Firing our contractor - long

17 years ago

We are doing a 2 story addition to our 1550 sq ft home. The addition is approx 500-600 sq ft and includes expanding the LR downstairs and adding 2 BR and a bath upstairs, re-roofing, re-siding, changing our heating system from steam to forced air and then adding Central A/C. We hired the guy who did our kitchen because we had a great experience with him, have recommended him to others who have also had great experiences with him, and because we trusted him. He also was giving us more for our $$. The project started mid-June. It took one month to get the foundation in. In Aug 7, our contractor asked us to move out, We knew it was coming but didn't realize it would happen so soon so my DH took a day off from work and moved by himself to my in-laws house.

We thought that since we moved out, work would progress. Instead, our contractor ended up doing no work for 2 weeks! I know he may have been finishing up other jobs, but why did he tell us to move out? Fast forward to almost 4 months later and framing still isn't done. October is here and our contractor still hasn't put up the beams to support the roof or even started ripping the old one down. Not to mention that the last couple of yimes its rained, the tarp was not up correctly which resulted in flooding and our DR ceiling collapsing. Also, he did not rent a dumpster so our front yard and the inside of the house is a disgrace, I'm not saying it has to be neat but I wonder how people work in that condition. He shows up about 3x/week but claims this is his only job.

My DH has lost all trust. He is questioning everything our contractor is doing and constantly flipping out. I, on the other hand, still thinks that he is ok and that it may be taking longer because he's being extra careful. Bottom line is that my DH is concerned that the house will not be sealed in time. He says that if we get an early frost, there's a possibility that our pipes might freeze and our house will be ruined.

DH wants to fire our contractor and hire someone else to finish the job. We paid $50K already on a $200K job.

Anyway, are we overreacting?

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Comments (8)

jasper_60103
17 years ago
jyyanks,
it sounds like a nightmare.
Being behind schedule is not uncommon, but trashing your house is unacceptable.
I had a much smaller project and my GC rented a porta-potty, dumpster and ensured the job site was cleaned-up at the end of day.
Did your GC address your complaint about the rain and weather damaging your home?
Winter is just around the corner. Why not shutoff the water now?
-jasper
bill_bg6
17 years ago
"Anyway, are we overreacting?"

Hardly. You haven't done anything yet as far as I can tell.
You are simply considering firing the GC.

You might consider demanding an immediate stop to all work and a written construction plan/schedule from your GC. I would expect this to detail timing and what contractors he has hired as subs. Give him 3 days to present the plan.
If the plan is not acceptable, then demand the unspent funds be returned and get a new GC.

There is no reason in the world for your house to be trashed.

Did he present a timeline and completion date at the beginning?

g'luck
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Since this is for a residential remodel, the city allows general contractors to do plumbing and electrical work. Currently, the generator contractor is on the plumbing and electrical permits. Framing passed inspection ok. The problems with plumbing and electrical are not related to plans or anything. They are due to general incompetence. Just a few examples: -he used 14-ga wire on a 20A circuit -he ran ONE neutral (yes, white neutral!) for 4 circuits--all regular single-pole 120V circuits. -grounds are not spliced properly inside outlet boxes -he used the wrong plumbing fittings; like he used tee's when he's supposed to use combos -he stapled the shower pan liner, which basically makes it useless -he didn't preslope below the pan liner -electrical emt conduits were touching copper water lines -he used copper water pipe clamps as emt clamps -he left old abandoned k&t wiring just dangling, not properly terminated at the knob -he used old electrical outlet boxes, and just screwed them to studs from the inside The list goes on, but that's the idea. See, none of this is due to plans being wrong, or not following plans, or anything of that sort. It's all due to incompetence/negligence/ignorance. Now, the inspectors (especially the electrical inspector) are picky, but I don't think they're unreasonable. I paid for the permit (I had him write a letter authorizing me to get the permit in his name). This is somewhat of a problem because my contract with him therefore doesn't say anything about permits, inspections, or anything like that. I had just assumed (incorrectly on my part) that he would do a fine job and everything would pass, given how simple of a job this is. Since additional inspections (and in the case of electrical, getting a new permit) costs plenty of money in my city (about ~$300 for a new permit and $170 for every additional inspection), I don't want to be on the hook for this if he just keeps failing inspections time after time. Hopefully this clarifies the situation a little bit. I just talked with him this morning, and he said he'd get a licensed electrician that he knows to get the permit and oversee the inspection. He'd pay for the permit and pay him. This is easiest for me, but I'm not sure that I really trust his work any more. I LOVE my house--and I can't have him do the kind of s**t that he does. It's good that the inspectors seem to do their job, but they can't possibly inspect everything, which gets me worried. However, hiring another contractor is difficult too. My building permit is ~$2500 is NOT transferable. To make this feasible, I'll probably have to recover some money from this contractor, which I imagine would be time-consuming and difficult. Also, the construction business is crazy right now--I called a few electricians and none of them got back to me. I had to wait 4 months to get a roof done. Good, competent contractors are booked at least 3-4 months out, if not until fall/winter, and that's too long. (It would've been fine if work hadn't already started--but now the house is a construction zone and I can't live here like this for too long.) So there's another piece of my dilemma. Sorry for the long post and the ranting. Thanks for reading. And as always, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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jyyanks
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you for your responses. We had a "talk" with him about all the delays as well as the trash that has built up outside and inside our house. He told us he would do something about it but he has been telling us that for months.

