What do you do when things go really wrong with your contractor?

We had a gentleman call us last week. He finds himself in a tremendous bind because the contractor building his project is not performing and totally not responsive. All attempts to get through to the contractor have failed and he finds himself stuck, with a partially completed project and no end in sight.

In addition to timeliness problems and communication problems, the owner purchased a large amount of material only to find out that the contractor had used some of the expensive material for concrete forms and temporary framing.

The owner called us for guidance. We knew exactly that bind he was in. Changing contractors in the middle of a project has serious consequences and should only be done when all else has failed. There are design and cost implications to consider. I wanted to help him, but wanted to make sure he had thought of all of the financial implications of the decision. First, he had to find out what the consequences were to get out of his current contract. Secondly, he had to accept that most likely some work would need to be re-done. A contractor that was that much of a headache likely had also made some building mistakes. Finally, whatever design existed when the project started, had to be picked up and followed in order to successfully complete the project.

Our first step would be to create a construction plan and drawings to match his design. This is not to say that we would redesign it per sea but, because we have a 5-year structural warranty and third-party backed guarantee we have to ensure that all the considerations that support that warranty are taken into account.

This gentleman was really wishing that he had checked out this contractor more carefully up front. So many times when you interview contractors, they all seem somewhat similar and much of the decision is weighted on on gut feel. Gut feel is very important. But, performance, track record, and real experiences are extremely important when selecting a contractor to do a large job at your home.

I’m not saying everything at Archadeck is perfect, without question, we stand by our work, we have left no job unfinished, have a great reputation, and create beautiful outdoor spaces.

References

Ask the contractor for multiple references. Any contractor that’s worth their salt will have plenty of references to give you. And, just because they gave you references, don’t take that on face value. Prepare questions and give them a call.

In addition to client references, you also want to check them out with the BBB and Angie’s List and other local lists such as those.

Make sure the contractor has a strong warranty.

Find out how long the contractor has been in business in your market and how many projects they’ve built. That’s one of the ultimate tests. You know as well as I do that a bad contractor will run themselves out of business very quickly.

Here are Archadeck of Austin, the value we provide is a good thoughtful design, a strong warranty, a completion guarantee, sound construction and as our references cite – happy customers. We’ve been building outdoor projects in the Austin market now for over 12 years and have over two thousand projects under our belts. Give us a ring to discuss your project ideas. Our consultation is free. Hopefully you will gather from reading this post that we know – our ultimate goal is your complete satisfaction and we believe in helping you make the most informed decision for you.