Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Thank you for taking my questions. I am a sole proprietor (GC) doing roofing and siding. I’m currently dealing with a occupant agent that has been taking every angle not to pay the remaining contract amount. I sent a letter of intent to lien to both occupant/ agent and the owner with a notice to respond with 15days. In an effort for a peaceful resolution. I contacted the owner and he told me to deal directly with occupant/ agent. We corresponded via email on the same day with cc being sent to the owner as well as another party i.e. her mother. She is disputing amount of shingles used. Original contract stated 27 squares removed and replaced. The job was finished using approximately 28.6 squares including waiste. The original problem came due improper framing of her roof by a prior contractor. The area in question is a 3 square area that is below a 3/12 pitch. Please be advised I obtained multiple pictures of before and after throughout the process. The original three square area is deemed a s a wide valley. In my contract it is stated that I’ve and water shield will be placed in all valleys. I explained this to her several times and the reasons why. The original faulty job had exposed seems and nails that I chilled and and covered with tarp to help her until her insurance settlement came in (I accepted the fact , that I wouldn’t be paid until the insurance settlement). To prevent the same occurrence of leakage . I had the 3 square area covered with peel& stick underlayment(CT Flintastic SA Plybase/ NO -NAILS) and for further leak proofing. It’ was covered with (CT Flintastic SA CAP Weathered wood- NO NAILS). No nails were absolutely necessary to avoid what was happened prior. The occupant/ agent was informed with phone calls through the process explaining everything. Please keep in mind every build requires a waiste factor. I took it upon myself and ordered 6 extra squares of asphalt shingles and 7 rolls of ice & water shield to cover this 3square area. She now wants a credit for the extra 6squares and thinks that she was over charged. Contrary to the facts, I took a loss for having to go with different materials and other structural deficiencies i.e. rotten decking exactly 7 boards plus labor.
Thank you for taking my questions. I am a sole proprietor (GC) doing roofing and siding. I’m currently dealing with a occupant agent that has been taking every angle not to pay the remaining contract amount. I sent a letter of intent to lien to both occupant/ agent and the owner with a notice to respond with 15days. In an effort for a peaceful resolution. I contacted the owner and he told me to deal directly with occupant/ agent. We corresponded via email on the same day with cc being sent to the owner as well as another party i.e. her mother. She is disputing amount of shingles used. Original contract stated 27 squares removed and replaced. The job was finished using approximately 28.6 squares including waiste. The original problem came due improper framing of her roof by a prior contractor. The area in question is a 3 square area that is below a 3/12 pitch. Please be advised I obtained multiple pictures of before and after throughout the process. The original three square area is deemed a s a wide valley. In my contract it is stated that I’ve and water shield will be placed in all valleys. I explained this to her several times and the reasons why. The original faulty job had exposed seems and nails that I chilled and and covered with tarp to help her until her insurance settlement came in (I accepted the fact , that I wouldn’t be paid until the insurance settlement). To prevent the same occurrence of leakage . I had the 3 square area covered with peel& stick underlayment(CT Flintastic SA Plybase/ NO -NAILS) and for further leak proofing. It’ was covered with (CT Flintastic SA CAP Weathered wood- NO NAILS). No nails were absolutely necessary to avoid what was happened prior. The occupant/ agent was informed with phone calls through the process explaining everything. Please keep in mind every build requires a waiste factor. I took it upon myself and ordered 6 extra squares of asphalt shingles and 7 rolls of ice & water shield to cover this 3square area. She now wants a credit for the extra 6squares and thinks that she was over charged. Contrary to the facts, I took a loss for having to go with different materials and other structural deficiencies i.e. rotten decking exactly 7 boards plus labor.
I'm really sorry to hear about that. It's frustrating when an owner refuses to acknowledge their contractor's expertise, and unfortunately, many customers take it upon themselves to challenge every little action taken on a job. Keep in mind, though - what amounts are owed and what amounts might be disputable will come down to what's in the contract. So, referring back to the agreement for work will help to decide what should be paid and why. Regardless, when payment isn't made and extra steps for recovery become necessary, often, a Notice of Intent to Lien will work to compel payment. But, when that's ineffective, taking further action may become necessary. Mechanics liens might be the most powerful remedy for those who have performed construction work but gone unpaid. They work in a number of ways to force payment (we found 17 in this article), and when a lien is filed, the payment dispute is typically resolved sooner than later - and without the need for legal action. Still, when work has been done for a tenant, there are some extra considerations to keep in mind. When hired by someone other than the property owner (such as a tenant), generally, a mechanics lien will be limited to that tenant's interest in the property. However, if the project was authorized or agreed to by the owner beforehand, there's always a possibility that the project would be considered authorized by the property owner for the purpose of a lien filing. For more information about the availability of a mechanics lien on tenant property, this resource should be helpful: What Happens to Mechanics Lien Rights If My Project is a Tenant Improvement? For more on Texas lien and notice rules, these resources are valuable: (1) Texas Lien & Notice Overview; and (2) How to File a Texas Mechanics Lien. Finally, it's always worth keeping in mind that there are options for recovery outside of the mechanics lien process - and this article discusses a few of those options: Other Options For Recovery. As a last and final note - if you have any more specific questions, please feel free to come back and post again at the Construction Legal Center! We're here to help.