Lost closet--Is it the architect or builder's fault?
hwrites
4 years ago
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Virgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoL thomas
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Vague Builder's Contract - Please Help.
Comments (37)Sorry about your loss. If you want to see the full version of the contract I outlined, you can buy a paper copy of AIA A105 at the link below for $8.00. There is nothing wrong with crossing out what you don't want and adding supplemental provisions or clarifications on attached sheets as long as they are dated and referenced in the main Agreement. Be sure all parties initial in the margin where changes were made and make three signed copies. All standard contract forms provide a space for an interest rate to be entered for late payments to the contractor and that should be sufficient for any builder. Adding 10% to the entire bill after 5 days is obviously an onerous penalty and since the builder doesn't get a discount on most of the cost of construction he can't truthfully say it is due to lost supplier discounts. Window suppliers generally require half at the order time and the rest upon delivery. A 10% penalty is a huge red flag and a deal breaker. Be thankful the guy showed his stripes early. All AIA contracts naturally provide for an architect but that can be modified. I hope you will have someone advising you during the construction phase since even good contractors make mistakes and it is not realistic to ask anyone to put your interests above theirs and building inspectors have no obligation to you to find errors in the work contrary to popular opinion. An Allowance is like a small Cost Plus contract inside a Fixed Price contract so avoid Allowances if at all possible and make the builder bid as much as possible up front. When you must use them, determine the quantity and general location of the items now (even if in narrative/list form) so the labor/installation price can be included in the base bid and the Allowance will only be for the cost of materials. Listing Unit Costs (like a per s.f. cost for flooring installation) can help too. This is the only time the builder will be motivated to keep the prices down so don't waste that advantage. The buy-out of an Allowance item should be resolved by Change Order whether it is higher or lower than the Allowance amount since it changes the contract price. I like to add a third option where a full credit is given and the Owner can supply the material. Sometimes this is the only way out of a difficult negotiation with a Sub. If he knows you can walk away he will try harder to please you. In my opinion a Fixed Price contract with lots of Allowances that include labor is the most lucrative contract type for a builder assuming he can get kick backs from his subs. I even had a contractor ask me for a kick back because he recommended me for the project. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: AIA A105...See MoreBuilder gives you the shaft...do you love the house anyway?
Comments (12)I posted on the decorating forum for you but also thought it might benefit others to know how bad it can get yet end so well. We had a lot of small irritations during our build but also had a couple of MAJOR problems. Our contractor said he would be done in 9 months....but then spent 3 out of 7 days in Texas (we're in CA) trying to save his marriage (he didn't). So basically we got 4 days a week if lucky. The total build from land purchase to key took over 3 years. In that time of course the housing market went to hell and cost of building sky rocketed. Because of that the GC who is a wonderful builder but a terrible businessman went over budget. We fired him, then he quit, then the bank said work it out b/c going with another contractor would be near impossible. So... we paid almost 30% over our estimate. After we were roughed-in on electric, plumbing and HVAC we found out our architect used the wrong elevation and didn't use "snow load" trusses. That cost tens of thousands of dollars extra (architect is reimbursing that). But it also caused a 3 month work stoppage while we researched retrofitting the trusses (and whether the framing would hold the extra weight) in hopes of not having to tear the house down and rebuild again (we would have just walked away if that happened). From that, HVAC was the only rough-in that had to be redone. That caused an ugly return register monstrosity over my fireplace which I'm in the process of "hiding". We moved into our home in August of 2007. Although it took over 3 years to build- it still took a while for me to believe it was mine and not some wonderful vacation that was going to end come each Monday morning. Yes we had punch problems....still have a few minor ones that we know will never be fixed by the GC. But I LOVE my home, the area and especially my neighborhood. DH said once he never understood people that wanted to just stay home on weekend, now he says he does. So hang in there, it's worth it....See MoreArchitect -Contractor Issues
Comments (12)Thanks for the replies. Yes, if I could fire myself, at this point I would. But IâÂÂm not sure how much more I could have done (I had the architect out at the house before we bid, as well, and he said the scope looked reasonable, âÂÂbut you never know until you open the walls upâ¦âÂÂ). We donâÂÂt have options to move in later, so itâÂÂs not a matter of IF IâÂÂm screwed, but HOW screwed am I. IâÂÂm currently scaling back the project (the additional bathroom will likely get pushed off to the future). So itâÂÂs now a matter of dividing a bedroom and moving a bathroom. The crux of my frustration is the contractor is still telling me this should all be achievable if he can get some construction documents, but that in his opinion the architect is working extremely slowly. They have worked together in the past, and the contractor says this architect is always slow, but on this project he is slower than he has ever been. IâÂÂm gradually realizing they donâÂÂt like each other. We are supposedly working on this in the âÂÂfast trackâ method; but the contractor is saying it is taking too long to get the âÂÂjust enoughâ plans to start work on the foundation level work. I realize it may be impossible to estimate without more information, but if anyone has guidance as to how long it should take to produce initial construction plans for a project of this scope (once the layout schematics are agreed on) would be interesting - is it months or weeks? Thanks for letting me vent....See MoreAre you the most demanding customer your builder has ever had?
Comments (20)I've learned so much from all of you! My husband and I have been the contractors in our remodels but with this new house we have a builder. And I HAVE WARNED him that I really want to be a big part of it. We are only in the wall footings stage, so we are just starting. Our builder told me that he has heard it ALL and nothing I might ask is a dumb question. I told him I would be the first one to change his mind, so he should be prepared. He has nicely told me that I was overthinking a couple things but surprisingly I did find an error (made by the architect) that I was questioning him on. Guess I've decided to not wait to ask questions, especially about items that can not be easily changed. The main thing the builder asked was that I tell him of my concerns first. (He does answer is phone or respond quickly to my delight) . In Sheads case, only knowing what I've read, I would have done the same thing. Doorways are a pretty big thing. Time is money and her contractors subs for the next day would possibly be wasting their time and her money, if every single door had to be redone by the previous subs. In my case, I probably already know some of sub contractors or their boss because we live in a rural area next to a very small city. If I don't know them, I've probably crossed paths somewhere! If my contractor didn't respond within a few hours, yes, I would be looking for their number. Sooo, I hope I'm not the most demanding customer, ah, it could happen....See MoreL thomas
4 years agosuedonim75
4 years agoUser
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoUser
4 years agojmm1837
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoUser
4 years agoL thomas
4 years agojmm1837
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoL thomas
4 years agoulisdone
4 years agoL thomas
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoL thomas
4 years agoUser
4 years agoDavid Cary
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agojmm1837
4 years agoUser
4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agoD N
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoD N
4 years agoDiana Bier Interiors, LLC
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agohwrites
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoCharles Ross Homes
4 years agoshead
4 years agoCharles Ross Homes
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agotendrac
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoBT
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agotendrac
4 years agoDavid Cary
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4 years ago
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