I've got 2 good customers who are having construction work done at their homes. One is adding a larger enclosed deck, but the other is under going a major renovation. They took the roof off and are adding another floor and along with this, the rest of the house is being gutted also. Went there last week and I can't mow the lawn as the entire front yard(approx. 2k sq. ft) had trucks, dumpster, lumber, machines, etc parked on it. I'm sure when the place is finished that there's got to be more than a few nails left behind. I can get that tire seal stuff(Slime), but I was just wondering any of you ever were in the same situation and got a flat or 2 from leftover construction debris and charged for the inconvenience of getting a flat. Thanks
Oh, I expect to go over it before the first mow. It's going to require a major renovation with all the ruts from the equipment and such. I just can't help thinking about "what if" I miss a nail or 2. Been doing one place for 22 yrs. and the other for 3. Never got a flat at either, but there's never been this much work done at each house before. Law of averages ain't in my favor. Maybe I should get one of those magnet things that Northern sells to hang off the front of the Lazer? HMMM? They'll probably use Aluminum nails!
I would be more worried about the nails shooting out from under the deck and hitting a house/window or worse yet a person. make sure you clean it up, charge more if they're willing....it's not worth the risk
When we are notified about work being done. I send out a letter. Contained in that letter is if a week is missed due to scheduling of the other contractor. We will not deduct that from our billing. If the project goes on for several weeks. We get paid for the first week not able to work and half for every week after. Plus the renovation work to get the property to where it was prior to the construction. Also contained is the matter of debris left behind by the contractor. This is to include nails, glass, etc. The contracter having a consumer affairs license is responsible within accordence of his license to be held responsible for any waste material as a result of his work. And that they are to clean the site to the condition prior to commencement of work. Lastly, they can make arrangements with us to do the final cleanup. If any damage is incured due to any debris left behind, and we were not notified to do a cleanup. Any repairs are the responsibility of the property owner. That applies to residential and commercial.
As for charging them for weeks when I can't work there, that sounds harsh. I know it's not my fault that this renovation is going to impact my income, but even if this was a customer with whom I had a signed contract, I don't think I'd have ever thought to write in anything for lost work due to another contractor preventing me from working on a site. At other times, I may have been prevented from doing parts of a customers lawn, but that only lasted a wee or 2 and I charged the regular price. This time I won't be able to do anything at one house till they complete the entire project($500K addition) which might not be until after the season's ended. As for going over the place and checking up on nails left behind. I'd do it anyway. If there's quite a bit of debris left for me to pick up, well then I'm sure they'll understand something extra on the bill. I'm not too worried about extra costs as they expect to do some major landscaping when it's all said and done. At this time I'll take care of the ruts in the lawn and anything else that needs it.
