When and how to complain "professionally"

My husband and I hired a contractor in late November to remodel most of the main floor of our house. We have had quite a bit work work done, including tearing down walls, replacing floors, installing windows, cabinets, sinks, stove, and new lighting throughout the downstairs area. When I think of all of the work that is done, I almost feel bad complaining, but still, here goes.

The contractor we hired originally said the remodeling would take no more than a month, maybe six weeks at the most. That was in late November. It is now the end of February and our contractors are still not done. I would not mind this at all when I think of all our remodelers have had to do and how much has been completed. Right now, the walls are in and painted, the hard wood floors, lighting and all of the electrical work is done as well as the windows and kitchen cabinets.

The remaining work includes, staining the cabinets and woodwork, installation of a new ceramic tile floor, counter tops, sink and appliances. Also to be completed is the installation of a sink, vanity, toilet, and mirror in the bathroom as well as installation of our new front door.

The biggest problem with all of this remodeling, aside from the intrusion of workers in the house, the noise, and the dust (my God, there is a lot of dust!) is not having a kitchen. My stove is not operational, and my refrigerator is in my family room. (at least it works!) For the last two months I have had to cook meals in either the microwave or the toaster oven. I recently purchased an electric frying pan just so I could make Hamburger Helper and eggs - whoopee! I wash dishes in my laundry tub, and when I cook, it is in the laundry room where I have to unplug the washer and dryer to use either my toaster oven or microwave. I can't run these at the same time - it will overload the outlet and blow a fuse. Needless to say, cooking can be a challenge, but honestly, we are so tired of fast food that eggs and Hamburger Helper is a real treat!

When our contractors first started this job, they were at the house every day, started work at about 9am, and left after 5:00 or 6:00. Now, after over two months of work, they don't arrive until well after 10:00, and leave by 5:00 at the latest. They rarely make an appearance on the weekends, and some weekdays, they will only show up for an hour.

I can't help but feel that at this pace, the work will never be complete, and I will never have a kitchen or a decently cooked meal again!! I have approached my husband about this and asked him to say something to the workers. His response is that he doesn't want to make them angry for fear that they won't finish the job. I just want my house back.

This long, sad tale leads me to my question. How does someone complain "professionally"? I agree with my husband in that I don't want to anger our contractors, but at the same time, I feel like something should be said about the fact that they are certainly not working with the same standards they were when the job began. I feel that they are taking advantage of us in that they know we need them to finish the work, but at the same time they are doing a large amount of work, and I am sure they will be looking for a good reference. I am going to need all of the good communication skills I have learned in my PCM classes here at Alverno to tackle this one....

Any ideas??