Unless you really don't like anything that he's planned and won't be using it. Then it isn't so much a matter of "switching contractors". It's more a matter of "firing a contractor that you don't like" even if he is super nice.

But even then you may decide that the work he's done is worth something. Legally, if no contract has been signed I doubt you're required to pay anything. Morally, it's up to you.

Pay the man.

ditto

What exactly do you mean when you say "working with?"

If you have indicated to him that you would be hiring him, then I think you should pay him a decent amount of money. I personally feel that when it gets to the point that he is scheduling jobs around your work that you have effectively hired him and should you decide to change your mind you owe him.

If, on the other hand, you have used his assistance but given no indication of a start time or that you would be hiring him, and your job hasn't cost him other work then I think you only owe him for the time he spent with you.

I am not giving legal advice, just what I would do.

I'm not at all trying to avoid paying him. He never submitted a bid. We did not get to that point. We considered working with him, but had not hired him yet. He drafted plans & met with 2 vendors for estimates. I did not like the plans or the vendors. So, basically my question is, do I pay someone for the time he put into preparing a plan that does not work for my house?

Yes, you should pay him. It's unfortunate that you feel you did not get any value out of the time he spent on your project, but that is your judgment. (And I would argue that there is value in finding out what you don't like.) I assume you don't work for free, and you shouldn't expect him to either. It would be one thing if he had simply put together a bid, but, since he actually drafted plans for you and spent time with vendors, and with you subsequent to that, that's another story. Since you don't have a contract, you are probably not legally obligated, but you are ethically, in my opinion. If he is the nice guy you think he is, the payment might not be much, but you should discuss this with him.

Again, not trying to avoid paying him. I am not a bad person. But since we didn't get a bid or estimate from him, I have nothing to base payment on, nor am I familiar with the protocol for paying a contractor we don't end up using. Thanks for the lectures on morality.

Determine how many hours he has spent on your project and multiply that by a generous rate. Then be kind, but honest with him.

If my builder had not screwed up my project so bad, I could given both owners valuable advice, from a customer perspective, that could improve their company.

It's easy. The protocol is to tell him you are going with another contractor, you recognize he put time into the project, and you would like to know what he thinks is a fair way to settle this. Then you either pay him or negotiate.

And I'm not lecturing you...I'm just trying to be clear on what is reasonable here and why since you don't seem to have any experience in dealing with contractors.

It's interesting because if you posed this question in the Home Decorating forum or the Kitchen forum regarding paying an interior designer or kitchen designer who worked up a proposal or a kitchen design you didn't go with the overwhelming response would be that you owed nothing, that their "failure" to please you was their fault and part of their cost of doing business. After all, they "haven't done anything yet".

I agree that I would try to come up with a reasonable fee, because time and ideas and discussion should have value .

I've already said he deserves payment for time spent but I'll also throw something else out. Read "Does this addition look odd to you" in this same forum. Is it possible kb_socal is ready to get rid of contractor because he is advising against certain things he know's will not work well? Just saying. (:

He has poor business practices. He should have given you a ballpark figure and then told you that if you wished to proceed, he require a payment of $xxx dollars to draw up plans and provide a firm bid. That's how one runs a business.

I would send him a certified letter and a check for $1000 and inform him that you don't think you're on the same page and you are not going to continue with this job with him as your contractor. Thank him for his time and tell him you hope this will be considered suitable compensation for his time and effort. If he cashes the check, that's the end of it - he cannot come back for more.

I agree that you're really not legally obligated but take the high road.

I had to buy a $65.00 bit to drill a 1" hole in a granite top for a customer. Before it arrived, he called to tell me that since he was in a hurry, he went with someone else, but that he would reimburse me for the bit I bought for his job. Even though I could return it without penalty, that's class.