Garage Problems:-(

[TerryBPP]

Suing a contractor in FL is a farce. You'll sue his LLC, which he will then bankrupt, and then you will see him the next week operating under a new LLC.

[futuresoptions]

Hey man, a yard of concrete will cover 81 sq feet at 4" thick. WTF? Man you could of poured three slabs for 20K..... You need to get an honest person on your sight and not pay this guy another penny..... +1 on the legal advice listed previously.... if you add onto this slab make sure it is tied in correctly. Man I am sorry to hear this problem wish I lived closer to assist....

[kslizzy]

The wrong size slab because of the tree should not be an issue. If this contractor is stand up, he would have applied for a building permit and they require site plans, site plans relating to existing conditions. Also, with a permit, an inspector from the town/county should have inspected the foundation before he placed it, this would have come up then too.

Shady contractors are all to common these days. Good luck with resolution.

[Zeke]

Looks like the slab is on a slope. I see 10K worth of work completed (or so). But the 20 x 30 vs. 20 x 40 thing sounds like a gross mistake on his part. Better go back and check the plans and see who's right.

I remember reading about a contractor that built a house 180 degrees from the intended orientation. I guess they salvaged the foundation and reworked the floor plan to achieve the desired layout. All of this was at the contractor' expense, of course.

[URY914]

I like how all you out of state guys are experts on Florida contractors. I'm a contractor and I'm in Florida. Seems like you paid him like you do your strippers, Byron....first the money, then the dance.

[Wickd89]

Sorry if any contractors are on this thread, but are they all idiots!
I have "never" heard of a project that came in on time, came in on budget, was done properly, etc, etc, etc....
They can't add, they can't estimate cost, and they are unreliable!!
They don't return calls, all they care about is money and think their S^&t doesn't stink. Well it does. It stinks bad.

If any of us "professionals" did that in our chosen professions we would be fired and out of work!

My experience is that they keep asking for more money until you cannot stand it any more, and then they go ahead and finish the project.

The ONLY time a contractor does a good job, is for a friend, because their wives would have a field day if they screwed their only friend!! ;-)

[URY914]

Seems like a contractor must have run off with your wife and your Porsche. I hate to generalize (as you do) but half of the problems that owners have with contractors, they bring on themselves. They over pay them, they don't have a signed agreement/contract, they don't have a schedule of values, they don't get referances, they don't ask for lien releases, they don't ask for a written schedule, the scope of work is not clear, the owner's wife is left to deal with the contrator, etc, etc, etc....

Buyer beware, you idiot!

[911Rob]

Originally Posted by Wickd89

Sorry if any contractors are on this thread, but are they all idiots!
I have "never" heard of a project that came in on time, came in on budget, was done properly, etc, etc, etc....
They can't add, they can't estimate cost, and they are unreliable!!
They don't return calls, all they care about is money and think their S^&t doesn't stink. Well it does. It stinks bad.

If any of us "professionals" did that in our chosen professions we would be fired and out of work!

My experience is that they keep asking for more money until you cannot stand it any more, and then they go ahead and finish the project.

The ONLY time a contractor does a good job, is for a friend, because their wives would have a field day if they screwed their only friend!! ;-)

[gr8fl4porsche]

Originally Posted by Wickd89

Sorry if any contractors are on this thread, but are they all idiots!
I have "never" heard of a project that came in on time, came in on budget, was done properly, etc, etc, etc....
They can't add, they can't estimate cost, and they are unreliable!!
They don't return calls, all they care about is money and think their S^&t doesn't stink. Well it does. It stinks bad.

If any of us "professionals" did that in our chosen professions we would be fired and out of work!

My experience is that they keep asking for more money until you cannot stand it any more, and then they go ahead and finish the project.

The ONLY time a contractor does a good job, is for a friend, because their wives would have a field day if they screwed their only friend!! ;-)

Wow, I don't think any of the contractors on this board would be offended by that statement.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

There are good contractors and bad contractors, just as with any profession.

Since you (generally) don't know which kind you're going to get, it's important to do things "by the book" and have tight contract documents ahead of time.

Please tell me this wasn't one of those cases where "oh, I've got a friend who knows this guy whose brother's friend is a residential contractor - he'll get you a good deal" sorts of things. I recently turned down a job here in Long Beach for a guy wanting to build two 2BR apartment units and based his budget (and he wanted to base my fees on) his "friend who happened to be a G.C. who says he can do it for 60 bucks a square foot". I said "thanks but no thanks". BIG red flag. You'd be lucky to build that kind of stuff for $160 a square foot in this town. Not a chance at $60. That guy was either being flat-out lied to, or being set up to be bled dry on change orders. Either way, I wanted no part of it.

Anytime an owner/prospective client talks about his "friend" who is a contractor and hasn't personally known the guy for the last 20 years and/or goes out for beers with them regularly is full of it. They're always your "friend" until you get 'em on board. I've seen this too many times.

Word to the wise - keep it professional and use all the mechanisms you can to protect yourself - architectural services, good contract documents, a good lawyer, retainment, bonds, etc. Whenever someone claims to "have a friend who's a contractor", run.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Use commercial contractors - sure you'll pay more (maybe) but you will be happy in the end. Low-dollar residential contractors tend to give all the others a bad name.

In the commercial business - every job has to be done on time, on budget and at the highest quality level. When you don't do it right , you get to do it again. And for this great service we get to wait 60-120 days for our money.

Lots of commercial companies do not do residential, but not all of them. Ask nice and they will take care of you.

[livi]

Same deal here in Sweden. There are good contractors, but for some reason many people have had bad experiences. Not least that it seems very difficult to finish the work in scheduled time - not to mention starting it. The budget is often too conservative.

Many times the actual people working on site do not seem qualified. You make plans with a contractor that apparently knows what he is talking about and then he sends out some under payed immigrants that neither know the job nor speak the language. Frustrating.

[Zeke]

There are good customers and there are bad ones. Mostly, I seem to find that anyone under 40 is a POS to work for. Seems like, "They don't return calls, all they care about is money and think their S^&t doesn't stink. Well it does. It stinks bad."

I know this doesn't help Byron, but I hope anyone who makes a generalized statement about all contractors being a bad act NEVER gets anything right from the contractors so as to not spoil the record. IOW, go pound sand.

Wicked, if you ever come out to an event when I'm around, do me a big favor and do NOT talk to me. Just stay the f**k away.

I mean it.