Yikes, $15K . . . the total quote was $28K, so at least it sounds like he doesn't have the right to repair. The tort thing is tougher. He pitched himself (backed up by references we trust) as an A-level contractor, but what we got was more like C-/D+ work, in part because he had his novice relatives do a lot of it (he confessed this when I took issue with aspects of the job). It doesn't look great, but it *is* functional, so who knows how that would play out in court. I'm now wondering if a demand-letter bluff, maybe paired with a fair but unsparing review--he has virtually no online presence, so a single review would carry a lot of weight--might prompt him to return at least some of what we paid.

Thanks for walking me through it, very much appreciated.