what would you guys do

[mrobins297aaa]

I had a contractor put up a pole barn for me last fall 36' x 64'.

With winter and all the mud I really haven't had that much of a chance to check it out and layout all my stuff until now.

well come to find out the building measures 34' x 64'

when this was being erected I really watch them and checked out I thought everything.

he submitted plans to the city showing the trusses 36' with a 12" over hang on the eves which would make 38' overall.

In hind sight i'm sure I know what happen, who ever ordered the trusses forgot to add the 12" over hangs on each side so the trusses came exactly 36'
I'm sure the first thing the carpenter did when he layout the building was measure those trusses and build the building based on there length.

what gets me is this contractor I hired did nothing, he took a deposit (which later it was obvious that was his profit) and after that I only seen him once. he had it set up that when the lumber came I payed them direct and when the building was done I paid the carpenters.

what would you guys do?

 

[jrherald420]

Way too late in the game to do anything about it now. Chalk it up and enjoy what youve got.

 

[mngundog]

Why is it to late if there is a signed contract? I'd be on the phone first thing with the contractor asking him for a solution and go from there, maybe he'll be reasonable. I would never sit back and chalk it up as a learning experience. Do you have a contract stating the dimensions?

 

[1956 F100]

What you have is what he submitted. 36' truss with 12" over hang on each side leaves building 34' wide. Hope all works out well for you.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

What you have is what he submitted. 36' truss with 12" over hang on each side leaves building 34' wide. Hope all works out well for you.

nope what he submitted was a truss drawing showing 36' to outside of bearing and then a additional 12" overhang on each side=38' truss overall length........the trusses came 36' overall length

 

[mrobins297aaa]

Why is it to late if there is a signed contract? I'd be on the phone first thing with the contractor asking him for a solution and go from there, maybe he'll be reasonable. I would never sit back and chalk it up as a learning experience. Do you have a contract stating the dimensions?

I'm thinking the same thing, I just want what I paid for.
I know its to late to change the building but I paid for 2300 sq. ft and got 2176 so I feel he owes me some money...........am I being a *** asking for this?.........he screw up here

 

[mrobins297aaa]

Why is it to late if there is a signed contract? I'd be on the phone first thing with the contractor asking him for a solution and go from there, maybe he'll be reasonable. I would never sit back and chalk it up as a learning experience. Do you have a contract stating the dimensions?

yeah I do have a contract and drawings that the lumber company made and submitted to the city for permits and they show 36' x 64' plus the overhang

 

[jake00]

city inspector didnt catch this?

 

[mrobins297aaa]

city inspector didnt catch this?

no he didn't measure the building and niether did I.
I did review all the stuff that he submitted and it all made sense.

 

[neonnblack]

You could call the contractor and talk to him about it. But chances are he'll tell you to bug off. And if he does say that is it really going to worth your time and effort to fight for the probably low sum of money you would get back? Hopefully he is cool and just gives you some money back, but i doubt it to many tightwads.

 

[never enuf time]

It *****, **** happens, & who ever ordered the trusses f up. Give him a call & see what he can do , but in the long run I think you will have to live with it.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

I usually do all my work myself but this time for other reasons I just didn't have the time and it had to done last fall, it just seems everytime I have some work done by someone else even if you watch them you get screwed.
i don't think that the contractor tried to screw me, someone just fu_ked up when they ordered the trusses and then he tried to cover it up.

 

[ZRX61]

If the contractor won't do anything, grab a chainsaw & cut 2ft off the back of his house & his truck.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

If the contractor won't do anything, grab a chainsaw & cut 2ft off the back of his house & his truck.

lol

 

[ChrisF250]

You should take your argument up with whoever made the mistake if anything, was it the lumber company for providing the trusses? Trust me when I say lumber companies are extremely unreliable when it comes to specifics. If I told you how many times I watched a full lumber truck show up for a delivery only to drive away still full because it had the wrong size or type of stock you would be AMAZED. Or was it the contractor for ordering the wrong size or the actual carpenter for not double checking measurements. Contractor is going to deny responsibility and ask you if you really want him to go back to your house and tear the entire thing apart. I hate to say it but your kinda stuck its WAY too late in the game to notice something like this, chalk it up as a lesson learned. Honestly sounds like a pretty good sized garage, enjoy what you got.

 

[kenfath]

Your building is approximately 128 sq/ft, or ~5.5% smaller than what you paid for.
How do you think it should be resolved?
Or, asked another way, what will make you happy?
It's never too late to go back against the contractor.
I'd be on the phone Monday to the contractor, explain this is a resolution conference.

 

[Jack Burton]

On your end, it's irrelevant who made the mistake, you didn't get what you ordered/paid for and the contractor is ultimately responsible. It's his fargin' job to check the trusses. I'd at least call the guy and speak to him politely and see if he's willing to give some cash back. If the guy has any integrity and pride, he'll make an attempt to right the situation. Otherwise, cut your losses.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Your building is approximately 128 sq/ft, or ~5.5% smaller than what you paid for.
How do you think it should be resolved?
Or, asked another way, what will make you happy?
It's never too late to go back against the contractor.
I'd be on the phone Monday to the contractor, explain this is a resolution conference.

Yep, since it's pretty much impossible to get the 5.5% of the building back, I would be demanding 5.5% of my money back, at the least. IMHO, they owe you more for screwing up, but realistically, you'll probably have to pay for the square footage you have, but you certainly shouldn't have to pay for more than that.

