Hope that this is the right sub-forum for this question. If not, I offer my apologies.
Back in early April 06, I found a guy to do some foundation work in my basement (some seepage problems). He assessed the problem as plugging some cracks and an old coal chute, and building a new inner wall. I agreed to the estimate and he said he'd get right to it. Nothing was ever signed; my acceptance of the estimate was verbal. The job completion time, too, was verbal only. Since then, he's shown up three times, for a total of about six hours, doing minor prep work—cutting into the floor for a new footer, doing one pour for the footer, and removing the breaker box from the existing wall—for the main job. For the past four plus months, it's been a case of him calling to say he'll be here tomorrow or next Monday, etc, and then, with the above three exceptions, not showing. Usually he blames a scheduling mishap, misplaced day timer, etc. I had been willing to wait because finding a contractor in this town is a nightmare. However, enough became enough, and I managed to find someone else last week, and he completed the job in a matter of days. It might also be worthy of note that he analyzed the problem completely differently, emphasizing potential structual compromise from the cracks. He grouted the cracks and the coal chute (actually, the whole wall was grouted), and installed some steel girders as supports, but saw no purpose to a new wall. So, job done. Additionally, talking with both the new guy I hired and several other contractors, my original guy has a bit of a rep for doing to others what he did to me—starting a job and then pretty much abandonning it for months on end.
Now, if the original guy ever bothers to call back, I'll tell him that his services are not needed. My question, tho, is whether I owe him for the work that was done given that four-plus months after I agreed to hire him the job was still incomplete and, based on the experience of the summer, there was no reason to believe that it would be done any time soon. My gut tells me that I should pay him for the work that was done, but several friends have suggested that his unreliability forced me to find someone else to do the job, and that the original guy therefore forfeited any claim to compensation.
So, can anyone advise me on what course I should take regarding any possible payment? Thanks very much in advance.
Back in early April 06, I found a guy to do some foundation work in my basement (some seepage problems). He assessed the problem as plugging some cracks and an old coal chute, and building a new inner wall. I agreed to the estimate and he said he'd get right to it. Nothing was ever signed; my acceptance of the estimate was verbal. The job completion time, too, was verbal only. Since then, he's shown up three times, for a total of about six hours, doing minor prep work—cutting into the floor for a new footer, doing one pour for the footer, and removing the breaker box from the existing wall—for the main job. For the past four plus months, it's been a case of him calling to say he'll be here tomorrow or next Monday, etc, and then, with the above three exceptions, not showing. Usually he blames a scheduling mishap, misplaced day timer, etc. I had been willing to wait because finding a contractor in this town is a nightmare. However, enough became enough, and I managed to find someone else last week, and he completed the job in a matter of days. It might also be worthy of note that he analyzed the problem completely differently, emphasizing potential structual compromise from the cracks. He grouted the cracks and the coal chute (actually, the whole wall was grouted), and installed some steel girders as supports, but saw no purpose to a new wall. So, job done. Additionally, talking with both the new guy I hired and several other contractors, my original guy has a bit of a rep for doing to others what he did to me—starting a job and then pretty much abandonning it for months on end.
Now, if the original guy ever bothers to call back, I'll tell him that his services are not needed. My question, tho, is whether I owe him for the work that was done given that four-plus months after I agreed to hire him the job was still incomplete and, based on the experience of the summer, there was no reason to believe that it would be done any time soon. My gut tells me that I should pay him for the work that was done, but several friends have suggested that his unreliability forced me to find someone else to do the job, and that the original guy therefore forfeited any claim to compensation.
So, can anyone advise me on what course I should take regarding any possible payment? Thanks very much in advance.
