Contractor Did Terrible Work and Won't Fix It - What Are My Options?

Ngl i hired a contractor to remodel my master bathroom back in October. Paid him $18,500 for a complete gut renovation - new tile, shower, vanity, the works. He finished about 6 weeks ago and I've been dealing with problems ever since.

The issues are pretty bad:

• The tile work is crooked - you can literally see the lines aren't straight when you look down the wall
• The shower has been leaking into the wall. I noticed water damage on the ceiling below after about 2 weeks
• Grout is already cracking in multiple places
• The vanity countertop has a chip they tried to hide with caulk

I've called him multiple times. First few times he said he'd come back to fix it. Then he started making excuses. Now he's not returning my calls at all.

I have the contract (just a basic one-page thing he gave me) (at least in my experience), text messages where he acknowledged the problems, and photos I took during and after the work. What are my actual options here? This is in California if that matters.

One option that often gets overlooked is going after the contractor's bond. In California, licensed contractors are required to carry a $25,000 contractor's bond.

How the bond works:

• It's essentially insurance that protects consumers from contractor poor workmanship or failure to complete work
• You can file a claim against the bond even if the contractor won't cooperate
• The bonding company will investigate and can pay out for legitimate claims

When to use the bond:

• Contractor refuses to fix defective work after demand
• Contractor has abandoned the project
• Contractor is unresponsive or has gone out of business
• You want to avoid the hassle of small claims court

You can look up the contractor's bond information through the CSLB website. The $25,000 should more than cover your bathroom repairs if you can't get the contractor to fix it.

Here's a resource for filing a California contractor bond claim.