Hello,
my question concerns a situation with our general contractor:
We visited the construction site to check on the progress.
A subcontractor working for the general contractor asked us whether the chimney (which we had installed ourselves as a special request) should be fitted with corner beads and plastered. We agreed to this on site. Normally, with special requests, the general contractor provides a quote, so the buyer receives a cost estimate and can then decide whether to proceed. Instead of a quote, the subcontractor had already completed all the work, and the general contractor charged us at a price we would never have accepted and, if necessary, would have carried out ourselves or commissioned separately after completion.
What can be done in this situation? Does the general contractor have the right to refer to the fact that we gave the order on site and therefore no prior quote was required?
Thank you in advance!
my question concerns a situation with our general contractor:
We visited the construction site to check on the progress.
A subcontractor working for the general contractor asked us whether the chimney (which we had installed ourselves as a special request) should be fitted with corner beads and plastered. We agreed to this on site. Normally, with special requests, the general contractor provides a quote, so the buyer receives a cost estimate and can then decide whether to proceed. Instead of a quote, the subcontractor had already completed all the work, and the general contractor charged us at a price we would never have accepted and, if necessary, would have carried out ourselves or commissioned separately after completion.
What can be done in this situation? Does the general contractor have the right to refer to the fact that we gave the order on site and therefore no prior quote was required?
Thank you in advance!
Pinky0301 schrieb:
I can understand your frustration. We also had to experience that the additional costs for custom requests with the developer are beyond unreasonable. Yes. For us, it’s not just the frustration over the amount of extra costs, but rather the poor planning, communication, and the otherwise strict enforcement of contract terms, which tend to be interpreted more "flexibly" when disagreements occur.
H
HilfeHilfe9 Feb 2020 07:53guckuck2 schrieb:
Objective opinion of the magical being
The entire fireplace was installed as a "custom request." To me, that doesn’t seem covered by the construction contract. So the original poster can commission work on it, right?
What’s strange is the billing through the general contractor instead of directly between the tradesperson and the client. It was the same for us. Not unusual. Especially since the general contractor often adds their own costs (for invoicing and collecting payment). Also important for warranty purposes. Otherwise, as a client, you’d have to chase the subcontractor yourself.
H
HilfeHilfe9 Feb 2020 07:55Pinky0301 schrieb:
I can understand your frustration. We also had the experience that the additional costs for special requests with the developer were beyond unreasonable.Unfortunately, this is a classic situation. I know it from colleagues. One of them has a well-known and expensive developer. The developer charged him an arm and a leg for every special request. Some things he ended up doing himself.