I am a first-time homeowner with no prior experience dealing with
contractors. Looking for advice on how to handle this situation.
We needed to replace the old water pipe at our house. The city told us
we had to choose from a list of their bonded contractors. We secured
three bids and went with the middle one.
The work was performed. It involved digging a trench that spanned
across the road from the water main, through our sidewalk, up our
parking space, underneath a retaining wall, and up the side of our
house which happens to be on a hill. The new pipe now comes into our
storage area of the basement. After the new pipe was placed, the
contractors replaced the dirt, patched the asphalt (street, sidewalk
and driveway) and did some grading. We were told to expect some
settling, about 3 to 5 inches.
Everything was fine until a week later it rained. Obviously since the
grass was removed there was nothing to hold the dirt to the side of
the hill, and we had a lot of mud run off into the parking space; that
we expected. But the rain also seemed to cause the trench to cave in.
We didn't think too much about it until it rained again a week later,
and the caving got much worse.
The caving is all along the trench line. The most significant caving
has occurred:
1) near the house where the pipe comes in. The cement around the pipe
also caved inward in the basement, creating a big gap that we fixed ,
as water was pouring into our basement.
2) Behind the retaining wall - there is about a 1 ft x 1 ft hole there
now.
3) Along the parking spot. To give you an idea of how bad the caving
is, when I park my car it now tilts significantly so that when I open
my car door, it scrapes the pavement. Getting in and out of the car is
kinda precarious; my daughter has already tripped a couple of times.
It is now even worse since it's snowed. The trench collects the
run-off of melting snow and it freezes and forms one big slick ice
patch.
4) On the sidewalk. There is a bigger depression in the sidewalk.
We've erected a caution sign over this ditch because we worry that
pedestrians in the dark could easily trip.
Note that the street is completely fine - a perfect patch job and no
caving at all.
After the second rain, we had the contractor come over and look at it.
He agreed that this was more than normal, expected settling. He said
he'd come over as soon as he could to patch the driveway and sidewalk
in particular. We offered to pay half the bill, but retain the other
half until after he finished the fix.
But then it snowed. Now he is saying that there's not much he can do
until the snow melts, and he wants the rest of his money. He says that
he is bonded with the city so we shouldn't be concerned that he won't
come back in the spring and fix it.
I may be wrong on this, but I'm thinking that his bond with the city
is the city's way of insuring he properly fixes *the street*, and has
nothing to do with our property.
I do understand that he's a small business and he needs to pay his
contractors. So I feel I am in a dilemma here, and would like advice
on this situation and how I should handle it.
Am I over-reacting about the seriousness of the caving situation?
Should I just pay him off, take his word that he'll come around in the
spring, and hope for the best?
Should I be a pain in the butt and hold back a portion of his payment
until he fixes it right?
Should I pay him off, chalk it off to lesson learned, then turn around
and hire someone who will fix it right?
What would you do in this situation?
Is there anything I should be doing right now to prevent further
erosion/caving over the freeze/thaw cycle? I am nervous that improper
grading might cause my basement to flood in the spring.
Thank you in advance.
jen
> But then it snowed. Now he is saying that there's not much he can do
> until the snow melts, and he wants the rest of his money. He says that
> he is bonded with the city so we shouldn't be concerned that he won't
> come back in the spring and fix it.
How about asking the city whether the bond will cover your situation?
I'll bet it doesn't -- in which case, I suggest offering to put the money in
escrow until the work is complete.
Alternatively, you might offer to pay a part of what you owe, with the rest
to be delivered on satifactory completion.
> > But then it snowed. Now he is saying that there's not much he can do
> > until the snow melts, and he wants the rest of his money. He says that
> > he is bonded with the city so we shouldn't be concerned that he won't
> > come back in the spring and fix it.
>
> How about asking the city whether the bond will cover your situation?
>
> I'll bet it doesn't -- in which case, I suggest offering to put the money in
> escrow until the work is complete.
>
> Alternatively, you might offer to pay a part of what you owe, with the rest
> to be delivered on satifactory completion.
I've already offered that. We've paid half and I'd like to hold half
until the job is complete. The contractor wants his money now. His
viewpoint is that we have snow now and it could be many months until
the snow is clear and he can fix things.
Am I being reasonable? Or should I withhold less? What would be a
reasonable amount to withhold?
jen
> > Alternatively, you might offer to pay a part of what you owe, with the
rest
> > to be delivered on satifactory completion.
> I've already offered that. We've paid half and I'd like to hold half
> until the job is complete. The contractor wants his money now. His
> viewpoint is that we have snow now and it could be many months until
> the snow is clear and he can fix things.
> Am I being reasonable? Or should I withhold less? What would be a
> reasonable amount to withhold?
It seems to me that withholding half the payment when nearly all the work
has been done is slightly draconian. After all, if this contractor walked,
you could presumably get someone else to finish the job for less than half
the original total.
On the other hand, your contractor made a claim about city policies. Why
not call the city and verify it? Explain your situation, and ask what would
happen if for some reason the original contractor were unable to complete
the job after being paid for it.
Either they'll back up his story or they won't. If they do, then pay. If
they don't, then explain that what he told you about the bond isn't true,
and ask what course of action makes sense under the circumstances.
It seems to me that what would be fair would be to find out what it would
cost to hire someone else to complete the work, and pay all but that amount.
> > > Alternatively, you might offer to pay a part of what you owe, with the
> rest
> > > to be delivered on satifactory completion.
> >
> > I've already offered that. We've paid half and I'd like to hold half
> > until the job is complete. The contractor wants his money now. His
> > viewpoint is that we have snow now and it could be many months until
> > the snow is clear and he can fix things.
> >
> > Am I being reasonable? Or should I withhold less? What would be a
> > reasonable amount to withhold?
> It seems to me that withholding half the payment when nearly all the work
> has been done is slightly draconian. After all, if this contractor
walked,
> you could presumably get someone else to finish the job for less than half
> the original total.
> On the other hand, your contractor made a claim about city policies. Why
> not call the city and verify it? Explain your situation, and ask what
would
> happen if for some reason the original contractor were unable to complete
> the job after being paid for it.
> Either they'll back up his story or they won't. If they do, then pay. If
> they don't, then explain that what he told you about the bond isn't true,
> and ask what course of action makes sense under the circumstances.
> It seems to me that what would be fair would be to find out what it would
> cost to hire someone else to complete the work, and pay all but that
amount.
Am I missing something? Where do we see the job as not having been
completed?
Fair would have been to have paid the agreed upon price when the equipment
left the fron/side yard as the grass was seeded.
XML site map
> until the snow melts, and he wants the rest of his money. He says that
> he is bonded with the city so we shouldn't be concerned that he won't
> come back in the spring and fix it.