Aren't contractors fun? NOT! I agree wholeheartedly with the don't-go-with-implications and assumptions and vague, "looks okay, I guess" gut feelings! It took over a year for our contractors to build a simple deck and screen porch. They weren't crooks but just slow and didn't get permits (so the County stopped work for over a month; the contractor's one permit guy proceeded to get sick too and the owner of the company went on vacation, etc.) and wanted the next payment before they'd done the amount of work for the previous payment, etc. Clowns. But they still call us, asking do we want more work, LOL!
I'll certainly give what I can, Eskielover! Good luck getting it all straightened out and getting more from other sources.