ᐅ Construction keeps getting delayed – should I call the site manager?
Created on: 20 Apr 2018 06:50
V
V3ctra
Hello everyone, do you perhaps have any advice on what to do when construction keeps getting delayed, besides constantly calling the site manager?
We are building with a general contractor. Construction started in mid-October 2017, but from December 1, 2017 to March 1, 2018, work was paused due to “bad weather.”
Since March 1, there have already been several interruptions of up to a week because the trades were not properly coordinated. The fact is, two weeks ago the roof structure was built and the gable was bricked. Now, nothing has happened again for a week. The site manager only makes unhelpful remarks like, for example, “I can’t expect someone to be on site every day?” Other construction sites in the area only started at the beginning of March and have already overtaken us.
Have you experienced something similar, and how did you apply pressure?
We are building with a general contractor. Construction started in mid-October 2017, but from December 1, 2017 to March 1, 2018, work was paused due to “bad weather.”
Since March 1, there have already been several interruptions of up to a week because the trades were not properly coordinated. The fact is, two weeks ago the roof structure was built and the gable was bricked. Now, nothing has happened again for a week. The site manager only makes unhelpful remarks like, for example, “I can’t expect someone to be on site every day?” Other construction sites in the area only started at the beginning of March and have already overtaken us.
Have you experienced something similar, and how did you apply pressure?
S
Sondelgeher1220 Apr 2018 08:50Hmm, well, I do understand the original poster, I would also be annoyed if all the neighbors started after me and finished before me....
I don’t have any clever advice either... our neighbors started in May and moved in by November... and that wasn’t even a general contractor, but separate contracts with construction supervision.
I don’t have any clever advice either... our neighbors started in May and moved in by November... and that wasn’t even a general contractor, but separate contracts with construction supervision.
@V3ctra:
I completely understand you; our situation was similarly slow, I could write a novel about it. So, in response to your question about how to apply "pressure" based on my own experience: the only thing that really works nowadays is MONEY.
I joined a builders’ protection association and was fortunate to find a very good, competent lawyer there. Since then, he has been the only one communicating with the managing director of the construction company on my behalf—setting deadlines and clearly threatening significant delay damage claims—and that has improved the situation somewhat. Thankfully, at some point, I had the idea to regularly commission inspections by an expert from the builders’ protection association; defects were discovered... unbelievable! They know they are being checked but still cut corners—it’s incredible. With the detailed defect reports from the association, you are then forced to withhold certain, of course only justified, amounts from the requested progress payments on a regular basis; so over the increasingly long construction period (unfortunately!), you have more and more money (i.e., pressure) in reserve.
Nowadays, in addition to having land and construction financing, you also need a lawyer and an expert for a new build—unfortunately, that’s the reality. Hopefully, exceptions exist—I sincerely wish that for every builder—but in my opinion, they only confirm this rule.
They are very unlikely to meet deadlines with us; we have now reluctantly adjusted to this and are just letting it run its course. Eventually, the house will be finished; then final settlements will be made, and they will pay dearly for every sleepless night and every day of stomach pain, that’s for sure. In your case, my only advice is: get a lawyer as soon as possible, or you won’t stand a chance. Everyone has taken on far too many jobs, and now they prioritize only where the biggest losses threaten.
Good luck!
I completely understand you; our situation was similarly slow, I could write a novel about it. So, in response to your question about how to apply "pressure" based on my own experience: the only thing that really works nowadays is MONEY.
I joined a builders’ protection association and was fortunate to find a very good, competent lawyer there. Since then, he has been the only one communicating with the managing director of the construction company on my behalf—setting deadlines and clearly threatening significant delay damage claims—and that has improved the situation somewhat. Thankfully, at some point, I had the idea to regularly commission inspections by an expert from the builders’ protection association; defects were discovered... unbelievable! They know they are being checked but still cut corners—it’s incredible. With the detailed defect reports from the association, you are then forced to withhold certain, of course only justified, amounts from the requested progress payments on a regular basis; so over the increasingly long construction period (unfortunately!), you have more and more money (i.e., pressure) in reserve.
Nowadays, in addition to having land and construction financing, you also need a lawyer and an expert for a new build—unfortunately, that’s the reality. Hopefully, exceptions exist—I sincerely wish that for every builder—but in my opinion, they only confirm this rule.
They are very unlikely to meet deadlines with us; we have now reluctantly adjusted to this and are just letting it run its course. Eventually, the house will be finished; then final settlements will be made, and they will pay dearly for every sleepless night and every day of stomach pain, that’s for sure. In your case, my only advice is: get a lawyer as soon as possible, or you won’t stand a chance. Everyone has taken on far too many jobs, and now they prioritize only where the biggest losses threaten.
Good luck!
I don’t think a homeowner can base their expectations on the construction times of neighboring houses. What is stated in your contract applies to you, not the terms of your neighbors. If your general contractor (GC) indicates a construction period of 1 year and another developer only 3 months, then you simply bought from the wrong party if that was very important to you. Otherwise, the minimum you can do is wait for the standard construction period to pass.
After that, you can try to reach an agreement with a lawyer and a deduction in payment.
After that, you can try to reach an agreement with a lawyer and a deduction in payment.
S
Sondelgeher1220 Apr 2018 10:50Of course, in my argument, I naturally assume that the houses are comparable to those of the neighbors...
V3ctra is already doing the right thing by following up promptly. I was too patient at the beginning as well, which turned out to be a mistake. You assume they know what they need to do and when, but that’s not the case. They simply don’t care, following the mindset: that’s how we’ve always done it. We received the building permit / planning permission at the end of June, and everything was ready. I happily informed the construction company, and their response was: Our (your) site manager will be on a well-deserved two-week vacation starting next week... so effectively, work began on August 26 with a small excavator and a lone worker pushing some piles of earth around on the field. For weeks, there were only one or two workers on the construction site – with constant delays compared to the construction schedule, they barely managed to get the roof tiles on before the first snowfall. The result: a forced winter break of three and a half months. If only we had intervened earlier... but hindsight is always 20/20. That’s why V3ctra’s idea is exactly right: checking in right from the start. Otherwise, it drags on forever. Eventually, summer holidays come too... and for example, in our construction contract, under weather-related extensions of the construction period, besides rain and snow, it also includes: “daily temperatures above 25°C (77°F).” That might mean a few weeks of “heat leave” in June/July for V3ctra as well. Who knows?
I see it quite differently. There is a contract that regulates what happens in case of delay. Does it state that the client is allowed to set the schedules for the individual trades? If yes, fine; otherwise, it is the general contractor’s responsibility to organize their own timeline. I won’t let the client keep interfering with that. And if a delay occurs, well, then they just have to pay. The penalty just must not be too low.
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