WWYD? Issue w/a contractor.

[gmail]

LOng, sorry!!!

Found this super awesome A++++++ rated contractor on Angie's List for our kitchen. Overall, he did a really good job. I lovelovelove how everything looks.

As part of his contract, he installed our new appliances. The fridge and micro work fine. The stove shorted out upon first use and the dishwasher didn't pump out the dirty water. Back and forth with him, he's super friendly about everything, but basically says "Look, we installed everything correctly and they worked for us. It's the appliances." Home Depot is incredibly friendly and helpful, working with me to do free inspection/technicians. After a LOT of stress and back/forth b/w myself, GE, Home Depot and contractor, I finally get a technician out today.

The stove is a unit error, not installation error. HD will replace it for free. HOWEVER, when the tech pulled the stove away from the wall, he said that our contractor did not replace our gas valve to bring to bring it up to code (pls note that my computer just corrected "valve" to "vulva"). He should had replaced the valve, and the tech said that is standard procedure.

The dishwasher was 100% installation error. There is a little thing called a punch-out that is basically a plastic disc used to keep the pipe clear during shipping/install. It's supposed to be...duh...punched out before use. Contractor did not do that. He ALSO told me that the dishwasher drained fine for him upon usage. How is that possible?

So...here is my issue. I want to email him and let him know what they found and what they are doing. I also want to tell him where he messed up. Do I just say "Hey, you messed these 2 big things up. Just so you know for future houses..." or do I ask for something in return for this? It's not costing me anything extra money-wise, but it's taking a LOT of my time. And we're paying him a pretty penny for everything.

Ugh. WWYD? What would you say?

[hamster]

I'd probably send him an email just letting him know the issue was resolved and their findings, but without being rude and accusatory. I'm overly patient with contractors though.

[6fsn]

I'd send the email, but wouldn't ask for anything except maybe a new valve.

[gmail]

That's my instinct, too, but I tend to avoid conflict. I don't want to be TOO nice, b/c really...WTF? You didn't know to punch out the thing CALLED a punch-out? And not bringing a gas stove up to code - isn't that like Gas Stove 101?

[gmail]

Oct 16, 2012 11:03:24 GMT -5 6fsn said:

I'd send the email, but wouldn't ask for anything except maybe a new valve.

HD or GE techs (whoever installs the new one) will put in a new valve.

[jennistarr1]

I would certainly send an email...this was headache

[vanillacourage]

I would email him that they found XYZ and ask for a 5-10% refund/discount on the job. If he says no, I would post a review of his services, including the installation issues on Angie's List.

Installing a gas stove against code is a really big deal IMO.

[MixedBerryJam]

I'd email and tell him you have determined what the issues were, mentioning the gas valve thing specifically, but that you won't need his services for the fixes. Especially since he knows that another contractor/plumber/whatever is going to be involved in the gas valve replacement, he'll stew about whether you're a dissatisfied customer who's going to say something on Angie's List. He may come back with something.

[Deleted]

Oct 16, 2012 11:35:43 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

I would email him that they found XYZ and ask for a 5-10% refund/discount on the job. If he says no, I would post a review of his services, including the installation issues on Angie's List.

Installing a gas stove against code is a really big deal IMO.

this. My email would be something of the following:

Dear Contractor-

TY for the wonderful job you did with our kitchen. The cabinets are really beautiful. I just want to make you aware of the issues we discussed w/the dishwasher and oven.

I did take your advice and had HD come and take a loot at them. It turns out that the oven was in fact faulty. But they did point out to me XYZ.

As far as the dish washer they said .... xyz.

As such I am hoping we can negotiate together a small discount of 10% due to the fact we have not been able to use these appliances since installation.

TY for your time.

[FishChicks]

If this was a large job, I wouldn't ask for 5 or 10% back, but I would call or send a note to say that I appreciated the good work he had done, but after calling for service on the appliances, I discovered two issues, and I wanted to give him a chance to respond to that discovery before I write my final review on Angie's list.

For reference, we just had a contractor with A+ Angie's List ratings try to claim they'd replaced 85' of our sewer line when it they'd only replaced 40'. When we brought up the error and asked how a problem of that magnitude could have gone undetected, the first thing they said to us was, "You found us on Angie's List, didn't you?" They worked a 12+ hour day, with a crew of six to rectify the problem. Angie's List has some impact.

[steph96]

When we moved into our house, everything worked fine. After using the dishwasher 5 or 6 times, I noticed that it suddenly stopped draining. Our punch out thing was still in there. I don't know how the dishwasher had been draining before. It seems like a common thing that is often overlooked.

Are you being charged for any service calls? If so, I would expect him to refund you for those. If not, I would just write him an update FYI type email.