When to fire a contractor?

[Gellar]

I have been working on building a house and am nearing completion. I need to wrap up my construction loan and switch to a regular mortgage, but the plumber and hvac (same contractor) are holding things up. Over the last month he has said several times they will be on the job on a certain day and when that day comes up he has an excuse. I have paid him 1/3 of the agreed price but am not paying him more until he shows up and has progress. He is holding the process up because I need heat to finish the drywall and paint. He was supposed to show again today but said the weather was going to cause him to reschedule until tomorrow. If he is not there tomorrow I am considering cutting ties. I know this may delay the process more but I am fed up with scheduling contractors and having to cancel them because this guys work is not done.

What would you do in my situation?

Sorry for the rant, I don’t like to air my laundry on the internet, but I am frustrated.

 

[Straight Arrow]

What would you do in my situation?

Hopefully you have a contract to guide you in the process. Assuming so, I would follow the provisions and if it costs you ... then he should somehow compensate. "Should" being the key word. Good luck.
Congrats on (near) completion of a new home.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Like SA said, hopefully there's a written contract agreed upon by both parties. That should have the terms/conditions detailing what should happen in instances of nonperformance. I also hope you've taken good notes, or have documentation on when/how/why this guy has called off. Firing a contractor can get ugly, having e-mails or just a hand written notebook documenting phone calls can be an ace up your sleeve if it goes to legal action.

I'm not a lawyer, but it would also be a good idea to send him a "48 - hour notice to cure" via e-mail and certified letter. Basically lay it all out in writing the times he's scheduled to be there then no-showed, state the impacts it has had in the construction schedule, then give him 48 hours from the time the e-mail was sent to be onsite and progressing... if he no-shows then he's fired. The e-mail shows time/date, certified letter shows that you made every effort to deliver to him.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Im a GC and I don't regularly have problems with subs however when I do, I usually text a picture of a stack of $100 bills. Hasn't failed yet.

 

[davinski]

A good contract should have a performance bond and language for what to do. Pretty rare in residential stuff though, contractors see lots of thick paperwork and the price goes way up or they go away. I would start looking into prices from other similar contractors to do the same work and use that as some leverage. Odds are it will be more than that 2/3 already established, but it will show how motivated you are. He may truly have something wrong where he cannot complete it and just doesn't want to fess up. But by the middle of December on a home, I'd say it's time to quit mincing words.

You could play with his pride a bit. I mean, if you offer to buy his materials, stage it on-site and start hacking away at some of his completed work in efforts to "help him along" he should recoil in horror at the thought of a layman buying the wrong material or working on his completed craftsmanship and get busy. Or, the flip side, he may truly need help if he has an injury or something going on.

Or talk to other primes, subs, or suppliers who know him so that the word gets around to him that you are fed up.

My apologies to contractors in the audience who may consider those as dirty tricks.

 

[Gellar]

Im a GC and I don't regularly have problems with subs however when I do, I usually text a picture of a stack of $100 bills. Hasn't failed yet.

I feel like since I am not a gc he is giving preference to his gc’s he works with regularly.

Unfortunately we do not have a lot of plumbers and hvac techs in the area. And I have heard of this problem from a few others who have built houses. I have not heard it about this contractor though.

 

[cowboy]

Forget any phone communication from here on out - do whatever it takes to communicate face to face.

 

[LuketheDog]

Forget any phone communication from here on out - do whatever it takes to communicate face to face.

Nope, do it by email and text so you have a paper trail, if you do have a face-to-face meeting to discuss your displeasure then you need to follow it up with an email stating what was said. Tell the guy you're about to move on to somebody else who will get the work done if he doesn't show up asap, but make sure you do everything by the contract.

 

[mtmuley]

What Luke said. And don't play any dirty tricks. mtmuley

 

[Deleted member 18333]

Fire him now and deal with the consequences. I would much rather be in control of the situation. Right now he is in control and you have to deal with his whims. Control is always preferable even if it results in more cost and further delays. He is suppose to be working for you. Don't let anyone turn that relationship around.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Does your state have a contractors board? If so call them, they'll light a fire under his drag ass.

 

[Muskeez]

I'd start by finding a replacement and asking them how soon they could guarantee they could be there, show them the job and ask them how soon they could have it done. THEN if all works out fire the other guy. You'd hate to be without for 2 months and really delay the whole project that much farther.

 

[Phaseolus]

I’d talk to a couple of HVAC and plumbers first to see if they would be willing to do the job. If you can’t find anyone willing you’ve got problems.

 

[noharleyyet]

What does the amount paid, work completed. mitigation of critical path expense balance sheet look like? Do you have a written or verbal agreement..are you the prime contractor..etc

I would try to work it out with him.

 

[JDH]

I’d talk to a couple of HVAC and plumbers first to see if they would be willing to do the job. If you can’t find anyone willing you’ve got problems.

Agree with this and they may have also heard of your contractor having issues. Unless your home is the only one that he isn't working with a GC on, I'm sure other local plumbers have gotten calls just like yours because of him. But definitely follow the contract clause regarding nonperformance if you have one and document the crap out of all of your communications with him.

 

[Rzrbck918]

I feel like since I am not a gc he is giving preference to his gc’s he works with regularly.

Unfortunately we do not have a lot of plumbers and hvac techs in the area. And I have heard of this problem from a few others who have built houses. I have not heard it about this contractor though.

You are likely correct. It unfortunately part of the industry. Friends often ask me to get them my prices on services from subs; what they don't understand is my prices really aren't much better, my time to work completion is. Sorry for your headache but you seriously might offer to pay immediately upon completion (in person, not by mail). Don't know if it will work with this guy but It has worked for me in the past.

 

[ida homer]

Contractors can be the worst.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Contractors can be the worst.

View attachment 122562

I don't have a hardhat.

 

[noharleyyet]

Contractors can be the worst.

 

[Gerald Martin]

As a contractor myself I would suggest you start by voicing your displeasure in a face to face conversation try to gauge whether or not there are legitimate reasons for his postponement of finishing your job. Sometimes a contractor is working multiple projects and weather or another customer might be pushing to have their job finished before you. Ask him what he views as a realistic end date and ask him to explain his idea of the steps it will take for him to accomplish that . If it’s not acceptable to you then it might be better for both of you for you to find another contractor to do the work. Be realistic with yourself that if you find someone else it will take you longer and don’t transfer your frustration over to the next contractor. If he follows through and begins work stay out of his way and check up on his progress after hours.

Don’t play control games and don’t use threats. Just ask him to be straight up with you about when he can finish and if it isn’t acceptable take the next step. Nobody wins when it goes from construction to contention.