advice on how to deal with my plumber?

danxp · 12-05-2012, 09:23 AM

i have a new construction house and my plumber has been blowing me off and telling me that he has to deal with "emergencies" before he gets to my house... i have a contract with him that he started in may for the entire house... he is as slow as molasses... he's always the bottleneck... every facet of this job has been held up by him (or his workers)...

now that he has to install the baseboard heating, he keeps promising he'll have someone at my house to work on that and the finish plumbing... i've paid him about $16k of the $22k on the contract... i absolutely have to have the heating and plumbing finished by next wed... how do i light a fire under his butt?

danxp · 12-05-2012, 09:49 AM

better business bureau? complaints against license? not sure of next steps... thanks.

hammerlane · 12-05-2012, 10:00 AM

not really a DIY topic but good luck. Didnt you have an electrician walk out on you recently?

danxp · 12-05-2012, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hammerlane

not really a DIY topic but good luck

yeah, i know, but didn't know where to turn... thought others may have some insight to share... thanks.

hammerlane · 12-05-2012, 10:16 AM

order a couple pizzas for lunch to get him over???

Alan · 12-05-2012, 10:36 AM

Does your contract have a completion date on it?

danxp · 12-05-2012, 10:46 AM

i've bent over backwards to be nice to his workers... pizza, water, wendy's, bk, mcdonalds... i even ran to the supply store to pay for and pick up oatey pan liner because his first try with the liner leaked... i've been more than accommodating and he just walks all over me, relegating me to last priority because i won't do anything...

danxp · 12-05-2012, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

Does your contract have a completion date on it?

just checked and unfortunately no

joecaption · 12-05-2012, 11:29 AM

I would not deal with it any more. Just hire someone else and do not pay him the balance.
I tell all my subs, show up when you say you will or someone lese will be doing it the next day.

Alan · 12-05-2012, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danxp

just checked and unfortunately no

I'm not saying what he's doing is right, but if there's no stipulation on completion of the job, you really can't call him on a whim and expect him to be there to work. This may not be the case, but most people like to think that the plumber belongs to them. When your house is done, he still has a hefty customer base who keeps the service side of his business going, and you probably won't call him for many many years if at all. I'm not saying one is priority of the other, just putting it into perspective for you, because he does have other people to keep happy.

What stage is the work in? Have you paid for the current stage of the project or does he get payment after completion of work? Is the current stage of the project ready for him to come and complete his portion of the work?

danxp · 12-05-2012, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

I'm not saying what he's doing is right, but if there's no stipulation on completion of the job, you really can't call him on a whim and expect him to be there to work. This may not be the case, but most people like to think that the plumber belongs to them. When your house is done, he still has a hefty customer base who keeps the service side of his business going, and you probably won't call him for many many years if at all. I'm not saying one is priority of the other, just putting it into perspective for you, because he does have other people to keep happy.

What stage is the work in? Have you paid for the current stage of the project or does he get payment after completion of work? Is the current stage of the project ready for him to come and complete his portion of the work?

project commenced 6 months ago... i've been calling and he's been promising to start the heating and finish work for the past 2-3 wks...

danxp · 12-05-2012, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joecaption

I would not deal with it any more. Just hire someone else and do not pay him the balance.
I tell all my subs, show up when you say you will or someone lese will be doing it the next day.

i am very tempted to tell him to not come but i don't have anyone else at this point and i'm under the gun...

COLDIRON · 12-05-2012, 04:34 PM

Taking a guess, I think if he received 16K out of a 22K job what he did was front load the cost and took most of his labor costs and and some of the material costs out of the beginning now for him to finish the job most of the money is not his and he has to complete it. In short he already got out what hes getting $. I hope I explained it OK. If not someone else chime in.

Ishmael · 12-05-2012, 06:38 PM

Without knowing anything more than what you wrote, I'll second what Alan said. You also didn't answer hammerlane's question. Are you GC'ing the house yourself? If so, that's probably half the problem right there. GC's Do add value, but many people seem to think it's a rip-off to pay someone to "just make some phone calls".

I'm a plumber, and if I have 3 builders/GC's (who give me several projects/year) who need me at their jobs and one homeowner who is trying to play GC on his own project, then who do you think I'll take care of first? Part of the problem, too, is that the jobs I get from professional GC's are usually always on target as far as the scheduling goes. But those I do for homeowners are usually NEVER on schedule. A guy tells me he'll be ready for me in a couple of weeks, so I'll leave an opening in my schedule. Two weeks goes by and guess what - he's not ready for me. Now I've got to scramble to get some other work to fill the gap, and another couple of weeks later (by now I'm into other scheduled work), THEN he calls and demands that I get over there toot sweet. Sorry...I'll get there when I can squeeze you in.

Again...that's without knowing any more of the specifics of your situation. The fact that he had to "re-do" the shower pan liner makes me think he may not be "all that", but was it his fault or did someone else puncture the first pan he installed?

ben's plumbing · 12-05-2012, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by COLDIRON

Taking a guess, I think if he received 16K out of a 22K job what he did was front load the cost and took most of his labor costs and and some of the material costs out of the beginning now for him to finish the job most of the money is not his and he has to complete it. In short he already got out what hes getting $. I hope I explained it OK. If not someone else chime in.

yep agree coldiron.. we work on 3-payment plan..33 1/3 down...33 1/3 after rough in...331/3 after trim and test.. plus any extras that we had in writing....you have given him too much money...he can't finish because he don;t have the cash...and you will not make another payment till he is finished with job..ben sr