Okay here is a happy ending story about being a contractor to stupid home owners.
I flipped a hour almost two years ago. Owners wanted a lot done (changed floor plan on first AND second floors, take completely empty basement and add two bedrooms, a family room, and a full bathroom. When we started I asked if they ever had water in the basement. They said no. I knew they were lying.
I told them I would do a basement bathroom only if they had a perimeter drain installed so water would not seep in. They got a $17k estimate and said fuck that. So I told them im not going to do the basement work because they’ll get water in there and say it’s my fault. They promised they would never, so I wrote a contract that detailed how I thought there would be water, how I didn’t want to do the work without them taking the appropriate steps ahead of time to prevent flooding, and how I would not take any responsibility or offer any warranty for the basement work.
Fast forward to almost two years later, they had the basement flood in spring rains. About 3” of water. Ruined their flooring (they refused to get vinyl and insisted on laminate for basement like dipshits), and the drywall and insulation got wet and moldy. They also said the pump for the plumbing evacuation pit hadn’t worked, but they had it unplugged.
I found this out when I got served because they were suing me for $65,000 damages.
I don’t know if they forgot they signed a contract or if they are just dumb enough to thing they will just get whatever they ask for. I did not engage my lawyer for this. I submitted both the contract they signed and a video of them signing it with a date stamp.
Upon seeing the contract and watching the video (in which I explained the problems and why I didn’t want to do the work), the judge dismissed everything and charged them for all legal fees. The judge also mentioned the possibility of them being charged for brining a frivolous lawsuit. No idea. That happened after I left.
It gets even better. They actually contacted me this evening and asked if I would redo the work as planned for the original estimate. I asked if they were serious, they said yes, I hung up. I term called every single person I know who might do the work and told them the story and asked them to spread it around thr construction community. There’s no way they are getting that work done in the next two years.
tldr: assholes told me to do work I said would fail and then sued me when it failed. They lost.
