J. Allan wrote:

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message


J. Allan wrote:


"Richard Faulkner" wrote in
message

snip


David seems to want to do something to make something happen. The
alternative to some kind of serious threat is to cajole the builder,


Damn right. That's exactly what you have to do.

Getting the legal remedy, namely terminating the contract then suing
the contractor for the cost of having the work completed by others
is, as I have explained in another post:
* procedurally risky,
* time-consuming,
* prone to problems in finding another contractor willing to take
over the work,
* likely to run up costs (if only psychic and in terms of the
owner's lost time) that can't be recovered.

As people in uk.legal will tell you time and time again:

* don't take legal action if there is ANY OTHER WAY of solving a
problem
* don't threaten to take legal action unless you are going to do it.

It's no use trying to make a builder fear you and your lawyer:
builders are fearless (or too dumb to know the difference).



and he will just carry on as normal.


By no means necessarily: most small contractors are honest people of
good will: they just don't do the job right: the cajolery comes in
in making them _want_ to do the job right for you and then "helping"
them and making sure that they do do it.

Indeed. Offer him a bonus if he gets it done on time, and THREATEN to
sue if he does not.


How the hell can you develop a decent contractual relationship if you
"THREATEN" your contract partner? At the very time when you want him to
love you and to go out of his way to help you?


That of course is the trick. To look him in teh eye, and say "I am
prepared to make it worth yoiur while to finish this on time, and to
make it very much worth my while taking extreme measures if you don't.
Now mate, do we have an understanding?"

At one stage in my housebuld, all teh lads ****ed off - literally - down
teh pub at lunchtime, and retured at 4pm...looking sheepish.

The actual so called project manager was at a complete loss, and
everybody looked at me. I simply said, "you are all too ****ed to work
safely. Frankly I don't giove a toss, but you are off this site since
noon, and that is what you will get paid for - no more, no less."

Later on, one of them confided to me that at that point I started to get
some respect amongst the 'team'.




Nor can I see why you would offer him a bonus to do merely what he has
contracted to do.


Because you want it done. And because he knows, even if you do not, that
what is left to do exceeeds the moeny left in the contract.

Legal contracts are a complete waste of time with the trades. On any
given day, they have a decision, whether to get up, do some work, go
down the pub or stay in bed. Sometimes when you have been barrowing
loads of concrete and you are as sore as hell, and its ****ing down with
rain, the latter is the correct option.

On antygiven day, you have to offer and incentive to get up and work. If
you have been misguided enough to let the builder front load the
contract, then he is totally unmotiovated to get the job finished. He
isn't a big firm, he doesn't have any money, and suing him will just
waste yours, and both of your time. He knows this, and cares even less.

Hes probably been ripped off several times by other builders who come
in, get him to do three to four weeks work, take the money from the
customer, and then vanish leaving the job unfinished and the workers
unpaid. He probably reckons that is teh way to do it himself, ort maybe
he is jjust **** poor at complex project planning cost benefit analysis
and contract management.

Like a man who manages a big building form said to me "You don't pay
project management and consultant rates to a jobbing builder, so don't
expect him to have those skills. If you do, manage it yourself".

Yer man wants to lknow that the furger work needed which he has
deliberately or accidentally made a hash of costing, is going to
represent a better return on his time than going on to another job.
Thats it. Period.

Throw the contract in the bin, and look on it as a new day yerself. What
is yoir most effective way to get teh project domne

(i) Sack teh builder, get in anothger one, and sue him

(ii) Sacljk the builder get ion trades yourself, and don't sue him

(iii) Talk to the builder, ask how much he REALLY needs to complete in
good time, and negotitae a ne arramnegment qwhereby he gets 10% more on
completeion, less if he falis, and nothing except direct (written)
costs of materials and labour on the subbies till its all to your
satisfaction.

In teh end, ii and iii amount to teh same thing except you have to do
less work on (iii) but it costs a tad more.


(i) is teh worst of all possible worlds.








My advice stands: develop a sympathetic relationship and stringently
monitor and follow up progress. Only if that fails should you consider
going the legal route. Don't make threats about legal action until you
are certain that you have to go that route.

John