Lessons Learned

Lumpy

Another one for the well meaning contractor:

I estimated a Front Entry for a referred client at $4800. The plan changed and he calls me put in the front door. This time there was not an estimate, nor contract. Of course the project balloons and we are remodeling the existing entry. Reworked Electrical, picking up ceiling framing that is no longer supported, tying in drywall etc.

After the 1st week, I invoice, he's happy, pays no problem. 2nd week's Invoice takes a week to get to. Wrapping up with a couple more days because I can see he is getting antsy.

Final total is +/- $8200. He's pissed. Its is a lot over the original. I concede about $800 in wages. He writes the check.

Probably lost the referral and a shot at his kitchen we were talking about. I'm bummed 'cus all I did what he was asking for.

Lesson #834,438 : Don't let the project get away from the Home owner.
Lesson #834,438 A : Have a scope of work that can be referenced.

Lesson over, Rant off

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Fran Yetso Construction
professional remodeling

Cole

Its good to see you learned from it and now you know it will never happen again.

Always and I mean always have a clear scope of work and a contract!

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Tulsa's Leader in Outdoor Living Construction | Facebook | Tulsa Pergola Builder | Tulsa Outdoor Kitchens

lawndart

CHANGE ORDER!!! Attached in this post is a word document. Download it, and use it in the future.

Attached Files

Remodeling Change Order.doc (55.5 KB, 141 views)

Lumpy

Thanks for the CO.

Unfortunately, there was no agreement to change.

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Fran Yetso Construction
professional remodeling

Constructive1

About 5 years ago I was brought into a job to finish off some work that a previous "contractor" had massively screwed up. Hot water plumbed to a toilet? They set the toilet and when the water was hooked up and turned on, steam was rising from the bowl. There's probably a joke there about baking and loaves...There were many other corrections that needed to be made too.

Anyway...the customer happened to be a guy considered by many to be the greatest football player to come out of the University of Washington...a defensive lineman whose pro career was cut short by knee injuries. Great guy actually, but too big for me to kick his ass.

My original scope of work was about 2 weeks worth and he agreed to pay T&M and I agreed to accept payment on completion. A few days before we were done he added some more work...finishing off a wine cellar. I figured ok, I'll just bill for that too when we're done. Guess what? We were just about done with that when he decided it would be great to have his humidor finished off...No problem - I'll add that to the bill when we're done too. So we're almost done with the humidor when he thinks it would make sense to build/remodel/complete his....

So...3 months later he runs out of things to add, and I finally present him with the bill. Of course he is shocked that it adds up to about $40,000 - he had no idea that the bill could be that much and questioned the hours we had into it. I spent a fair amount of time justifying the time spent searching for specialized materials and figuring out how to repair the botched work.

Ultimately I ended up writing off about half of my mark-up and I consider it to be tuition for the education I got as I felt fortunate to have salvaged any profit at all. These days when doing T&M work, the originally discussed work is billed for and must be paid in full before taking on any additional work.

joasis

And another thing I do is write it down! Calls and conversations, write it down, or it never happened!

I have had jobs change, and customers "forget" the amendment when it was time to pay.....pulling out my notebook, which is always dated and time noted changes that, especially if you didn't get a change order. Also, it is a useful habit to get into when you have more then one job site going at a time.

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EricTheHandyman

I got burned on a bathroom, but learned a lot in the process. HO calls me to finish a bathroom that he and another contractor had started. No big deal, just put in shower base and walls, toilet, vanity, and baseboard. We agree on a price and I get going. In this case, the carpenter put up a 35-1/4" opening for a 36" shower stall. No problem, pull off the cement board, redo, re-tape & mud. Customer says, don't worry, we'll work it out. Next, I discover that the plumber didn't place the shower drain correctly. No problem, bust out the concrete and move the drain. Again, customer says we'll work it out. When all is said and done, it takes twice the time that I bid it at, and he's only willing to pay me for 2 extra hours.

1st lesson: Measure everything when giving the estimate; don't assume that the previous contractor did his job.
2nd lesson: be specific in your estimates as to the scope of work.
3rd lesson: Include a disclaimer in your estimates that extra charges will apply to fix the mistakes of others.
4th lesson: Use change orders or you'll get burned!

Sorry that was long winded.....but the lessons are important

kevjob

never finish someone elses work because of that very scenario. Start over or walk.

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Kevin
Basement Finishing Highlands Ranch Colorado
Littleton Colorado, Basement Remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling Denver

xkv8r

When you are taking peoples money,they will always try to get the most out of you. The ones that start adding or "find another thing for you to do while you are here" are the ones that feel they don't have to pay, then act all shocked when you hand them the bill.

AtlanticWBConst

TRUE

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- Build Well -

AtlanticWBConst

TRUE-ER

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- Build Well -

BattleRidge

My bids and bills and contract say, Any deviation from what is originally writen in the bid will be recorded and billed accordingly.

AtlanticWBConst

Bottom Line: Front doors are "iffy". You never really know what you are getting into until you open them up.
You really need to include "clauses" in contracts, per job specs. It will protect you.

Every Job Estimate/proposal I write: I spend time thinking about what might or could - go wrong, what I might find, etc.

We have our standard clauses and exclusions at the end of the contract, then, dependant on the actual job, I will add sub-notes to the work description, sometimes asteriks footnoted to a "clause".
I will also tell the client verbally, the same.

I have learned all this - from making my own mistakes ....

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- Build Well -

Marcus W

DON'T WAIST YOUR TIME. IF THERE WAS SUB PAR WORK DONE TEAR IT OUT. YOU WILL NOT SEE ALL OF THE UNFORESEEN PROBLEMS LEFT BY THE OLD CONTRACTOR. GOT JAMMED UP ONCE BUT WAS FORTUNATE I STILL MADE OUT.


"THIS IS CHESS NOT CHECKERS" D. WASHINGTON (TRAINING DAY)