DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Last Fall we hired a general contractor to replace some windows in our house. As is unfortunately typical, the contractor’s work crew had no experience installing windows, especially in masonry. But as is also typical, they forged ahead and did a reasonable job.

Except… two of the replacement windows were mirror-images of one another. The crew leader, a carpenter, did not check his orders closely enough, and installed the XO window (which opens left-to-right) in the place where the OX window was supposed to go.

This was not a fatal error, but the remaining window would not work in the remaining opening. The carpenter became upset, probably embarrassed at having made a mistake, but said he could reverse the direction of the remaining window before installing it. (The opening direction cannot be changed after installation.)

So he swapped the panels, but broke one in the process. Visibly frustrated, he explained that someone would come out to replace the broken glass, and made it equally clear that because he broke it, he’d be footing the bill. He seemed even more upset at this point.

I began to feel sympathetic, and so when he asked what we planned for inside trim, I admitted that we were in need of a finish carpenter to frame and trim the windows. He offered to do this work, and I agreed, thinking I’d give him a chance to do some good work — to redeem his somewhat unsuccessful morning by doing work he was experienced in, and in a more direct sense, by improving the window installation that he’d done substandard work on.

We discussed the trim and foolishly did not write up an agreement or spec. I really do know better… As I look back I realize I was only asking for a bid, but the carpenter assumed I’d hired him. Later, when he called with the bid, he said he’d already purchased the materials, and I realized I was bound to proceed.

One of the key points of the design was that the hardwood sills would not show mounting hardware. What is the point of having stain-grade wood sills if there is a row of screw heads running the length of the board? We discussed this at length; the carpenter came up with an implementation plan that would not require the sills to be screwed down.

Installation day came at last. One frame went in without a problem, but soon I heard some unexpected banging, a few quiet curses, etc. I walked down the hall to check on progess and was horrified to see that the carpenter had just finished driving a big masonry screw through the center of two of the sills. He countersunk them and covered them with blobs of wood putty, and assured me these patches would be invisible. I was too shocked to argue. And I was not about to start a confrontation with a guy holding power tools.

And so I made a third mistake: I paid him.

Later I inspected the frames closely. The work quality was awful. Besides the wood filler: split corners, errant staples, unfinished edges, gaps. What a mess! I agonized for days before coming to a decision, which was to ask the carpenter for a refund. This was a lot harder than it sounds: to tell a guy that the quality of his work is so terrible that I’d rather throw it away than have him come out to fix it. But in the end that’s what I did, albeit with much nicer phrasing.