Horrible situation! I truly think the first thing you need to do is talk to an attorney who specializes in construction law and construction loan financing. You need someone who knows the law of your jurisdiciton AND can fully understand the implications of the agreement you and your brother signed between you as well as all the paperwork you signed with the bank listing your brother as GC. Take copies of every single document you've signed with respect to the build with you when you go to see the lawyer...including anything related to your original land purchase. Also take copies of every lien release and bill you've received as well as every check you've written to pay people. Your lawyer may not need to see all of it but it'll be better(and cheaper) to have everything with you rather than having to send it to him later. Explain to the lawyer that, at this point, you don't want him to DO anything (no lawsuit, no letter writing, etc.) You just need guidance on the implications of firing your brother as GC and you want to know what you can/should do to protect yourself from further harm as you carry out that process. The lawyer should be willing to assist you on an "hourly basis." Be prepared for sticker shock re his hourly billing rate! But, if you get the answers you need while you are WITH the lawyer you can control how much time he bills you for. Do NOT agree to him doing "research" and "getting back to you" unless the amount of time he will bill you for that research is strictly capped. (The last thing you want is an unexpected attorney bill!) Among other things, before you fire your brother, your lawyer will probably tell you that you need to make sure that you have lien releases from him AND from all subs that he has had do any work on your property...otherwise he and/or his subs can file liens against your home making it impossible for you to get a mortgage when you're done building it without first paying off those liens. The lawyer should be able to provide you with a standard lien release form that is used in your jurisdiction. And he can explain exactly how the documents need to be filled out and what to do with them once they are filled. You'll probably also have to talk to your banker and get his approval for you to take over as GC... assuming you are even allowed to to that in your state. In some states anyone can GC their own home. In others, you have to have a builder's license to build/remodel a residence. In states that require a license, some just require you to pay a fee and show that you don't have any felony convictions. In others, you have to actually undergo a certain amount of training first. And, even if your state will allow you to be the GC, many banks don't like having owner-builders as clients. So, you may have no choice but to hire someone else to act as GC. If so, see if some company like "Owner-Builder Network" or "Help You Build" or "You Build It" operates in operates in your state. They will often step in as putative GC although they do charge a fee for the service. Assuming your state will allow you to GC your own build, your lawyer can give you guidance on how best to deal with your banker to get him/her on board with you taking over. Firing a builder can be tricky. I know. I've been there and, although I AM a lawyer, I don't practice construction law and I made a couple of expensive mistakes that I'm still dealing with more than 2 years down the road. Furthermore, firing your brother will be even trickier because even if, at this point, you're ready to write him off your Xmas list and out of your will completely, I'm sure you do want to preserve your relationships with other family members. A fight between you and your bother WILL affect those relationships b/c family members can't help but take sides. After you've talked to a lawyer and know all the legal ramifications, the next step would probably be to talk to your brother and let him know that this deal is not working for you the way you thought it would. I'd try taking the tack that I'm afraid it is going to do harm to our sibling relationship and that perserving that seems far more important than continuing to try to do business together. It may or may not work. Good luck and keep us posted on how things turn out.

Why do you seem to assume that my GC disagreed with my assessment? "He admits he was unprofessional for awhile but seems to believe he is still capable of finishing the job.... This is the first week in this 5 month project that I am losing faith in the GC, and I think he is avoiding us, and his tone of voice sounds different. I told him we want to walk through everything and see what needs to be done and talk about it. He said he'd call about this weekend when we spoke Friday, and I haven't heard from him as of late Saturday." That sure doesn't sound like a meeting of the minds to me. there have been 5 areas during our build that my husband and I have disagreed with the subs on the way something should be installed (plumbing, electrical, exterior trim, roofing and masonry). In all cases, the end result was that we were right and the "professionals" were wrong. I don't doubt it. But if that's the case, why do you stick with your gc?? Or does he/she only follow your lead? Subs that delay, screw up and create their priorities are an unavoidable part of any build. On my latest project, I fired the siding company after two weeks of incomplete work, terminated the drywall company (and the drunken, drug-abusing taper he hired) and switched to a different railing company after the owner proved incompetent. As to firing a GC who found fault in the way I handled that situation, let's just say that if you had signed our contract, you would not want to be fired. What precisely does that mean? That you're paying an enormously high price? that you have a unilateral right to levy fees on the GC? Personally, if every time I turned around, the owner was second-guessing me I'd be happy to end the arrangement. Really, if you are so proficient in the art of building and have the time to be on site constantly, why aren't you gc ing the project yourself. Hiring a "gofer" might be a lot easier on you than sitting on the gc's shoulder. Best of luck!

