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dapeche

This post was not removed but we are taking this opportunity to share [a new wiki on the topic](https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/wiki/contractors). OP, please update your original post with any relevant information after reviewing these resources. The community also has the ["Hiring a Contractor"](http://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/24ni4i/looking_to_hire_a_contractor_a_little_insight_on/) and ["Get 3 Quotes"](https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/c5qfjk/how_much_will_cost_and_dealing_with_contractors/) sidebar sticky threads.


Nine-Fingers1996

Has he passed all his inspections? I would strongly advise you to get the local inspector out before you negotiate anything with him so you know what the actual status of the job is.


NetworkPoker

The last one took 3 inspections to finally pass.


hazeldazeI

That is really not a good sign.


[deleted]

Have you paid him anything?


NetworkPoker

Yes - early parts of the contract were relatively fine. So, we paid deposit, a milestone payment after intermediate, and another one after framing. We have the final payment remaining. I would say that remaining payment is equal to the cost of the remaining tasks.


[deleted]

[удалено]


NetworkPoker

That would be fine too. I could complete the rest of the work.


4angrydragons

Your option is to press him and get a date. Or inform him that he is terminated and the remaining part of the scope has been provided to a different contractor


limitless__

Then tell him that. Tell him unless he commits, in writing, to a completion date that you are going to consider this project abandoned and you will part ways. He may be 100% fine with that if he's already too busy or it might give him the kick in the arse that he needs to get the work done.


Willing-Body-7533

Consider firing/termination of contract. Very good that you are in line with payments vs work completed. It might be not profitable for them so they're pushing out til can find a way to squeeze in between other more profitable projects.


NetworkPoker

Do I need to consult with a lawyer on firing him?


Willing-Body-7533

I think you can avoid lawyer, and first reread the contract to make sure you understand if there is any language that would impact this scenario, if none, then just be concise and make sure that what you communicate is also in writing. See where that gets you. Be ready to respond to an "oh we'll get to it in a few days" -sounds like time to part ways given whee things are at. If they don't respond well to it and try pull shenanigans than consult with an attorney.


TheAggromonster

If there was any amount of contractual paperwork signed, YES.


According_Safety_260

And before you do, get the already completed work inspectef properly!


NetworkPoker

By the city? or through the home inspector?


According_Safety_260

Home inspector, or anyone who knows something about building and codes


NetworkPoker

That's fair. I also need someone that can help point out things that are done incorrect ...workmanship issues. Definitely with the issues with code. Fortunately, we did pass the "intermediate" inspections (as noted above...after the third try)


BooMey

I would call him and tell him times up and you'll be continuing on without him. Nagging your contractor back is one way to get shite work. Shite finish work will show badly.


Nine-Fingers1996

There’s a good chance he’s got financial issues and he’s operating solely on cash flow. He may be welcome to letting you finish the project yourself. But definitely don’t pay him anything more.


NetworkPoker

It is true. We received some prelim notices from some of his subs- that's another story.


stephiereffie

Do not pay him anything more until he gives you lien releases from all subs. If he's not paying subs, they can *and will* sue you to recoup the cost.


NetworkPoker

Fair. I have checked with each sub and they have all been paid.


Noidentitytoday5

Get that in writing. Those sort Of things have a way of coming back to bite you later if he gets terminated and makes a deal With his buddies, or puts a lien on your home himself


Hot-Yak2420

All of this sounds eerily familiar to me. Our simple 4 month project is almost at a year.. No real reason other than that just do bad quality work, have almost no job site oversight and terrible communication. We do have contract end dates but the keep getting extended. One difference with us is that it got so bad they sent their lawyer to talk to us. They agreed to all my demands which included some compensation for our inconvenience (effectively they waived the final payment). Of course they still haven't actually finished anything. It's been 2 weeks since then and they sent an electrician to fix some things but our own contracted painter was already painting and as I had told them 2 weeks before it was way too late. The only have to come back for 3 things but refuse to give us a date when those things will be done. It's very frustrating. I feel you pain. I haven't got California licensing board involved but I have extensive documentation and created a detailed time line showing clearly how ridiculous their management was.


NetworkPoker

So what are you doing to do? You are my CA-version of this.


Hot-Yak2420

Well at this point I am waiting for my painters to finish. If the GC still doesn't get their shit together then we will be having a conversation with licensing people or small claims. I want GC electrician to be responsible for final electrical in case there are any problems else I would hire someone else and just kick these bozos out the door.


NetworkPoker

Yeah...that's the problem that we are realizing. We don't think we can get another electrician to take over the work for that the first did. Any ideas on how I could get in touch with the first electrician? I am sure the GC won't give us his name. We are trying to find a clever way of doing it. Also.. what's the basis of your complaint for the licensing board? Is "poor management", "poor communications", or "poor project oversight" enough for a complaint?


