Why I Should Not Hire Cheap Labor

I have been begging and begging my husband to let me get our master bathroom remodeled. It was built in the mid 90s and is loaded with brass fixtures and white ceramic tile. Plus, the grout in the shower continually molds and falls out. It looks nasty and I am pretty sure that is not healthy to stand on every day while bathing. For my Valentine's day gift this year he finally gave in and told me that I could get it redone! Wahoo!! That is when the troubles began. I called two general contractors to get estimates for the work. I didn't think it would be too expensive since I was going to keep the cabinets, countertops and bathtub. WRONG. One bid was around $13,000 and one was almost $15,000. OK, plan B. I thought I could fix some of the eye sore issues myself. I shopped around on ebay and bought all new doorknobs, cabinet pulls and light fixtures. A monkey could install new doorknobs and cabinet pulls so I finished those quickly. I summoned the electrician within and installed the lights. Three ceiling lights and three vanity lights...easy enough, right? On the last light I tightened a screw a little too much and ended up cracking the mirror from top to bottom. So much for the cheap fixes. Hiring a contractor to handle everything was out of the question so I started subbing things out myself. Demolition work, tile layer, new faucets, plumber, electrician, paint etc. Being the bargain shopper that I am, I hired our old pal Manuel the handyman to do the demo, paint and replace the faucets. Some of Manuel's employees are, shall we say, less than legal in this country. When he took down the mirrors we discovered several holes in the drywall and large chunks missing from glue. So he calls his brother in law Alvino. When Alvino and his "helper" arrived to the neighborhood I got a call from the guard gate saying I needed to drive to identify them because they had no identification. What a pain but fine, whatever. I dragged my pregnant self to the car, loaded the kid and made my way to Gate 2. When I got there the guard told me that they had taken off. It turns out that Alvino's "helper" was afraid he was going to get arrested and deported. So I am driving around the neighborhood entry gates looking for these guys to tell them I am not going to call INS. Meanwhile Manuel is not answering his phone to help me out because he knows I am mad about the dent he put in my wood floor (yet another reason not to hire cheap labor). I gave up looking and headed back to my house. As I pulled up I saw Alvino's van parked in front and a man climbing out of the back. I am pretty sure that when the gate guard called me to come identify them, that Alvino left, went to a parking lot and had his "helper" lay down in the back of the van and cover up with a tarp or a piece of drywall or something. Lord...the things I do to save a buck!