I may seem harsh, but hopefully you take away some knowledge from this response. You should run from this contractor! I wrote more in my previous responses, then they listed in the details. With them being certified, they should know details are everything. There's much I see in their proposal I do not like at all. It protects them, not all parties involved. I'll list some, and in no particular order according to your proposal. Their payment schedule is a joke. It should read something like, 35% down at the end of the first working day and all materials are on site. With a copy of lien release given to the customer from suppliers ( no exceptions). The balance to be paid upon satisfactory completion. They state in "12", about a thorough clean up when job is done. This is outright ludicrous. A provision should be included in the contract about tear off, clean up, and securing the site everyday. Do not assume they will secure the site everyday against inclement weather. The clean up process should be continual during the day, with the debris walked across the roof and deposited in dumpster/dump truck. Your roof pitch is only around 4/12, so there shouldn't be debris on the ground during the day. Tarps burn grass in minutes in the hot sun, same with shingles. They should not be shoving the stuff off the roof. They should run a magnet (I still have a commercial type) everyday in the yard where debris had a chance going. The last thing you want you or your loved ones, or a pet stepping on nails. During tear-off, all existing roof covering fasteners should be pulled. Not hammered in. All sheathing should be refastened with proper fasteners. The sheathing comes loose when tearing off. All too often I see people just banging the fasteners back in. Look, the fasteners are not going any deeper, so it's useless to just have them sitting in the holes not holding the sheathing down. The decking should be broom swept, and air blown off before any ice guard, felt or new material is installed. You don't want bits and pieces telegraphing the new install. On #8, galvanized valley flashing. They must want to have open valleys on the front dormer. Galvanized valley flashing went out here in the 70's! No joke, You don't want rust spots in the valleys, or the discoloration. They sell preformed "W" valleys of aluminum in different colors, and copper if you want to throw money at it. Anyone using a metal valley should get it with the "W". I won't go into why. I always preferred a closed valley with cut back, or a closed woven valley. If a cut back is used, the installer must know which area of sheathing gets covered first. And there is more to know than just that. There is no mention of fastener size (length). All too often I was on jobs roofers wouldn't return to. Only to find they used 1" nails. Why? Because when you buy them, you get more per coil case or more per pound if hand nailing. Speaking of nail lengths, on their #10 for ridge vent. They need to use longer nails for cap over shingle vent. I would always use 2". I seen caps blow off because someone tried to cheap out and use the same 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" for the cap over vent. This is one of those tail light guarantees when not using proper length fasteners. Also it should be listed how far back they're cutting the sheathing for ridge vent. Too far and you got issues, some don't even cut it back and slap the ridge up there. It renders the vent useless. They should also list a saw depth. You don't want them cutting into the trusses. I say this because I've seen more than enough of botched work. Their #3. Drip on rakes only? Another short cut. There's absolutely no reason for this. The eaves should have drip also. The size of the face of the drip should be listed. You can get cheap drip edge with a 1" face, or get a nice looking 1-7/8 or there about. Never just on rake only. Also, it should be listed how far over the drip the shingle material hangs. Never should it be even with the drip, and never to the point of drooping over the drip. A 3/4" overhang is usually about right. However, this has to be determined in the field. Their #9. They write 6 nails per shingle. I could look up the requirement for this shingle, but I'm not. Generally there is 4, then when the shingle above it is placed, there will be 4 into the top of the previous shingle. So it gives you 8 per shingle. However, I have seen where people only place 3, so the total would be 6. This is incorrect according to manufacturers instructions. There are provisions for high wind applications, and roof styles such as Gambrel. You do place more fasteners, but the total fasteners holding the shingle will double since the next row also fastens the previous. I seen in your other thread, it appears to be an addition on the end of the structure. They did not address how they will step flash and possibly counter flash this area. Caulking/roof cement is unacceptable. It should be metal flashing, and not galvanized. I haven't looked everything they proposed, but I'm sure I wrote more than enough for you to run from this outfit.

