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Quality expectations and callbacks

2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  slickshift 
#1 ·
Over the past 2 years, we have done a number of remodeling projects to a 50 year old Cape - 2 new bathrooms, new kitchen, turned screen room into a Sunroom, new HVAC, etc. all of these were basically rip-it-out and build-it-new projects that we had done by various levels of professionals. By this I mean some big companies and some independent carpenters, tile guys, and handymen.

My question is, what is to be expected in terms of quality and is there a statute of limitations on call backs? Examples:

1. Drywall nail/screw pops - Is 4 or 5 acceptable? What about 15-20? Should I call them back in if this happens after a few seasonal changes (up to a year) or is it my problem now?

2. Tile grout cracking - Where the floor tile meets the wall tile and where the vanity top meets the wall tile. Some gaps as large as 1/8" have formed. Also, extensive cracking in shower and tub surround. Happened after 6 months.

3. Plumbing leaks - how long after the job is it acceptable to call back. We have a small leak under the tub after a year with staining on drywall below.

4. Exterior doors - worked fine until seasonal change and now they stick.

5. Caulking in kitchen countertop and bathroom sink has dried and cracked away.

6. Floor tile grout between tile and wood surfaces (baseboards, thresholds) cracking away leaving gaps. Should this have even been done this way? Seems to me grout doesn't adhere to wood well.

You see my point. I realize these are made made things and don't last forever, but am I being too picky about the small things. Seems to me I've been in rooms 30, 40, 50 years old that didn't have these problems.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
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#3 ·
Thanks.

The cracks I'm getting in the field tile are at corners in newly framed shower and tub deck, and where a new floor meets an old wall. What kind of other problems would you suspect? Do you think the framing could be bad or just shrinking/expanding because it's new?
 
#4 ·
New or Old, walls and floor move independently of each other, these areas need to be caulked, grout will just crack out of there, find out the brand of grout and color, most manufacturers make a matching color to all their grouts.

Carefully remove all the gout from these joints with a hand held grout saw and caulk them, be carefull not to scratch the tile, or just call the guys who did this and tell them it was done wrong.:)
 
#5 ·
I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I haven't had any screws pop on work I've done myself. Keep in mind my house was built in the 1850's and was screwed up plenty of times prior to me working on it, so I had to fix old mistakes. In any case, I didn't have any problems with drywall work I completed myself, nor did any doors stick or plumbing leak. It sounds kind of like the contractors did some pretty sub-par work, IMO.
 
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