Glad to hear all is going well. One comment which may or may not be helpful... This problem with your contractor may serve to unite the two of you against a greater threat. Use that to the advantage of the marriage, but when the issue is resolved, be careful not to fall back into picking at one another because there is no more common enemy. Just be conscious of not using that enemy as a subconscious deflection to avoid vulnerability. I've seen this before with my W and both her sisters. The two H's and myself have all stated that it can be good to have the W focus on a good fight because it pulls the focus off the M.
BTW, think of contractors as scum and NEVER give them any more money than what they have already worked for. Try not to even pay up front for half the materials if you can. Always lag the payments. That $8,000 you gave him is probably already gone.