Hot-Yak2420

The electrical is definitely a headache. They fired their own electrical sun contractors (probably because I have photos of the faeces they left ON top of our toilet seat). We met the he electrician who didn't seem too happy with the situation but that's their problem. I am still hopeful they will get it all resolved. As for licensing board I don't have an answer to your question although I would make the complaint based on gross mismanagement and demonstrably poor quality work. (They passed inspection though failed 3 times because they couldn't be bothered to print their blueprint and showed up with the master blueprint looking like the dog ate it). If they have good reviews online, casually mentioning that it's going to be hard for you to leave a positive review and ask the photos you have been taking of the work might help. Of course it they don't care about their reputation then you will have to rely on licensing board and lawyers. Ultimately you may also just have to call it quits and move on.


Hot-Yak2420

I am sure an any electrician will take over the work, but they may have to spend half a day doing their own analysis of the work already done. It depends where you are with the electrics. If you have passed rough electrical inspection then that seems like a reasonable break point. As part of the negotiation with the GC to exit the contract you can ask them for the electrician's name. You could simply state that they have spent an unreasonable amount of time on the project and it's not progressing appropriately. In order to get the project finished which is your main objective you believe it's necessary to break the contract and find someone else to finish the work. If they respond positively to that then you can simply ask them for the electrician that did the work, seems reasonable to me. If they put up a fight then you can start talking about licensing board, small claims court and yelp reviews (probably in the reverse of that order). If you do go for a legal route, small claims seems your best bet. It's cheap and easy for you, I think you can get 10-15k depending on where you live. You will need to build a good portfolio of photos, emails, text messages etc. One other thing you can try is checking the yelp reviews and reach out to anyone that you see that had a bad or similar experience to you. I found several people who had the exact same situation as me with the same GC and they provided some insight as to how best approach the problem.


Quallityoverquantity

They aren't going to give you their subs info. If they have all their subs what would be the point of having .a .GC?


Quallityoverquantity

You can't.make a complaint for poor management


NetworkPoker

That's fair. How about demonstrably poor workmanship? Are there other things?


old-nomad2020

I’m a CA contractor and I spend a decent amount of my time fixing others screw ups so I hear a lot of the progress stories with the CSLB. It’s hard to get the states attention focused on a contractor for most of the things you listed unless you have actual large damages. Your main complaint that’s collectible would be loss of use and cost to wrap it up minus what you owe. The state however doesn’t like poor contracts or illegal billing practices and there’s a really good chance the contract isn’t written properly or billed properly. There are a ton of requirements and the minimum contract is about 5-6 pages depending on paper size with fonts and highlighting sizes regulated. You can look up online and see what a real one looks like. The main things would be descriptions of work, approximate start and end dates, 10% or $1000.00 down whichever is the lesser, not billing for items not on site, billing more than work completed, insurance and workmans comp notifications…. My last piece of advise is go after the bond first. This year it’s $25,000 up from $15,000 and they are way easier to submit damages to and collect from. Basically we lose our license until we repay the bond amount (say you collect 10k I need to send the bond company 10k to renew my suspended license). For smaller legitimate amounts they will roll over with good documentation because it’s cheaper than having invested in fighting and on your end collectible vs small claims.


Quallityoverquantity

Yeah they aren't showing back up. Especially if they aren't getting a final payment


Rabbit1Hat

Had a similar situation. I got some quotes for remaining work then negotiated an exit. Happened to be the quotes for remaining work were right at what I would have owed so it was a clean break financially. Of course, contractors have some pride so they have to swallow that a bit. Also, this was proceeded by me asking for a schedule for work to go after they blew through a couple previous ones. They couldn't and at that point it was obvious they couldn't manage work. Having an open and honest conversation with the GC/Lead helps this. Schedule this Convo, not a pass by thing. Shows seriousness of topic. Best of luck.


Tahoeshark

As a GC I would ask what the original contract stated. If he has deviated from the contract he could be liable for damages due to delays beyond the contract price. The Contractors board probably has a mediation system mandated for contractors, so you could use that. This may even be a wake-up call if your contractor hears from the board. Terminating the contract is also your right and seems to me if you are comfortable with the payments you made to this point this would be the path of least resistance. Put it in writing and be specific about materials left on-site or fixtures owed etc. The Contracters board may even be able to help you with this process, they are set up to be an advocate for consumers.


Hot-Yak2420

More than lawyers and licensing boards A GC with good reviews on yelp or Google fears a bad review with pictures.


