Paver Guys won't finish the job - Options? (Williston: houses, neighborhood)

[Newporttom]

So on Sat, March 2nd, just after being inspired at the Jax home and patio show, we decided to get some some pavers in our back yard. We have 2 young dogs and one is a "digger". (this one - Petfinder Adopted | Dog | Brittany Spaniel | Williston, FL | Miley)

She's dug out under the fence numerous times and it's just a matter of time till she gets run over. So we decided on a patio and a 2ft wide paver barrier up against the fence. We really considered Paver Pros since we saw then at the show, but went with someone else since they had done some pavers for someone we knew and... they said they'd start on it 48 hours later and "knock it right out". And getting it done soon was critical to us.

Well, 2 and a half months later and many dog escapes later the job is still not done. The last 2 weeks of nearly perfect weather has been a microcosm of what we've been through. On Monday the 12th they showed up about 10 AM worked for a couple hours and said they were going to lunch. They never came back from lunch. And they did not show up Tues, Wed or Thurs either. Friday it rained.

On Saturday following the latest neighborhood search for our escapee, and after numerous calls to the boss (which he never answers, and his voice mail is full) the Paver guy calls and basically said they were going to come out on Friday but it had rained. He absolutely assured me he would be out Monday morning.

So Monday the 19th he never shows. When I eventually get a hold of them at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, he said it looked like rain so we called it off.. It did rain on the west side eventually but we didn't get a drop in JCP). He said he was coming this morning at 9:30 or 10. I even called at 8:30 and said we got no rain. So we are dry. He said he was jumping in the truck and heading here.

Lo and behold when I got home at 3........ they hadn't showed. I called him.... OMG they were in an accident!! They were sideswiped!! But he said we can still come out tomorrow (the 21st), and let me call you right back. (they never called back).

So we are basically done with them. As far as we're concerned they've abandoned the project. We assume they are so backed up with bigger jobs (they do roofs) that our little gig isn't worth their time.

We want to know what our options are. We paid 50% up front and we're supposed to pay the other 50% at completion. (Cashing our first check was the only thing they ever did on time). What I would like to do is move all the pavers that are sitting in my driveway into the backyard, put their wheelbarrows and stuff out front and tell them they are off the job.

What I'm concerned about is whether someone else would pick up the job at this point. They've done 90% of the hard work. All the digging has been done and 90% of the concrete is done. All they had to do was show up and start laying the pavers.

[Robyn55]

Any progress yet? Seems strange to me that an outfit has only been paid 50% - has done 90% of the work - and won't show up to complete the remaining 10% of the work to get the remaining 50% of the money. Or maybe my understanding of the situation isn't correct? Robyn

[Newporttom]

Oh no... your understanding was correct. So here's the update. The original post was written Tuesday. They never showed Wed either, but late Wed afternoon I get a call from the Paver guy (not the boss) who says can we work on this weekend or do you have holiday plans? I say no plans, so does this mean you'll be here Sat/Sun/Mon?

He says no, we'll be there starting Thursday morning and work every day till it's done. Much to my surprise they show up Thursday morning and work pretty much the whole day. They took up and replaced the ones they had done before so they would be more even, so at then end of the day they were a little further than they were at the start. There was a new guy on the crew who seemed to be more responsible, and he let me know the plan.

They'd be back Friday morning do the side wall, and the patio, and then Sat they'd come out to finish up some concrete repair work and to cut "small bricks" to fill in the areas where full bricks were too big. And we'd be done.

I drank the Kool Aid. I believed.

But then Friday, Lucy yanked away the football again. They don't show and no one calls, and no one answers their phone.

I have talked to PaverPros and they said they take over jobs all the time and gave a range per square foot.

Assuming they don't show, I will spend the weekend slowly moving the pavers that have been sitting in my driveway for 3 weeks into the back yard. When that is done, I'm going to take their tools and put them out front.

If I wake up Tuesday and they haven't completed the job, I run by Ace Hardware buy a plastic No Trespassing sign to put on the fence, call them up and tell them they are off the job.

[Robyn55]

Sounds like a plan. Do you live in a gated community?

Did the original project cost more than $2500? If so - it's subject to the mechanics liens laws (which probably weren't complied with). In any event - I'd make sure that whoever supplied the pavers has been paid (especially before disbursing any more money to the original outfit). If your new contract is > $2500 - you should comply with the mechanics liens laws. FWIW - I think the main issue here may be whether the outfit that supplied the pavers has been paid. Robyn

[JBtwinz]

Robyn, could they have protected themselves by having had some type of lein waiver signed up front......we used this when building our home.

http://floridaconstructionlienlaw.fi...ss-payment.doc

JB

[Robyn55]

Well - the way the whole process works in general is the owner files a notice of commencement. Then everyone files notices of liens and alerts the owner. Then - when the owner is making a progress payment/final payment to the contractor - he/she gets releases of liens like the one you linked from the subs/materialmen before paying the contractor.

The contractor can't release any liens the subs/materialmen might have. And I don't know why a sub or materialman would release any possible lien in advance. Like the form you linked states - the sub or materialman is simply releasing any lien it might have as of the date the form is executed - but none that might accrue in the future. And it wouldn't make sense to me that a sub or materialman who had gone to the trouble of filing a notice of lien would release that lien unless it had been paid.

FWIW - for people who aren't familiar with this stuff - the purpose of these laws is to protect subs and materialmen - so the contractor can't pocket the owner's money without paying them. And - if the law applies on a project - and the owner doesn't cross all the t's and dot all the i's - he/she can wind up paying twice - once to the contractor - and a second time to unpaid subs and materialmen. The law can apply to something as simple as a fencing job. Or something as complicated as a whole house. Any improvements to real property that cost > $2500 (except for certain HVAC work) - an owner has to CYA. Robyn

[Newporttom]

The original contract was $4,000. We paid $2,000 up front. The second agreement with the company that would take over would be probably at most $1,500.

I certainly did not file a notice of commencement, nobody notified me of liens. And I have no clue who they got the bricks from. I suspect no one filed liens. That might have required time away from the tattoo parlor.

As evidenced by the fact they have no web site, no email address, and the only "company" phone is the owner's cell phone, I think they run things pretty loose.

But it does give me something to think (worry) about.

[Robyn55]

Maybe your new guys can help you track down who might have sold the pavers? Or - if the pavers have some kind of markings on them so you can identify a manufacturer - you might be able to find out who sells them here through the manufacturer.

In any event - what's done is done. Good luck getting your job finished! Robyn

[Robyn55]

P.S. At least you're just dealing with some pavers. I've seen some real messes when houses were being built involving tens of thousands of dollars of unpaid bills from materialmen and subs.

[Newporttom]

Well, we've moved all the remaining pavers from the driveway to the backyard. Quite a task for a couple of over 60 folks, and cleaned up all their trash (boards etc.), and put all their tools on the outside of the fence.

We're about 95% ready for the call.