"Bill" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 14:03:57 -0800, "Nobody" wrote:

Is this "par for the course" with contractors, etc?

I am a relatively new home owner (2 years). I recently started on a quest
to
have a pocket door installed. I got myself a Penny Saver and called a few
"door installers". None wanted to come out to do a single door. I then
called a few general contractors. Same thing. None wanted to come out for
such a small project. Actually, one came out, on time, gave me an estimate
and I said I would let him know in a few days. 2 days later, I called him
back saying I wanted to go ahead with it and he said fine, he would send
me
an estimate. A week passed with no response, so I gave him one more try
and
he never returned my message.

Finally, people at work suggested that I should call a handy man, as they
do
this type of smaller job. I called about 15. 10 of them didn't install
pocket doors. 3 didn't even know what a pocket door was. 2 said they do it
and came out to give me an estimate.

The first guy sounded like he knew what he was doing and said about all
the
stuff he would do the "correct way" so I wouldn't have trouble down the
road. And he was an educated english speaking person, so I thought, great,
no miscommunication. He said he'll give me an estimate in a few days.
Again,
I didn't hear anything from him. So I called him back. He gave me an
estimate over the phone, but said, suddenly he is not available for 2
months.

The 2nd guy came out and gave me the same ballpark estimate as the other
people and he could start when I wanted. Great. I signed him up.

So he started this Monday, came in on time at 8:30, but took off at 2:30.
Tuesday he came at 9:30 and left at 1:30. Wednesday he came at 2:30 and
left
at 4:30.

He said he was coming back today at 9:00 to finally finish up, but hasn't
showed up yet at 2:00pm.

And quite frankly, I dont see how he can finish today. his first coat of
drywall mud was really sloppy. There is still finished carpentry to do,
and
texture and paint everything. I don't see how he plans to fix the drywall
mud, texture and paint and do finished carpentry in two hours, but my
guess
is he probably wont even show up. Not to mention that he cut a carpet too
short and damaged a floor.

I still have 50% of the bill left (about $700). And quite frankly, he
looks
halfway done to me. If not less.

I know I don't have to pay him until he is done, but I also dont want this
to go on indefinitely.

Now that I look back, I should have seen a few warning signs, but hey, too
late for that.

He has left some construction material and a few tools and a shop vac.
Probably $200 to $300 worth of stuff.

I mean, I guess he could take the $300 hit (on the tools) and not finish
the
job because it may not be worth it to him, but that means he is loosing
$1000 just for not showing up to finish his job.



you should have gotten a "Contract" before he started work! That way,
he would understand you will take him to court for not abiding by the
terms defined in the contract.
Contract
Scope of work detailing every item of work he is responsible for
A timeline detailing what he will have done by what date (keep in mind
a contractor has no control over weather which brings outdoor work to
a standstill)
Hold back at least a third of the money until he has finished the job

Write it up something like this:

Contract for installation of pocket door

Payment terms one third upon receipt of all materials on the jobsite

two thirds when the job is completed satisfactorily

if contractor has not finished after ten rainfree working days he
forfeits the remaining two thirds of the contract price and homeowner
hires another contractor to complete the work!

Write it like that and the jacklegs will back out real quick!

Regards,
Bill

Thanks for the info Bill. Is this really doable for the smaller jobs? I'm
guessing yes, but... For a larger job, I would have done this, but for a
smaller job (in Southern California) you often can only get
"un-professionals". The one guy I wanted that seemed very professional
wouldn't do it for 2 or 3 months (and there was no guarantee he would do it
then), so I got a kind of flaky impression from him that he didn't want to
do it because "something suddenly came up".

If I want to hold back 2/3s, but the contractor wants 1/2 (for materials,
etc), how do I handle that?

I realize I could keep looking for the rest of my life, but these guys were
the only ones even willing to do the job.

It is hard in So. California to find people to do "non standard" jobs. You
can easily find a plumber, electrician, tile, countertop, etc. but when it
comes to smaller non-standard jobs, you need to beg people to do it.