I hired a general contractor to do a two bathroom shower/bath remodel in Califonia. I have paid him 10.5/17K for about 40% of the work. We have had disagreements about the quality of his subcontractor work. He is a GC who does not understand or care to understand the details of his subcontractor work, which I have a better understanding of. He blames me for causing him problems and losing money on extra subcontractor days. He has now stopped replying to my texts and emails for the past week. He wants to separate, which I have told him that I am open to, but only on mutually agreeable terms. I am anticipating that he will abandon the project. I am going to continue to reach out to him and express my interest in a separation agreement. If I don't hear from him, I will send him a certified letter after three weeks of silence from him saying I am moving on and hiring new contractors. I am then planning on placing a claim on his surety bond. My question is if it is ok to finish the remaining work or should I wait for the surety to finish their investigation so that they can decide if they want to hire a new contractor for me to finish it? I have been without a shower in my home for 8 weeks! Thanks for the advice.
I assume you mean a contractors license bond. A license bond surety will not engage a follow-on contractor for you, that is more the role of performance bond surety. Your priority should be completing your project. If the contractor abandons the project, and you engage a follow-on contractor to complete the work the license bond surety could be liable for the difference between the remaining contract balance and the amount you pay to complete the work. However, you would want clear documentation that the contractor abandoned. If you enter inter a mutual seperation agreeement, the bond surety will likely not be liable for any extra costs you incur.