Brick work... twice the price of estimate...am I safe?

Yeah but I''m sure taco would charge me more than $400

Taco does that kind of stuff for free.

I think I''m going to call him tonight, then send him a written letter saying the account is paid in full per our phone conversations. Then see what he does as $400 probably isn''t worth ot for him and as far as I can tell I have more ammo than he does. I think next time my house breaks I''ll move

Oh as a side while I am sure in the future you will make sure you get a written estimate after this make sure you get a scope of work too.

You really want them to spell out excatlly what they are doing for that price.

For example I have a brick and block retaining wall that I need to have repaired in my yard by the stairs that lead into my basement.

I been getting estimates and they range any where from $900 to $4000.

The $900 estimate is for just taking out the old wall in puttin in a new one.

The $4k job on the other hand is excavating the area around the wall replacing the wall with block reinforced with rebar and concrete adding in gravel and proper drainage at the base of the wall and of course removing all the material.

The $4k estimate in my opinion is actually more in line with what I would think the job would cost and they are also providing in writing that they will be doing the specific things that I want done.

The $900 is on crack and obviously did not add in all the stuff that really should be done. I mean even with slave labor you could not do the work for $900 considering the price of rebar these days.

I would also say that most contractors are crap, but as with pretty much anything else references from people you KNOW are extremely important.

Chances are if you take the time to ask around things will go incredibly smooth; people always like be vocal about their bad experiences, so if you get several good stories its probably true.

"maladen" wrote:

Oh as a side while I am sure in the future you will make sure you get a written estimate after this make sure you get a scope of work too.

You really want them to spell out excatlly what they are doing for that price.

For example I have a brick and block retaining wall that I need to have repaired in my yard by the stairs that lead into my basement.

I been getting estimates and they range any where from $900 to $4000.

The $900 estimate is for just taking out the old wall in puttin in a new one.

The $4k job on the other hand is excavating the area around the wall replacing the wall with block reinforced with rebar and concrete adding in gravel and proper drainage at the base of the wall and of course removing all the material.

The $4k estimate in my opinion is actually more in line with what I would think the job would cost and they are also providing in writing that they will be doing the specific things that I want done.

The $900 is on crack and obviously did not add in all the stuff that really should be done. I mean even with slave labor you could not do the work for $900 considering the price of rebar these days.

Hmm want me to recommend a good cheapr contractor? Hes just up a bit from you in PA He''ll probably do the work for say $300-$400... ""no more than $500 if we have problems"" Of course the bill will be for $8000

"Pyroman[FO" wrote:

""]

Yeah but I''m sure taco would charge me more than $400

Taco does that kind of stuff for free.

You do it one time........geez....

I''d be more worried about the credit nightmare that can occur from the guy involving a collection agency than anything this guy could do to you in court. Our credit system is FUBAR and needs replacing.

"KrazyTaco[FO" wrote:

""]

"Pyroman[FO" wrote:

""]

Yeah but I''m sure taco would charge me more than $400

Taco does that kind of stuff for free.

You do it one time........geez....

I''m scared

"painthappens" wrote:
"KrazyTaco[FO" wrote:

""]

"Pyroman[FO" wrote:

""]

Yeah but I''m sure taco would charge me more than $400

Taco does that kind of stuff for free.

You do it one time........geez....

I''m scared :D

Wow, that''s what the guy said! I concede.

"Minase" wrote:

I''d be more worried about the credit nightmare that can occur from the guy involving a collection agency than anything this guy could do to you in court. Our credit system is FUBAR and needs replacing.

I don''t know. I had a problem in the past when K-Mart closed their credit card company down and I contested a card charge that I paid. I was able to prove it was paid by sending in a canceled check. I could probably do the smae thing with the credit people again if he decided to go that route.

On a side note I did find out that in PA if he''s not a licensed contractor I can send him a 1099 form and make him pay the government 30% of what he collected from me So if he wins in court by some act of judge bribery (only way he could win after talkign to a cop and some people who went through the same thing in court in PA) I''ll send him the 1099 and he still won''t have the money...neither would I but I get the satisfaction of the IRS probably auditing him because of the 1099 MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Dude you just got a thousand dollars of brickwork for 500 bucks!

Just don''t ignore the summons when you are served or you could get nailed for attorney fees. As long as your willing to testify as to what you said in your first posting and you have the cancelled check, you should be fine. I would try to get the original from the bank if you can.

If collection agencies start bugging you write them a letter telling them to stop calling. Then if they call you can get something like 500 bucks a phone call.

The most he would do is take you to small claims court, you''d miss half a day of work.

hmm I''m starting to think maybe he''s not going to do anything... its been a while since I send that letter saying I consider the debt paid in full and I haven''t seen anything in the mail, gotten any calls, and he hasn''t shown up at my door with a chainsaw or a meat hook or anything... either he''s talkign to the courts at this point or he''s not doing anything it seems.... I thought he''d have sent me a past due notice or something

Yeah I bet he has given up on you.

I had a similar deal with a landscaper. The 2 year statute of limitations on civil actions just expired, so now I can throw out all the paperwork. Hold onto your stuff until your state''s statute of limitations expires.

17 days past his deadline and still no word I wish he''d just sue me already The wait for him to either do something or not is killer. I can bearly stand to look at my front porch. Either way this weekend we''re goign to finish it up by pouring the cement topper on it. Then we have to add rails. In two weeks I''ll finally be able to use it again Woohoo!