Hassles? You Can Count on It

Renovation Woes Add Up

Cost overruns, missed deadlines, bankruptcy filings. Marla Brin's renovation project in Alexandria had it all. (By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)

I was dreaming of closet space. Of having enough room to hang my wetsuit, like you're supposed to, instead of having to stuff it in a cramped drawer. I was dreaming of radiator covers, something lovely and simple and white to hide my beloved but ugly old monstrosities. I was dreaming of upgrading my house, which was falling down around my ears after years of neglect by the previous owner, fixing it up so that the weather (and the spiders) actually remained outdoors.

And so I contracted to renovate my old house in Alexandria, planning an addition on the back and closet space galore. Heaven.

Everyone told me renovating was hell, to be avoided at all costs. But I could see my sparkling, glorious home makeover in my mind's eye. I knew I could do it. And besides, I was going to move out for the renovation, so I wouldn't be choking on drywall dust and trapped behind plastic sheeting, as are so many ill-fated renovators.

And people are essentially good, right? I could tell a con artist from a legitimate contractor. That was the source of all those oth er people's troubles. The twin pitfalls of renovations are living in the construction mess and bad judgment. I certainly would avoid those silly mistakes.

Well, here are the facts.

· Contract price: $196,000.

· Total price contractor pressured me to pay as renovation progressed, to cover necessary items "accidentally" omitted from the contract: $306,000.

· Price I actually paid contractor before firing the company 18 months into a "four- to six-month" project: $225,000.

· Price I paid to redo all the work the contractor did that was not up to code and could have resulted in my house burning down or falling down: $169,000.

· Money I lost paying my mortgage while renting an apartment for the extra 21 months the project exceeded the projected timeline: $45,000.

· Number of days between contractor preventing a judge from freezing company assets by swearing under oath that I was the only creditor, and the company filing for bankruptcy protection and listing 48 long-standing creditors: 12.

· Number of times contractor or contractor's spouse has filed for bankruptcy protection since my project began: 2.