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April 3, 2009
Concerns about Contractor
we have a bid for a renovation and addition with a contractor.It is a fairly big project. They comes w/ great references and very good price. Here is the big concerns:
They does not want to take over the inspections (they will co-ordinate the inspection) but we pay the cost 20,000. The Bigger concern is they will not "coordinate the access to adjacent properties" "They will not deal with neighbors". We have under pinning with the neighbors they are yuppies and are very ....yuppies and complain to the past owner whenever she did work. The architect is very concerned and does not want us to use them over these two concerns. Any help wuld be appreciated.
Comments
I would be very concerned about the neighbor/access issue. We had the same problem (only our contractor never told us....). The neighbor refused access to her yard so that our contractor could seal the wall of an extension running along the property line. So, he never did it - and didn't tell us. Five years later we have water coming in through the wall, and STILL the neighbor won't allow access. Hired a lawyer to make her aware that we have the right to access, but it cost $1500 bucks and took a long time. This is the contractors job. If they won't do it, get someone else.....
Posted by: slopenick at April 3, 2009 2:34 PM
I must respectfully take the opposite pov than slopenick, in some respects, anyway.
It's a bit much to ask the contractor to get involved in a difficult access issue. First, how does he price it? What if the homeowner tells him no problem and then when the time comes he refuses access? Does the contractor have to pay the legal bill?
The contractor's job is to do the work. It's the property owner's job to get access.
I do agree with slopenick re the atty. You can get access pretty much guaranteed for $1500 in atty fees and $1500 in court fees.
A while ago I posted the links to the law that allows you access. Seems to me that you should first have a friendly chat with the neighbors, and if that doesn't work, pull the case law out of your pocket. If that doesn't work, time to go to court. I faced a similar issue in a different kind of property and our attys said they could get access in 48hrs.
BTW two of the requirements are that you hold the other owner harmless and that you agree to pay for any damages. Naturally you should bring that up.
PS: the fact that they are 'yuppies' really is irrelevant, but maybe your contempt for them shows through which will hardly help with neighbor issues.
Posted by: denton at April 3, 2009 3:07 PM
id be way more concerned about not wanting to deal with the inspections...you could wind up with no plumbing signoff and the possibility of tearing walls open after the job is done...the neighbor access thing is problematic as well..
Posted by: eman1234 at April 3, 2009 4:02 PM
all well put denton...
especially the assessment of what kind of people the neighbors are....not only is it irrelevant to the question of access, but that kind of branding is offensive in a public forum. the point of getting along with your neighbors is to be neighborly yourself, take responsibility for your own actions, try not to pick a fight.
it's the contractor's responsibility to do the job according to the architect's specs, pull the permit, etc.
Posted by: raphael9 at April 3, 2009 4:04 PM
Sounds like you might also have a conflict of issue issue if you have the contractor too involved in the inspections. Coordination may be as close as they should get.
Posted by: CHMomma at April 3, 2009 4:11 PM
thanks one and all. I say sorry on Yuppie . However these neighbors have been very short with the past owner with construction and complaining etc. But when they did work they were in the the past owners space (ours trashed it and never thought twice. It meant the past owner had to live without a back yard for several months and they cleaned it but never really thought twice about infringing on other peoples property but if dust got on their property they went ballistic. I will look for the lawyer . They by the way have encroached their foundation into our yard forcing us to underpin when we did not need to. So we have to see a lawyer anyways. But regardless thank you.
Posted by: meme at April 3, 2009 4:30 PM
Fair enuf, meme. That makes them assholes, not yuppies :-)
Posted by: denton at April 3, 2009 4:46 PM
on the inspections, you should sit down with the contractor and architect and clarify what inspections the project requires, and who's responsible for what.
The plumber and electrician should absolutely be getting their work signed off by the city, and the GC responsible for making sure that this happens. But there are items that your architect and engineer are responsible for insptecting (structural stability, firestopping, etc.)...and other more technical items that may require an independent testing agency (welding, concrete strength, etc.).
If you have any of the last category of inspections, talk to your architect, as they'd normally coordinate this, with the owner paying for it. For those sorts of things, you don't want your contractor to be responsible, he may be motivated to cheat/bribe to pass inspections on substandard work rather than ripping it out and doing it again.
Posted by: jcarch at April 3, 2009 5:59 PM
jcarch, thanks! I have a question for you and everyone.
What about the fac that the GC does not want to He waes not want to do them he does not want to carry the cost. He wants us to do that. Is it typical in Brooklyn for this to happen This way?
Plus it is "the coordinating access to adjacent property"
This is big concern because they have encroched their foundation into our property making it so we have to underpin when we did not have to. What is the normal operations of this in BROOKLYN? I ask this because all the other contractors Most from Manhattan will absorb the fee for the inspector and coordinate all access to the neighbors. Thanks
Posted by: meme at April 3, 2009 6:57 PM
Meme, if you are certain that the work your neighbors did undermined the integrity of your own building/property, why have you not contacted the DOB?
Posted by: vinca at April 3, 2009 11:06 PM
it has not undermined it has not been built yet. We are having to underpin their foundation because they encroached on our property with their foundation extending into our property
Posted by: meme at April 4, 2009 10:07 AM
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