Hey, Hi Sis-n-Law!...

Just noticed your response on the door post. Not to worry, we haven't given the contractor any money for the railing/post part of the job, just for what they've finished. It was kind of an afterthought thing and not in the original contract anyway, so not legally binding on either side, just a verbal agreement. He did, however, order the stuff he needed (or at least he said he did) to do the job, so he'll be using his own $$ for that unless he comes back to finish.

We really like this guy's work (he did the basement renovation,) but maintaining communication is impossible and too frustrating to deal with again. So, in the meantime, we're scoping out another contractor to finish up for us. That's another whole PITA, though. *sigh* And so it goes.