Chris Birkett wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
I had asked the OP a question which went unanswered. It gets to the
root of the matter. If the father felt comfortable letting the
contractor work unsupervised while he was out of the country, and
agreed that additional work needed to be done due to unforeseen
conditions, why is the son getting involved? Is he "protecting" his
father or just sticking his two cents into something he doesn't
understand?

The real root of the matter is that he DIDN'T agree to pay for
additional work. I don't see how my motivation affects this.

You said that your father agreed to one price increase which shows that
he understood that things that needed to be dealt with were hidden and
not included in the original agreement.

You will not get complete information from the son, as it's his opinion
that the work was unnecessary and it's only one side of the story.
Besides that, he wasn't part of the agreement. Did you wonder why the
father didn't tag the son to be the supervision while he was away?
Kind of curious, no?

I don't understand why this bothers you so much. When did I say the
work was unnecessary?

Ummm, okay. So the work was necessary or you just haven't decided yet?

As it stands, the extra charge has not been
justified at all, and the work has not even been completed to
satisfaction.

Then the man owes you an explanation. It also sounded like you were a
little put out that he hadn't completed some of the other small jobs he
was supposed to take care of. Obviously he should do what he was
supposed to do before he bills you for final payment. If he hasn't
completed the work, point this out to him. Release the amount of money
for the work that is not under dispute as a sign of good faith and have
him sign a lien release waiver.

I *was* dealing with the repair people while he was
gone, and additional costs were never mentioned. Both my mother and I
were readily available to discuss it on any of the several days they
were here, and they knew my dad was available by e-mail.

Being available and supervising the work are two very different things.
We're hearing only one side of the story. You don't have experience
in construction, you're unfamiliar with contracts, and you will just
confuse the issue. Step aside. Anything else is just meddling. You
won't get any definitive answer except this - you are not the one to be
negotiating with the contractor your father hired. He started it, he
should finish it.

R