How to finish foundation/siding/garage door trim?

[bigbukhntr]

yes michelle....it seems that the opening is too wide....we have (2) two-car garages attached to our house....the opening is 18' 3 1/2" wide on each one....the doors are 18', there is a 2 x 6 on each side, cut at a 45 degree angle at the bottom, and then a rubber seal on each side of the door.......when the door is closed,I dont see any daylight at all coming through the door area!.....

By the way, since you have a independent inspector checking these things, are you getting close to moving in?....
Getting excited??

[s1120]

Thank you all for the help. If you guys think the garage gaps are bad you should see the side door of the garage (attached)..... At least on this one they stuffed insulation in the gap. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

We have no idea where we stand as far as moving in. The CO was given to the builder on July 9 after 2 return trips for code repairs.

The main problem is that they want the remaining 10% payment and we don't think we should have to pay for crummy work.

We are waiting for another callback from our Attorney on what we can do.

So depressing and frustrating.....

Michele

[Argee]

Michele,

Politely inform your builder that you will gladly pay him the final balance, <font color="red"> when your satisfied with his work </font color> . Let him know your willing to play ball, if he's willing to dress his team and take the field. If he doesn't, then it's him breaching the contract.

[GERARD]

I agree with Argee - that 10% holdback is all the leverage you have other than suing. I held back $3000 at closing for some tthings the builder hadn't finished prior to closing. (Some trim work, installation of a gable vent for the whole house fan etc). I then sent him a letter advising him if the work was not completed by a certain date I would go ahead and have it finsished myself and deduct the cost from what I held back. He never finished the work, I did, and he never even called about the $3000. I suggest you do a similar thing and starting spending the 10% on having the problem fixed, document the costs (ie keep receipts etc), do everything in writing, certified mail even better, and spell out what your intentions are, give due dates, then do it. Then if he comes back after you you have a pretty strong case.

[s1120]

Hey Gerard. When you kept records for the fixes, did you keep track of your time? How much is your own time worth in the eyes of the courts? Is there a set excepted laborer rate?

[GERARD]

I don't know that there's a fixed rate but I think the key is reasonableness. Obviously it's easiest to hire another contractor to do each job, then the cost is what it actually cost you. If you do things yourself I'd track the time and charge a minimum of $20 per hour since you're not going to get any contractors for less than that. Taking before and after pictures would also be a good idea if you have to defend your fixes in a court since all the judge will have to base his/her decision on is what you present. Visual and or video evidence is pretty good and convincing.

[s1120]

Thanks. $20 is more then fair. Thanks.

[TimSullivan]

<font color="red"> And you folks don't honestly think the builder is going to fix this do you?

Michele
</font color>

It is not a case of will he fix. It it is a question of why let him. The more that is not corrected the worse he looks in court.

[fivestring]

Paul, you and Michelle also don't forget other avenues....
Better Business Bureau
Any action team from TV stations
State licensing boards
These are very effective. When word gets out how bad a job the builder did, he's usually finished as a builder; at least under that name...

[kemartin3]

What follows in my opinion, and only my opinion.

I suppose that folks will have different opinions about the BBB. I went to them before hiring my GC as part of my background check (we ended up firing the GC in the middle of the build). They wouldn't let me see what was in their folder, but told me that there were no complaints on file. What I later heard (unofficially) is that as long as the builder convinces the owner to release the complaint (by fixing the problem or ???), then the file is closed and the complaint no longer exists. My experience leads me to believe that the BBB is in business to assist the business owner (GC), not the customer, regardless of what they say.

Hope this helps,
Kevin