You are definitely not over-reacting.

You should have reacted sooner and more emphatically ... they are playing you and your DH and working on other things instead of your place.

It's time to point out as loudly as need be that Mother Nature has given you a DEADLINE ... and your expectation is that you will not be sitting in an unfinished house micro-managing them between labor pains.

Your expectation is that they and their noise and mess will be out of there BEFORE your first contractions and that you will have a FINISHED house when you bring home your baby.

Update:

There are 3 people here today. The floors are almost complete (and the gap is filled).

Of course the floors are COVERED in dry wall dust from the sanding (that I asked them to do before laying the floors), but I am not going to let that worry me at this point.

Ceiling has one coat of paint and there is wall paint out in trays.

DH has been assured by the GC that he will make sure that the kitchen will be ready for cabinet install tomorrow.

Apparently they are moving into the Great Room tomorrow, which is good because that is going to be another source of a huge amount of drywall dust.

Not sure about the hallway ceilings - there is some problem with the electric which they need to sort out in the ceiling. Apparently GC told DH that if they have to sand while standing with a vaacuum they will.

I do feel like there is a chance that the painting might be done in time. I'll poke my head around the door in an hour and see what's happening.

Keep your fingers crossed that we're ready in time for cabinet install and if we can get them to progress the Great Room we will start to even up the labor vs money paid which would be good.

Then we'll talk to GC and ask him if this job is one that he is interested in continuing with. If he says yes, then we will lay out our concerns again and tell him that we will take it a step at a time until the finish, and if it's not working we'll move on. Thank goodness we negotiated paying in quarters and not a third at a time which is what he wanted.

I know the house won't be finished before the baby comes - the house took longer to close than it should have (short sale), so we knew that we wouldn't be done before baby and that's not the GCs fault. but we should DEFINTELY be further along then we are some of this downstairs stuff is inexcuseable that it's not done.

Yea for them actually making some progress!! 9 months pregnant, you have a better excuse than anyone if they push your buttons enough and set you on a rampage! Our sheetrock guy requested meeting me one morning to show me the different textures he could do so I could pick one. I got up early on my day off (which is a big deal) and waited...and waited...and called my GC. My GC got an earful and he would get off the phone with me, call the sheetrock guy's boss, and call me back updating me. He ended up being about an hour late and my GC listened to me rant and rave the whole time. The sheetrock guy also go an earful in front of his whole crew when he showed up about one hour and 15 min late. Of course, he said he thought we were supposed to meet an hour later than we were...but I quickly pointed out that he still would have been 15 minutes late. Trust me, they all looked at me like I was a crazy lady and like they were a little scared. I'm petite and could pass for a teenager so it seems to catch people off guard whenever I loose my temper..but it definitely accomplishes things for me! Feel free to rant and rave all over these guys if they even think about leaving before it's all finished today!

Some other time I'll tell you the story of how I made our painter basically repaint our ENTIRE house because my GC's "best" painter's job the first time was not acceptable to me.

Well this doesn't look too good now does it.

Is it salvageable? or does it need to come down?

Apparently it's the fault of the rest of the ceiling. The patch is perfect, the ceiling isn't. (rolls eyes).

He skim coated it again and apparently will do it again tomorrow morning before cabinet guy arrives. Not ideal though is it? Will another skim coat fix it, or are we screwed?

My Momma owns a 12 gauge. If this crap had happened while she was pregnant, there would be blood.

Don't breath the drywall dust. It is 'crystalline' and can damage your lungs.

Cover the floors completely. The drywall dust will scratch the finish of the floors if you walk on it.

That's a horrible patch job. Even I could do that better.

Unless it's a trick of the light that it looks like it's got a ridge running all the way around it.

I suck at drywall, but my husband showed me how he got a perfectly smooth patch. So I an eagle-eyed when my drywall fellow is patching. Luckily, it's in his blood.

I stand by my offer...[jingling keys in hand]

Down it comes. And out they go. I don't think you need to have that discussion about your GC continuing to work on your house.

My ceiling where water has leaked looks like their patch job. A patch job shouldn't look like that.

