Contractor damage...
Started by leee
over 15 years ago
Posts: 14
Member since: Nov 2009
Discussion about
How is this usually addressed, considering I like the carpenter and want to keep good relations? It's nothing overly major, but he left a big scratch on the floor and a bit of paint on wallpaper. Is he responsible for fixing these things? He finished the job while I was at work, so we didn't do a walk-through of the space.
There are plenty of options as long as he hasn't been paid in full.
Ask that he repair the damage.
Withhold final payment.
Subtract damages from the invoice.
If he's as good as you say he is then it shouldn't be an issue.
Figure out realistically what remedy you want. If the floor was just redone and he scratched it, the only real way to properly fix it is often to redo the entire floor. That's utterly unrealistic in most situations. That happened to me (the stupid plumber dragged a refrigerator and gouged two tracks in the floor in the final days of the project). I wasn't going to redo the floors at that point, so they buffed it out to the extent possible and I live with it. You can always point out the damage and ask the contactor what he thinks the remedy should be. He may propose something better than you thought of.
As a contractor if any of my guys or subs damage anything to the homeowners property it is my responsibility to fix it. If that means sanding and refinishing the floor thats what it means. Kyle, maybe your plumber wasnt stupid, he might have done a stupid thing, maybe he thought your unit had whells, maybe there was masonite under the wheels and it moved. You contractor should have fixed it no matter what the case is. Our business is predicated on referrals, I dont want a client saying, "sure its beautiful but look what he did" I would never get hired again if that was the case.
Thanks guys. The damage isn't such a huge deal, but annoying in a brand new place I'd just touched up.