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Dispute on Payment Amount

VirginiaConstruction ContractPayment Disputes

I had a contract with someone who was building a 16 ft x 22 ft sunroom attached to my home (over an existing patio). He took up the old concrete, set the footers, poured new concrete, framed it, put windows in (but hadn't flashed them yet),, put a 28 gauge metal roof on, and two of the windows on each side were specialized. That was ALL that was done so far before we had a dispute over him being 3 months past time of promised completion. He basically decided to part ways with the job and I had already paid him $20,000. He feels I owe more and is leaving it to me to pay what I think he deserves. I honestly have talked to several local guys but they are NOT contractors. They said he has been paid plenty but contractors usually have an upcharge . I just want to do what is fair but I don't want to be taken advantage of. the problem is he took two huge draws (one prior to ANY work being done so I don't know how he applied the draws...there was no itemization). He doesn't want to show receipts or total hours with an hourly rate so I'm very confused and he's not saying he will take me to court or anything but he is saying he feels I should pay him more. Well that leaves it so open ended.

1 reply

Mar 9, 2020
The terms of the contract should serve as a guide for what should be paid on the project. For example, if the job price is based on the time and materials it takes to complete the work, then it'd be important to know the hours being put into the job and the costs of the materials going into the improvement. If the price is just a lump sum, and if there's no other insight into how that price was come to, then sorting out what should be paid can be a real hassle if the job doesn't go according to plan. Levelset discusses that here: Construction Contracts: A Lump Sum Contract May Be Easy, But There’s Risk Involved. If you and your contractor aren't sure about how to price the job, it'd probably be wise to do things by the book. Hiring a third party - like another contractor, an adjuster, a mediator, etc. to set a price for the work that was done might be the most official way for setting a price for the work. Though, that level of involvement might not be necessary if you two are on relatively good terms and can find some other way to come up with a price.
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