So you don't think it looks better in the second pic? He seems to think it will be fine after another layer of skim coat.
Do you think it looks improved or not really? I can't tell until it's dry...

We're starting to call other GCs.

Is that ridge around the patch solid or does it feel like there is air under it? Cause it looks to me like the drywall tape wasnt embedded into the mud. If that's the case I don't think any amount of skim coating is going to make it right.

If you were in my neck of the woods I'd come over and have words with them!

In the first picture it looks like the patch is sticking OUT from the rest of the ceiling. If this is the case, unless he cut it out and put it up AGAIN, then no amount of whatever coat will make it FLUSH like it is supposed to be. I don't have a good angle on the last pic to see if it is still sticking out or not. If it is flush or SUNKEN a bit, more coat will probably even things up.
Do NOT let them tell you "oh, once texture is on there, you won't be able to tell." We have a ceiling done by a family "friend" that is an eyesore and is a constant reminder of a friendship gone sour. Don't let that be their "token" they leave you of their shoddy job.

DH just got home and put up a ladder.

Looking at the second picture, the white line in between the skim coat (which looks like the sticking out part in picture 1) is raised (sticking out) and is soft.... however it is still wet from the latest skim coat? So not sure if that's normal?

DH says that when he pushes on it he can feel the whole sheet move a little.

Any thoughts? DH wants to wait and talk to second in command tomorrow (who is the one who did it and says it can be fixed with more skim coat). Or should we contact exciteale GC and ask him to come over?

Id probably take a utility knife and remove the patched in piece and do it over myself but then again I'm a DIY'er who is not currently pregnant. ;) nonetheless, that is totally unacceptable workmanship. I don't know if I could wait to talk to the second in command tomorrow...

Make them take it down NOW and do it right. That ridge is an indication of something very wrong, either they don't know how to tape a seam or most probably, since you said the whole sheet moves, they didn't nail in the patch to wood. Or maybe they didn't apply new tape at all. Something is wrong there. The 2nd photo does look better but there is still something wonky in the top right corner.

Looking at it again. Is the patch the little section of drywall or did they just try to correct that bulging seam? If just the seam, they should have scraped the joint compound off the whole area 8 to 10 inches on each side of the joint, taken off the old tape, and started over.

Also, if the seam was "fixed" and came back like that, it probably means the sheetrock panel there is not secure and they need to put a few more screws along the seam before they put on new tape.

Really, make them take that off now and do it over. It will just come back again.

just as long as they know that you will be holding a light on the side of it and looking down the wall at it. If it isn't perfect, they will need to bring someone in who specializes in drywall. If they have any doubts about it,they should quit while they are ahead and call someone who can do "such a complicated patch".

In my opinion, that bubble thing, never goes away. Everyone seems to want to believe that when it dries it goes down....until you paint it and it's wet again and its a bubble.

I'm telling you, hold the belly, make a wince, and take a long breath. Maybe a little moan too. You gotta scare these guys.

So now I'm more confused. DH went back up the ladder and now says that the white line feels firm, no air behind?

Ugh so confusing!!

Do you think it's too big of a piece of drywall up there? Should it have been done in smaller sections? Or is that not the problem?

Is the fact that the white line now seems firm and is sticking out a lot less a good sign?

Agree with beekeeperswife, those bubbles come back to haunt you. We had some cracks above doors and had someone come in to fix them. The recommended guy didn't come but sent a kid, and I happened to walk into the bedroom in time to see him just skim a coat of mud over the crack. I told him it would just recrack and I wanted it done right. He acted like he did do it right, so I called his boss and told him I wanted the joint retaped. He called the guy and the next time I went in there, I could see fresh tape on the wall. What he didn't do was scrape off everything down to the sheetrock and start over. That was 2 years ago and the bulge was back in less than 6 months. Next time I'm going to do it myself.

It still burns me that I paid for a job that wasn't done right. This is one of the cracks they repaired. It was just a bulge, but now it's cracked again too.

Christine...I think it's time to jump in your car. ;-)

You'll see that "repair" forevermore. What they should have done was cut the drywall back to a place where the edges of the new piece fell in the middle of one of joists on the one side. That way the new piece gets screwed in firmly all around and doesn't look like your "repair." I will assume that anyone who knew/cared to cut back to a joist would also embed the tape in the mud properly.