Jasper - he did agree to replace the DR ceiling but he didn't say anything about our carpet.

Bill - When he first started the job he told us 8-12 weeks. Its been over that and the framing isn't even done! I love your idea about the plan. I didn't know we could ask for this but will do so now.

Do you think its not too late to get another contractor? Would another contractor be willing to finish a job started by someone else?
pjb999
17 years ago
Never too late to get someone else unless you're bound by contract - what are the legals? Yes it may be a little hard to get someone to finish it but what's the alternative? Winter is indeed coming, but I suppose if you're not living in there as it is, you can turn off and drain plumbing.

reminds me of an unlicensed guy I was working for, fine for a kitchen maybe but when it came to bigger stuff he was clueless - got job done mostly but not legal, not approved, and not licensed.

I think you have to maybe consult a lawyer, check the contract - there IS a contract, right? and then either just sack him or give him an ultimatim and demand, as mentioned, a plan/timetable.
User
17 years ago
What does your contract say about parting ways? Is this guy lisensed and bonded? Did he pull a permit? Did he hire a structural engineer to be sure his foundation and beams would carry the load that is required? I'm sorry, but for the scope of work you're describing, and your location, the price is much too low for the remodel you're in the midst of. That usually indicates a "contractor" who isn't on the up and up. Check with the state licensing board to make sure he is liscensed, and check with the insurance commission to make sure he is insured. If he is neither of these, and you do not have a written contract, then send him a registered letter stating what you have discovered, and demand a refund. You probably won't get it, and you'll be in the middle of investigating real contractors who will charge you a premium to finish a half done job, so you probably won't have the energy or money to take him to court. Consider it an expensive lesson learned.
brunosonio
17 years ago
Don't worry...it's easy to fire a contractor. We fired 2 sets of them and then general contracted the total home renovation ourselves! We got sick and tired of being ripped off with shoddy work and high expenses.

My partner is an attorney...it helps to have one around. Don't hesitate to contact a contract attorney to check your options. Depends on the contract you signed, your locality, local laws, etc.

Getting rid of your contractor is the easy part. Finding another one on short notice who is good is the hard part. Be prepared to stop all work and wait several months for a good contractor. The good ones are working and booked that far in advance. You do NOT want someone who can walk into your job next week. Most likely they are inexperienced, not good, and not busy for a reason.
bill_bg6
17 years ago
It sounds like some hard decisions need to made, and made quickly.
Both the price and the time frame quoted to you for the scope you describe seem unrealistic.
It also sounds like you would be well served with some professional advice and assistance.
I am not from your area, but I would try and locate someone who can provide professional construction managment (not necessarily a GC) and an attorney. We use an architect here in MD with extensive residential and commercial experience who does a lot of expert witness and forensic architect stuff to document and quantify any job we take on from a "fired GC" situation. It happens a lot.

Your local Association of architects might be of some help in finding one. Or your local NARI chapter might be of some help.

Some contractors will be hesitant to take on a job in mid stream, but there are good one's who will. It can be tricky, because no GC wants to be in the position of having to assume the liabilities and warranty the work of a bad GC.

It is NOT too late to bring in a new GC. Just make sure you don't make the same mistake twice.

Here in the DC area I have heard very good comments from folks who have used Angie's List, you might want to contact them.

g'luck
User
17 years ago
iyyanks, anything new ?

Firing our contractor - long

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