Contractor dispute

[Carlos Roldos]

I signed a contract with a marine contractor for a dock and a seawall. The contract included 112 cu yards of fill to backfill the wall. That's what he estimated. Contract stated that any extra fill will be billed at $75.00 cu yard.
The total contract was for 29540.00 of which 5534.00 was for limerock rip rap.
Today I received an overage invoice for 7800.00 for extra 104 yards of fill.

I understand that sometimes a job can go over the quote. But is it normal to go over 20% and not inform the customer until after the fact and then demand the funds?
The funds are coming out of a 203k rehab loan. The HUD contractor is saying I should have been notified that such overrun what imminent and a change order submitted.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Emilio Ramirez]

How was the scope of work defined? Did you have plans or a bid form? Was the scope of work based on a conversation between you and him? It looks like you signed his contract for the work. This is one of the reasons why I will very rarely sign a subcontractors contract. Number one, I want to write the contract so it forces me to think about every line item that I am typing. A typical clause that I include in such contracts would say something like, "any overages or extra work must be approved by the owner in writing. Any work done without prior approval in writing is at the contractors own risk."

At this point, I would go back to the contract and make sure you understand the details of it. Put it back on the contractor. Make him justify the cost. What did he figure originally? What was the reason for the overage (which his a large amount)? Without more details, it seems like bid low and change order my way into profitability.