How much do I charge?

[Gibson486]

So, I hired a contractor to do structural work. It finally got approved by the city and is done. The only issue is that he did not clean up ANY mess that resulted from the work. Yes, removal of debris is in the contract. I am sick of this guy. This project went on too long and he has lied to my face multiple times. I ended up cleaning the property last night for almost 5 hours because I just want this done. This included the removal of dirt and rocks from that basement since they had dig up holes to install polls in the basement. It sucked. Each bag weighed about 25 to 50 pounds and there were over 40 of then. I am f'n sore this morning.

How much should I deduct from the bill? I say bill myself at $100 an hour. Would this be legal?

 

[kranky]

Doesn't he want the final payment? Or has he been paid in full already?

 

[jmagg]

Depends on how much time you gave him to finish up.

 

[PottedMeat]

that sucks. i guess it's too late to seal him in the basement.

 

[mvbighead]

Doesn't he want the final payment? Or has he been paid in full already?

Basically, this. If he hasn't been paid in full, simply deduct from his bill.

Personally, if he's charging you $100 an hour, I'd say you should deduct the amount of time it took you to complete the job. Granted, lifting heavy stuff isn't exactly skilled labor, but you can rest assured he'd have charged you for it.

 

[zCypher]

Basically, this. If he hasn't been paid in full, simply deduct from his bill.

Personally, if he's charging you $100 an hour, I'd say you should deduct the amount of time it took you to complete the job. Granted, lifting heavy stuff isn't exactly skilled labor, but you can rest assured he'd have charged you for it.

Yup, skill is irrelevant here. He was hired to do some things and only did some of them, no reason why he should see the full payment for a partially completed job.

 

[swanysto]

Well, you should have really alerted him of the back charge before you did the work. If he refused, then you could have done it. But he actually has a case if he wants to take you to court.

I don't know what you CAN charge him, but I know Union Laborers where I live make 30.77 per hour plus benefits. That usually adds up to around 62/hr. I guess technically you could charge him whatever you see fit, but I don't know how a court would see it if he does take you there.

Oh, and if you used any tools, carts, etc, you can put money for that as well since he includes the cost of those in his services.

 

[deadlyapp]

If you two have a contract he probably will take you to small claims if you try to do this. It's very unlikely that there is any stipulation in the contract that would allow you to do this without giving him prior warning.

 

[dud]

If you two have a contract he probably will take you to small claims if you try to do this. It's very unlikely that there is any stipulation in the contract that would allow you to do this without giving him prior warning.

This and $100 for general labor is way too high. OP, did you warn him in writing that you were going to do this work and deduct this from the bill?

 

[Capt Caveman]

Did you take pics of the mess before cleaning it up? I hope so.