Construction contractor agreement concerns

[Furrlo Rogers]

I am rehabbing my first income property which requires a new roof and new siding. The contractors quote seems reasonable and the expected time to complete the work does as well, but some of the clauses in the contractor agreement provided by the contractor have me concerned. As this is my first experience with these contracts I wanted to run my concerns by some more experienced investors to get your feedback.

1.Delays; Purchaser(s) agrees that dealer has at least 120 days following the date of this agreement to install purchaser(s) products. An         installation date can only be approximate, and we will have no liability for any delays. If any product or any part of any product is      unavailable, dealer may substitute any product or material deemed by dealer to be of equal or greater value or quality.

I can understand why a job may not be able to be started on time (i.e. weather issues, previous jobs runs behind schedule etc.), but the wording seems to suggest that the contractor reserves the right to stop work on the job at any point for an unspecified reason and they have up to 4 months to finish putting a roof back on my house.  Also, if a product that we agreed upon should not be available, shouldn't the contractor need to get my approval before he substitutes it with another one? I just feel like this might be a way to replace the materials we chose with cheaper alternatives to pocket more money.

2.Attorney fees; Purchaser(s) agree to pay attorney fees necessary to defend any disputes or allegations arising in any manner relating to      this agreement.

Does this mean that if I find fault with their work an take legal action, then I have to pay for their defense? Is this normal? Whether they are found to be in the wrong or not I pay for their lawyer an they just have to fix the thing they originally screwed up?

3.Binding Arbitration Agreement;...The sole and exclusive remedy of the purchaser(s) and the obligation of the dealer for the matters set      forth herein whether on warranty, contract, negligence or strict liability, is the repair of the defect. The dealer shall be in no way liable for    special or consequential damages.

I have no problem with having the contractor fix what they did wrong, but it seems to me that this clause exempts them from responsibility for any additional damage done as a direct result of their shoddy work.

Maybe I have misinterpreted these clauses, or maybe they are common and no big deal. I would really appreciate any feedback or advice you could give me.

Thanks.

P.S. I wasn't sure which category to post this under. If I am wrong, please tell me the correct category.