Dealing With This.

MinConst

We have been working a Villa remodel along with another cab man, and his brother an electrician. Stone men and flooring guys. Working through a Designer. We basically are doing paint. I have also done some electrical work and plumbing there. My quandary is this.
First off I estimated a paint job. Scheduled a 7 day time frame for this. And because of the electrician and some other changes this turned into more like 3 weeks. 15 work days that is. Anyway I have no problem with the paint we did it, a bit over budget but thats fine.
There were extras done like plumbing, whole patches and such that I did as T/M and billed the client. They questioned the bill and I explained all charges. They paid me.
Now there are more holes in the place caused by the electrician misplacing them for cans, and the stone men damaged some walls bringing in the counters, they need to be patched. I was asked by the designer to "give them a break" on the repairs. It was stated by the designer that they have paid me well and on time. Is this not the normal was to do things? I don't see this as a reason to give them a break on this.
I will give them a break on the repairs as that is just me, and I am that way. But I want to get my point across to this designer and don't want to be unprofessional about it. If someone would like to read my response I will e-mail it to them for comment that I would really appreciate. I don't want to post this in public as I know these posts last forever.
Thanks for listening and hopefully helping.

__________________
Paul
Minichillo's Construction
Website
I will never leave you hanging!

silvertree

What about the guys who caused the damage?
Why you?
If you go to a McDonalds and drop your Big Mac in the parking lot and a UPS truck runs over it, does McDonalds give you a free sandwich?

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Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
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fez-head

Let the damn electrician and stone man give the client a break to make up for the damages that they caused.

Why in the world should it fall on your shoulders?

loneframer

The last thing I dropped in McDs was a duece, and whoever the plumber was paid for that destruction.

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Mike Finley

How are they going to know how to measure this "break"?

Tell em' hey no problem, I'll take care of them and don't do anything different. I'm betting whatever the bill is they will know it includes their 'break'. How are they going to know?

KitchenSync

As a designer, I do not expect our painter to fix up what he didn't cause and then penalize him for it. (I also specify painting at the end of a project for the very reasons you're mentioning, but everyone prefers their own methods.)

What they're asking is not fair. If you have a relationship with the designer, I might talk to her/him about your concerns, but I agree with Mike; I would give a lump sum and tell them you gave as good a deal as you could.

MinConst

Yea I think I am making more of this than necessary. I will deal with the "break" and move on to complete the project. Let the designer know how I feal and that will do.

Thanks guy for the help.

__________________
Paul
Minichillo's Construction
Website
I will never leave you hanging!

Chris G

Up here, they actually would give you a free sandwich.

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silvertree

And that's just one reason why we love Canadians

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Schmidt & Co

As a paint contractor I see this all the time. Other trades damaging our finish product & being asked by the GC or home owner to "touch-up" the damaged surfaces. "Touch-up", as defined by our trade association the PDCA is strictly related to the improper application of coatings by the painting contractor.

Damage repair is not in my contracts & is handled as extra work with a change order. I have even gone so far as to make up signs warning other trades that "All Trades Please Note: Surfaces in this area are finished. Repair of damages caused by other contractors are not the responsibility of the painting contractor". I've found that when the signs are up, everybody seems to be a little more carefull.....

silvertree

Good way to handle I think, use signs.

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Minneapolis Remodel Blog
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Leo G

You will give them a break and charge them your normal fee. And if they complain just tell them you are suppose to be at another job and you are here doing their work on an extra basis, above and beyond the call of the contract. If it was any other client you would have done it for the normal price, two and a half weeks from now. Either way, the GC should be back charging the contractor who actually did the damage in the first place so it costs them nothing but a little waiting time.

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thom

Tell the designer she should pay for it. After all it was her design, her construction management, and her hiring subs that beat the walls up.

Double-A

I fail to see the designer's point. The client is doing exactly what is expected and required of you, as are you.

Offering a break for work that being done to correct the damage done by others, either by negligence or in the course of their job is silly. As others have said, you're being penalized for what should be rightfully paid for by the client or the other subcontractors.

If she would like to give a break to her client, then she should back charge the offending trades for the damage or delays they caused.

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excellencee

Nobody's perfect, myself included. When I or one of my men damage a wall, or anything else, I immediately go to the painter or whomever. I show them the damage, explain what happened and immediately offer payment to cover the damage. I have yet to be charged, but I do the same for them. Maybe I'm just not normal.

MinConst

Ya know if this was the case I probably would have had no issue with it. It's not that I try to nickle and dime people but when things come up that just don't fit it bothers me. And sometimes I like to get opinions from other contractors.
Since this posting all has worked out fine.

__________________
Paul
Minichillo's Construction
Website
I will never leave you hanging!