How Your Contractor Can Break Trust by Cutting Corners

You’ve saved for months to finally give your kitchen or bathroom the remodel it so desperately needs. And once it starts happening, you have no issue getting through all that dust and mess because you know that your new spa shower or marble kitchen counters are worth it. 

Then it’s been weeks and things are… Off. The tiles are pretty, but they don’t line up. The cabinets looked beautiful in the catalog, but they’re actually really flimsy. The ‘brand-new’ faucet? You’d swear it looks like the Temu version of the one you picked last month. Could your contractor be cutting corners?

Sloppy finishes are the least of your worries in this case. 

What you really should be thinking of is safety and money, because some shortcuts aren’t even visible until much later. And by then, it’s already too late, and your dream kitchen or bathroom has turned into a nightmare. 

Trust and Communication

When money is being exchanged for goods and services, each party has a picture in their mind about what is expected. 

Sometimes the contractor's idea of proper finish does not meet the same standard as the client's, so everyone needs to be on the same page.  After all, you are making a big investment in your home, and the person who is carrying out the work, so communication and trust play a big part in this kind of relationship.

Think of it this way, you have chosen to attend a doctor for your health care, and somewhere along the line, that doctor broke that trust, and there are serious consequences for both of you.

At the end of the day, you want people to be accountable for breaking promises, lying, or covering things up:

Red Flags

1. Estimates 

• Lack of detailed information.

• Vague Material descriptions.

• Missing labor costs.

Home Owner Tips:

In your estimate, ask for specific details such as:

• Labor estimates (include contingencies if there is, say, wood rot or something in a wall, or bad pipes, etc.)

• Define the materials you want used (even product names, or if you are looking for recycled materials, and the like).

• Payment schedule.

• Timeline for each step of the plan.

2. Sloppy Finishes 

• Uneven grout lines, unlevel tile surfaces, or no waterproof membranes in the bathroom.

• Improper electrical or plumbing work ( like cutting through support beams or ignoring the structural integrity of the areas being worked upon).

• Failure to leave wiring and plumbing open for inspection.

• The improper use of fasteners or the wrong metals for use in a bathroom or kitchen.

3. No Communication 

When a contractor seems to be dodging questions, refusing site visits, or providing vague answers, it is time for a review.

• Conduct a walk-through.

• Keep photo records of each stage.

• Engaging a Private Inspector or Third-Party Professionals

Get a brief together and call a meeting with the contractor. Contractors have rules and regulations to follow. So, be sure to ask for receipts from what's been done so far, do up a progress report, and try to tactfully get down to the root of the issues that are delaying the construction and costing money. 

Home Owner Tip:

If it is appropriate, it might be time to pause the project yourself and seek advice.

4. No Proper Permits or Inspections

When you do a walkabout of the project and find out the proper permits are not in place, you may have to back track and end up:

Paying fines for doing work without the proper permits in place.

Check Insurance details and make sure the work done will be covered by your home insurance.

Ensure the work is being done safely( safepass requirements are met.

It might hold up your project and cost more money.

Home Owner Tip:

• Vet your contractors.

• Visit the last projects they did and get references from other clients they have worked with.

• Do weekly or daily visual inspections so you can ensure all licenses and permits are in place before work starts.

• Ask questions about other kitchens or bathrooms they have done in the same area, and see if they offer up any advice.

5. Skipping Prep Work

If the contractor is skipping essential prep work, you may have unlevel floors, sealing issues, or incorrectly prepped plumbing issues (drainage problems). Fixing these issues after the fact is unnecessarily expensive and might not be possible without ripping it all out and starting again.

Home Owner Tip:

Be honest about your expectations and be around to do inspections at each stage, so you can know each stage is being done and it is quality work.

Cutting Corners Isn’t Just a Red Flag – It’s Straight-up Dangerous!

When you think about contractors cutting corners, you might imagine a few crooked tiles, the wrong paint on the door, or even the paint job being a bit sloppy. Or perhaps low-quality materials were used, or a few important steps were skipped because they’re considered ‘overkill’ instead of mandatory.

There could be a lot of scenarios in which someone has cut corners. Not ideal, but it happens.

The problem lies in situations where cutting corners becomes a safety hazard.

Let’s take a farm as an example situation, since there are lots of potential things that could go wrong on a farm:

The builders said they don’t need any permits or inspections because the structure will be built on private land. And you go with it because they’re the professionals, and what do you really know about it?

And then:

• Then the structure collapses because of poor framing or load support.

• Poor electrical wiring causes a fire.

• Improperly done plumbing has caused a massive flood in the foundation of the structure.

• You’re being denied insurance because there was no permit or inspection (turns out that one was required after all).

• You get fined for unpermitted construction.

• You’re liable for any injury that happened.

Luckily, let’s say no one got injured; it just ended up being a huge financial headache. But someone could’ve been injured – you, a family member, your child? A worker? What then?

Just imagine how many more things could go wrong on a farm. There are tractors and mechanical failures with all those various sharp attachments. Lots of various chemicals are being used. There’s food involved. Lots of livestock. Even more structures.

Cutting corners could get the job done more quickly or could save a few bucks, but they also introduce a new danger factor into the equation. It just isn’t worth it.

Once someone gets hurt, it’s no longer just a mess you have to fix; you’ll need legal advice regarding farm accidents to figure out who’s responsible, what happened, and build the case because you know that whoever was injured will (most likely) sue.

Conclusion

There’s always that danger in hiring someone to do some work for you in your home. Make sure you do the research beforehand and try to make the best decision. Price will probably be a consideration, but sometimes, if it’s being done ‘cheaply’, that is what you’ll get.

Be sure to be involved with a degree of respect for the contractor and bring up concerns along the way. Remember, you need to trust and feel trusted yourself to get the best for the contractor. You really want to enjoy your new kitchen or bath and be proud to say so and so did the work.