OT - Need help motivating our pool builder

[Doug Watts]

Hey guys, I need some help from the legal eagles out there to find out if I have any recourse. We signed the contract on our pool in Oct 2005. The contract says typically 65 days barring shortage of materials or labor. Big loophole, I know.



They dug the hole the Monday after Thanksgiving and still aren't done! :angry: Granted, our pool is fairly extensive, but they were only at the house for one or two days in Jan and Feb and only a couple more in March. They've been telling me since Feb "the end of the month we should be done." They don't show up when they're supposed to, never return calls, and hardly ever answer calls.



It's been 7 months now and I'm at my wits end. :wacko: I've told them since mid May that at the end of June I will take "the next step" implying legal action. At this point, there is no way they can finish IMHO. They still have to lay pavers (which I was told they were starting those 3 days ago, uh-huh, right), put up the screen cage, finish the interior, put in the cleaning system, put up the solor panels, go through startup, stop any leaks from the water fall or stream, and final cleanup. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things too.



I've thought about having a laywer write some sort of letter, but a friend of mine said it cost him $1000 to get that done. Can't afford that. I've thought about going to the local news consumer people and BBB, but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot if I have any warranty issues. I really don't know what to do other than tell anyone and everyone that I hear mention the word "pool" to not use these guys. If I see them at a home show maybe I'll tell everyone there how long it took (is taking) for my pool to drive away business. :lol:



Anyway, any lawyer types out there have any suggestions? Btw, I'm in the Tampa, FL area.



Thanks in advance.

 

[OZ W]

My daughter lives in Tampa and sounds like you had the same pool builder she did. She just kept on them but it took 8 months at least and she also was talking to a lawyer.

 

[Tom Schindler]

A letter from a lawyer and a pending lawsuit will motivate them...





Tom

 

[Thomas Clark]

I hate to say it,, but a lot of contractors are capable of great work but are often terriable businessmen,.. there is so much work out there, so much money,, that many of them float around starting jobs and chasing deposits to keep going..



I could type a hundered pages worth of terror and only cover the last 3 years... you can get in touch with your state bord and make sure the guy is not in to deep. Always ways check there #s and make sure the contractor is who he says he is.



We had to strong arm a guy who was remolding my father in laws garage. This guy was a real contractor with a good rep. Yet he had also , as it turned out recently gutted some kitchens belonging to the some eldery folks and and walked away with out finishing. He tried the same thing with my FL,, the subs would come and ask to get paid and we would have to show them the contract which state the contractor was to pay the subs himself. People would show up and work form time to time and then disapeare.

I will just say that it took some pressure to get this guy to 'focus'..



Now when it came to getting other work done,, it was impossible to even get people to show up and give quotes half the time, the few who showed up to do the window installations and painting,, were all pretty much bottom barrel and required a great deal of supervision.

 

[Paul Maurer 2]

I think you will have to hire a lawyer to review the contract and write a letter, but $1000 seems steep- most lawyers around here get $250-350 an hour and it seems straightforward. What type of pool are you building? I want one for my Key West house, but its only 4 ft. above the canal level at high tide, which will require a drain field/pump. I have been quoted $425 per linear foot, or $31,000 for a 12x24.

 

[walter clark]

The BBB is a joke they will send them a letter then they will deny all acusations and then BBB will send you a letter saying that you then can pay a abratraion fee that is subject to not be refunded if they dont see it your way. Buy some plywood and paint in block letters the truth with there bis. name and hang it on the trac. Then on your time off go get a burger and park accross from there location. Hurt them where it counts $$$$$$.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

The way contracts work, if you, the buyer stop the contract you will owe for the value of work completed. I would suggest you do some home work to contact others to see their time line and if the materials and the labor is readily available. If so, approach your man with this info and inform him you simply can not wait any longer and that your intention is to file in small claims court in two weeks if you see no progress.



Then,,, see what happens.

 

[Doug Watts]

oz, Most pool builders I've heard of around here are slow, about four months. Since we're at 7 months I think I'm way past showing enough patience. What contractor did your daughter use?



lasik1, even with the drain field that does seem a little bit high. Around here I think that size would be 20-25K. We're doing a free form pool roughly 14x37 and 7 deep with a lot of bells and whistles. I'll try to post a pic this weekend.



Walter, I know the BBB is a joke, but at least the pool contractor will know that I am willing to take some action instead of letting them blow sunshine up my rear. I should be glowing brightly by now with all I've taken!



CoastieJoe, I have no problem paying them for what they have done. And have thought about telling them I've had enough and want to cancel the contract and pay what I owe. It's all in excrow anyway. But then I'd have to get another contractor that, of course, would charge more, wouldn't give a warranty for the work already done, etc. Since my contractor pulled the permits that would have to be reaccomplished and cost even more. I'd wouldn't have a problem going to small claims court, but I think we might be over the limit. Maybe just saying it would work though.



