T&M General Contractor in Los Angeles?

[Dave Lee]

Hi all, I've got a house I'm renovating in the Glendale/Pasadena area and I'm overwhelmed since there's a lot to do and I live quite far from the house (about 2 hours away).  Originally I was looking for a general contractor to bid on the whole project but after a couple of exorbitant bids, I ran across the the option of T&M (Time & Materials) contract.  I think that could work for me because it isn't a big job, yet there are a lot of small things to take care of.  I had a few questions though.

Here's the rough list of work needed:

1. Prep and paint 2100 sqft house

2. Install laminate floors in 1600 sqft, tile in 2 bathrooms, and tile outside in 450 sqft patio.

3. Remove current concrete/stone patio and pour new concrete patio (450sqft).

4. Demo kitchen, install cabinets, install countertop, kitchen electric, kitchen lights, kitchen plumbing (including saw cutting cement to run water pipes and electric).

5. New master vanity, add additional sink, new lights.

6. Repair exterior wood, seal exterior of house

7. Other misc.

I'm thinking it would probably take a crew of 4 people maybe 7-10 days to do this (???).  But I'm wondering under a T&M contract, would the general contractor send the same team for the entire time?  And would they do paint, floors, concrete, and everything?  Or would he send different teams for the different jobs (ie., paint team, floor team, concrete/demo team)?

Also, would love any other suggestions for doing a T&M contract.  And I'd love some referrals for the L.A. area (just post or PM).  Thanks!

[Dave Lee]

Situation has now turned into a nightmare.

I learned that the team was charging me more hours than they were actually working (ie., arriving late but saying they arrived early).  It explains a lot of the slow work that was being done and the many delays.  Today the whole team didn't show up at all and I wasn't notified until the afternoon, and given the excuse that it was someone's "birthday".  They also broke a patio window and left the house open to the rain and possible thieves for 2 weeks without telling me.  The house is a mess right now without everything not completed, but I have no choice but to let this contractor go.  It puts me in a terrible situation where I need to fix everything, and also hire a new contractor.  I also have to re-issue permits and the city will make me pay for the re-issued permits.

Here's some initial lessons from this fiasco:

1. Avoid T&M contracts if at all possible, unless you can be at the site full-time supervising everything.

2. Check multiple references for the contractor and don't skip over this.

3. Don't feel rushed to find a contractor.  Rather, make it a priority and keep interviewing until you find someone you're really confident in.