Hired Mr. Build to cut a simple hole through my flooring (metal clad and laminate) into the ceiling of my floor below, and they were to then put ducting through the hole for my hood fan. Well the guy carelessly cut too close to the structural support beam of my loft, so the hole is not the proper size for the duct because the support beam goes through the edge of the hole! Basically they messed up the hole, left the duct material sitting there as it did not fit, and sent me an invoice for the full amount, even though I now have to get a duct company in to try to complete tricky duct work because of the awkward hole. I would not have this additional cost if the job was completed properly and the invoice should reflect this. It can not be done as I already have the hole in my upper floor, can't make two holes! When i contacted the owner he simply told me "they did what they were told", "We cannot assume what's behind a wall or cieling. As every structure is different " (which is irrelevant since this happened on the outside of the wall!), and "You don't have choice were the hole is cut as it has to line up with the cabinet and hood. Hope all works out for you....sorry you feel this way". Also not true!! He could see this metal beam going around all 4 walls and did not cut the hole out far enough to clear the beam. They could have simply reduced my invoice to reflect the extra cost I now have to incur to hire someone else to do duct work. Not to mention the additional unpaid time off work I will need to take for this. Instead, they take no responsibility and expect me to pay them in full.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $240.00
- Company Response
This client asked our company to cut a hole for her current stove to allow a new 6" vent pipe to continue to second floor and connect with an existing exposed pipe on the second floor.
Unfortunately, a piece of iron was in direct path of new vent...we told her a "jog" in the pipe would be required to accommodate the structural work.
She felt we should have known about this structural feature of the building before we cut the hole? We left the vent work material on site as it would be required to finish up the work and we billed for the material plus the minimum 2 hr. service call.
If the client does not use the material, we will pick it up and credit her the material (no problem). Even a "so-called simple" job can have complications that require extra work.
Clients make certain assumptions that as a contractor we should know everything before we start but that is simply not the case as each project is custom and unique.
It is rarely as simple or as straight forward as clients hope for.
Hope this info helps
Kurt Gust