at what point do I fire our GC?

[Anonymous]

We embarked on a pretty major kitchen, two bath and some minor other things remodel. Got multiple bids, chose one with good references etc. Construction was due to start Dec 1, and we decided to move out for the 10 weeks for a variety of reasons. Contractor did not get permits until mid December, crew showed up for 2 days to demo before christmas and have not been back since. Yes, there were holidays, but its now January 9. We are due to move back in mid Feb. GC promises to make up the lost time (if he could have done the job in 6 weeks rather than 10, why not do it that way from the start?). We have a giant, full dumpster parked in front of our house too, which is not thrilling neighbors. I go by this morning after reading the riot act on Monday and still...nothing has been done.
So far, we've paid contractor 25% of total job--some of that has gone for drawings, engineering review, permits and demo, but he has not yet 'spent' that amount in materials or labor.

There's a penalty for being late--100$/day, but that's not, seemingly, a deterrent.

Do I believe him that the job will be done in 6 weeks? Do I fire now--will I have to get new drawings, permits, etc? (I need to reread contract).

[Anonymous]

Keep waiting. If he's not done in 6 weeks, you'll get $100/day.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any advice. Just sympathy. Keep us posted on how you light the fire under their bums.

[Anonymous]

25% is a huge up front amount, but you probably already figured that out. Has he ordered materials? The penalty is probably difficult to enforce, so yeah not really a deterrent.

The drawings should be yours, the permits definitely are yours. 6 weeks to do a kitchen and baths is tight, especially since the lead time for cabinets is usually 4-6 weeks.

[Anonymous]

You might be able to get copies of the drawings and permits from the permitting office if the contractor won't give them to you. If you go with someone new and the design is changed, you may have to repermit the job. I hate to say this but $100 a day is not a significant deterrent.

[Anonymous]

You probably won't get $100 day even though it's in your contract.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I already ordered cabinets and new appliances (some have shown up). But there's structural work (beams replacing supporting walls), moving pipes, replacing floors, etc. I think its really, really tight. GC has credited us 1k already due to the delay...but I just want to see some progress!

[Anonymous]

More than likely he is working on another job right now. I wouldn't trust him (based on my bad experience with my GC). I would not trust that he would not cut corners on your job to make your deadline-because you will be stressing him to get it done. He might get it done in time but I wouldn't trust his "rush" work.

If I knew what I know now I would have fired my GC. Your drawings are logged downtown. Go and get a copy.

[Anonymous]

What is he telling you exactly? Call him every morning at 6am, that's when they plan their day.
I would press him for the work because you are out 25% of the price right now and if you fire him you can't get your money's worth. As soon as you get it, you can consider changing contractors.

Timeline will not be met, OP, even with rush, shoddy work.
Your contractor is off on another job, which is considered normal operating procedure as long as he sends part of his crew to log some hours on your job too and you see progress.

Next time, less money up front!!!
It's better to sign a contract for more money, but shunt the biggest check upon walk-through at the end, than haggle over pennies and give the contractor too much money at the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Ask for your money back and only pay for work completed. Find someone else. If they refuse and do not show up tomorrow, call the bbb, your county licensing board and anyone else you can think of.

[Anonymous]

Ugh OP, I so sympathize. We signed a contract with a firm for kitchen remodel this past fall, and about 2 weeks later the firm just imploded - the supervisor quit, started calling us to warn about the owner and threatening to sue, and so on for several weeks. We eventually got out of it (and put the project on hold till spring), but realized what a nightmare a bad contractor can be.

Here's the thing, you probably can't get out of the contract without major money - you've already handed over 25% for what sounds like much less work than that, and if you have a standard contract there are provisions that provide compensation to the contractor if you try to pull the plug. I'd check that language and figure out if you have any wiggle room at all... we were horrified to realize we were stuck with our firm unless they bailed (which thankfully they eventually did.)

If you don't, you've got to make this work as best you can. I found Gardenweb's kitchen forum very useful in terms of advice when we were in our nightmare; the people who post tend to be reno experts either as homeowners or professionals, so between them all they've seen it all. There are state and county boards that you can go to in order to file a complaint - you might also try contacting them for advice. I'm still not sure what prompted our firm to just walk away and hand back our deposit before any real work had been done - maybe it was clear I was going to be watching every single inch of the reno work? - but I know I dodged a bullet. Good luck!