Construction Contractors Community

BobSF · Joined: 15 Dec 2010 Posts: 2 Location: CA

Hi folks,

My contractor was recommended to me by a family friend. He's been really nice, even while messing up the timeline of my project. It's getting to the point where I want to fire him, even though I think he does good work. I don't know what to do and would like to hear the perspective of other people in his business.

The project is a renovation for a single family rental home, no floor plan changes but redoing nearly everything: flooring, cabinets, bathroom. Replacing all the windows, and some cosmetic changes outside, etc.

I'm picky about materials (all green renovation) and have been in a lengthy research process to spec them all before we could get started. As winter snuck closer, I asked him if we could treat the exterior and interior as separate projects and start the exterior before I was done speccing the interior so that the exterior could be completed and painted before the weather changed. He said that was a good idea, and we proceeded.

The first completion estimate he gave me was November 4th. It's now the middle of December and the work still isn't done. He just started putting in windows last week.

When I've confronted him about timing, I've gotten all kinds of excuses, ranging from illness to his help being busy on another job that unexpectedly went over. He told me before we started that he only takes one project at a time--obviously this was a bold faced lie. Since passing the original target date, he's "promised" to have the job done by other dates that came and went without a word from him. I've had to track him down and find out the status of my project.

The last time I called about this, he said the delay was a cash flow issue, that some clients were delaying on paying him and that he had been putting off calling me hoping it would resolve itself. In the end, I called him and gave him more money to buy the windows. At least they're in the house now ready to be installed. I was so angry that he didn't notify me of the slowdown/obstacle as soon as it happened.

Meanwhile the weather has changed, my painters have said "screw it, we're going to paint with or without him and if we have to come back to paint around the windows or touch anything up, so be it" and they are trying their best to do their job working around the weather. It's very frustrating for everyone. Also, they have to come from three hours away (best painters I know, and absolutely trust) so it doesn't work for them to have rain days here and there.

If the weather doesn't cooperate, this house won't be painted until spring, I won't be able to rent it out, and my contractor will have cost me THOUSANDS of dollars in lost income. He knew the plan, he knew time was of the essence, and yet...

Come to find out from my family who lives next door: he's only been on the job site once or twice a week, and then for only half a day!!!!!! What the heck has he been doing???

The way I see it, this contractor has:
- lied to me
- made promises he couldn't or wouldn't keep
- completely neglected my project despite knowing that time is of the essence

And when I confront him about it, all he does is try to talk his way out of it all.

Part of the problem here is not having a clear contract. All I have is signed cost estimates. I've never done this before, but I'll never make that mistake again. Whoever does the exterior work will be someone who is willing to sign a contract with written time estimates, penalties for not meeting them, and a clear process for adjusting completion dates by mutual agreement.

In the meantime, I have to figure out what to do about this contractor. Personally, I like him a lot. I think he does great work for a reasonable price. But that's only when he, you know, actually works.

So I have two issues:
1. How to get through the exterior project.
2. How to move forward with the interior.

Re #1: What I think I want to do is call him, tell him much of the above, and say, "By the end of this phone call you're going to give me a completion date for the outside, and if you're not done by then, you're fired. I'm done playing around."

But, how would you suggest I proceed? This project needs to get DONE.

Re #2: I am thinking that no matter what happens between now and the end of the exterior project that I would be a complete idiot to let him take on the interior project, after all of the above. How can I possibly trust him again? It seems like it's too late for him to redeem himself.

Your thoughts?

Thanks for any insight/advice/help you can give!

Contractor Florida · Joined: 17 Aug 2009 Posts: 104 Location: Florida

Contracting is a boxy business. The margins are generally attenuate abundant that contractors charge to accept assorted projects traveling on to break profitable. You wish a discount, again you can't be the sole priority. People accuse about contractors because they are apprenticed of the business ancillary of it and they accept a addiction to yield things alone and advance his appearance - sloth, cheat etc. The OP's aboriginal aptitude is to ability for the stick. He should yield the money he would pay to the advocate and use it as an attraction for the architect to accomplishment up in a appropriate manner. That's how you get things done.

BobSF · Joined: 15 Dec 2010 Posts: 2 Location: CA

1. I have no idea what you just said.

2. Nowhere in my post did it say, or even imply, that I "wish a discount". All I wish is for a service provider to do what s/he says s/he will do, when s/he says s/he will do it. That was not happening here.

3. The course of action I took that worked quite well was to get a lawyer. One conference call with that lawyer was all it took, the contractor signed a supplemental contract with everything spelled out including a $40/day liquidated damages clause for late work, and everything has proceeded perfectly since then.