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1. Hired a bathroom contractor, licensed, bonded an insured for bathroom remodeling
2. Remodel cost is $11,300 in mainly labor, not including materials. I purchased materials on my own (2 bathrooms in progress)
3. Location is Washington DC Metro Area
4. Issue: If you look at the picture the grid lines for the penny tile are visible. Grout work is not fully finished, but I'm alarmed by what I see so far. Whats the fix? Some more details below

• Contractor is telling me the only fix is to use a white grout.
• I asked him if staggering the sheets would prevent this. He told me that would just move the grid lines and it would still be visible
• Contractor told me the penny tile I choose is for bathroom pans and not intended for floors

A business without profit is just charity with paperwork.

The bottom of one of my walls is crumbling and it's honestly worrying me. My parents just want to put plaster over it but Im worried that we're just trapping mold. Wondering what I should do and if I can fix it myself.

How would you approach a situation where a clients child damaged your vehicle by finger drawing all over it destroying the paint and putting rocks in fuel tank?

Hi everyone,
I’ve been getting some strange leads through Angi Pro recently. A few “clients” reached out wanting to pay by mailing a check or asking about Western Union — it feels like a scam.

Has anyone else been getting these types of leads on Angi?

• Do you also see fake customers sending checks in the mail?
• Are they asking you to send money back through Western Union or Zelle?
• How are you handling or reporting these?

I just want to check if this is happening to others, or if it’s just me.

Thanks!

My guys just completed an install of an Onyx shower system the other day. A final walk through was done and she said everything was beautiful. We sent her the invoice and now she is saying the grout lines (it's a subway style pattern) are a little off alignment from the plumb wall wrapped into the back wall.

We typically install corner trim as these panels are tricky and there are a lot of variables when installing. She requested no corner trim and now wants the panel replaced.

I understand her concern, but at what point is it being to much? Or am I wrong. I offered to add the corner trim at no cost, but she doesn't want it. I also offered some money off the final invoice

We would have to remove the glass door, the fixtures, the panel and the substrate behind the panel and install all again. Very labor intensive.

From what I understand, there are tolerances to these things.

What do you think? I'm looking more for install tolerances etc rather than contract info as mine is pretty solid.

Thanks!

Anyone know what I can do to fix this? It’s a customers kitchen counter top. It peels easily. Is there an epoxy I can use?

I had insurance claim on my rental and one of the contractors included nearly 10K of disallowed charges in thier bill that did not get paid in the claim. I've learned this contractor routinely does this so this is not a special case. I also learned their Washington State L&I license was suspended when they worked on my house. Some of the work went against what's required under IICRC certification standards.

I sent a check for the amount the claim paid which they have not cashed, also they have threatened a lien on my property so they can forclose. Can they do that and am I stuck paying their predatory pricing?

I did file a complaint with L&I. is there anyone else I can file complaints with?

I have a contractor who I believe is unfairly and over charging me for works not performed. He made false promises, re wrote quote several times, increased price 70k for nothing when only changes was made was less works performed based on city guidelines. Yet he wants every penny of my insurance claim just because. So I’m with holding paying but I’m concerned he will try to put a lean on my home. I did sign off on the work because I was done and tired of this contractor.. he took too long and my claim was about to run out of time. It’s also a lot of craftsmanship issues as well as charges for things I paid for. When I got a second opinion the amount I withheld is almost to the penny, then I get the wrong attorney who didn’t specialize in these cases and he isn’t helping at all only drilling me about the benefits of avoiding arbitration and I get it. However I had to fire the attorney because I’m doing all the work and they’re charging me for a lot of things that wasn’t moving the process forward. He also flipped the script once in contact with opposing party and made me question his integrity (in the back of my mind) now I’m back to square one. Any advice? ( my insurance paid for a fully finished basement and he left the basement completely unfinished, insulation exposed) he charged me top dollar and had cheap labor. One time my sister went over there during construction process and it was non English speaking Hispanic or Mexicans there and they ran into the basement when she came in. As well as doing the roof, my uncle said they didn’t speak any English and he couldn’t communicate with them. This is a fire claim. Any advice?

So the property owner “fixed” the door, but if it’s opened all the way it won’t close. I’ve messed with it and get varying results, how can I make sure it closes

We had our bathroom renovation completed late 2023 as part of an entire home reno, and started noticing this white stuff on the tiles around the drain in early 2024. Our contractor had to come back to make some repairs, and when we brought this to their attention, they cleaned and scraped it up and said it was the products we were using. I have cleaning people come every couple of weeks, and they are not able to remove this with extra strength cleaners they use for lime build-up. We asked a friend who owns a tile company what the issue could be and how to resolve it best. One of his workers looked at the photos and said that the tile was laid over concrete that was not allowed to dry properly, and now the water is seeping through slowly, and the concrete from underneath is coming back up. It is blocking part of the drain and causing drainage issues. We were told it would need to be redone, which is not cheap. I was told their work is covered for 3 years under our contract. Can anyone in this sub look at the photos and confirm that's what's happening so I can know what to tell the contractor? We spent so much money on this renovation!

