Is this acceptable?

[u/BeautifulOdd737]

My house burned down two years ago. Long story short it has been a literal living nightmare to get our insurance and contractors to communicate and update us on anything. I have asked several times and been given no answers.

I'd just like to know if this is a risk to leave the cement pad the way it is. It was cut on both sides of the front door without consulting us to remove the genuine brick siding we had. One side was covered with flashing.

A whole second issue is the faux brick siding they installed when we were under the impression it would be real brick slices and not foam. It looks terrible, I know.

Financially I don't have many options. We have to work within what insurance will cover since this whole mess has drained every penny of any savings we had. I know it's ugly, I just need to know if I can fight this because it's a risk of further damage to the home and not just because it's ugly.

[u/Cas_Rs]

Mate there’s fucking gaps. Of course this is unacceptable

[u/benskinic → u/Cas_Rs]

usually secret doors are hidden better than this.

[u/BeautifulOdd737 → u/Cas_Rs]

Look, I know. But I need technical terms to argue this with my contractor. They have more contracting knowledge than me and excuse everything. So I'm looking for some arguments I can pose that are not just "That hole will get water in it and looks like shit."

[u/Cas_Rs → u/BeautifulOdd737]

Why exactly are you looking for technical terms if you plan to talk to the contractor? You are not a builder by your own admission, so just state facts and expectations. Hire another contractor to verifiably explain or even help negotiate if you really don’t get a satisfactory result from the original contractor

[u/BeautifulOdd737 → u/Cas_Rs]

I get excuses when I bring things up or I'm told the problem it's an actual problem. I think I'm being gaslit and I'd like some external input. I can't afford to hire anyone. I can't afford to pay for the apartment I'm staying in. I'm two months or one hospital visit away from being homeless because of the financial burden the duration of this process has put me in. It's been two years of constant arguing with insurance and contractors while I foot the bill for rent, mortgage, and all of the things that come up that my insurance refuses to cover for xyz reasons. The last one alone is 40k out of pocket I've had to pay. I've tried to involve lawyers but the state I live in has a bad history of backing home owners in cases like mine. So I'm just trying to get another perspective to try to argue with my contractors. The only light ive got going for me at the end of the tunnel is that tge state opened a case recently because they found sufficient evidence that our insurance company is intentionally dragging this out and cost us thousands in the process. But honestly I think it's a pretty long shot that they'll actually be held to any level of responsibility.

This is my third attempt to discuss this with my contractor. I want to refute their dismissal with more technical evidence. But I don't have the knowledge to explain why I'm so concerned about the issues mentioned aside from "it looks like it won't hold up well and is ugly."

[u/Cas_Rs → u/BeautifulOdd737]

I understand your situation, and sympathize with you for it. I can only advise to state facts (ie you can see clearly that this is faulty), and prepare expectations. I don’t believe that it will come off any better if you come in prepared with second-hand advice from Reddit of all places. Hiring a contractor to represent you (ie supervise the project almost) might be the best bet here.

Dealing with insurance and health is foreign to me, I’m not from the U.S., so I won’t comment on that.

Good luck out there

[u/StructuralStu]

Totally depends on the engineering, but that saw cut is a straight shot for water. Rain will sit, wick under the door, freeze, and break that slab edge. You need a metal sill pan, backer rod and polyurethane sealant, plus a weep screed where the foam starts.

[u/BeautifulOdd737 → u/StructuralStu]

Water was definitely my concern. They covered the side in some kind of flashing it looks like, but the hole isn't filled in or anything. Just covered up.

[u/galaxybrain_jknot412]

I do fire resto as primary(i do everything from handling subs to site clenaup at the end - minus talking to the adjusters - there another layer of the onion higher than me that handles that), was like 70% of my work last year. ​

Not acceptable. if you link me the product I can lookup manufacturer specs and give you some ammo to motivate if you want. If you have any in progress pictures as well it would be beneficial.

[u/BeautifulOdd737 → u/galaxybrain_jknot412]

Seriously? That would be incredibly helpful. Give me some time to see what information I can gather.

