I’d Like to Drywall our Drywaller into a Corner
This is the story of how Drywaller Jeff became known as Douchebag Jeff.
Do-it-Yourselfers are a strong breed. We dig deep to find the time, patience and skills to fix stuff ourselves. We’re tough, committed to our projects and proud of our work.
But sometimes a DIYer, who has been DIYing for a really long time, decides there are projects that should be DBPed, or Done By Professionals. For Joey and I, the decision to hire a drywaller didn’t come easily. We have the ability and know-how to hang sheets of drywall, screw them to the wall and then mud and sand them. We can do this.
But, we can’t do it well. Despite multiple attempts, our walls just don’t look that great.
So, we saved some money, got a recommendation, and hired a drywaller. His name is Jeff.
Jeff arrived at our home on a Friday afternoon and he was friendly and nice. We chatted, he measured and reassured us he could get the job done. He would only charge us $1.50 per square foot to do the job. He felt it was more fair to charge by the square foot than by the hour. I liked Jeff. Jeff seemed like a good guy. And he was recommended to us by a teacher. I trust teachers.
So, we busted our asses getting our house ready for him. We recruited 11 friends and family members to also bust their asses and they did. I have never worked so hard in my life. But I didn’t mind, because I was doing it for Jeff. I was doing it for the new, perfect walls I was about to have.
Jeff was supposed to begin working on Tuesday, July 29th and finish by Friday, August 8th. To date, Jeff has put in 6 hours of work. He shows up whenever he wants, tells us he’s leaving for lunch and then doesn’t return until the next afternoon. We questioned him about this. He said “Don’t worry guys. I’ll be here all day Friday and Saturday and I’ll get it all done.”
Jeff didn’t show up on Friday. We called him on Saturday to question him about this and he said “Hey, I am actually on my way over to your house right now.” Funny thing is, he never made it over. Jeff now no longer returns our phone calls. Jeff is making me furious, because I had to pay him $600.00, or half of what we owed him, for him to schedule in our job. Jeff has not done $600.00 worth of work.
But, we have Jeff’s tools. They’re sitting on the ladder he hasn’t touched in almost a week. Jeff won’t be allowed to get his tools until he gives us back some money.
I hate this and am baffled by his behavior. It makes us realize how precious the really good guys are, like our electrician, Cheerio Steve, who don’t take advantage of you and just get the job done.
Has this happened to you? Did you get any money back? Is there anything we can do besides daydream about hitting him with sheets of drywalling and filling all of his orifices with mud?
Sounds better than Dogs and Jen‘s infamous cabinet guy, but maybe he’ll sink to that level over time :-/
In California, anything over $500 has to be done by a licensed contractor, have a written contract, and has no more than 10% or $1,000 down payment. If there are problems you can complain to the state licensing board.
I don’t know if Wisconsin has anything like that, but maybe check with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection: 1-800-422-7128.
This doesn’t help you in your situation, unfortunately, but after hearing your story and also the story of my friend’s roofer (They paid him half upfront to fix a hole in their garage roof. Four months ago. Hole’s still there.) I’ve adopted a policy that I won’t pay for labor upfront. I’ll front for materials, I’ll pay the cost of manufacturing something (in the case of my storm windows) but until the job is done, and done satisfactorily, I don’t pay a dime in labor.
My friend who hired the roofer is contemplating hiring someone else to finish the job and cutting his losses with the half he paid out already. That’s not the best option, of course, since you’re out that first half. But at some point, the garage needs a roof, and the walls need, well, walls.
Have you spoken to the person who recommended Jeff to you? Maybe that person knows him personally and can give him a swift kick to either give you back your money or get the job done. At the very least, you need to let the teacher know their recommendation didn’t come through very well, lest he/she recommend him again.
Good luck. I certainly sympathize.
I don’t have any advice to help you, but empathize totally. When we had the carport built and the columns put in (replacing ugly wrought iron) on the porch, the duo tried to pull a fast one. They came religiously — at first. Then, they conveniently forgot materials, THEN tried to get us to repurchase the columns they both misordered and mismeasured. Kiss Steve, he’s a dying breed. I thank God for Lawrence every day.
That truly stinks and I’m sorry for your aggravation. The same goes in Michigan, if it’s over $500, it requires a permit which then requires a license, etc.
I just went through a huge renovation, I wanted to DIY but couldn’t handle the size of the renovation and have it done before I got old and gray (ha ha). It was overseen by the General Contractor from Hell. She subbed out the drywall and finishing to a guy who lives in one of her rental properties. So, he has a day job where he does commerical drywall then, at the end of each day, two of them showed up at my house to tape and mud for 1 1/2 hours. They did this for 30 days…. They could have had all of it done in a week and their slowness held up other things like trim finishing and light/ceiling fan installation. The only upside to it is they did a fantastic job, but the wait was infuriating.
Thanks for your insight! I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the situation. It’s nice to know that our situation isn’t that bad in comparison to others.
I have heard of a great guy who does Drywall work
he is very honest look him up his name is Harold McDonald I have seen his work he does a great job
well good luck in the future
Wow! Harold McDonald sounds like he must be the best drywaller in the world! Thanks…sure can’t guess who wrote that.