Challenge

Homeowners hired the wrong contractor for the job, let’s call them Contractor “X,” to install what should have been a beautiful set of new french doors leading into their den area. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence in our industry, and a call we get all too often. Contractor “X” ordered the wrong sized doors and instead of informing the homeowner and correcting the issue right then and there, they decided to try and make the doors fit. They cut into the walls and studs, severely damaging the integrity of the framing and old horsehair plaster. When the customer arrived home they saw nothing short of a disaster. The doors we un-level, wall now floating, plaster in piecemeal, floors damaged, and finish work a mess. Naturally, the customer called in quits with Contractor “X” and called GF Sprague.

Solution

Our first line of business was helping an extremely upset customer feel safe and trust that their project was in good hands. Paul, longtime GF Sprague crew leader, assessed the damage and laid out a plan to swiftly correct it. First, the doors needed to be taken out so that the structural integrity of damaged framing could be addressed. Second, the doors needed to be reinstalled and properly leveled, and the walls re-plastered and put back together, correctly. Next, Paul came up with a super creative solution to replacing the damaged flooring with an accent strip design. The home built in 1900 had very old flooring that was not easily matched and Paul decided with the homeowner that instead of trying to match, they would make lemonade out of lemons; this came out awesome and the homeowner was ecstatic. Lastly, Paul did what he does best and completed all the finish work to perfection. Despite the customer now having to do the project twice, they now had the result they wanted and deserved, the first time. Thank you Paul, job well done!