how to write contract for one project with 2 contractors

me | 6/4/2020 | me

[SteveH]

That is not constructively responsive to my question.

If you can’t or won’t be constructively responsive to my question then do not bother responding at all. thanks.

[SteveH]

I can’t find one person to do it all.

first, I restricted myself to licensed contractors. that weeded out most of the respondents and their bids from my consideration.

second, apparently masonry is a lost trade in the san Francisco bay area. residential homes have been constructed without brick fireplaces (so I have been told) for this reason since the late 1970s. given this I consider myself fortunate to find any licensed contractor willing to do masonry at all.

so I feel that I am compelled to do a two contractor job or else be prepared to pay an order of magnitude more for the same job just to have a contractor whose sole job is to administrate the other two guys, and this seems cost prohibitive (if I can find anyone at all to perform such a thankless task).

thanks anyways for the input.

[SteveH]

you might be correct. I might heed your advice and take the scheduling hit.

the scheduling hit is probably better than any of the alternatives, all of which seem less palatable at the moment.

thanks for the input.

[HIDEK6]

Get a construction manager.

[SteveH]

ass hats begone

thanks

[SteveH]

I’ve got a start from the first contractor, about one paragraph of high level detail and no drawings (I have supplied several to him).

he has a good reputation so I am inclined to go for it, with some precautions.

[SteveH]

ass hat, be gone

[mad_as_he$$]

All those miles and miles of freeway sound walls were built by masons. They are still in the area.

[SteveH]

racist, be gone

[Texan5]

If the jobs were separate bids, then each contractor should write their own contract-that would be the best way to make sure both jobs are coordinated by their respective contractor as far as time, delivery of materials, labor etc are concerned-and whatever you do, please don’t try to be an on-site supervisor of the job-if you want to do that, be your own contractor and hire some laborers to supervise yourself-you contracted with others to do the job because you don’t want to be in the middle of it-good luck with your wall-hope it looks great...

[SteveH]

this was to at least some degree my starting point. I am somewhat down the road now with each contactor.

I am getting a tiny consensus that I need to break it up in the timeline due to scarcity of willing and qualified licensed contractors to one active contract at a time, along with renting a cyclone fence for the intervening interval.

the way I see it is that while it sounds unwieldy, it is the least risky approach.

last night I watched a reality tv program on big engineering jobs. it was the 6th street bridge in los angeles. each subcontractor apparently came to the construction site and did his job like clockwork.

the main difference between them and me (that I perceive now) is that they have a big budget with many willing contractor bidders, and I have a smaller budget.

so (apparently, unless someone comes up with something quickly) I can’t just do monkey see monkey do at the contract level like the big guys (eg city of los angeles or Caltrans or whoever) because I can’t find good specialty contractors and I don’t have a budget or financial muscle to attract contractors to my smaller job (even though it might seem like a substantially sized job to me).

thanks for your input.

[Texan5]

I beg to differ-this American Hispanic only does work with contracts-I write them for other contractor friends, along with bids, too-all Hispanics are not mojados, in case you haven’t noticed...

[Chewbarkah]

Step One: Create precise drawings and specifications, that depict every aspect of the job as you want it done. This will necessarily include details for brick ledge at the bottom and ties embedded in the concrete at specified intervals. Show how the wall ties to known fixed objects for correct lateral positioning and height.
Step Two: Create a contract with the concrete sub for everything the concrete person needs to do, using the drawing and specs as an Exhibit. Use can even mark everything they are to do with a “C” on the plans. State specifically that the concrete contractor is to coordinate with the brick contractor before starting to make sure everything lays out properly, etc. Provide for brick guy to inspect and accept the wall before the concrete gut is considered done.
Step Three: Same as above for Bricks. Mark his/her part with a “B” and use as an Exhibit. Require the brick sub to coordinate with the concrete guy before the fact, and to inspect and accept the concrete guy’s product within x days of notification.

Those who cheap out the cost or effort to have clear and complete plans and specs (and many folks are capable of doing them themselves), have the privilege of blaming themselves when the project turns into a disaster.

Never let Contractors write their own Contracts. They will NOT have your interests in mind. You can find reasonably good docs on the internet and customize them to your circumstances.

[the Original Dan Vik]

You bet.

Your goal could be the first part of a contract with the also-suggested (by another Freeper) contractor Statement of Work/Contract document, after you review it, specified as an attachment in a sentence at the end of your goal statement, such as “Contractor agrees to perform work to meet this requirement in accordance with Attachment A.” It must be understood that Contractor believes in good faith that Attachment A will meet your goal.

[SteveH]

yes, but I am looking for a specific look, a “used brick” façade as similar as possible to one on the other side of my property which was built over 37 years ago (that is, before my time at the property).

the first challenge was to find a similar brick, and just that took a couple of years. I eventually found a brick which matched the original brick to within 1/2” on one dimension, exact on the two other dimensions. the remaining problem was the weathering, but the second contractor stated that he could do the weathering, so that seems set.

it won’t be exact, but on the other hand, it is virtually impossible to find a viewpoint from which both walls are visible at once, so if each contractor performs as advertised, it should come out approximately ok, and probably as good as almost anyone has a right to expect given the 37+ year time difference between constructions.

the freeway soundwall guys do not have the requirement/constraint of using vintage style used brick, so I would imagine because of that, they can just come up with something totally off the shelf and do that with impunity.

[joe fonebone]

Look for a person with the title of application engineer.... this person will write the scope and bid documents.... this person will not be cheap, but the division of labor will be clear.... ( my title before retirement was application engineer) ..

[SteveH]

I managed my own home addition, approximately $300k job. it involved tearing apart much of my existing home, extending it, upgrading it in several ways, and putting it all back together and looking good. it got done, and I did not get ripped off. this just happens to be a problem that I did not run into in the past because I had only dealt with one contractor at a time in the past.

if I just space everything out in time and let only one contract at a time be active, then most of the complexity and most of the potential problems seem to me at this point to go away.

thanks for the input.

[SteveH]

the reason I don’t want to hire my own laborers is because of injury liability.

I will get landscaping guys to do small stuff but I will test them first on smaller jobs just to see that they are honest.

(and since this is California, I take a risk every time I do even that...)

[SteveH]

hmmmm, sounds like good advice. i’ll see what I can do. hopefully I have not chased away the guys I want to use by now. I don’t really have any backups lined up. thanks.

[SteveH]

i’m starting to get afraid I will chase away the guys I want to use. I’ve never heard of an application engineer (maybe I am ignorant, dunno). but i’d have to come up to speed and involve a 4th party, adding complexity and possibly causing the other guys to drop out at which point I would be starting from less than scratch since it’s taken me a long time just to get this far.

thanks for your input.