Re: Roofing job in progress/ Leaks

Posted by Billy NY on November 03, 2014 at 07:05:20 from (66.67.105.23):

In Reply to: Re: Roofing job in progress/ Leaks posted by George Marsh on November 03, 2014 at 05:04:57:

You are fortunate to have a situation like that, not everyone has that luxury.

To set the record straight, one does need to ask and one does need to get BID's. It would do this thread injustice to say that is not the case, I don't care who the customer is.

For a contractor it should be a very simple philosophy, obtain the work, maintain a backlog of signed contracts, perform and complete the work so that its acceptable, ("time is of the essence") then collect payment. Contractors may encounter customers that don't pay, just like customers may encounter contractors that fail to perform. A simple subcontract agreement, proposal, whatever formality you want to use, large or small job, at least provides you a legal binding agreement, I am aware even with a contract there could be problems, most times not, as each party knows they have agreed to something.

A customer should get a few bids, quotes, estimates or whatever you want to call it, with a detailed scope of work and payment terms. Any contractor that cannot agree to look over the job, provide a sound estimate, detailed scope of work, with acceptable payment terms is likely not worth a darn. There is a certain level of organization and business acumen a contractor must exhibit, if one looks closely enough, this will separate those who perform, and those who do the above, which started this thread. The latter are nothing but trouble, I know from being on the GC side, avoid these kinds at all costs.

You have a formal agreement, via a contract, a schedule can easily be incorporated, so both the owner and the contractor know exactly what to expect from each other.

The contractor you describe, knows the value of completing the work, having it accepted, getting paid and moving on to the next job, its the only way to succeed. I don't care what kind of problems a contractor has, you can't leave a job like a roof exposed like was described above. I may sound like a hard@ss but per what was described above is totally unacceptable, it shows 2 things, an owner who is complacent, (no insult intended here LOL!) and the contractor is failing to perform for whatever reason, ( and sure they get into a bind sometimes, I've been there many many times).

A smart contractor stays highly organized, is well prepared, thinks ahead and their standard proposal, contract agreement should reflect it.

Simple solution, add language to the contract that covers temporary protection, so that if the above happens, the contract calls for said contractor to protect the building if there is a break in the continuity of work, a weather event is on the horizon unexpectedly, or the contractor does have a legitimate conflict, needs to pull off the job for some reason. Some contractors are not all that organized or prepared. Now the cost of including temporary protection can be quantified, lump sum cost unique to the job or blanket protection, maybe its significant, the contractor has to add it as a line item for a specific job, or he's bid it so that its included, the customer should be informed of this or expect it, (not all are educated on these matters, that makes them vulnerable to bad contractors). A contract with no provision for temporary protection for work like waterproofing, roofing, exteriors etc, is lacking if there is nothing stated in regards to temporary protection, who is responsible and who pays if there is damage.

Typically, its supposed to benefit both parties, and the actual contract does not need to complicate things. Customer knows what to expect, contractor knows what to expect, and should be highly motivated once their signature is on paper, (should be without that paper LOL !)

I have a friend in the glazing business, same thing, known since middle school and his reputation to perform, aside from being overly helpful, friendly and exhibiting good faith to bid and or perform the work is beyond expectation. We always had a proposal signed if he did work for me or under me as a subcontractor, business is business.

I may not sound pro contractor at times, as a construction manager/general contractor, its the goal of that CM/GC to get the work done, so its wise to partner up with your contractors, help them anyway you can to complete their work or overcome obstacles on the job that impedes their production. It never pays to be adversarial, sometimes you have to be a hard@ss with any contractor, but its for the overall good of the job in most cases.

With the above, had I contract with the contractor involved, there would have been a stern reaction if the job stalled, meaning that morning when they did not show up, rightfully so, get on the phone and find out what is going on and why is my building left at risk of damage if it rains ??? The contractor should have notified the owner of their absence well in advance, the owner should not have to be chasing contractors around or contemplating what to do and worrying about the risks of damage because they left the job in a condition that is unacceptable. If the contractor simply called and said, listen I'll be back in 2 days to complete the job, I have a conflict, something came up, )(which happens) I'm sending 2 guys today or before it rains, to seal things up temporarily, and its done as he said, as an owner I'm happy. Don't call and not show up, means I'm all over your @ss about it, its just common courtesy.

I know a small residential guy, he builds out multi unit buildings or did for rental income and at times hired some of the work out. He knew I was into high rise building construction and asked how I deal with chasing contractors around LOL ! I said I don't LOL ! Worst case scenario on those kinds of jobs and you hate to have to go that route as it can be complicated, is to terminate for cause and utilize their bonding company with replacement contractors. Sometimes it has to be done, and I've been there numerous times on both sides of it. In that case you awarded a contract to a company that you should have avoided, and it happens with all the pre-qualification work done to determine they were acceptable.

Reason I posted all the above chatter is that so many people get burned from situations just like this on small, residential and light commercial jobs and its completely unnecessary. One of the worst I have seen in recent times was with a local beverage store, where he put an addition on, I know the owner, and wished I could have helped him before it got started, the way it unfolded was just unreal, and here is a business owner with a lot of risk at stake, get a bad contractor involved, becomes a mess in no time.

As I always say, "Inspect Your Expect" when it comes to contractors.

This post was edited by Billy NY at 09:30:39 11/03/14.

Replies:

• Re: Roofing job in progress/ Leaks George Marsh 16:39:39 11/04/14 (0)

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