When a contractor doesn't/won't close out a job

Question

Well, its happening... Two months into a rehab, our lead contractor is getting harder and harder to get in touch with and on site working. He is licensed and insured, but does not own his own company.

About 10% of the work remains. We still owe him a few grand, which is ~10% of the project cost. This is apparently is not enough to keep him motivated to be at work every day. (Lesson learned, final draws will now be 20%). Of course the final items on the punch list are the most tedious.

It looks like he got paid a big chunk of money earlier this week in advance on his next project with a new client. Since then, he's only show up once to the job site, but has sent subs (which I had to direct / supervise). We stopped by the property around 9pm last night to make sure things were locked up, and he was there by himself doing some touch up painting and appeared to be high on drugs (and offered us a beer).

He is still insistent we'll close everything out next week on schedule, but I have serious reservations. We've had the "no more excuses" and "you won't get paid" conversations already.

Would you kick this guy to the curb, or stick with him and hope for the best?

And in general, how have you dealt with contractors who have "lost motivation" for whatever reason?

Matthew Paul · Answer

Well today is the 23 rd , that is close to 3 weeks , not one week .  A sole proprietor is a full fledged company .   It seems to me you are jumping the gun a bit , I wouldn't concern myself until you are truly a week away

James Wise · Answer

The biggest thing I would have a problem with is him being hard to get ahold of. That would make me want to not work with him in the future.

As for the other stuff I am with the others in this thread. If the deadline is still a week away let him do his thing. Him being there late at night finishing up some painting seems like he is dedicated to finishing up the job. I do not think the him having a beer after a long day and doing small tasks is a really big deal.

Account Closed · Answer

@Gregory Montalto  I'm not understanding your posts. Do you mean Nov. 12th? That's nearly 3 weeks from now. You said earlier that if he finished next week, it would be "on schedule".

I can't tell how much of what your relaying about him is fact or just gossip and innuendo but you come across to me as unduly uptight.  I would suggest you let him finish his work and manage his own subs.

There's no sense in get so worked up before a problem even exists.

Ted L. · Answer

If a contractor is on site at 9:00, I would take it as a positive. I'm not sure why it matters if a guy is having a beer while he Is doing your work, as long as the quality doesn't suffer.

Contractors follow the money.  Hold enough money back that it's worth their time to complete the work.

I love when it when a penalty clause is suggested. Has anyone ever had a contractor agree to this? The only time this is implemented is on large scale commercial projects. Legally, if they have to pay you $1,000 for each day they are over schedule, you must give them $1,000 for every day they finish early.

Pyrrha Rivers · Answer

I saw a punch out list somewhere to do a final walk through before making the final payment. It was a while ago but a great list to go room by room. Does anyone know where that document is? I thought I had it saved but now can't find it.

Gregory Montalto · Answer

Many lessons to be learned in this story about the need to have a strong contract, that's for sure. In this case, given he is a sole proprietor and not a full fledged company, there is likely isn't much recourse for us if he walks. Sure we could pursue legal action, but that will end up more trouble than its worth.

We have a completion date of the 12th. Yesterday was a complete no show, no call. The two subs were there all day and got a lot accomplished (at my direction). This morning, he called them up and accused them of not getting anything done yesterday and told one of them not to return today. And then apparently "cut himself" on site and had to go to the doctor and has not been back today (excuses, excuses...)

Upon telling the other sub that our guy was there late the other night, he replied "Well, he goes to your house sometimes at night to get high because his girl at home doesn't like it".

Suffice it to say, we won't be using him again. I share this story as a cautionary tale. When you see a contractor flush with money suddenly show a marked change of behavior - be wary. And realize that some guys simply don't care about your final 10% once their next job is already lined up.

Bryan L. · Answer

From the many rehabs that I have done, I always say that the final 10% is the hardest to get finished out and takes the longest.  A lot of nit-picky little stuff like caulking, finish painting, etc.  And it's this last little bit that can really make a house look good (or not).  But it seems to take FOREVER sometimes.  If you're only a week away from his dead-line, I would just go ahead and let him have the chance to finish it out.  But go ahead and be talking with someone else just in case.

Ryan R. · Answer

High on drugs? If he had been working all day on another job, and then he came over and worked late on your job, maybe he was just exhausted.

From my experience, these guys make a living from month to month at best, and typically week to week. It's hard to blame him for jumping on a big job, especially as yours is winding down.

They typically aren't the best managers of time or subs, but as long as they do good work and get it done within my time frame, it doesn't bother me.

Bend but don't break.

Michael Seeker · Answer

If the contract has a firm completion date of sometime next week established, then I don't see the problem.  As you mentioned, the guy was over there doing some of the tedious tasks to try and get it finished, so it's not like he's given up on the job.

If you don't have a firm completion date in the contract, then I'd get one from him now and let him know that if it is not completed by then that you will deduct $x per day it is not complete OR void the contract and hire somebody else to complete depending on progress.

My generic contract template states that a workday is 8 hours of work between the hours of 7AM and 7PM...might be good to consider adding something like that into future contracts.

When a contractor doesn't/won't close out a job

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