Dear Kim, I think you are a little ahead of yourself. Like the majority of people wanting new kitchens you are trying to get your new kitchen done. And Without being able to communicate what it is you really want and expect to Get AFTER your new kitchen is done. You are designing the kitchen but not Your Life You expect to be Living In It AFTER it’s done. “ I already have the kitchen layout chosen for the most part since a friend of mine who is a designer has the same layout and I'm probably going to go with a similar layout.” I believe a kitchen is a Home & Life Improvement Project, and NOT a get a new kitchen project to satisfy your urge for something new. Because you don’t like your existing kitchen, with the Hope of getting what you truly want and desire. This is a recipe for kitchen project failure almost everyone blindly follows. This is the Wrong approach and I believe the Wrong destination for you! What you truly want, if you think about it, is a new, different, better, easier life than the one you’re living now in your existing kitchen. That you know from your own experience doesn’t work for you. Because it’s Not Your Kitchen but the kitchen you inherited from the previous owner. That you had to Adapt to by putting your items where ever they fit and as long as you know where everything is you’ll make do. What makes you believe your new kitchen will be any different? What makes you believe you won’t Have To ADAPT to your new kitchen? If you want to get the new kitchen and new life you truly want and expect your new kitchen project to deliver, and not do any of the work yourself. I believe you will need to hire a designer and a GC. Your budget is going to dictate what you can actually get in design, product, and services. You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Is your budget realistic? Fact: You are NEVER going to renovate this kitchen again for as long as you’re in this home. I believe that if you are going to take on a new kitchen project, Your Ultimate goal is Home & Life Improvement. And as dramatic an improvement in Home and Life, for your money, as possible. However, price shouldn’t be the Determining Factor. Why? Because you are NEVER going to renovate this kitchen AFTER it’s done. No Matter What Happens! You will be living with it, for better or worse, for as long as you own this home. Imagine, you’re in this home just 10 years from now. Will it matter then that you saved thousands of dollars, but have lived with disappointment and regret. That you didn’t get to live your new life you were hoping for, for the last 10 years? Or that you spent thousands more to get the new life and new kitchen you still love and enjoy living in every single day? Buyer Beware…Hiring anyone in the services industry is tough for everyone that has had to do this. Doctor, lawyer, plumber, electrician, GC, designer it doesn’t matter. Too many choices and it seems no easy way to tell service providers apart. You may want to hire a GC that does kitchens so you don’t have to find tradesman and do it yourself. That comes at a cost. You may want to hire a designer to create your kitchen design drawings for you so you can get bids and shop for your best price and value. This also comes at a cost. Which route is the best one for you to take? You can’t answer this question because you don’t have enough information. You are in the forest among the trees. So let’s see if we can get you above the trees to get you a 30,000 foot 360 degree view. So you can see clearly what is involved in what you are about to do. Every GC you talk to is a GC and every designer is a kitchen designer so far no help. We are all individuals and as individuals we are all uniquely different. We have different ways of doing the exact same things, we have different levels of perfect that need to be met. We all feel differently about what we do. And We all add different levels of value to the work we do. So although on the surface service providers are grouped together in your case GC, designer, every GC and every Designer is different and will produce dramatically different results at dramatically different costs. So How do you compare them to discover their differences and who’s best to work for you? You ask this simple question, “What do I get if I hire you that I won’t get from anyone else?” You care about What You Get not what they do. If you’re looking for a GC to do your entire new kitchen project chances are they design kitchens or are going to farm out your project to a kitchen designer anyway. To a designer you didn’t get to interview. These designers will design a kitchen (not your kitchen) that suits your budget. You’ll truly believe you’re designing your new kitchen too. Because you’ll get to make choices but you’re not. Because you’ll only get to see and choose from what they show you that fits within your budget. You’ll realize this is true, AFTER your new kitchen is done and you’ll blame yourself and regret that you didn’t do this project differently. NOW that you have the experience of HOW Not To do your new kitchen project. You don’t have the luxury of gaining experience this way. So what do you do? Think about your new kitchen project like a journey you’re going to take. To get you from where you are now, Your existing kitchen that doesn’t work for you. To the world’s perfect kitchen for you, that resolves all of your existing kitchen’s performance problems esthetically and functionally. And delivers that new, different, better, easier, more enjoyable life, that you don’t experience now in your existing kitchen. Where you want to be Living AFTER your new kitchen is done. How? 1. You start where you stand in your existing kitchen. Analyze it to discover what performance benefits exist that you’d like to keep and what performance problems it has that you need to resolve, fix, or eliminate. Now you are clear about what works well and what needs improvement in your kitchen’s performance of the 5 Basic Tasks (storage, preparation, cooking/baking, delivery (food & beverage), and clean up). Reproducing the benefits and resolving the problems gets you to the world’s perfect kitchen for you! And all of this space planning work should be done BEFORE interior elevations are ever done. Your goal is to create the world’s perfect plan that’s uniquely your own. Creating the Foundation your new kitchen will be built upon. How? 2. You create every possible appliance