My bathroom has some water damage from a poorly designed tile job. The window sill is low enough to get wet but is simply tiled rather than a solid shelf. It's also not properly sloped. This has allowed water to leak into the wall and has weakened the backing board to the point that the tiled wall gave in when leaned on.
One builder wouldn't even estimate the cost of the job. Wanted "time and materials" for the repair and a contract to demolish and remodel the bathroom.
I have been burned by "time and materials" jobs before. Yet I understand that it's difficult to evaluate how big the job is when you can't see all the damage.
Here's my question: Am I being unreasonable if I insist that the job be done in three stages that are bid separately?
A bid for the demolition to expose the problem
A bid for the repair rather than any "time and material work"
A bid for the remodel for any upgrades to the bathroom.
I could take competing bids at each stage and be sure of what I'm getting into before agreeing. Builders wouldn't have to agree to any work they haven't had a chance to fully see.
I'd like to know if this kind of plan is unheard of or unreasonable. Is there any good reason to refuse to work this way? An alternative way to structure the job? If there is something I simply don't understand please let me know.