Patience of a SAINT!

[aggie113]

Finally found a contractor who agreed with what I thought were reasonable rates for a 30x40 garage build. Signed the contract early July......

Foundation was pored yesterday!
Let's not even mention what dates were in the contract as they didn't have real penalty clauses they don't really matter.
I had neighbors who are contractors stopping by and asking if everything was alright with my project and offering their cards if I needed them. At one point, the build site did not get touched for over a month.
God I hope this is all worth it in the end. I have been patient and tried to be understanding but before this pore happened, I was about ready to blow up on the GC.

 

[jd_1138]

I'd rather have a deliberate, cautious, patient build than a slap happy super quick build with quality issues. My mom hired a local painter to paint the interior and exterior of her house. He took 2 months (lots of rain) and he sorta became a part of the family. lol.

Good luck and congrats on the build! Let's see some pics of the progress.

 

[pcmeiners]

Hey , he could have pour in July , August or September all bad month to pour especially in Texas heat.

 

[aggie113]

Hey , he could have pour in July , August or September all bad month to pour especially in Texas heat.

No he couldn't have. Rebar wasn't in place until 3 days before that pour. Trust me, it wasn't weather that kept him from poring. Last night was literally below freezing in the area.

 

[pcmeiners]

Would rather have a freezing night then a pour on a hot day.
From the weather report you guys just touched the freeze temp, which would have no effect on a new pour, due to concrete curing temp.

The extra delay, this is because the contract did not put time constraints on the GC, if it is not in the contract they will take forever to finish.

 

[vavet]

Remember - quality, low price, speed
You can only pick 2.

 

[yeldogt]

Remember - quality, low price, speed
You can only pick 2.

No truer words .......

 

[CraigStu]

Yeah it is a pain in the a--. The contractor for my 6 years ago add on garage bay got the permit for my $35k job same day as a $150k house add on. Guess which job is more important? And technically there was a time period where the house was not secure vs just my garage not secure. So he had to really push to at least get the house secure. The house we had built recently and moved into in April 2019 was similar. Builder was doing a small 15 house sub division at the same time he was doing ours 15 miles away. This was when I realized how much subcontracting building actually involves. Whether they are a separate company or just a separate crew employed by the contractor, there is 5 to 10 groups who have to be scheduled to show up and do their part of the build. Yours sounds like it is really getting strung out so I'd at least have a discussion w/ one of those other builders. Might be hard to get out of your existing contract but you never know. Maybe your job has gotten to be a thorn in his side and he'd be glad to be gone.

 

[aggie113]

Remember - quality, low price, speed
You can only pick 2.

True, but when the guy puts in the contract that he'll be finished before end of October... it's a lot of extra time. And let's not forget, the projects not finished yet

 

[Lucid Moments]

I feel your pain. I moved into my new place back in September, I signed the contract with the builder the previous November. It took for damn ever and felt like it took longer. But in the long run having something built the way I wanted it has been worth all the aggravation.

 

[vavet]

True, but when the guy puts in the contract that he'll be finished before end of October... it's a lot of extra time. And let's not forget, the projects not finished yet

I understand where you're coming from. The bottom line is the contractor should've been upfront about the timeline.

How complex is your project? Is it just an unfinished shell with electrical? Or do you have in-floor heat, a bathroom, drywall, insulation, etc?

My unfinished shell of a detached garage took less than 3 weeks of actual construction time. There was some confusion about the location that I didn't know existed until the footers were dug and poured (same day, while I was at work). We had to put the brakes on it at that point and wait for a second approval/variance from my POA, but that was on me for not having it in writing/email where the location was. The original stakes were correct, but those got moved when the excavator came in to clear the trees.

 

[tez929rr]

No he couldn't have. Rebar wasn't in place until 3 days before that pour. Trust me, it wasn't weather that kept him from poring. Last night was literally below freezing in the area.

Yup. 21F this morning and yesterday morning in the hill country.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Let's not even mention what dates were in the contract as they didn't have real penalty clauses they don't really matter.

i had one contractor nearly walk away because I had penalty clauses in my addendum for late start/finish even thought I also stated "unless otherwise mutually agreed upon".

 

[aggie113]

Project is pretty basic. 40x30 box, double wide insulated door up front, single wide roll up in back, one entry door, no windows. Metal on wood frame. Insulation and electrical. Only plumbing I had done was a rough in for a future toilet.

 

[Bretny]

You just got the pad poured and you think the waiting is over?

 

[aggie113]

I'm under no delusion that things speed up from here
I'm just happy to get to the milestone of having the slab poured.

