"Tom, when we met on 9/9/13 to discuss a roughly $8,000, or 35%, billing overrun that was never discussed with us, you assured us that you would get back to us the next day regarding some serious red flags on the cost spreadsheet.
Then you said that you’d discuss it after you’d corrected some work that, in your words, was ‘completely unacceptable.’ I’m disappointed that instead of getting back to us, you’ve just re-sent the bill.
You stated at our 9/9/13 meeting that you had examined the budget about midway though the project and knew it was running very high but had not discussed it with us because you were busy building two other houses. At around this time, your contractor told me that the decision to drywall over the ceiling instead of using the more complicated repair process that had been estimated was ‘within budget.’ High Country Timberframe ignored all requests, written and verbal, to provide timesheets.
A few of the red flag items:
1) Math error on building envelope costs: Materials $1,982.57 + labor $4,731 = $8,789.52 (should be $6,719.57: error in your favor of $2,069.95).
2) $1,416 for caulking, priming and painting only of exterior window trim for three 33” x 38” windows, exclusive of materials. (Exterior painting of pre-primed windows was included in building envelope costs.) In your words, “this seems excessive.”
3) $996 to remove ‘old’ sheetrock (actually new, as placed by sheetrock contractors at your direction) and replace and prime ‘new’ sheetrock—on an 18 inch stretch of wall sheathing a vent pipe located at the end of the pass-through. Its position was known prior to estimate and prior to sheet-rocking crew’s stint; a post in that location was included in the plan. Compare with cost of sheet-rocking and finishing all walls in kitchen, and ceilings in both kitchen and dining room—$1,500.
4) ‘Insulation in exterior walls and foam around window jambs’: given that there was certainly no foam or insulation of any kind visible in the roughly 1” gap left under one window, I’m not even confident that this was done.
5) $768 to install rough counter-top. Tile contractor’s estimate: $100.
6) Original estimate for installing cabinets was an average of $92/ea. (Home Depot quoted $74 each). Final HCTF cost: $142.66/ea.
7) $1,846.80 for ‘accounting and project management.’ Per your estimate: $0. I understood that this is what the General Contractor fee is for.
7) On an (inflated) total of $28,472.74, your 15% General Contractor fee is totaled at $4,612.3. By my calculations 15% = $4,270.91.
As a General Contractor you gave me a very detailed estimate for remodeling my kitchen after making several site visits. These included accessing basement/electrical panels and the attic over the kitchen. You had the kitchen plan plus specs from Home Depot, and the specs of the Jennair cooker. The cabinets were even delivered and accessible to you prior to your accepting the job.
The estimate included, you said, everything I could possibly have to pay for out of pocket, barring unforeseen problems. It even included such unlikely items as engineering fees and a Porta Potty (not needed). You noted that, although I might get lower estimates, those contractors would probably keep coming back for more money, whereas you could even come in at below cost. You suggested that I use your estimate as a basis for other estimates so I could be absolutely sure that all possible costs to me were included.
You also stated that because you had several projects going at once, including your shopbuilt panelized wall systems, your workers could transfer between projects as necessary.
We agreed that I would do the painting and you were aware that I had already purchased the cabinets; I also noted that I might put the flooring in after the project was completed. You were very aware of my concern for costs and my time constraints.
I went with High Country Timberframe, even though the closest bid was some $10,000 less, trusting that as General Contractor you would do an excellent, efficient job, well within the stated costs as promised.
Plumbing, electrical work and drywall was all done by sub-contractors whose bills all came in roughly at estimate. Virtually all the overage is High Country Timberframe labor and fees.
The work High Country Timberframe did was:
1) Remove old cabinets.
2) Move old fridge, compactor and washer dryer downstairs.
3) Remove an 8’ non-load-bearing partition walls covered in cheap paneling and a 7’ non-load-bearing wall.
4) Replace two windows, install a third.
5) Patch sub-floor; ceiling repair was originally estimated but not necessary.
6) Install Jennair range and vent.
7) Install dryer vent.
8) Install new cabinets and trim.
9) Coordinate electrical, plumbing and sheetrock work.
Work not completed:
10) Planned bookcase on dining room side, included in estimate, was not installed due to HCTF/electrical contractor error.
11) Chestnut paneling was not replaced on dining room side.
Issue 1
When one partition wall was removed I was properly informed that wiring would have to be moved at an additional cost of $1,100, which I agreed to. However, the High Country Timberframe contractor failed to coordinate the work and the electricians moved the wiring into the space reserved for the bookcase. This created a cascade of problems:
1) No bookcase
2) The resulting cabinet placement was way off center relative to the window
3) The countertop was wider where the bookcase should have been. The type of butcherblock we’d planned wasn’t available in the wider width. Listening to discussions about bodging in an extra piece made me realize that butcher block was really not going to be satisfactory.
I did not complain about any of this.
Issue 2
The electrical contractors:
1) Placed the ceiling can lights with complete disregard to the plan. Two cans were right up on the fridge and the contractor, to accommodate the bad placement, suggested that we ditch my purchased “ugly big-ass molding” in favor of stepped-up planks. I asked that instead the electricians correct their work. They did not. The cans were moved marginally and left right up on the trim. Once the power was connected, it was clear that half the kitchen was simply not lit, while the fridge was floodlit like the Empire State Building. Also, the light over the stove was badly off-center. I asked on several occasions to have all this corrected and was told that “the lights work” so there was no obligation to fix their mistakes. It was not until I disputed the bill that this was finally corrected.
2) The power socket that was supposed to be put in the cabinet next to the sink was put in the cabinet over the fridge, where it is completely unusable. I have no idea what anyone was thinking on that.
3) Once the cold weather set in, I, or rather the BREMCO electrician I had to call out, discovered that the HCTF electricians had disconnected my clearly-marked ETS heating system from the clearly-marked ETS panel so that they could wire in the kitchen heaters. This cost me the repair, more time, and the discount that comes with a connected ETS heater. I have now discovered that my office heating has apparently also been disconnected. I am speechless.
Issue 3
Time
This project dragged on forever. There were no 8-hour days; work was done in short spurts of as little as an hour in a day. Home Depot estimated that the cabinet and trim installation would take two days; it took HCTF over a month of partial days to install the cabinets, stove and pass-through. Workers took off for doctor’s appointments, meetings, a greenhouse project, other jobs, events, all sorts of things. People who were expected at 8 would come in at 11, at least two workers quit. There were two different people in charge; apparently they did not communicate. Again, I was accommodating on the assumption that delays go both ways. I did not blow my stack as anyone else might have done, even though it was hugely stressful. In retrospect, it was clear that this vastly contributed to the cost overrun.
It is a General Contractor’s JOB to keep up with costs and keep the customer informed so that they can make appropriate choices when necessary. Most of the cost overruns could have been avoided had you put proper and reasonably professional attention on our project, communicated with us and with each other, and supervised your subs.
I am willing to compromise and I am willing to allow some extra charges for PITA issues. Had the billing over expected costs been $1,000- to $2,000, I would not have said a word about anything—unlike many other more demanding customers.
However, some $8,000 is a lot of money to just spring on a customer at the end of a project that was hardly rocket science. I do not believe that you would be happy if this happened to you.
I would prefer to resolve this outside of court, but I’m sufficiently outraged, disappointed and frankly heart-sick that, if necessary, I’ll go that route."