Edit to post the pic:

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More pics in my library.

 

[Paul Maurer 2]

Key West labor is nuts- thats why I am investigating dropping a fiberglass pool in a mysterious new hole in my yard on a weekend and then getting some subs to rough it in. Your pool sounds great- wish I had room for a big one...good luck.

 

[Wes Davis]

My parents live in Port Richey Florida and just went through the same situation. Their pool is finally completed but it took many phone calls. One trick my father used was if the contractor gave an excuse (every other day) like no materials or waiting on inspection or waiting on permit my farther would call that particular waiting on person and verify the contractors story. If the situation was truly being waited on my father would confirm the date with that person and then call the contractor and tell him I want your crew here on such and such date, I have spoken to so and so and what your waiting on will be completed on this date. This did a few things. It let the contractor know that you are checking up on him. It kept the contractor from stretching the time line by saying oh I am still waiting. My father was able to rush some of the process by speaking to the permit and inspection people simply by asking them politely. The posts above are correct that in Florida the contractors simply have all the work they can handle so they feel they have you by the b*lls.

 

[tom prudhomme]

Find out what contractor labor board he is a member. There should be x amount of days and the site will be listed as abandoned. Locally it is 6 weeks and one phone call to the American Board of Contractors (ABC) got my garage finished pronto.



Hopefully he has more $ into your pool than you've paid for so far.

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

BBB is a big freaking joke, period! I had a customer complain about me 10 years ago. I wrote back, funny how the customer was arrested that evening for drug trafficing. They closed the case the next day when I showed them the news article on it.



Anyway, get a lawyer.

 

[Doug Watts]

scootch,



Do you mean x number of days/weeks in a row that they haven't shown up? How would I find out what contractor labor board he's a member of?



At this point, because they haven't finished the required work for the third draw, yes, they have more into my pool than I've given them. I won't release the final draw until EVERYTHING is to my satisfaction regardless of how long it takes. :lol:

 

[John Barnes]

Doug,

Contrators in Florida are required to be licensed.... go to the State Board and file a complaint. May not help immediately, but you never know. Also, did he pull a permit? In FL it is a felony to perform work without a permit. Some entities also put time limits on permits which may have him in violation also.

John

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Question to you Doug (and maybe something for others to think about)...



Why didn't you go with one of the big national brand installers? Sure, they cost a little more than the little-guy, but at least then you have a brand name and the reputation behind you.



We went with Blue Haven pools and were quite happy.



Was your contractor one of the "little guys" or an independent?



TJR

 

[tom prudhomme]

Yes, the number of days or weeks that the contractor has not worked determines an abandoned work site.



Maybe the BBB would know the labor board number. I got the local number from an electrical contractor. A lawyer dealing with building contractors would be another source.



Good luck.

 

[Doug Watts]

Well, I thought we were actually making headway since I got ahold of the contractor/owner Friday late PM. He told me that the paver crew would be out about 8:00 Sat AM and to call him if they weren't there by 9 AM. Of course, they didn't show and the contractor didn't answer his phone. :angry: I tried calling enough that he shut it off. The only bright side is that they are out there right now.



Mountain Trac, They have pulled the permits for sure. I intend on telling them that the State Contractor Board will be notified of all our problems if I'm not swimming in my pool this weekend.



TJR, I didn't know of any of the national builders. One of the guys in my office used Blue Haven and warned me away from them. Different crews, different results I guess. Pool builders in FL are soooo busy that we only got called back by 3 out of 10. Our contractor got good reviews by others we know too, but they bought their pool with their house. My guess is they've had so much home developer business that they are in over their heads labor wise, are unwilling to tell me that, and I'm paying for their lack of business/management skills.



scootch, thanks for the info.



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[tom prudhomme]

After they bust the straps on those bricks I could imagine several armloads of them per day ending up in the basement for a future project.

 

[Terry Meeks]

Doug, I live in the Tampa Bay area also. Hard to find good help. Have you thought of calling the TV stations and having them do a comsumer report kind of thing? I have a friend who had the same kind of problems with dock builders, funny thing, but after the news crew was there, contractors were crawling all over the place. Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[Doug Watts]

Scootch, What's a basement? I'm in FL. A lot of the "extra" stuff has already made it's way to the garage.



FL Girl, That's my first choice of what to do. I just don't know if they will be interested since we're fairly close to the end. If they don't have the interior of the pool done by/on 3 July I'll be calling the news crews. Was your friend in the TB area too? If so, which channel did they call? I don't watch the news at all so I have no idea who is the best at that sort of thing.





Thanks so far everyone!