Drywall contractor shoddy work

[Erin Silva]

Hi BP! Currently flipping a property and we hired a handyman to do some ceiling drywall replacement. I now have a licensed contractor on the job working on an addition and he's saying that 1/4" drywall was installed on the ceilings and it will have to be overlaid with another 1/4" sheet in order to be strong enough to carry insulation. This is a big problem bc the walls have already been finished and painted. My GC is saying it's going to cost about $2800 to fix this after replacing Sheetrock and repainting the entire house. I've contacted the contractor who did the work and he claims he is in NC for 2mths. We didn't part ways on the best of terms bc pretty much all of his work was turning out to be shoddy. He's already been paid for Drywall and paint. Is there anyway I could go after him legally? Is there a cheaper way to fix the ceiling? Ughhh.....

[Christopher Gilbert]

What does your contract spell out for material and warranty?  Unfortunately this may be the point where you learn a hard lesson and start using contracts with your contractors.  Without a contract you have little to no recourse other than to not use them again.  If you have a quote that spells out material used you may be able to go after them for that.  The contract should be simple but contain the scope, rough cost, payment schedule, material specifications and ramifications of missing deadlines or warranty period.  There are plenty of other things you could add to it but it tends to scare away contractors if it gets too long.

You may be able to go after them for breach of contract but only if you have something in writing (contract, quote, receipt with different material than quoted, etc.) but it will cost you as much in legal fees and they do not help you collect even with a judgment. 

A licensed contractor is a good direction to start with but even then you still need a solid contract.  Anyone that won't sign a reasonable contract is your first red flag.  Pay a few bucks more and use a good contractor.