JB Anderson Home Remodelling

Description of Work: JB is a very congenial fellow, and seemed to have all the necessary credentials and experience to perform a number of varied tasks which were needed at a house I had purchased and was rehabbing. I had made it clear to JB that time was of the essence, and that all the numerous things that had to be done must be completed in a timely and professional manner. He walked through the property with me from the start, and for each item that we made note of for the to-do list, he assured me that "we" could do that (implying we = he and his crew). Electrical items included installing new sockets and switches, and exchanging can lights for fluorescents in the kitchen. Because previous owners appeared to have done a lot of weird remodelling, I dealt with JB's confusion over how things were wired as owing to the way things were haphazardly thrown together. Plumbing items included checking the water lines for leaks since the house was bought "as-is, where-is", and reconfiguring the walls of the master bathroom. I tolerated JB's heavy reliance on Shark Bites (more expensive than just sweating joints) because I thought he was trying to get things done more quickly. Carpentry items included replacing several doors (interior and exterior), removing a laundry chute and roughing in some walls in the reconfigured bathroom mentioned above. Also, the house needed to have the old, rotted, peeling paint siding removed and new siding installed and painted. During any of these jobs, I found it disconcerting that while he was trying to be helpful, JB would be distrracted by questions and bounce from one task to another without appearing to finish anything. I took to painting the interior rooms myself because it seemed evident that it would be quite some time before JB got to it. I then took to removing the siding myself for the same reason, and even installing the foamboard insulation myself so that something would appear to be getting done. I will be the first one to tell you that there were MANY unanticipated plumbing leaks (the water lines had frozen somewhere along the line) and MANY electrical surprises where we found that previous owners must not have had a clue (or a permit) when they made all the changes to the house. However, even when those obstacles were (seemingly) overcome, JB has remained one of the SLOWEST workers I have ever seen. On only three tasks did he bring along a helper - there was never any crew or handful of regular workers to assist him - and one of those was unfortunately an alcoholic who was not too interested in the work itself. I strongly suggested JB not bring him along again. That was for the exterior siding demo. Another time one guy came along to help with sheetrock and mud, and insulation, but he only lasted a few days because JB was not paying him enough (I was told). The last task, installing the exterior siding, has had two other guys helping JB for some time - this is the third week now - but they are not experienced at it from what I can tell, and also being paid by the hour, so a 3 day job has dragged out into 3 weeks. Did I mention that one week no one came because the wheel fell off JB's van, the very next week no one came because JB's dog died, another 2+ days were missed because it had rained days earlier and JB thought the siding might still be wet, and also other days were missed because he was needed at home to care for his friend and now today because the gear box fell out of his van.