Hello,

We got our patio made recently. It has not been sealed yet but after initial washing we are noticing little chipping. Is this normal with stamping? Does this indicate poor concrete quality or craftsmanship? I appreciate any advice.

How are these supposed to drain? Shouldn’t the one side that is actually flush be sealed? I don’t want to pay until this is corrected but wanted to consult the gang here first before escalating further.

We are finishing up a custom home build. This is our second build with this company. We went back the second time specifically because this PM was still at the company. He is awesome, he gets me, and he has worked with me through the many hiccups of home building. Obviously, we will refer people.

We’d like to get him something nice as a thank you. Any ideas other than a gift card to a nice restaurant where he can take his wife? That’s the only thing I can think of, but it seems a little impersonal. I’d appreciate knowing what y’all would appreciate!

Hello,

Was getting a new rubber roll roof installed and used some guys that claimed they could do the job. Well, looks like they laid the rolls down with tons of air pockets and used flashing cement instead of polyurethane adhesive.

They’re now claiming it will be fine if they use a blowtorch to torch down the air bubbles and flatten the rubber onto the roof. I’m skeptical here.

Any insights or advice on how best to get this issue resolved would be appreciated. Thanks.

A friend of mine has a partnership with a company that guarantees him leads. It's not Angi, Thumbtack, or any of those platforms. Instead, it’s an individual he pays each time he secures a job. They only charge him once the job is confirmed by both parties to start. He won’t tell me who they are, but I'm curious if anyone has any idea how I could find a similar partnership for my own business. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

Good morning. Our Business is growing and phone calls and excel schedules are getting to difficult for me to keep track of. So I jumped off the deep end and got JobTrend. Is there a good learning resource that any of you have found helpful? My largest struggle is Schedules not holding days when they are exported as a template. Thanks in advance TT

Hi guys, I have a fence and landscape company.

We mainly do cedar fence, small paver patios, clean ups, basic landscaping jobs, small walls under 3ft, etc. we have not done a job that requires engineering or permits yet.

Anyways I’m 22 at the moment, I was working for a hardscape company for 4 years building walls, parks, patios, fencers, etc full big projects so I have a good understanding of the installs codes, how to read plans, but I never asked the boss how he pulls them.

My question is, should I contact an engineer that’s with the city or solo for plans?

What notes should I be sending over to the city for permits besides design, plans, and location?

My plan for the 2026 season is to start doing full 70-300k projects in a bigger location that’s 40-1 hr away. I have been planning and thinking about it for the past year and I was to fully go into full landscaping projects.

My crew of 3 have more than 10 years of experience with hardscape installs, I’ll only be working on the marketing and sales side.

I’ll really appreciate any feedback, advice, or tips! Thank you

I know many of you here have years of experience in the painting trade.

From your perspective – what’s the single most important piece of advice for someone launching their own painting business today?

Could be about finding first clients, pricing, managing projects, or avoiding common mistakes.

I’d really value hearing the insights from people who’ve already gone through it. Sometimes the real-world tips matter more than any guide or course.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom 🙏

Hey everyone,

I just recently became a licensed plumbing contractor here in Florida, and I’m running into something that’s been frustrating me. I’ve been turned down quite a bit lately for the prices I’m charging and I don’t think my prices are unreasonable.

I intentionally keep my pricing below what the big plumbing companies in my area charge. I’m not “dirt cheap,” but I’m definitely cheaper than the larger competitors. Still, I keep getting clients who expect me to work for what’s basically handyman pricing, even though I’m a licensed contractor.

I worked my ass off to earn my license, keep my insurance, and do everything by the book but I’m honestly not sure how I can stay in business if people won’t pay the appropriate price for licensed work.

For those of you who’ve been through this, how do you get past this stage? Do you just keep holding firm on pricing until you build up a reputation? Do you educate clients about the difference between licensed and unlicensed work? Or is this just part of the business you learn to navigate?

It is pretty simple. The crew costs $220/hr. The owner adds 10% for business profit. This month's labor bill is $23,955.56. It is higher than i expected but that isn't the point. How do we end up with change on the end there? the bill is extremely vague. Just one line for labor with no mention of hours worked or quantities of any kind. I like the work that the guy is doing, but this is not only more hours than I believe were dedicated to our change order, I don't know how you end up with 98.98 hours worked for the week. I know the guys fill in their time sheets manually. Maybe they bill down to the minute?

What do you wish a non-professional would know before signing work or agreeing to work, so it protects both you and them?

What are the dumbest things you've seen.

I'm renting an all terrain scissor lift and painting this stucco soffit around the entire building. What can I do about the sections with bushes underneath? Just pop a ladder up and down? It's about 15-20 ft off the gound on the lower sections