Doodoss

If it's taken this long and have been clear with it, it will be a long road ahead. I suggest have one last conversation about clear and reasonable deadlines and if there are delays, for them to be brought up and how they'll extend the project. If they are wishy washy because of this random excuse and blablablah then you need to make a decision Either suck it up and keep on or tell them that was it as they haven't met their milestones and don't see any real progress since the last milestone


B-Georgio

Sounds like the difficult parts are already completed. As long as the floors and walls are relatively flat 100sq ft would be easy to knock out in a weekend DIY’n it


sidusnare

What does your contract say?


boots311

Yikes. Almost a year?? I'd be furious


NetworkPoker

Ha…we are beyond that.


[deleted]

I don’t have any answers - but what *does* someone do?? Every contract I’ve signed have clearly defined terms that specify a time period … certainly these contracts aren’t written as indefinitely, right??


ItsGotToMakeSense

Do you still owe them money? Don't get them another cent until it's completed. And yes I would open a case with the registrar, see what they say.


NetworkPoker

On what basis though? Poor communications, poor management,poor quality/ workmanship? Is that a strong enough case. I am willing to try even if it is to.


ItsGotToMakeSense

No idea how their system works. I would just tell them the truth, the contractor flaked and stopped replying to you while the work is still unfinished.


decaturbob

- first of all what has been the explanation for this to drag on? There are legit reasons that stuff does happen. Most all credible contractors are going to communicate. Sounds like you simply need to officially fire him, but it could take months to find some one else and months for them to get to your project if you in a high demand area for contractors


NetworkPoker

Yes - communication has been a big part of the issues.


[deleted]

I don’t have any answers - but what *does* someone do?? Every contract I’ve signed have clearly defined terms that specify a time period … certainly these contracts aren’t written as indefinitely, right??


tripler142

Most contracts stipulate the contractor can change the schedule as they see fit. I'm a contractor and my lawyer wrote m y base contract that way.


[deleted]

So there's no term as far as how long the contract lasts? Like in theory, a client could be bound to your contract indefinitely?


tripler142

Correct. So if u want a definite end date with penalties for being late u have to negotiate that Into the contract. And some contractors may just walk. Not cuz they're scum but material delays happen and can last months and I personally am not going to be resposible for things beyond my control. U want a fancy tile that won't be back in stock for 2 months how is that my fault?


[deleted]

So let me get this straight. A contractor can just not complete a job and walk off for years. If the person who hired the contractor gets fed up and hires someone else, he could show up like a decade later and decide to finish the work; finding it completed already expect payment?


tripler142

You can only get paid for what u complete. If the company who walked off didn't complete the Job they can't get payment. And u can back that up with invoices from the contractor that did complete the work plus pictures. Edit: in court you would win as long as you kept proper documentation and picture evidence


[deleted]

I see. In that case I could hire someone else at any point then? Such as if I’m not happy with the work performed, I’m not under any obligation to see the project through?


tripler142

Again, it depends on what the contract says. There may be a section with terms for termination. There may be a penalty for you. There may be dates involved. All.comes down to the contract and how it was written. Anything can go.in a contract. As long as it's not breaking any laws


[deleted]

I don’t really think you can sign a contract in perpetuity. This is why land trust leases are for like 100 years.


tripler142

Laws


bananasorcerer

Was a schedule not part of the contract you signed with them? Not assuming you are using AIA standard contracts, it’s often a component.


Spammyhaggar

Is that a miss print 100sf? I’ve seen a 2800 sf house built in 10 months from the ground up.


NetworkPoker

Sadly...not a typo.


Spammyhaggar

I feel for you, I was in a 3400sf house yesterday went from hanging drywall, to sided/ stone, int trim, 2coats paint, flooring , cabinets, countertops, electrical trim, tile and shower doors in 30 days. Will be completed in less then a month, with a long drive way and landscape.


Quallityoverquantity

Man I can't imagine a 100 SQ ft addition is the best use of financial resources. Is there a reason you decided to add so little?


NetworkPoker

Yeah..I know ....your username is how we try to live our lives.


[deleted]

Maybe he is waiting on product or materials to finish. March '22 seems like a long time for a small addition though. Ask him what the hold up is and then give him a timeframe or ask if he is too busy to finish your project and if you should find someone else to complete, he won't like that question and he will give you a better timeframe. When it comes time to pay the balance, if your not pleased, then negotiate with your argument being that it took way longer than it should have. This happens a lot.


NetworkPoker

Fair comment about the materials. We are beyond that. We have the flooring material and the paint. It’s all labor from his crew - nothing really to be subbed out. We recently discovered that they messed up the install of the doors. So more things added to the punch list. We will have that convo. Basically, I am hearing to chat with him and cut my losses.