Contractor dilemma...

[StillOffshore]

So, my house flooded back in August (south Louisiana floods), I have insurance, they've been a joy* to work with. Contractor is busy working in the home currently...they had a late start, etc, etc. He actually did the next door neighbor's house, looks great, she's happy, but she added stuff along the way and caused delays. No biggie.

A breif side note- he did come into my house maybe a week after it flooded and we discussed the scope of work. I'm taking this as an opportunity to remodel the whole place, and outlined in detail what I wanted. Great. He gave me a bid a week or so later. Signed everything, agreed that it was not a huge rush (I work away from home at least 9 months out the year, so time I have), he would finish the neighbor's house, gives me time to fight with insurance, everybody is happy.

Now, in the time between him giving me a contract (that includes demolition), and him sending guys over to start demo, I did most of it myself and hauled all the debris away. I gutted sheetrock, insulation, flooring, all the furniture, personal items were also removed. Trim work and all interior doors were removed as well along with cabinet doors and hardware that are being reused. I also had electrician friends (licensed journeymen) come in and take care of electrical, that he is charging me for...as he was originally going to do this work. Just figured, hell, the more that is done ahead of time, the faster he will be done.

 

Can we see where this is going yet??

 

So, the guys is taking a lot longer than even he anticipated, a few of his guys have left for better opportunities basically. I was okay with paying for full demo and electrical, even though he won't be doing those, because honestly, they didn't cost me, and I had nothing better to do. Now, I'm kinda thinking I'm not okay with that. He has changed direction on a couple items that ended up costing me ~$8,000.

 

We are currently at 135 days on a 90-120 day job. Maybe 50% done, and that is a stretch. Progress is excruciatingly slow.

Stonework that he was going to do has now fallen into my lap.

Some of the flooring has fallen into my lap. (Was told the allowance for carpet was for a mid-high grade carpet, but found out he allowed $1.30/ft.-fairly low end. I bought $6.75/ft carpet and told him not to worry as it was only 400sq ft)

 

Am I wrong to think I should get a bit of a discount for both demo and materials that he should be covering? They have never been brought up.

Figured there had to be a few contractors on here and might give me some different perspectives.

 

Thoughts??

[waumo1]

I'm not a contractor or a lawyer but it all depends on the terms of the contract you signed. Might be time to spend a few bucks to have a lawyer take a look at it.

[RyanbabZ71]

I'm not a contractor or a lawyer but it all depends on the terms of the contract you signed. Might be time to spend a few bucks to have a lawyer take a look at it.

 

Did you stay at a holiday inn last night?

 

My .02 is you shouldnt pay for demo if he didnt do it.

[muddkatt]

 

 

 

My .02 is you shouldnt pay for demo if he didnt do it.

 

I disagree with Ryan. Just because someone decides to "help the contractor by doing some of the work WITHOUT modifying the original contract", means they did it on their own and at their expense.

Contractors rarely line item every single step that is involved in a complete remodel. Some prices might be higher just to help cover the cost of the unforeseen issues that the contractor anticipates showing up and costing him both time and money.

 

$6.75 sq/ft for carpet? Really???? that is $60.75 a yard!!!!! I have never seen carpet that cost that much, but if you upgraded to that from $11.75 per yard carpet then hell yea its on you for that upgrade.

If it was me, I would reread the contract. Then decide if the contractor has breached it in any way and address it with him. If he is following the terms of the contract then you can either let him finish, or stop him and pay whatever the penalty is for cancelling.

[Mike-1000]

Sit down with your contractor and you can both put your cards on the table. If it's time for either of you to move on do it. Better now than wait for more surprises at the end. If your contractor has a good reputaion and has been in business for any time at all, he's been down this road before. I suspect things can be worked out and more communication in these situations is usually better than less.

 

Mike