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Kansas: Verbal Agreement - non licensed contractor for new metal roof

I live in a very small town in Kansas. I secured a roofer to put a new metal roof on my home. I purchased the materials based on his calculations (way over what was needed - 30%). All communications are via text (which I have all of the interactions). He started on 9.28.2019 and stated that he expects to finish in about 3 days. He started on Saturday 9.28.2019, and worked 1/2 the weekend (rain). Stated he would be back next weekend. The weekends stretched into months. Some weekends he was there working, other times he didn't communicate at all. At the end of November, he said he was done. I sent a text (and spoke verbally) that there were issues, screws not in the roof (so nothing holding the materials to the underroof), and 8 other issues. He said he would be back to fix them. It is now the middle of February, 2020 and I have not heard from him since the end of November. He has not been paid any money, and I purchased the materials. I will need to hire another roofer to finish and fix what is wrong. What is my obligation to the original roofer?

1 reply

Feb 18, 2020

Ultimately, that will come down to the contract or agreement you entered into. But, even where there were some issues or defects with a contractor's work, they'll generally be entitled to be paid for the work that they did perform - to some extent. And, since the work wasn't completed as agreed-upon, it will be necessary to establish what the fair value for that work is. Before hiring another contractor to finish the work, it'd likely be a good idea to document all of the issues with the work - detailed descriptions, photographs, statements from the party who will repair the work, etc. With that documentation in hand, will be easier to establish a negotiating position. And, if the issues aren't identified before the work is repaired and/or completed, then it may be harder to come up with concrete arguments as to why full payment shouldn't be made.

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