Contractor Issues -- Please Help!

11 years ago

Hello. Any advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

I recently had the tile around my bathtub/shower in my rental unit in Chicago, IL replaced due to water damage behind wall. It is a 5' jacuzzi tub with 7' height of wall around tub. The old tile had to be removed and inner wall replaced. Before work began I got a quote for 42 hours of labor plus material costs. I went to Home Depot and purchased 75 sq ft of tile and grout myself for pickup by the craftsman. The job went well and the final work was excellent. However, when I got the final bill there was an extra $1,085 in material cost.

Here is how it breaks down. $85/hr for labor and shopping time, $39 1-time visit charge, plus cost of materials. When I called to question how a small job would require over $1K in materials (after I purchased the tile and grout myself) I was told that there usually is a 30% markup on materials. I understand this markup is consistent with time and materials but only when the two or lumped together NOT when you are charged for separate labor cost.

After several requests to the office, I finally received an itemized list of all materials + cost. After reviewing the list, it appears that I was charged for an additional 20 sq ft of tile due to "breaking during cutting", and $91 for Durock cement board (Home Depot told me it should have been more like $35!). I was also charged an additional $220 for "wet saw rental" due to the fact that their wet saw "broke" during use on the project and $45 for a new mirror that was damaged by the craftsmen during demo!

I feel that these material costs are excessive as I am paying separate charge for labor and shopping time and am currently fighting the charge.

What do you think? Any thoughts would be helpful!

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Comments (6)

homebound
11 years ago
Sounds a bit high but if they have to get any materials (cement board, fasteners, thinset, etc.) it's not uncommon to pay a markup.

You might post this in the john bridge tile forums for more thorough replies. Look for the ceramic tile advice forum.
snoonyb
11 years ago
"Here is how it breaks down. $85/hr for labor and shopping time,"

Is this in addition to that included in the original estimate, and was there a signed agreement for this?

"$39 1-time visit charge,"

Is this for the "pickup" of material you had ordered and payed for? If so, there is legitimacy there.

"it appears that I was charged for an additional 20 sq ft of tile due to "breaking during cutting","

This is an arbitrary charge, hidden in "lump sum" bids, and it varies from trade to trade.

"I was also charged an additional $220 for "wet saw rental" due to the fact that their wet saw "broke" during use on the project"

And if their vehicle had "broke" would you have had to loan or paid for a rental so they then could have continued to increase their bottom line, as well as take the tax advantage?

"And $45 for a new mirror that was damaged by the craftsmen during demo!"

Were you asked to remove this mirror because of its proximity to the affected wall areas?
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dekeoboe
11 years ago
How did you determine how much square footage of tile to buy? Size of the tile used and pattern can play into how much tile you need. Plus, it is recommended to purchase an additional 10-20% more for breakage.

No to paying the wet saw rental. Mirror depends on the situation.
swaters
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi. Thanks for the replies! In measuring the sq footage, I measured the length of the tub (5.5') x the top of the tub to the ceiling for the height (7'), so length x width = sq footage (35'). There is some additional tile around window and small ledge behind the tub. To account for overage and additional tiles I doubled it just to make sure (70 sqf). After several discussion with multiple people at Home Depot, we all felt that 70 sqf of 12x12 tile would easily cover the work and account for breakage.

I dont mind paying for additional materials if needed but the real issue here is that I was charged for a wet saw rental and broken mirror without being notified of either charge. (And I was not told to remove the mirror before demo). I had to ask multiple times for an itemized list of charges and feel these would have gone undetected if I had not questioned the material charges. What other unneeded items are they trying to get me to pay for?? $25 for trash bags? $91 for cement board? I understand markup, but a 250% markup. That's excessive!
dekeoboe
11 years ago
Neither side of the tub is tiled? If it is just the one wall, then it doesn't sound like they should have needed that much extra tile. And they should have told you about the need for extra tile while they were doing the work.
GreenDesigns
11 years ago
If it's a tub/shower, I certainly hope that the end walls were tiled----as well as actually waterproofed! Just installing backerboard isn't enough.