Wow, what a mess. My heart really goes out to you. We recently fired a general contractor who didn't even start yet!! He became so arrogant during a conversation just before demo began, so I showed him to the door and said goodbye. As it turns out, it was the best decision we ever made. We were set to begin a month ago. Our plans are ready and approved, permits paid and a construction loan is ticking down. With that being said, we instantly received a letter from his lawyer for "damages" to him since he had given up other jobs to do ours, etc, etc. He has turned out to be a sheep in wolf's clothing. I know our story is a little bit different than yours since you are well into the construciton, I just wanted to let you know what you may expect if you fire him now, or try to work with him from this point on. we did the following: 1. Hired a lawyer, pronto. A lawyer familiar with construction and/or contract law is good. 2. Reviewed our contract and compared it against the California State licensing Board contract requirements.As it turns out, he was in direct violation of the board in numerous occasions with his contract. I am sure whichever state you are in, you have access to the licensing board. Call them and explain to them your situation. Get a copy of your rights and what you can do. 3. We documented all conversations with the GC and reported them in the Cal. State licensing board complaint form. 4. We have spent almost 1,000 trying to get this guy off our back, he is demanding 75K in damages. I am hoping our threat to report him to the licensing board will do the trick. My advice to you. 1. Get a lawyer. Review your contract. Review the state licensing contract laws and your rights as a consumer. In most cases, they will call you and the GC in for a mediation board. If this doesn't work, then it goes to court, you against him. Continue to document everything you say and/or do with this person. Try to mediate with him if he is willing to talk to you face to face about the issues, have a lawyer present, document all preceedings. Get your other friend up to speed with what needs to be done so he can begin as soon as you can get the other GC out of the way if it comes to that. Make sure you have a good contract with your friend, follow the guidelines in the state licensing board contract requirements. If I think of more, I'll post them. Best of luck.

Tiskers, Sounds like you're doing the same extensive DIY that we did/are still doing! I have one question --- if hubby is that handy, why aren't you installing the cabinets yourselves? WE saved $2000 doing that. That was the easiest $2K we saved on the whole reno. Mind you, my DH is an engineer (electrical- so he did all the re-wiring and new wiring), and really really good at drawings and figuring things out. One day (perhaps when it's all done), I will sit down and figure out how much we have saved DIY. WE gutted a 25 X 10.5 space- including removing ceiling (which wasn't pleasant as it was an older house with no vapour barrier)- bits of insulation were 'everywhere'! We tore down a wall (that was fun)- removed aluminum wiring- rerouted plumbing/venting re-wired/installed all new electrical/appliances. Changed windows- now, that was an area that I subbed out, ie manufacturing and installation of new windows. That delayed us by quite a bit- they were more than 2 months late, as we had to take out old windows to reframe- we did it to be ready for scheduled delivery... and we ended up living with plastic sheeting for windows for months! Check your timelines. We had to have drywall up and painted for a set period of time (forget exactly), so that it could all dry before cabinets went in. Since we weren't drywalling until windows were in, we got behind right from the start. Luckily our cabinet supplier had room to hold the cabinets for us until we were ready. Flooring was also subbed out, and when we missed our original time, had to wait awhile until he could reschedule. Appliance store also agreed to hold appliances for us for several months. We originally planned a July 30th finish date. With delays, we then hoped to be in before Christmas. Granite was finally installed end of November- had to be re-ordered, and replacement pieces weren't installed until April 08, so of course we couldn't put up backsplash or finish off back of peninsula. Not to belabour the point, but as of Nov 24 08, we are still waiting for the last pieces we subbed out to a carpenter- finishing off our cabinets (original order was screwed up- long story). Hired him in August, and supposedly will get our order this week (not holding my breath). As I've said here before, my mistake in saying we wanted to be finished before Christmas, was in not specifying the year!!! So, advice? Money to be saved is real. In these times, priceless. Luckily, your DH can do all the work. If you don't have to sub out to anyone for anything, you're ahead of the game. But, if you have to depend on anyone else, be prepared for delays, and make sure your suppliers are OK with them.