and cabinetry combination to create every possible new kitchen layout that provides a solution, to your unique kitchen design dilemmas discovered in step 1. Use the following link to see what I mean. https://www.kitchendesignco.com/layout-laboratory/ Analyze and Compare all of your new kitchen options you were able to come up with (there should be at least 5). If you need DIY kitchen layout help use the following link: https://www.kitchendesignco.com/diy-kitchen-layout-help/  Just like you did in step 1 so you are clear How each layout (plan) works day to day and when you entertain. After you’ve gone through all of them…do it again. Only this time by direct comparison and using the process of elimination you’ll get down to one plan. Your perfect new kitchen plan. How do you know for certain? You’ve seen and compared all other options leaving no doubt that you have your perfect plan. 3. Now that you have your perfect kitchen plan. Having your interior elevations and 3D perspective drawings done is easy. Actually you should be able to get an estimate on how much your kitchen will cost using your layout (plan) alone. However, if you have a complete set of kitchen interior design drawings done, like these (to see examples follow this link): https://www.kitchendesignco.com/kitchen-design-drawings/  Once you select your finishes you can get accurate pricing from EVERYONE on EVERYTHING you’ll need to complete your kitchen project and long BEFORE you build it. So you can discover definitely if your budget will get you the new kitchen, home and life improvement you truly want, and expect it to deliver. REMEMBER...You are NEVER going to redo this kitchen for as long as you'll own it. For better or for worse live with it and make do, or get what you truly want and expect. It’s your decision. Hope this has been helpful. Joe Brandao Kitchen Design Company

@rehb, I am so sorry that you are going through this, and have a couple of suggestions based on having had to fire a contractor during our house build. Stop telling the contractor how much money you do or don’t personally have that you may be able to access- he will “ spend “ it all. Tell him that you need to go to the bank to see what you can do about the financing, and that they are requiring itemized invoices for everything , as well as all receipts of payment from all subcontractors thus far. Do not give him any more money until you have met with your lawyer, the bank etc. Try to keep your savings intact, and use a construction loan to finish the project. The bank is usually much fussier about making disbursements, isn’t likely to be bullied, and will have more of an idea if the amounts you are being charged are really off- base. The bank will also require releases by the subs, so that liens cannot be filed against you. Our builder was a bully, and a liar, was getting kickbacks from subs, for example a $10,000 item, was marked to $12,000 on the sub’s invoice, then they refunded him the $2,000. difference between the customary price and “our” price, and his “plus” on the inflated price was obviously higher than it should have been. Talk about double dipping. My last bit of advice would be, depending where you are in the build, if the relationship has gotten too antagonistic, while the bank considers the new loan amount, ask them for recommendations for other local builders and quietly go see them. You might find someone willing to take over the project who you feel more comfortable continuing on with. It is a very discouraging position to find yourself in, I have been there too, it was difficult, and somethings were “lost in translation” when we changed builders-but we got the house done, and have lived happily in it for 18 years. (Also, don’t tell builder you’re thinking of firing him if you think you might until you’ve made some changes on the record, ours showed up at city hall trying to cancel all of our permits 15 mins after his replacement had had them transferred over. We had to sign several documents to do that. A lawyer should be a help.)

Regardless of whether or not the contractor "deserves" more profit or is going to go out of business, this is probably not allowed. California has some specific requirements for remodeling contracts that help eliminate surprise charges. First, in contracts "cost" has a very specific meaning, it is the amount paid by the contractor after all discounts and rebates. So it is the actual amount of money (or trade value) that the contractor surrendered and not a penny more. Contracts don't have to use the word cost for there to be a legal inference of cost. In California time and materials contracts are prohibited in remodeling projects. This essentially leaves only fixed cost and cost plus contracts available. In most states, including California, a fixed price contract must include the material selections necessary to complete the project. If you then choose to upgrade to a different material then the contractor will initiate a change order for the upgrade and can largely charge whatever you and the contractor agree to before the work starts. A change order, once agreed to, essentially becomes a fixed price addendum to the fixed price contract. However, if some type of allowance is used for materials then that portion of the contract becomes a cost plus. In a cost plus contract, the contractor must charge his actual cost for materials plus the disclosed overhead and profit (often called builder's percentage). So if your contract states 10% for overhead and 10% for profit then the contractor is only allowed to charge his actual cost plus 20%. California has additional requirements to prevent contractors from marking up the job after the contract is signed that are a bit more restrictive than the standard cost plus mechanism described above. My guess, without actually reading the contract, is that since you know the builder's percentage this is not a fixed price contract and the contractor is not allowed to mark up your selection an additional 24%. Again, this is just a guess inferred from the information provided and is not something you should rely on to take action. If you decide to take action start by reading the applicable statutes or finding some resources from the CSLB. As for the going out of business thing... that's not your problem. If your contractor needs to break the law to stay in business then maybe he should consider a different business.