 

[Bender78]

You should also check your tax assessment on the building; you are probably being taxed on 128 sq feet that you don't have.

 

[stafford]

How much did he charge you for the building? I'd figure up the cost per sq. ft. and let him pay you back for 128 sq. ft. It'll be enough money to make you feel better. I doubt if he'll give it back tho. Good luck.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Trusses hell, it's a pole bldg. Where the poles are set determines the bldg size. He should have set the ploles in the ground for the size you wanted not according to the trusses.

If the trusses were the wrong size, he screwed up by using them or not talking to you and trying to get a discount if you wanted to use those trusses for a smaller bldg.
Two wrongs do not make a right. I'd call the builder, let him know that the bldg, that he signed a contract is for, is smaller than contractually agreed upon. Tell him you want "X" amount refunded to you. I'd start with that conversation first and then take it from there.

"X" amount equals total bldg cost, divided by 2304 (36'x64' sq footage) this gives you cost per sq ft. Cost per sq ft times 2176 (34'x64' sq ft that you got) subtract that amount from bldg cost. That would be the amount you want refunded.

 

[Nighttrain]

Agree. If you paid lets say $30 sf ask him for his shortfall of the 124 sf and recoup your $372.. Besides that did he do a good job and are you happy with the building?

 

[oilslick]

I would be cool and calm and maybe the builder will do the same, I hate demands so I wouldnt use that method. Getting cash back is unlikely, isnt there something you could ask him to provide some weekend labor help with on the building , I'll bet that has a better chance of working for both of you!

 

[katmat]

Agree. If you paid lets say $30 sf ask him for his shortfall of the 124 sf and recoup your $372.. Besides that did he do a good job and are you happy with the building?

How about $3,720.00

 

[mngundog]

The sq footage might be the way to go if you thought you had the building overbuilt and the smaller building isn't going to hinder your needs. If it was to small for your liking I would be asking for more. But make no excuses for the contractor He screwed up he put up a building that was to small and he does without question owe you money. This is why contractors are required to have licenses, so they can't screw you and then say to bad, live with it.

 

[SCSportsman]

Actually, I would ask for more than the sqft he shorted you if you are going the monetary route as you wanted that size for a reason and you should be due losses associated with that space in addition to the pure space.

Another option would be to tell him in lieu of the cash ($5000+), he could build you a lean-to, shelving, benches, etc. worth the difference. That may be easier on him and get you something of value to compensate you.

Either way, I would pursue this as you have plans/contract indicating the larger building.

 

[tcianci]

As a contractor, The first thing I would do is to make certain where the disconnect was. Was it the contractor that ordered the materials? Did you order the materials? Did the supplier order the wrong trusses? Find out first. As a reasonable remedy, if the contractor was at fault, I think I would ask him to build you a nice compressor shed or attached room possibly with an ovrehead door for yard equipment or such.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I would be cool and calm and maybe the builder will do the same, I hate demands so I wouldnt use that method. Getting cash back is unlikely, isnt there something you could ask him to provide some weekend labor help with on the building , I'll bet that has a better chance of working for both of you!

Bring back a lying, sneaky contractor? No thanks.

 

[ZRX61]

I've re-thought my earlier solution about cutting 2ft off the back of his house & his truck.
That doesn't quite make the statement I wish to make


So cut the 2ft off the FRONT of his house & truck

 

[Brad54]

You hire a contractor to handle these things for you. If you signed a contract, it ultimately falls on HIM, as HE is the one who hired everyone else on your behalf.

So talk with him. And when he tells you who screwed up, file that information away as well.

Solutions:
He can build you a lean-to shed, additional storage, etc. as has been said. If the building is tall, say 12 foot walls, there's no reason he can't build a 8-foot tall lean-to or bump-out along the entire back wall to get your square footage back. If nothing else, this gives you shelf and bench space along the entire back wall.

If he's not willing to give you your the additional square footage you paid for, then it's time to hire a lawyer.
There's ZERO reason you should be out here. If you hired someone to remodel your kitchen and it wasn't right, you wouldn't just **** it up. If you hired someone to paint your car red and they painted it blue, you wouldn't just **** it up.

This is why lawyers have jobs.
And remember when I mentioned retaining the name of the guy who made the actual screw-up? Name him in the lawsuit too. If nothing else, one of them will decide to fix the problem rather than pay a lawyer, or their insurance companies will get together to make you happy--something that is more likely to happen if TWO companies are looking at splitting the costs.

Finally, how big is the concrete pad around the building? There's got to be a pretty good overhang. So besides the square-footage you paid for and were shorted, you also paid for that much additional concrete that is now totally wasted money. So get that back as well.

Keep us posted!
-Brad

 

[tomd]

I don't see where the OP mentions that the building even has a concrete floor, it could be stone/gravel at this point.
Since it is likely the trusses were not delivered til after the walls were erected, the goof up probably came from the building layout.
(we know very little about the whole process, so all of us are making huge assumptions here)

in any event, this is exactly why professionals are hired: to complete the job in a quality fashion according to the contract.

 

[logical]

It seems to me that it isn't just that the trusses were mis-ordered. Were the trusses already on site when they put up the posts so that they measured them and built accordingly...or did the drawing just show a 34 ft building?