i am a contractor, just started working for myself and i just had a job building a gable roof over a concrete slab, making ans open pavilion like ares.
the old man who i did the job for also has a son-in-law who does construction, but didn't wanna do the job, so that where i came in.
well the home owner signed a contract (on i picked up at staples). this contract outlined the basic of what i was building, and what kind (sizes of lumber), type of shingles, ans siding and soffit color.
I was to do all of the framing, roofing soffit, siding, and finish metal. the whole thing for $10,000 material and labor.
well the home owner was happy as could be during the first 5 days, then we had the weekend off, all the framing was done and the roof was on, all that was left was the finish work (siding soffit, and metal work). so we come back to work Monday and now the son-in-law has told the home owner all the little things he would have done another way and or things to add on, and the home owner is going over these with me, some of the things were no big deal; and i agreed to do his way (because i hadn't do it yet and would not take any more time or material), but once he started wanting to make the box beam bigger around the structure, and mkeing other add-ons that not only call for more material and labor, i told him that it would cost more money, like $300-$500 more for the changes. now it this time all i am owed in payment for the original contract is $2000 for the homeowner. but since he didnt want to sign a modification to the contract, i had my crew continue continue with the original details of the contract. so we finish up Monday and come back Tuesday, and the home owner tells me that he doesn't want me to do the finishing part of the job because his son-in-law told him that he would complete the job for less than what he owes me and do it with his new changes he made.
now on the job site i had extra roof shingles (that i over orders just to have if i needed them), I never noted how many sq. of shingles i would use on the project, and he is thinking that the extra 5 sq i ordered were his to keep, i told him no that they were my shingles, i told him i would leave 1 bundle for him not 15 bundles, and then he wanted me to bring him the rest of the material i ordered for the job like the siding and soffit. i told him no that he didnt buy the siding or soffit from me he signed a contract for a finished product, and if he wanted the material he would ether have to buy it off of me or allow me to complete the job. and i reminded him that his deposit and labor installment payments were non-refundible, as stated in the contract.
Can he back out of a contract like that????
Can i still get the $2000 he still owes me??
to make it short he didnt allow me to finish the job and i didnt|||You have several issues to deal with. In any contract, the other person can back out for several reasons. Some reasons will cost him money, others won't. If you were doing a substandard job (as evaluated by a third party, not the son-in-law), then you can't collect on the remainder of the contract and you would have to pay to repair what you did wrong.
If what you built was within the structural guidelines of your building codes, and within the limits stated in your contract, then he has no grounds to fire you. You would be entitled to the profit that you would have made if you had completed the contract. That may not be the $2,000 remaining because some of that may be for materials that you haven't bought, yet, or labor that you didn't pay, yet. If $1,500 of that $2,000 would have gone to labor and materials, then you would be entitled to $500.
As for the shingles, you have to return to the store any unused shingles. Seriously, 5 sq. extra? You need to do a better job at estimating. When you place the order, you should end up with one or two extra bundles, not 15. If the contract was for a flat price, labor and materials, you keep the refund money. If the job was cost-plus, the homeowner gets the refund.
This stuff happens all the time; a homeowner has a relative who can't do the job in time for them or asks too much. The homeowner hires a contractor to do the heavy work then fires him to let the relative finish up the easy work. Happens every day. Just remember that when there is a written contract, nothing that either of you say is valid unless it is also in writing. Changes must always be in writing or they don't exist.
I'll give you a personal example. Many years ago, I worked for a guy that was a contractor at 28. He was the best carpenter I ever met and taught me what i know today. We were building a 9000 sq ft house that was designed to have roof trusses. My boss convinced the homeowner that he could stick-build the roof and gain him a lot of usable attic space. The homeowner agreed and he ended up with 11,000 sq ft. Because my boss figured the price based on 9,000 sq ft, that's all he got paid for (framing only). The homeowner paid for materials and the contract was for labor only. It was a flat-rate, based on the blue prints. When my boss asked for extra money for the extra labor, the guy said no. He got 2000 extra sq ft for free. He told my boss to consider this a lesson and basically laughed at him. Without a modification of the contract, in writing, my boss didn't even bother to sue.|||Are u guys serious?
If the guy does not pay, the contractor has the right to go back on the property and undo their work.
If the materials are no paid for, they can take the materials back.
As it is all owned by the contractor until full payment is recieved.
Its as simple as waiting for the resident to go out. Then the contractors goes in while they are not there and disassembles everything.|||He has to pay you for work you have done. If you bought the shingle on return contingent. he can not have them. You can not charge him for them, and then return them. that's enrichment to you. If you state that X # bundles are to be used. then they are his when he pays what he owes you. If you ordered the other materials he has to buy them as stated. or let you return them. he is stuck paying the restocking fee. He does not have to let you finish the job. But, he owes you the money|||The original contract is binding as it is written and the customer cannot change it nor can you unless there is a cancellation clause. Also as a contractor you can place a contractor lien against the home until you are paid. Contract law is fairly simple as is breech of contract and you can read more about contract law(s) at findlaw.com
Perhaps you should buy a business legal program which has different types of contracts you can fill out and specify things better, they are pretty cheap and usually legally binding
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