change the price of the job. It kind of depends on what the contractor is charging you for.

I have seen contractors try to price gouge customers for many reasons and a lot of the time its the contractors fault. Either they wanted the job bad so the low balled it, hoping for the best. Or they are a contractor that never makes any money unless they change order the heck out of the customer. 

I would mix @Ibrahim Hughes and @Marshall Downs suggestions and first see if you and the contractor can come to what you feel is a " fair " agreement. If nothing can happen in a reasonable time, call an attorney. One note tho, no one wins in a pissing match.

@Tom Mole all very good ideas. Listen to em!

Welcome to BP! I like your intro here. 

Congrats on your buy and hold close. That is fantastic.

I love the podcasts to. I listen to them on my way to work, much better to learn while in traffic!

@Anne A. You may want to share the contact info for the contractor you used. That way one of your friends don't use the same guy. Anyone who would "cap" a water leak with electrical tape.... well if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Maybe the contractors insurance would cover install of new floors? or a refinish if a reputable flooring contractor says it will finish out.

@Nick R. as you can see there are quite a few people that say to hire it out. If you feel you can get it done right I'd say go for it. It will be a lot of work, and you will wish you would have hired it out... until your done. With 5 guys to help you tear off and if you get the material delivered TO THE RIDGE, and you know there will be some rot and you have thought about all the flashing you need to do..... Its up to you and your 5 friends if you wanna tackle it or not.

I upgraded my account here on BP and as I look through some of the Pro only discussions I notice that some have key words that I have a watch on. I didn't get a notification about the two or three topics tho. Should the key words be watching topics in the pro area? Do I need to set something else up?

@Danielle J. I put tile that looks like hardwood down in my kitchen and dinning room. We chose this because we have a dog and well.... dogs and hardwood floors don't usually mix.

We wanted warm tho, so I put a heated mat under the tile. It has a thermostat that you can tell it when to be on at what temp and set times to go to a lower temp. I think in installed it a year ago and we love it.