Fix up kitchen or offer allowance at closing?
hollynla
9 years ago
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hollynla
9 years agoUser
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Allow Ivy to Grow up Trees?
Comments (62)Just spent 2 hours as a volunteer pulling ivy (mostly Irish ivy) off trees in a local park. The extensive and frequent patches it forms are a real headache. Where there is chipper access and time available (October to February) the involved parks department is cutting off the also abundant infestations of English holly and English laurel, grinding them up and blowing them onto the ivy patches. They are backing off of herbicide applications and using this method instead (the layers they are putting down are pretty thick). This particular park is 48 acres, I figure I will go back each week all summer and keep pawing at the stuff. And that will be effective as long as I or another come back every year and do it. Meanwhile the ground patches will continue to spread, wherever the smothering has not been undertaken and been successful. Wooded parks and other properties here in the vicinity of human concentrations are well on their way to becoming woody Eurasian weed ghettos. A percentage of local land already is. Absolutely never plant these anywhere they are able to reproduce: Acer platanoides Clematis vitalba Cotoneaster rehderi Crataegus monogyna Hedera helix and subspecies Ilex aquifolium Prunus laurocerasus Prunus lusitanica Rubus armeniacus Rubus laciniatus Sorbus aucuparia Stranvaesia davidiana...See MoreNewbie question on allowances in a fixed price contract build
Comments (5)An allowance is a small Cost-of-the-Work contract inside a Fixed Price contract. Of course, that loses the benefit of a fixed price so you should only use an allowance when you have no other choice. Selecting materials and their installation methods and including them in the Fixed Price contract can save you money. An exception would be kitchen appliances that are normally supplied by the owner and installed by the contractor. Removable equipment should not be in the allowances. An allowance should not limit you to a particular sub-contractor or supplier unless you agree in advance. You should have the right to reject a sub's proposal or ask that others be considered. Try to structure the allowances so they are for materials only and installation is in the base contract price. That means you must determine the quantity of the allowance items in the contract even if it is arbitrary. If the quantity can't be determined try to put an installation unit price in the contract. An allowance clause should state that the final resolution of an allowance is by a Change Order signed by the owner. It should say The Change Order can be 1) an increase in the contract amount equal to the difference between the Allowance amount and the actual final cost, 2) a decrease in the contract amount equal to the difference between the Allowance amount and the actual final cost, or 3) a decrease in the contract amount equal to the entire allowance amount (material supplied by the owner). Ask the GC to put his OH&P for allowances in the base contract price so that increases and decreases in the allowance amounts will not be increased or decreased by mark-ups. Warranties vary with the products. Usually there is a warranty from the manufacturer and if you supply the material the warranty will be from the manufacturer to you so keep the paperwork. The installation would be warrantied by the GC often for only a year (check your contract and the laws of your state). A problem arises when a material fails and you have to pay for the removal and reinstallation. However, that will be the case after the GC warranty ends so you are only increasing your risk for that period of time. Unfortunately, really bad products often fail in the first year. So, find out how long that period is and avoid supplying the materials that are unusually expensive to remove and reinstall (like whirlpool tubs, etc.)....See MoreKitchen looks great if you look from far away-up close I'm crying
Comments (50)I just posted this on someone else's thread but I wanted to say THANK YOU for helping me find my voice! And making progress! The granite guy came today and fixed the crack. You can't tell at all standing over it. I can see it when the sunlight is reflecting off of it, but also bc I was specifically looking for it. Anyone else would just see it as graining. Granite guy said it happened probably when the cabinet guy was hacking at the trim he had to remove bc it wasn't right. This I can live with. The cabinet guy showed up yesterday. The magnet he brought to fix door wasn't the right one. I started to show him which cabs had nails still sticking out and he said he'd check all of them. Then he said ok I'm done. I opened a cab and said the nails aren't finished, I thought you were going to finish them. He says,"Oh I didnt realize that you wanted me to do that." Really?Really? I guess he thought the splintered wood was fine? So then he says ok I'm done. I'm going to run to HD and get the magnet and be right back. Then I went to check his work. He missed cutting nails in 2 cab and didn't finish 3 others. Well...An 1 1/2 later he calls and says he got the battery but needed to go home and he'd come back tomorrow. I told him he missed more nails etc. And... he didn't come. But I do consider it a small victory he came at all. And lastly, I called the glass guy and said it was really driving me crazy everytime I look at it. He said he was going to call daltile to see if there was anything he could do, but if not, they would have to do it over bc it was their mistake. Yea! So I'll let everyone know how things turn out. I really don't expect to hear from cab guy. But, it's not the last he'll hear from me!...See MoreSeller not allowing final walk-through before closing
Comments (88)Long grass wouldn't worry me, nor a bit of a mess I suppose, but what I can't understand is when what I would consider a part of the sale is taken away. The gazebo for instance, or shrubs. I would feel that what I had seen, was what I was buying, unless the sellers asked me would I mind if they took this prized rose that reminded them of their old dead Aunt Mary. Or, could we take some of the daffodils, would that be all right? And yes, of course it would be. Yet, with some people, it is considered normal to rip out shrubs and young trees to take to their new place, after the sale. So strange. Anyhow, I am glad that you've 'moved on', musicgold, as it's NOT worth the angst to pursue this sort of thing. But please, next time, refuse to settle unless and until they put back what they take....See Morehollynla
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