[cbj8585]

Hi,

We just had our bathroom renovated. Everything was gutted down to the studs.

Evidently the room is slightly out of square and the walls are slightly out of plumb.

This has caused some slight gaps in the molding around the window as well as the vanity and some slight unevenness on the baseboard molding.

The house is about 50 years old and I understand that houses settle but in such a gut renovation such as this, should the contractor be taking corrective action to make sure that the room will be plumb and square?

They just installed drywall directly to the existing wall studs. My thought was that they could have used shims and drilled the drywall through the shims and into the stud to make it plumb. Just the same way that you would use shims when installing a door or window frame.

Is this something that needs to be requested specifically or should the contractor have done this on his own?

Thanks

 

[BowDown]

It depends on the contractor. I wouldn't think a contractor would take all the extra time to do what you described. They are in there to make money and get out. Once the wallboard is up and mudded I'm sure you won't notice much in the way of plumb/square (assuming its just a little out). Caulk can hide imperfections with trim and vanity fitment. No house is going to be perfect.

 

[Clutchcargo]

I wouldn't be surprised if the house settling had nothing to do with it being out of square and plumb.
Could you shoot a couple pictures of the problem areas?

 

[walkman]

If it wasn't part of the job description, I wouldn't expect it to be part of his bid to fix existing structure. On the other hand, since almost nothing is square, he still should have been able to put molding in without gaps by adjusting his cuts. And cabinets by scribing or at least cover up with molding. Baseboard molding is almost always uneven, that why shoe and caulk are used. I guess you have to figure out if he was working in a tough environment or if he's trying to find an excuse for his sloppy work.

 

[Ron6519]

Any contractor with experience working on older houses should have known this was a possibility and informed the customer at the estimate stage. The walls would need to be made plumb for the various sheet goods. And that there would be an additional charge for the work.
Not to do this is stupid. The job ends up looking like crap. The homeowner isn't happy. And the possibility of a referral is nil.
Ron