Wow. I'm sorry you're going through all this unnecessary stress. :-(

That is a completely unacceptable drywall job. Those bulges around the edges are a disaster. The whole point of the drywall mud is to fill in the depressions between sheets and to flatten out small imperfections. Troweling more mud over the bumps might make their edges less abrupt, but it's also going to make bigger bumps. I'm puzzled by how they could have gotten a bump on the long edge there. The drywall I've seen is a bit less thick on the long sides to leave room for the mud.

It might be that the thing felt firmer to your hubby on his second inspection because the mud had finished drying by then. But if it's still bumping out around the seams, that's bad. In the 2nd picture it's hard to tell how big the ridges are due to the different colors.

There's a slight chance that there are too many layers of mud up there, or that it slumped while drying, and that's what caused the bulges. If so, sanding the edges down might flatten them out. But it looks more like the edges of the drywall sheet are poking up for some reason. If so, the whole patch will have to come down and be re-done by someone who knows what they're doing.

Oh, and the patch doesn't look too big as far as I can see from the photo. It looks like it's 4' x 8' or so? That's normal, and should be fine as long as it's done right and fastened properly. (I think drywall on ceilings requires more screws than on walls.)

Laura

Looks to me like the two drywalls are different thicknesses. In the second picture, it looks like they feathered the mud onto the thinner patch piece. I'm wondering if the rest of the ceiling is 5/8" and the patch is 1/2".

In any case, Hobokenkitchen, you have my sympathy. You are not overreacting because your crew has slightly exceeded their level of competence. Not enough to totally screw up the job but enough that minor mistakes are snowballing into bigger problems. I think that is why they are avoiding finishing the job. I don't think it has anything to do with you.

If that patch is anything bigger than 16"x10", it should be pretty much covered with tape drywall mud after they screwed it into >>EACHI did mudding a whole basement of 40'x26' by myself. Drywall installing, taping and mudding is not brain surgery. These guys are hacks.

If that patch is really 4'x8' or anything near it, that is not properly done and you WILL have droopy drywall.

Make them take it down, redo it and get them out of your house.

Helene

DH's aunt is a designer and knows WAY more about the rules of this stuff than we do. She is going to come over later on today or tomorrow and look at it.
It's so tough to talk to them about it without knowing what should have been done and to reiterate what people are saying from photos.

The discussion this morning wasn't great. Second in command says that even if he takes it down and reinstalls it will look the same.

It DOES look a lot better this morning. But we really want someone who knows their stuff to see it in person so I hope DH's aunt does come! She's pretty laid back so I don't know if she'll say anything to the contractors, but at least an in person opinion would be great.

In other news I had my drs appointment this morning. Everything looks good and I am not dilated at all so hopefully baby will give us another week. I am so relieved! He said I am pretty much his only patient that is this far along who isn't desperate to have the baby already. I told him if he saw our house he would understand. He said to sheet off the hallway to baby's room and to pick up a filter to pick up any airborn particles.
I feel a little better.

Ultimately this is not the end of the world. Let's see what DH's aunt says and if it needs to come out we can either have them do it or find someone else. I have to remind myself that this too shall pass. I get so wound up that it's really not good. I NEED to relax. It's drywall. It can be redone later if need be.

Hoboken, I think you have the right outlook. Your well-being this last week and preparing for the baby's arrival should outweigh the concern about this piece of drywall. It's not a safety issue, right? It won't have a domino effect.

I had to have a patch done on my ceiling and on the intersecting wall. There was also a ceiling height change and bullnose involved. The guy was masterful, including his blending of new texture into the old. After I painted it, you would NEVER know. There's a guy (or gal) in your area who can do good work, too. It would be nice to get this over and done with before the baby comes, but who needs this PITA right now? Not you. It's not dangerous wiring or a failing foundation. It's a freaking ugly small piece of drywall and it most definitely can be redone later.

Deep breaths. :)

Did they finish painting last night?

I'm revving up the engine....

