legallearner
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
We have a two-phase remodel that has been going on for a year and a half. Phase one is over a year overdue (it was supposed to have been done Dec. 2010). Phase two was supposed to have been done July 2011. Both parts are flat bid, even though I suggested cost-plus so expenses could be tracked.
My questions are:
1. Am I entitled to see invoices or an accurate recap of expenses? For instance, if I get a bill for geotech work of $11,000, then shouldn’t I be entitled to see that that is really what the geotech charged my contractor? Shouldn’t progress billings match up to reality instead of made-up numbers? My contractor seems to have fuzzy math and his progress billings have money allocated, for instance, to exterior paint, even though that is no where near ready to be started. He has said he needs to make up for mistakes that his subs have made (and he has had to pay for the re-dos), so I am wondering if I’m getting puffed-up additional work orders.
2. For part of phase two, he needed to remove a Trex ramp that provided access to our backyard from the side – our house is built into a hill. The previous ramp had a gentle slope, and the kids could ride their scooters down it, etc. The replacement ramp, which he built without consulting us as to our desire for slope, is very steep and unsafe for kids to ride their toys down. While it was being framed, we told him the angle was too steep, but the next thing we know it is completed. Plus, we had made it clear in the deck design phase that the replacement ramp needed to be the auxiliary access for our elderly parents to the backyard since our new deck will have a spiral staircase, which is harder for older folks to navigate. Two questions: he says it will be minimum of $1500 for him to redo the ramp – if he didn’t consult us as to what we wanted, we voiced our concerns before it was built, can he charge us for it? And, more importantly, I’ve told him I think the new, steep ramp is a liability suit waiting to happen. If something does and someone wants to take action against us, can we turn around and take action against him since we voiced our concerns before it was started and completed?
3. Is there any recourse for a project being overdue by a year, not one bit caused by us, and entirely caused by the contractor and his lack of oversight of his subs? We’ve met his deadlines for everything, and alerted him to potential problems (like the heat ducts were hooked up without heat coming out – we told him heat was not coming into the rooms, yet he went ahead and let drywall go up that ended up have to be cut-through, the heat system re-ducted – and that is one example… the porch concrete had to be poured, dug-up, and repoured four times, etc.)
4. I’ve asked him for lien releases. However, he says that if it has been 90 days or more since a subcontractor or supplier has been on the property or supplied goods, then a lien release is not necessary and that the statue of limitations would rule over any lien placed. Is this true?
Sorry for the length, but I wanted to be thorough. If anything, I’d really like advice on questions 1 and 2 (ability to review invoices and potential liability). Thank you!
We have a two-phase remodel that has been going on for a year and a half. Phase one is over a year overdue (it was supposed to have been done Dec. 2010). Phase two was supposed to have been done July 2011. Both parts are flat bid, even though I suggested cost-plus so expenses could be tracked.
My questions are:
1. Am I entitled to see invoices or an accurate recap of expenses? For instance, if I get a bill for geotech work of $11,000, then shouldn’t I be entitled to see that that is really what the geotech charged my contractor? Shouldn’t progress billings match up to reality instead of made-up numbers? My contractor seems to have fuzzy math and his progress billings have money allocated, for instance, to exterior paint, even though that is no where near ready to be started. He has said he needs to make up for mistakes that his subs have made (and he has had to pay for the re-dos), so I am wondering if I’m getting puffed-up additional work orders.
2. For part of phase two, he needed to remove a Trex ramp that provided access to our backyard from the side – our house is built into a hill. The previous ramp had a gentle slope, and the kids could ride their scooters down it, etc. The replacement ramp, which he built without consulting us as to our desire for slope, is very steep and unsafe for kids to ride their toys down. While it was being framed, we told him the angle was too steep, but the next thing we know it is completed. Plus, we had made it clear in the deck design phase that the replacement ramp needed to be the auxiliary access for our elderly parents to the backyard since our new deck will have a spiral staircase, which is harder for older folks to navigate. Two questions: he says it will be minimum of $1500 for him to redo the ramp – if he didn’t consult us as to what we wanted, we voiced our concerns before it was built, can he charge us for it? And, more importantly, I’ve told him I think the new, steep ramp is a liability suit waiting to happen. If something does and someone wants to take action against us, can we turn around and take action against him since we voiced our concerns before it was started and completed?
3. Is there any recourse for a project being overdue by a year, not one bit caused by us, and entirely caused by the contractor and his lack of oversight of his subs? We’ve met his deadlines for everything, and alerted him to potential problems (like the heat ducts were hooked up without heat coming out – we told him heat was not coming into the rooms, yet he went ahead and let drywall go up that ended up have to be cut-through, the heat system re-ducted – and that is one example… the porch concrete had to be poured, dug-up, and repoured four times, etc.)
4. I’ve asked him for lien releases. However, he says that if it has been 90 days or more since a subcontractor or supplier has been on the property or supplied goods, then a lien release is not necessary and that the statue of limitations would rule over any lien placed. Is this true?
Sorry for the length, but I wanted to be thorough. If anything, I’d really like advice on questions 1 and 2 (ability to review invoices and potential liability). Thank you!