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Hello all,
I am in an awkward situation that my limited experience has not yet prepared me for.
I am a small residential remodeling contractor who has been running his own business for the past two years with promising success. Up until now my jobs have been small–kitchens, playroom, bathrooms, decks, etc.–and I have received rave reviews from my customers. I take pride in my work and in keeping my word with my customers and subs. It seems to be paying off as I am currently booked through the end of the year on referrals from past customers. Up until now I have been small enough to do most of the work myself excepting what has to be subbed out to licensed subs, i.e. plumbing, electrical, hvac.
Three months ago I started a new remodel which is my largest project to date–turning a single dwelling house into a duplex. Since the scope of the project is larger than what I am used to I have hired more subs to do some of the things that I have done myself in the past such as tile, drywall, cabinets, painting. In addition I hired a plumber that I had not used before but who was recommended to me by a neighbor who had used him to re-plumb his house. And this is where the problem is.
While the plumber seemed eager and willing to work with me at the beginning, our relationship has since deteriorated. I signed the plumber’s proposal which stated that the work would be comleted in 60 days. We are now 100 days into the project and the work is not yet finished. A special order faucet did not arrive on time, the wrong fixtures for a second bathroom were sent and need to be re-ordered (from germany), a leak in the gas line to the new kitchen, a tub faucet that would not shut-off (brand new walls had to be opened-up to replace the flow control valve), hot water to the new shower does not work, plumber does not return calls for days and does not show up at all on days when appointment is made(he is busy on other emergencies), and plumber has the nerve to ask me for more money because this job is no longer profitable for him. (I have made all payments on time according to the proposal).
I am normally not a hard-ass and I have tried to work around these delays. I have had to reschedule the remaining subs, who are also very busy, several times and I feel like I am making daily excuses to the homeowner as to why the plumber is not showing up. I refuse to bad-talk a sub behind his back and I am not trying to save my butt by hanging all delays on the plumber (as GC I am ultimately responsible for everything). But when the plumber tells me he will be at the job on a certain day and I pass this on to the owner and then the plumber does not show up I am put in an awkward situation. I am worried that if this continues my reputation will suffer.
Here is my question. I am considering firing this plumber. But our signed proposal, while it says the job will be completed in 60 days, does not have a penalty clause and makes no stipulations as to what constitutes non-performance. I am worried that if I try to fire, I could get sued for breach-of-contract and might never see the undelivered fixtures for the second bathroom.As a small contractor I do not have deep pockets to write this off and chalk it up to experience. I am considering talking to a lawyer (also not in my budget) but I thought I would throw this out for advice first. I know that in the future I will be more careful with contracts, but most of my business is more of the handshake and honor variety. Any advice?
Replies
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Hello all,
I am in an awkward situation that my limited experience has not yet prepared me for.
I am a small residential remodeling contractor who has been running his own business for the past two years with promising success. Up until now my jobs have been small--kitchens, playroom, bathrooms, decks, etc.--and I have received rave reviews from my customers. I take pride in my work and in keeping my word with my customers and subs. It seems to be paying off as I am currently booked through the end of the year on referrals from past customers. Up until now I have been small enough to do most of the work myself excepting what has to be subbed out to licensed subs, i.e. plumbing, electrical, hvac.
Three months ago I started a new remodel which is my largest project to date--turning a single dwelling house into a duplex. Since the scope of the project is larger than what I am used to I have hired more subs to do some of the things that I have done myself in the past such as tile, drywall, cabinets, painting. In addition I hired a plumber that I had not used before but who was recommended to me by a neighbor who had used him to re-plumb his house. And this is where the problem is.
While the plumber seemed eager and willing to work with me at the beginning, our relationship has since deteriorated. I signed the plumber's proposal which stated that the work would be comleted in 60 days. We are now 100 days into the project and the work is not yet finished. A special order faucet did not arrive on time, the wrong fixtures for a second bathroom were sent and need to be re-ordered (from germany), a leak in the gas line to the new kitchen, a tub faucet that would not shut-off (brand new walls had to be opened-up to replace the flow control valve), hot water to the new shower does not work, plumber does not return calls for days and does not show up at all on days when appointment is made(he is busy on other emergencies), and plumber has the nerve to ask me for more money because this job is no longer profitable for him. (I have made all payments on time according to the proposal).
I am normally not a hard-ass and I have tried to work around these delays. I have had to reschedule the remaining subs, who are also very busy, several times and I feel like I am making daily excuses to the homeowner as to why the plumber is not showing up. I refuse to bad-talk a sub behind his back and I am not trying to save my butt by hanging all delays on the plumber (as GC I am ultimately responsible for everything). But when the plumber tells me he will be at the job on a certain day and I pass this on to the owner and then the plumber does not show up I am put in an awkward situation. I am worried that if this continues my reputation will suffer.
Here is my question. I am considering firing this plumber. But our signed proposal, while it says the job will be completed in 60 days, does not have a penalty clause and makes no stipulations as to what constitutes non-performance. I am worried that if I try to fire, I could get sued for breach-of-contract and might never see the undelivered fixtures for the second bathroom.As a small contractor I do not have deep pockets to write this off and chalk it up to experience. I am considering talking to a lawyer (also not in my budget) but I thought I would throw this out for advice first. I know that in the future I will be more careful with contracts, but most of my business is more of the handshake and honor variety. Any advice?