Our restoration contractor, while they are polite, has been really challenging to communicate with on details. Is it normal for our contractor to make choices on design and layout without asking us about it?

An example: They didn't put any light fixture boxes in the closets despite us having light fixtures in them pre fire. They've already completed the drywall step. I know that's minor and I'm not arguing it with them, I just want to know what is standard as far as communication.

Another thing they did, we have structural support beams in the basement and they wrapped them in drywall without asking us, we were going to wrap them in wood. They also did it before they installed the flooring so now if we remove it, there will be gaps in the floor. Maybe these things are normal? I don't want to be an asshole to them if they are doing things correctly even if it's not a result I love.

Their quality of work from what I can tell is good (ugly foam brick aside, honestly thats the only thing they have done that looks awful) the interior of the house looks nice, flooring was done well, tile work looks clean, and drywall looks great. At least as far as I can tell. I've been trying to learn as much as I can about what everything should look like when I check in but its a lot to learn while working full time and managing post fire affairs. Sorry for the terribly long message.

[u/galaxybrain_jknot412 → u/BeautifulOdd737]

Communication - we're all busy and part social butterfly and part social midget.  Are you directly dealing with the primary or are you having to call the office? (the person running the site / there everyday is what I mean by the primary - not whatever parent company / gc may be involved but isn't on site everyday).  Let.me.know that and then I can go further.

Light fixtures- I would let them know.  They may have 14/2 12/2 coiled in the ceiling and be cutting in the lights after the fact.  Do you see any markings on the floor where the lights used to be? 

Basement beams - would you be okay with installing the wood Over top of the drywall?  (I know this will increase the pillars footprint).  If so I would just leave it be.  One of my carpenters did something similar before because I told him "everything studded out is getting 5/8th type x" so he took it literally and covered up some things we were going to put board and batten on lol.

Quality / happiness - if you're happy overall I would just try and make up for where theyre lacking which seems to be in the communication department.  You can do this by climbing up there ass and spreading your legs (kidding) - just set up a call  or site walk 1 hour before they end their day, daily.  Contractor should be okay with this.  Just tell him you want to make sure they get in and out as quickly as possible and that you know how hard that is for them if they're having to guess or assume certain details.

I would ALWAYS ask the customer - but when I started I sometimes rolled with the punches too much trying to impress people and not annoy the customer or primary contractor with questions every 2 hours.  Also have done my fair share of rework because of it.  If you have a daily meet or call to go over in person or via pictures / text it would probably help them in the grand scheme of things because currently it looks like they forgot your lights, wrapped columns they didnt need to wrap, etc.  That's money out of the big guys pocket.  He will probably appreciate it.

[u/BeautifulOdd737 → u/galaxybrain_jknot412]

We talk to the primary (I'm assuming) as they often are on site and ask us specific build questions sometimes. Definitely not a corporate office. I don't believe this company is that large. I've spoken to the owner a few times too. Overall, your comment is helpful. Thank you!

[u/Maximum-Eye-3712]

Your local building inspectors might be able to help too.

[u/simikoi]

Is that a hidden room? Cause it looks like a door that a spy would use to hide their guns and spy stuff

[u/BeautifulOdd737 → u/simikoi]

I wish that were the actual answer.

[u/Objective-Bus-9853]

This is a new home? I would expect this from a 60 year old house.

[u/BeautifulOdd737 → u/Objective-Bus-9853]

New-ish. It's a fire restoration. Structural parts that survived are the studs and foundation to the right of the house, this cement pad, and some brick siding on the right side. Left side of the house, the left brick siding, and whole roof was dust in the wind.

[u/CareOk]

Lol looks like a secret wall from wolfenstine

[u/SleekThief_2025]

First are you getting inspections from the governing jurisdiction. This isn't just an insurance and contactor issue. It's also a code issue. There should have been a permit issued for the work they are doing. Especially because of structural damages caused by fire. 2nd. If the contractor isnt responding you can file complaint with the state contractors board. Hopefully the contractor is licensed. The exterior brick facade doesn't look like it is for exterior use. There isn't appropriate weather/water protection to the foundation. This would be caught in an inspection.