They kind of finished.... well apart from the fact that as soon as the ceiling was painted that dry wall patch started gleaming like a beacon. Lol.

So I questioned it and he said he could skim coat it.... hence the above posts.
So I guess they kind of did it.... but not completely. Par for the course really.

The GC was apparently here while I was at my appointment and he has confirmed that the patch is fine. Huge surprise there.

DH's aunt is on the way - we'll have her check stuff out. Trouble is it's so hard to tell while it has spackle. It's when it's white that the true state of affairs shines through.

I really want her opinion but I hope we're not wasting her time dragging her out here. I am the world's worst person for asking for help!!

CEFreeman - I am loving your offer - thank you so much! Let's see what DH's aunt says and go from there. We may be desperate for help in a week and I may just take you up on it! : )
Where do you live?

I own a 12-gauge and know how to use it. They would have been gone a long time ago, pregnant or not. That piece of drywall was the last straw for this lurker on this thread. CEFreeman, you'd better release the brakes!

ooo.
I forgot I have a 12 gauge. And a rifle!!
And a pump action shotgun.

Who cares that I never learned how to use them, right? They'll nnnnneeeeevvvvveeeerrrrrr know.

Ok folks.

Time for an update.

DH's aunt, Janet came over this afternoon. She's been here for several hours.

She had us take a light and get close up to the work and it's bad. Like really bad. Absolutely everywhere.

She is ore detail orientated than I am (clearly because I can't believe I didn't notice some of this stuff), but anything involving drywall work is atrocious..... and that's pretty much all they have done.

I do not know what to do. We can' have them continue with the Great Room. There's a ton of dry wall work still to be done and all that will happen is that we will have paid for a ton of paint (it's a big room) and it will all have to be redone.

The kitchen ceiling which is all brand new drywall is full of seams and blemishes. I guess I was so eager to get the cabinets in that I turned a blind eye.

Anywhere that they have done drywall is done badly... including in the two 'finished' bedrooms.

I'll try and post some more photos - I am just digesting it all right now.

The patch that looked better, isn't. You really can only see how poor the workmanship is in the afternoon light and more so with the extra artificial light close to it.

The new hardwood floors squeak, and they haven't been covered properly while dry wall work has been done, so they are coated in crap.

I'm not even upset. Just kind of numb. I thought if we could just get the Great Room complete we would be more or less even with the money paid.

Now that's not going to happen. I am so nervous about tomorrow, but I guess this has to be done. There really is no point in letting them do any more if we will just have to redo it all anyway.

Document, document, document. Photos, notes, who said what when (as best you can remember) and take notes of your meeting tomorrow. That way, if you fire him and hire someone else...your backside is covered.

If they've pulled permits for this stuff...then planning may have something to say.

Hang in there...and I hope you have an easy, uneventful birth.

We took some more pics. Mainly of the bran new totally from scratch kitchen ceiling which I thought looked ok this morning, but in the afternoon light is a sea of blemishes since they painted yesterday.

Here is how the patch looked this afternoon - I thougt it looked better and was hopeful.

Later with different natural light and closer up with an artficial light, it looked like this (they have been mudding it all day). The finger prints aren't their fault... Janet did that testing to see how much it was sticking out;

The kitchen ceiling that was done from scratch, has the following (believe it or not you really don't see this stuff in normal light except from certain angles, but it's really not ok);

The examples around the lights are around every light.

The walls which are painted already are same way. Now they need more paint.... because of course they will have to skim coat over the paint job (and we pay for paint).

The patch where we had the leak in the ceiling upstairs is the same way a big square cut out of the ceiling with raised seams. I don't know why I didn't say anything about that one before.

Deep breath and keep calm for the baby. Think of the great birth story you'll have to tell ("and one week before the due date, we were having the ceiling re-patched!"). Good luck with Mr. Excitable Contractor tomorrow, thank heavens you found out now, and thank heavens for Aunt Janet (does she know any drywallers in the area?).

If it helps even a little, I really like your yellow paint color... (seriously!).

I am actually weirdly calm about it. In fact I now feel almost sorry for him. I don't know what the heck my problem is.

