Kristen in Ottawa

I hired this contractor to replace a sliding patio door with a single door and complete a small renovation on my kitchen (counter/backsplash). When we met I told him our budget and he said he was sure he could work within it. Foolishly, we agreed to a $2000 down payment to secure the time in his calendar. When he sent us the contract it was our max budget PLUS tax (meaning we were 5000 over what we had discussed). When I asked him about this he claimed that all contracts are designed this way and since the before tax price is within what we had discussed I couldn't complain. This has not been the case with other companies hired for work your budget is the final cost. Still, we thought this might just be a miscommunication and continued with the contract. As other customers have mentioned, we paid 70% upfront for him to purchase the materials etc needed for the job. After one day of work, the contractor asked for the remainder of the payment. I refused and he said he has "been burned too many times" so he always get paid upfront. I told him that if I pay him 100% now, what leverage to do I have if he were to not come again? He said it was a "trust thing". I agreed to pay him an additional 10% to continue the work and told him at this point he has thousands of dollars of my trust. The contractor didn't come at all that week. He claimed that it was because our counters were delayed and he could not continue any other work until the counters were installed (even though all the work on the door/wall had nothing to do with the kitchen). He said he only wanted to bring his saw once, so he was planning on doing all the cutting at the end. So we fast forward to the counters being installed (a week later). He is not able to come and do the backsplash etc for several days because he has other work booked. This timing issue is now my fault because of the "custom" counter I chose. There was nothing custom about my counter other than cutting it to size. He now claimed that all work being done is a favour because he has other jobs. This contractor gets upset if you ask him questions (in his words we paid him so we don't have to ask any questions because he is the expert). I have never had someone speak to me the way he does. His disrespect is palpable. He called while my dog was having an xray taken and we were still talking when the vet came back into the room. He motioned that I could finish talking while he waited, and reviewed her xray on the computer. When the conversation was over, he said, "I cannot imagine ever speaking to someone the way he spoke to you. I am impressed you were able to stay so calm and polite". I felt validated because this contractor gaslights you into thinking that he's not being as rude as he is. This contractor never shows up on time (says 8am, shows up closer to 11am or later). When I complained that he never came when he said he would, his response was that its "contractor time" and he works for himself so he can show up whenever he wants. He said he would come at 7am to start the backsplash and when I texted him at 10:30am he said his saw broke so he would be there soon. He showed up after 1pm. I told him that I don't care when he comes, I just don't want to be expecting him and then be wondering if/when he will come hours later. He told me I was being unreasonable and rude by asking him questions and expecting to be informed of his progress. This contractor's full day of work is approximately 3-4 hours. He is a one-man show who will occasionally bring a companion with him (if help is needed, such as lifting a door), but it is clear they are his helper (aka. a teenage boy). There is no one from senior management as the responses on his google reviews alludes. It is 100% him. This contractor installed about two feet of backsplash and I pointed out all the areas where the tiling was uneven, or even badly chipped (around the light switch). He claimed that the tile I chose (he made it seem like I was dead set on this tile when in reality it was one of the options he presented to me) was delicate and difficult to cut. He said I was being picky because I have watched too many home renovation shows. His exact words were, "I would like to see you do a better job". He installed my backsplash through a light switch because "I never told him to go under/over it". He then blamed me for the light switch because I "should have really moved it before he started". My husband and I both work from home if he encountered this issue it would have taken him 2 seconds to say, "Hey, you're not going to be able to put a cover over this light switch if I go through it, did you want me to go over/under?". I have approached other contractors and they said that OF COURSE the tile would need to go over it. How could a seemingly experienced contractor not foresee this issue? He will claim I asked him to go straight with the cabinets. In actuality, he said he would and I said sure - not knowing there would be an issue! This is what you pay a contractor for: THEIR EXPERIENCE. This contractor clearly has none and proceeded to place blame on us for any and all issues with his work. More than a month after starting my project, and after delaying his final day of work from Thursday to Friday to Monday, this contractor then refused to finish the work remaining on our contract UNLESS I SIGNED A NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT that prevented me from leaving an HONEST review of his work. Look at these pictures this is not an experienced tiler. He either doesn't have the experience, or just doesn't care. Either way hire someone else. I'm certain he will claim this review, like the others, is false but from my experience it seems like the reverse. The 5 star reviews on google fooled me into hiring this guy, and I have learned a very hard lesson. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions and I will prove to you that I am indeed a very real and very reasonable person who made a poor choice hiring this company (aka one-man show).