Hey all!
I am in the process of having a new garage built and am having issues with my builder and the work, and need some advice.
I purchased my first home on the Northwest side of Chicago last year, got married, and am now preparing for kids. It’s a typical bungalow style single family home on a 125ftx30ft lot with an old 22x18 (396sqft) 2 car garage. This past summer I decided that I wanted to upgrade to a 3 car garage in order to make room for 3 cars, some storage and cabinets, a workbench, and some additional space for kids stuff. So I did some research, got some estimates, and was able to get a permit for a 22ftx27ft (594sqft) 3 car garage. The max for a frame garage is 600sqft so I couldn't go any bigger. Also, since the new garage will be on the property line, the city required steel studs and 2 layers of drywall on each side of the stud in order to make 2 hour fire-rated walls. So after many estimates and much research, I signed a contract with a contractor on Sept 21.
Demo and Concrete - The demo and concrete was scheduled for Sept 28, and after several rescheduled dates it finally began on Oct 12 (2 weeks later). The garage was demo'd in 1 day, and then the concrete laid the following 2 days. The next day I went to check out the results and found my yard to be a mess with debris from the demo, and concrete that had spilled over onto my landscaping. I also found some issues with the concrete...the concrete seeped under the framing and the excess needs to be cut, a couple of leaves had been finished into the concrete causing it to not dry properly leaving holes, the finish on the concrete was rough in some spots where they brushed and also where the hand troweled.
Build day 1 - The build was scheduled for Oct 26 (2 weeks later), and after several rescheduled dates again, a crew of 5 guys finally showed up on Nov 2 (1 week later). However, the guys were supposed to be here at 7:00am to meet the load of lumber, but they arrived 2 hours late at 9:00am. And funny thing is they only came to cover the load and said they would return the following day at 7:00am to get started because they had to finish another job first.
Build day 2 - 7:00am rolls around and no sign of the crew until 9:00am again. This time only 2 guys showed up and began to dismantle the load of lumber. Shortly after, they began assembling the steel walls, and after a full day of work the 2 guys assembled 2 walls.
Build day 3 - only 1 guy showed up at 9:00am, and it took him the entire day to assemble the remaining 2 walls. He said that they would return the next day to raise the walls.
Build day 4 – only 3 guys showed up at 8:00am to raise the walls, and the problem with this was that they had already put 2 layers of drywall on the exterior causing the walls to weigh 1,000lbs+ each. So get this, they asked me and my buddy to help them. Luckily I had the day off work and was home painting. We were able to help but I was pissed because they should’ve had more guys. So for the next 2 hours we helped them to raise the walls. Three of the walls went up without a problem, however the 4th and heaviest wall was a nightmare. We stood up the wall and it fell over the edge of the concrete. They then leaned the wall on the neighbors fence and busted once of the posts. Next as we held it, they rigged some 2x4’s underneath to get it back up. And as we then pulled the wall back up, it fell onto the floor bolts and put holes in the steel channel. Then they attempted to raise the wall again, but just jacked-up the channel. So at that point they had no choice but to cut the floor bolts, put the wall into position, and drill new ones. Once that fiasco was over they secured the walls and left.
Build day 5 – they were scheduled to come back the next day, which was a Saturday, but did not show. They were then scheduled to come back Monday, but did not show again. I called the contractor and he said that he had no idea why they weren’t showing up, that the subcontractor was lying to him, and that they probably were working on one of their own jobs. Finally, on Tuesday Nov 8 (4 days later), 5 guys showed up at 8:00am to work. This day they were able to get the roof on, shingles, and 2 sides of the siding.
Electrical – scheduled for Nov 12 and 13.
Build day 6 – ??? (interior drywall, doors, finish siding etc.)
The issues that I am having are…
-The biggest issue is that the contractor said that the job will only take 1 week, however it has been 2 months now and the garage is only 60% done.
-The contractor subcontracted the work and has no control over the guys who are very unprofessional and tell him they are coming here to work but then go on another job.
-I spent 2 hours or more after every single work day cleaning up the site because they left without cleaning or organizing the materials. Materials, dust and nails were all over the concrete and my landscaping. I confronted the contractor and he said that it usually only takes them 2-3 days to build a garage, and they usually clean afterwards. And since my garage was taking longer, they forgot.
-My buddy and I had to help them for 2+ hours to raise the walls.
-The steel channels are all jacked up because of the problems they had raising the walls.
-They did not use a sill seam between the concrete sill and the steel channel.
-The guys somehow put small holes all over the concrete while building the garage, and managed to chip off a chunk of concrete. The contractor said it wasn’t a problem and that he would just seal the concrete and fill in the holes. However, I plan to epoxy the concrete.
-They busted one of the posts on my neighbor’s fence because they leaned the heavy wall on it.
-2 of my neighbors came to me and said they got flat tires from the nails and screws all over the alley.
So ideally, I don’t plan to make the final payment of $2,000 and put the money towards the epoxy.
