A Time to Kill: Remodeling your Bathroom Part 2

Today was day one of the bathroom remodel remodel, and it got off to a GREAT start. We went with recommendations from Angie's List this time around, got some bids, and chose the one we did because they had great reviews, were the only contractor that mentioned fixing the walls, and were the right price. I paid the deposit, signed the contract, and picked this week to begin work because I knew Jamie was going to be out of town and I like to torture myself by dealing with major home renovations alone it would be easier for him in the getting ready for work department.

So the guy shows up when he said he was going to and the first thing he asks is if someone actually came out and looked at the shower before they gave us the bid. Um, yes. Idiot. Of course they did. Is this your first day on the job? And then he asked me if it was this certain guy and I said yes, and he said that he got fired last week. I'm like okay, I'm trying to get three people ready to leave the house in fifteen minutes, lets stop the chitchat and start working on my bathroom. 

So the guy calls his boss and I can hear him bitching and moaning to his boss about how this is a REALLY hard job and it was WAY underbid and he just doesn't think it's going to happen, blah, blah, blah and then he comes out and tells me his boss is going to call me. So I'm already pissed. Like going to murder someone pissed. I actually deserve a medal for not killing someone this morning. The boss calls and tells me that the guy who bid the project was fired last week and one of the reasons he was fired was because he was terrible at giving bids, and that he way underpriced projects. And that my bathroom is going to be a major money loser for them so he thinks it would be best if they just walked away from this project, but he will give me my deposit back plus $25 for the inconvenience. 

I think I could have gone with out cussing if he wouldn't have thrown in the $25 for the inconvenience. $25. Twenty-five whole American dollars- imagine the things I could DO with that sort of cash! What a generous offer by a complete fucking moron who obviously thinks I'm some idiot woman who has no balls and will just roll over and take whatever kind of shitty deal they're trying to give me here. Which is basically what I said to the guy but with more cussing. I told him that breaking the contract was not a remote possibility, that it was not my problem in any way that they had an incompetent boob giving out bids, (and I didn't say this but wish I did- why wouldn't they go out and rebid his projects if they knew he was doing such a terrible job?), and that I wanted the work started today as scheduled. And then this happened:
Me- How much extra do you think this is going to cost you?
Him- About $500.
Me- Well what if we meet in the middle and I'll pay $250 and you pay $250.
Him- That sounds very fair. In fact, why don't we just forget about it all together and we'll just go by the original price on the bid.
Me-  ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????ok

So after all that, it's back to the way it originally was and they aren't going to charge me any extra. (So they say today, we'll see what happens when it's finished.) And when I had to come back to get my shower stuff I forgot for the Y at around 11, they had all the tile and walls ripped out already. And when I got home before picking up the kids at 2:30, they were already putting up the backer boards. I asked the guy if it was the nightmare he thought it was going to be and he said 'It was hard.'
It. was. hard. What does that mean????? Isn't ripping the walls out of a house always hard? Am I missing something here? Is it like peeling a sticker of a piece of paper in most houses or something?

They said originally that it would take three days, and when I asked them today he told me that is still the plan. So look for a bathroom remodel remodel post soon! If we all survive...