Renovation-contractor wants to charge extras (how much, refrigerator, construction)
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* What kind of job was this, i.e. what did you sign up for the contractor do to?
* What are the specific extras that he is now presenting you a bill for?
* During the course of the work, did the contractor EVER bring anything new to your attention? Even if you think it was a trivial passing comment. For example, suppose he said something like "This wall was a little out of plumb but we took care of that", to which you may have said "okay, thanks" (mistakenly thinking he did you a freebie favor.)
* Are the extras for materials, such as X number of sheets of drywall or plywood? If the fine print in the contract says that only X sheets are free, that can easily be extras. Our house was recently re-sided and there was a few hundred extra at the end for six sheets of new plywood (necessary because when the old siding was pulled off a section of the sheathing was found to be water damaged.) That said, I was told of every glitch or unexpected situation encountered during the entire course of the job (which should be the norm but sadly isn't always.)
My rule of thumb is to take every conversation had with any contractor during the course of any job as a potential 'change order' unless it's "Good morning", "nice day", "anyone want a fresh bottle of water", or "see you guys tomorrow". And change orders always cost money unless the contractor says specifically "I won't charge you extra for this."
Regardless what it is that he's trying to charge (a long list), if during the process I suggested things (move an old high hat that ended up being too close to a new threshold), shouldn't the guy tell me right there and then that it's not included and would have an additional cost?
Sorry, wrote my last post before seeing this.
To answer your question, in a perfect world YES the contractor should say "Fine but that will be an extra X dollars, are you okay with that?"
In the real world, the customer should never assume that anything is free that is not already spelled out in the work orginally agreed to.
I have had this on my computer for about 20 years, have no idea where it originally came from but everybody who has renovations done should have it chiseled in stone somewhere, LOL
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF HOME RENOVATION
Thou shalt get all agreements in writing.
Thou shalt never, ever, ever rely on verbal communications, promises, phone calls, walkthroughs or any other NON-WRITTEN communication.
Thou shalt not assume that the home improvement industry functions like any other industry, and thou shalt not think that by paying money for services, that thou dictates how or when things can be done.
Thou shalt not believe that anything except the lowest bid is a total rip-off.
Thou knowest that thy contractor cannot change water into wine, nor make a silk purse from a sow's ear. However, almost everything else is possible...... with enough of thy money.
Thou shalt not expect thy contractor to return calls within one week's time unless thy contractor needeth a completely unrelated answer from thee yesterday.
Thou shalt not put appearance above practicality, for verily in doing so thou shalt be mightily smitten with grave doubts about resale value, colors, and costs.
Thou shalt not maketh a house that is a monstrosity, nor a monument to personal vanity; for to do so will bring upon thy head a plague of low property values, leaky basements, and insufferable dust-bunnies.
Honor thy checkbook and thy budget, for they shall take an awful beating.
And lo, though thou walkest through thy renovated spaces daily, thou wilt not uncover all the problems until 60 days after all of the warranties hath expired.
Did you take multiple quotes from other contractors or just one? You should have compared them all and question those who were low balling. Many contractors low ball then say this requires more work and charge more.
Regardless what it is that he's trying to charge (a long list), if during the process I suggested things (move an old high hat that ended up being too close to a new threshold), shouldn't the guy tell me right there and then that it's not included and would have an additional cost?
You asked for an additional service and it took time and effort to do, of course they should charge you. Were you expecting it to be free?
While yes he should have told you and you should also know there was a charge. I’m sure some stuff can be negotiated but I’m sure there is some stuff you know you are responsible for.
The quote was in written, but of course details such as moving a high hat wasn't there and at the time I couldn't imagine that that would be needed. The contractor should have known. It was pretty obvious given the location of that high hat.
I assume when I ask for a quote that there will be some room for small things. Otherwise the estimate is not well done.'
Quote:
In the real world, the customer should never assume that anything is free that is not already spelled out in the work orginally agreed to.
I knew it wasn't for free, but assumed it was included unless he said something.
So it seems there's no consensus here in the forum.
If you suggested it, then he's going to charge you. Contractors aren't design specialists unfortunately, so if you wanted something moved because it looked better, that's on you. If this guy blew stuff when scoping the work, he should have had a sit down with you. Without knowing the extent of the job and the specifics it's impossible to 100% take one side over the other. If this job needed plans, and he didn't follow them, that's an entirely different thing. If it needed plans and you didn't get them and relied on his expertise, that was a mistake.
I had an electrician take out a fluorescent light over my kitchen sink a couple years ago, he got the old fixture out and no way to put in the high hat because of the (joist? stud? something) that was there. It was
a. have an off center high hat
b. put in two high hats on either side of the (thing)
I went with the latter, but the job took him extra time and he had to go get different size high hats. Time is money. So is materials.
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