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Chris Birkett

wrote:
The contractor should not have done work that was going to cost extra
without approval. However, what you fail to tell us was IF in fact the
extra work that he did really was above and beyond what he had already
agreed to do for a fixed price and IF it was necessary.

For example, if upon taking apart the chimney he found rot that was
part of the house the chimney joins to and repaired that for a fair
price, then I would pay him. Of course, in many cases, it could be
hard to establish exactly what he did or didn't do now that the job is
completed. I would ask him to show you what exactly extra he did. If
he doesn't have proof, like receipts for specific material attributable
only to the extra work, then he isn't in a very good position to
prevail if he tries to sue you for non-payment. You would need to
establish that there was an agreed to price and that the extra work was
never authorized. However, as I said, if you believe he really did the
work at a fair price and it was required anyway, then I would pay him,
or perhaps negotiate.

Thanks, that's good advice. As far as I know, he hasn't provided any
explanation for the "extra" stuff he had to do. The quote was done
after he had taken apart the chimney to the point that he knew
everything that was wrong with it, so I don't see how anything else
could have popped up. Anyway, I will pass all this info to my dad and
see how things work out.

Chris