What do you guys think? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I am in the process of having a new garage built and am having issues with my builder and the work, and need some advice.
I purchased my first home on the Northwest side of Chicago last year, got married, and am now preparing for kids. It’s a typical bungalow style single family home on a 125ftx30ft lot with an old 22x18 (396sqft) 2 car garage. This past summer I decided that I wanted to upgrade to a 3 car garage in order to make room for 3 cars, some storage and cabinets, a workbench, and some additional space for kids stuff. So I did some research, got some estimates, and was able to get a permit for a 22ftx27ft (594sqft) 3 car garage. The max for a frame garage is 600sqft so I couldn't go any bigger. Also, since the new garage will be on the property line, the city required steel studs and 2 layers of drywall on each side of the stud in order to make 2 hour fire-rated walls. So after many estimates and much research, I signed a contract with a contractor on Sept 21.
Demo and Concrete - The demo and concrete was scheduled for Sept 28, and after several rescheduled dates it finally began on Oct 12 (2 weeks later). The garage was demo'd in 1 day, and then the concrete laid the following 2 days. The next day I went to check out the results and found my yard to be a mess with debris from the demo, and concrete that had spilled over onto my landscaping. I also found some issues with the concrete...the concrete seeped under the framing and the excess needs to be cut, a couple of leaves had been finished into the concrete causing it to not dry properly leaving holes, the finish on the concrete was rough in some spots where they brushed and also where the hand troweled.
Build day 1 - The build was scheduled for Oct 26 (2 weeks later), and after several rescheduled dates again, a crew of 5 guys finally showed up on Nov 2 (1 week later). However, the guys were supposed to be here at 7:00am to meet the load of lumber, but they arrived 2 hours late at 9:00am. And funny thing is they only came to cover the load and said they would return the following day at 7:00am to get started because they had to finish another job first.
Build day 2 - 7:00am rolls around and no sign of the crew until 9:00am again. This time only 2 guys showed up and began to dismantle the load of lumber. Shortly after, they began assembling the steel walls, and after a full day of work the 2 guys assembled 2 walls.
Build day 3 - only 1 guy showed up at 9:00am, and it took him the entire day to assemble the remaining 2 walls. He said that they would return the next day to raise the walls.
Build day 4 – only 3 guys showed up at 8:00am to raise the walls, and the problem with this was that they had already put 2 layers of drywall on the exterior causing the walls to weigh 1,000lbs+ each. So get this, they asked me and my buddy to help them. Luckily I had the day off work and was home painting. We were able to help but I was pissed because they should’ve had more guys. So for the next 2 hours we helped them to raise the walls. Three of the walls went up without a problem, however the 4th and heaviest wall was a nightmare. We stood up the wall and it fell over the edge of the concrete. They then leaned the wall on the neighbors fence and busted once of the posts. Next as we held it, they rigged some 2x4’s underneath to get it back up. And as we then pulled the wall back up, it fell onto the floor bolts and put holes in the steel channel. Then they attempted to raise the wall again, but just jacked-up the channel. So at that point they had no choice but to cut the floor bolts, put the wall into position, and drill new ones. Once that fiasco was over they secured the walls and left.
Build day 5 – they were scheduled to come back the next day, which was a Saturday, but did not show. They were then scheduled to come back Monday, but did not show again. I called the contractor and he said that he had no idea why they weren’t showing up, that the subcontractor was lying to him, and that they probably were working on one of their own jobs. Finally, on Tuesday Nov 8 (4 days later), 5 guys showed up at 8:00am to work. This day they were able to get the roof on, shingles, and 2 sides of the siding.
Electrical – scheduled for Nov 12 and 13.
Build day 6 – ??? (interior drywall, doors, finish siding etc.)
The issues that I am having are…
-The biggest issue is that the contractor said that the job will only take 1 week, however it has been 2 months now and the garage is only 60% done.
-The contractor subcontracted the work and has no control over the guys who are very unprofessional and tell him they are coming here to work but then go on another job.
-I spent 2 hours or more after every single work day cleaning up the site because they left without cleaning or organizing the materials. Materials, dust and nails were all over the concrete and my landscaping. I confronted the contractor and he said that it usually only takes them 2-3 days to build a garage, and they usually clean afterwards. And since my garage was taking longer, they forgot.
-My buddy and I had to help them for 2+ hours to raise the walls.
-The steel channels are all jacked up because of the problems they had raising the walls.
-They did not use a sill seam between the concrete sill and the steel channel.
-The guys somehow put small holes all over the concrete while building the garage, and managed to chip off a chunk of concrete. The contractor said it wasn’t a problem and that he would just seal the concrete and fill in the holes. However, I plan to epoxy the concrete.
-They busted one of the posts on my neighbor’s fence because they leaned the heavy wall on it.
-2 of my neighbors came to me and said they got flat tires from the nails and screws all over the alley.
So ideally, I don’t plan to make the final payment of $2,000 and put the money towards the epoxy.
What do you guys think? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
