Good Day,

I could sense your frusturation. I'm a contractor myself. Usually for mid size to large project I would have a CA (Cotractors Agreement) with the house owner. In this agreement we would set terms like due date (where a contractor will be penalised for delays on agreed due date) and terms on agreed work and materials to be supplied. ( ussualy consist of a long detailed list ). Furthermore the agreement would also state that contractor would need prior written consent from owner for additional work and charges. Payment terms will also be covered in the agreement. Final payment will only be given after hand over of the project whereby customer has to be satisfied with the work done. Any damage incurred during project, customer could appoint another contractor or chose the same contractor to repair the damge and all cost would be the contractors liability.
This CA will ensure house owners are protected and the contractors will stick by the agreed terms n conditions. Thus situation like above could be avoided. Why waste your hard earned money just like that. You should get for what you paid for.

Hope this helps (moving forward)

Thanks