"The Contractor Stakes His Reputation On This House" -- Start Running!

I have got to tell you, especially with remodels and contractors "flipping" houses, you really need to start running when the contractor or his agent says "This contractor stakes his reputation on this job." Over and over again, I have heard that. The first time I thought, wow that is neat should not be much wrong here. The photos below, every single one of them, are from such a home. The contractor had purchased this house, pretended to fix it up, but look at the mess. I included photos of those areas he was staking his reputation on. His reputation was in tatters in about every part of the home: Roof, attic, interior, crawl space, foundation.

If this had only happened once, I would think that it was an isolated instance that was amusing, but it has happened frequently enough that when I am told what a great perfectionist the contractor is, I am wary and watch my back. People need to remember that just because someone is called a contractor, it means almost nothing. Sure, in some states the prospective contractor takes a test.  But in many states it means that they have some mandatory financial responsibility obligations, in case they foul up, and they pay state taxes. In other states, requirements might be less than that. The truth is, some contractors do not know much of anything about how to do a job right, so the work will not survive over the years. Even some contractors, who have been building for years, fit in that category. Doing something wrong for decades does not make it right. Of course, there are also good contractors, but just because someone is labeled a contractor, it means less than nothing on it's own merits.  Link to sequel blog

Thick Roof: How many layers here?          Nice, neat, new wiring in the attic

Hole in chimney in attic, fireplace             Feeding the anobiid beetles in the crawl space

below 

Rot in crawl space                                  What heat supply register? 

Nice rodent hole in foundation                   Oh boy, you mean that will leak 

Sewer gas smells good in attics                Water is cheap, who cares if it does not turn off? 

Thanks for listening.

www.kingofthehouse.com

Steven L. Smith