He says he wants to fix our concerns, but I know when it comes down to it we won't be able to get a word in edgewise and he'll just get all defensive and start blaming us (or probably me) for all issues.

I've never fired anyone is the problem.

Your problem is you're about to have a baby, and your body knows it and is turning down the volume on the other issues in your life.

I would just want this guy and his team of bozos out of my life. Period. Not even have him attempt to fix what's wrong and continue the agony of having to deal with him. Maybe you'll have to pay someone to redo the work that's wrong, but it seem a small price to pay for the grief this is causing you.

As others have suggested, I'd pay him what he's owed and not let him touch another thing in the house. Say a prayer. Focus on welcoming your new baby.

Just showed The Husband--he said "I could do better than that" and I won't let him do drywall repair. Best of luck.

Having been there, done that, I am so sorry that the problem seems to have morphed from a timeliness issue (epidemic with contractors) to a quality issue (also too common, but one you cannot compromise on).

Now that you know you won't meet the deadlines you'd hoped to, in a way that might relieve the stress. It's not going to happen, so really, truly, relax. Maybe take 2 or 3 days and ignore the whole thing?

I hope you can find a good rescue contractor (the profession should be ashamed that that term exists) and that the interim inconvenience is not too bad.

It seems that you hire a flaky GC and since you are so close; I would hold off until you deliver and go from there.

It's over. Let go. Have the baby. Leave a voicemail that says, "You're fired. You can never enter my house again. No trespassing." And then you're done. Hang up if he calls back. And relax.

Oh child, that breaks my heart. This is the reality: Nobody on that crew knows how to finish drywall. Do not let them try to fix it. They can't. Like I said, they knew it was going bad and just wanted to get out of there. It had nothing to do with you. Fire them in good conscience. That's the worst job of drywall finishing I've ever seen done by supposedly "professionals."

Please check the contract you signed with the GC. If it specifies that he must be bonded, then you should be able to recover the cost of fixing this through his bonding company because he clearly did not perform the work to any level of reasonable expectations. You might have to consult a local attorney who handles this sort of thing.

I am about to cry for you. We had over 60 holes in our ceilings and walls when we had to repipe our house due to a slab leak. I was wary since our friend, a contractor, had done a drywall job for us and it looked horrible, similar to some of yours. The guy who came out for the patchwork did an AMAZING job. Had the texture not been WHITE against our tan walls, I would not have known he had been there. THAT is how they should look. So, if you need a drywall person, perhaps contact a company that does repiping in your area. But please do this AFTER you have a pleasant, wonderful birth and have time to live as a family for a bit. (((((HUGS)))

CEFreeman can pick me up in Germantown on the way so I can provide reinforcements. I was such a miserable pregnant lady I am just amazed at how well you are handling all of this :)

Roberta

I am so sorry about all of this! It is enough to handle the stress of a complete remodel but being nine months pregnant at the same time? Wow!

Just fire them and get your aunt to maybe find you a better GC as I am sure she must know of some. Take your time and just put the negative behind you the best you can. You are about to be a mom! That is the biggest blessing and most exciting thing ever.

Big ((((huh)))) to you!

You poor thing! I'm so sorry you're having to deal with all this. Being 9 months pg is hard enough in the best of circumstances. I agree you've got to fire them and get them out of your house. Have your sweet baby and let friends and neighbors bring meals and accept all help that is offered. I wish I was close enough to help out in some way. If Christine is ready to drive out there, then I'm ready to start up a fund to help pay for her gas!!

I've have some nightmare experiences with contractors. All I can tell you is that this will pass and it will make a great story one day.

You've got a ton of advice but considering everything, I'd just roll out my DH or Auntie Decorator let one of them handle it. The guy is refusing to appear for the meeting because he "knows" what's coming. This isn't his first rodeo. If not now, eventually, he will appear to get his money.

One thing's for sure: the house will get finished. But the priority now is you and the new world you're about to enter. Having just returned from a week with the GCs, including a 6 m.o. who's a bad sleeper, a month from now the construction will pale a bit. Of course, having the house torn up isn't comforting.

(((((hoboken)))) stay strong. You'll get through it and it will look great in the end. Meanwhile, you've got bigger things happening very soon.