Level & Square Construction

I studied design in college and have designed and managed major commercial projects. I have done all the other rooms in my house myself. But I only have one bathroom and was willing to pay a premium to a quality contractor to do everything for me and do it quickly. My beloved wife did not wish to add another bath ("we've been in this house 25 years and raised 2 kids... why do we need 2 bathrooms now?"), so I wanted an experienced contractor to build my design and do it quickly. I called 20 contractors, 10 called me back, 7 came to my house, 4 gave me a bid. Sal's bid was considerably higher than the other bidders and the references he gave were ok, but he talked a good line and understood my design. So I chose what I thought was the "premium" contractor. It was all bull****. He did sloppy drywall, spackling and painting, and could not build the shower pan according to my detailed plans. His tile guy was incompetent, ruined $2,000 worth of materials by installing it incorrectly, and abruptly walked off the job at noon one day, never to return. As a contractor, Sal was quick to blame me for his problems and then wanted to charge me extra. He coordinated the work poorly, and did a poor job of cleaning up the job site. Finally, I took matters into my own hands and brought in another tile man, recommended by Vito, my material man at Tiles Unlimited in Aberdeen NJ (fantastic expertise and service, I recommend Vito highly). The new tile guy, Danny Hayes 732-682-4599, is an artist and genius. He fixed so many things that were wrong and I got the fabulous bath that I wanted. When Sal's work was complete (the job was not complete, but I just wanted him gone), he apologized to me. OK, he is not a total jerk. But I warn you to stay away from sweet talkin Sal. He sweet talked me and I thought I knew how to deal with contractors.