 

[Hot shot]

The guy who built mine started in April and it wasn’t finished until September
The biggest delay was the concrete floor guy. Had to wait 5 or 6 weeks for him
The builder I had worked by himself 46x28 detached
I think he likes it like that because he knows it is getting done the right way that’s just the way he is. I was lucky to find him Prices were very reasonable. I paid him 6 or 7 times from start to finish
He did have a guy help him setting the trusses in
What he did
Framing
Roofing
Soffit
Metal wrapping
Vinyl siding
Windows
Entry door
What he doesn’t do
Footings
Block foundation
Concrete floor
Electrical (I had a guy do that for a decent price
3 garage doors (my stepson is good friends with a garage door installer
I paid an insulation company to insulate
I put up osb on the walls and ceiling by myself screws not nails (what a pain that was)
I believe the biggest pain was having to paint each board (78 of them) 3 times Had to prime twice to cover all the black ink. Took me 6 weeks to do that
I’m 62 so I don’t work quite as fast as I use to
It turned out great though
In the end it was worth it

 

[southalabama]

Remember the turtle wins the race.

Then again a lot of them get run over crossing the road.

 

[dcs13]

I realize how hard it is to get ANYTHING done in this part of the state . Just finished a house build in the Stonewall area. About 11 months from contract to move in.
Im building a garage myself. I got a line on a good concrete guy. Called on a Wednesday, he came Thursday and gave me a quote. That Saturday he framed, and he poured that Monday. So in less than a week, I had my foundation. He did a great job and was licensed and insured.
Good luck with your build.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Remember - quality, low price, speed
You can only pick 2.

And sometimes you only get one!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Have you had bad weather in your area this year ? If the weather has been ****, it's pushed his schedule back on everything and everyone else too. Those that were in line in front of you, got late starts due to weather.

 

[pcmeiners]

The only weather which caused this much delay is whether the Contractor has finished milking the highest paying clients during the busy season.

In my opinion, you can put car salesmen, contractors, and dentists in the same sleazy boat.

 

[jethro29]

I would be pissed !

 

[red61cj5]

I really like my dentist.

 

[J B]

Well, you definitely don't want to pay him anything until he's done and you don't need to see him again.

 

[gtae07]

The guy that built my shop got permits in September, started excavation in November, poured the slab in March, and finished construction at the end of September...

Of course, I wasn’t paying that guy anything...

 

[383]

It's not always the contractors fault, sometimes it not anybodies fault. I've been waiting on excavation at a jobsite for two months (more rock than expected). The same excavator is doing the next job on my schedule, so I can't go there yet either. The 3rd job on the schedule will be ready about the same time as the 2nd job, but I'm two months behind what I told him when we signed the contract. Just the way it works out sometimes.

 

[b-boy]

I live in Buffalo NY.

My concrete guy was supposed to start in August 2017.

He called me in late November 2017 and told me he'd be there in a few days. Luckily we had a warm spell and the temps got into the 40s. He never showed up.

He showed up at my house in mid-January 2018. It was 10F outside. He did the pour, then ran heaters for 4 days. He had to show up twice a day to add kerosene. I saw him in my yard at 2AM one time.

When I went to pay him, he'd tacked on an additional $700 for all the fuel he used to heat the building while the concrete cured. I told him 'Not my problem'. 'It was 40F when you were supposed to be here'. I told him I'd pay him in cash if he wanted. He took that option.

Overall, he did a great job, but he was a little challenging to work with. He's done other work for me. Now I know to just let him show up whenever he has time, and to not stress about it.

 

[b-boy]

It's not always the contractors fault, sometimes it not anybodies fault. I've been waiting on excavation at a jobsite for two months (more rock than expected). The same excavator is doing the next job on my schedule, so I can't go there yet either. The 3rd job on the schedule will be ready about the same time as the 2nd job, but I'm two months behind what I told him when we signed the contract. Just the way it works out sometimes.

As long as you're keeping the customer informed, I get it. A lot of guys just disappear and don't bother telling the customer what's going on. It's pretty easy to pick up a phone. I just don't get it.

 

[rusty1]

...all the better reasons to "do it yerself"

 

[John in OH]

And sometimes you only get one!

This ^^ is very true.

Unfortunately, these are all "qualitative" characteristics; thus, the perspectives of the client and contractor may well differ.

But, you certainly have the right to expect that the contractor perform "quality" work in a "reasonable" time frame at the agree-upon price. And his slow performance in no way necessarily equates to "quality" work.

I've never understood why many contractors agree to a job without making a general commitment to a time frame for start and finish. I understand that "sh-t happens", but when it does, the contractor should keep his clients all informed of what's happening schedule-wise. If a previous job is running late, there is no reason the contractor can't give you a quick call advising you of his delay.

 

[ArmchairArchitect]

It's because of very common situations like these that:

- The initial deposit (if required by the contractor) should only cover upfront material costs, which are bought immediately after the deposit is given and stored on your premises;
- Initial deposit should be in escrow, in case the contractor doesn't meet their obligations;
- Payments should always trail progress/work performed, not vice versa.

Seen MANY people, including myself, get burned by not following the above.

 

[Git]

After getting burned by a contractor, I would never enter into a project like that without a properly signed contract which would include start & end dates, payment schedule, pretty good description of the work performed, etc and specify that ANY change to the contract needs to be in writing signed by both parties including any cost adjustments for the changes

California ***** for a lot of things but they have pretty good consumer protectionwhen it comes to hiring contractors.

Decent pdf file to read
https://www.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/GuidesAndPublications/ContractingForSuccess.pdf