[bonnie vanhoven]

My Craftsman Style house has been finished for 9 mos. I had told my builder that I wanted knee braces on the gable eaves, but they never happened. I just thought they were going to be put up last thing, but now he says it's too late. My builder son-in-law and husband said I should have said something sooner, (I did.) and now it's too late. They say I need to come up with at least $5000.00 to tear things out and redo siding etc. I am so upset by this and everyone just thinks I'm going to give up because it's not important to them, but I'm hoping there's a simpler answer. Can you give me an alternate answer I can present them with?

 

[goosebarry]

My Craftsman Style house has been finished for 9 mos. I had told my builder that I wanted knee braces on the gable eaves, but they never happened. I just thought they were going to be put up last thing, but now he says it's too late. My builder son-in-law and husband said I should have said something sooner, (I did.) and now it's too late. They say I need to come up with at least $5000.00 to tear things out and redo siding etc. I am so upset by this and everyone just thinks I'm going to give up because it's not important to them, but I'm hoping there's a simpler answer. Can you give me an alternate answer I can present them with?

What does your contract say? Talk to a lawyer, not a DYI group.

They're saying $5000, because they don't want to do anything.

 

[Duckweather]

Were they on the plan when it was built? If so, were they paid for? I looked at some pictures online and there seem to be many different kinds. Do you mean just on some corners? (how many?) It sounds like they may not know what they are in the first place. I wasn't sure until I saw some. I know them as modillion brackets. I would get an estimate from someone else to compare that price with. A real piece of leverage if it comes to a legal dispute is whether they gave you a "right of rescission" when you signed the original contract

 

[ratherbefishing]

I had to look it up to see what you were talking about. Got it.

So, what's the question? Legal recourse? Pull out your contract and plans, talk to a lawyer, plan on it being unpleasant and probably not worthwhile.

If the question is "can it be done?", and we're not talking DIY, find a good trim carpenter, get an estimate, decide if it's worth paying some money to make you happy. Since the braces will be decorative, not structural, anything's possible. Pay now, get on with living in the house.

 

[AtlanticWBConst.]

What does your contract say? Talk to a lawyer, not a DYI group.

They're saying $5000, because they don't want to do anything.

Not necessarily true.

To go back and incorporate roofline details is time consuming and labor intensive due to the height, staging requirements and safety protocols. Add the cost of custom brackets, surrounding trim details, and in some cases, siding modifications around each area.

It is also costlier to: remobilize (move all equipment and manpower back onto a project, do the work + and breakdown all equipment, and pull-off a job = more $)

I always ask for details and changes IN WRITING, prior to start of project work, and standardly will issue Work Change Orders - again = in writing.

On any large project, there is A LOT of discussion that goes on, a lot or work and details going on, and a lot of "ideas" and "options" being discussed. If a specific project detail, wasn't somehow documented, then there is a lot of room for questioning and speculation.....

 

[Windows]

Were they on the plan when it was built? If so, were they paid for? I looked at some pictures online and there seem to be many different kinds. Do you mean just on some corners? (how many?) It sounds like they may not know what they are in the first place. I wasn't sure until I saw some. I know them as modillion brackets. I would get an estimate from someone else to compare that price with. A real piece of leverage if it comes to a legal dispute is whether they gave you a "right of rescission" when you signed the original contract

Modillion brackets fulfill a similar function but are not the same thing. Gable knee braces are one of the defining elements of the Craftsman style. $5000 to retrofit them may not be unreasonable, depending of the size of the gables and the types of finishing on the home.