[glennintexas]

Our stucco sub did not cover our wood deck, made a mess, tried to fix the mess with a pressure washer and not only did not clean it, but damaged the wood. And there is still mason cement between the deck boards. Do you have to do any specific documentation, hire a lawyer, etc, or is it more simple to resolve these issues. He know's he screwed up but his contract would not cover deck replacment.

 

[SKIP4661]

He should be insured. If not you may be able to take him to small claims court depending on the amount of damage.:001_unsure::bangin:

 

[AtlanticWBConst.]

As already stated - Doesn't he have insurance?

Also, it sounds more like the deck "Boards" have suffered the "damage", - not the whole deck?

 

[rwa]

For the sake of those reading this. Anytime you hire a contractor, get a quote, get a contract, get a certificate of insurance naming you as
additionally insured, get invoices specific to the work completed and get lien releases for each payment you make. Do not give them money up front. If they need money for materials either go with them to purchase the materials or pay them when the materials are delivered. Always withhold retention from their payments just in case there are problems that must be corrected. Another good practice is to inspect for problems during the job. Insist the contractor resolve these problems before he continues work.

Glenn, if you are "stuck" with this problem you might consider turning the deck boards upside down.

 

[ScottR]

Our stucco sub did not cover our wood deck, made a mess, tried to fix the mess with a pressure washer and not only did not clean it, but damaged the wood. And there is still mason cement between the deck boards. Do you have to do any specific documentation, hire a lawyer, etc, or is it more simple to resolve these issues. He know's he screwed up but his contract would not cover deck replacment.

Regarding documentation, it's always a good idea to get LOTS of pictures of what they did. Hopefully they're insured, they'll fix it, and you'll never need the pictures. If you or your h/o insurance company wants to go after them in the future, pictures will help.

 

[slickshift]

If he's a "sub", then complain to the GC
The GC would ultimately have to "take care" (methods vary) of the issue anyway

If you are a homeowner acting as the GC, then it would fall upon you
That's one of the risks GCs take, and that's one of the reasons why they can charge for their services...they take risks
One of the biggest expenses that rarely comes into play is liability ins.

If you are an H/O that directly contracted a company for a specific service, then he's not a "sub", but a "contractor"
He should make good, and yes, there may be specifics in your contract
Any "out" clauses in the contract may or may not be legal in your state or county
(only a local specialist lawyer type could say for sure)

Either way, a proper legal contractor, or GC ( or sub, depending on your local/county/state regs and your exact contracting situation) has liability ins.
And things like this are the reason
They may not want to call their ins. co., but that is why they are required to carry ins. (if in fact they are)

Basically, if it's an above board cut and dry H/O-Contractor situation, and they messed up, they have to fix it or have their ins. co. pay to have it fixed
If you are the GC and they are the Sub, it's in your lap

 

[AtlanticWBConst.]

....get a certificate of insurance naming you as
additionally insured....

For those that may not understand what this is about:

A person, or company, can be listed on a Contractor's or Subcontractor's liability insurance policy, as "Additionally Insured" (that is, assuming that they even have insurance).
This will allow that person or company to deal directly with the hired contractor/sub contractor's insurance company regarding claims/damages.
Bare in mind that this usually costs money. I believe that my insurance company charges $100.00 per issuance of such a certificate.

So, if you are planning on hiring a company/contractor to do work, and decide that you want to do that - make sure that you lay this out BEFORE the final price/quote is accepted.

FWIW - I'm not too keen when a larger company that has hired my company, and then asks me for this AFTER, the contract price has been established. (Our estimates are based on all expenses incurred on the planned project, if they want that convenience option, then THEY should pay for it, not us.)