fixing damage?

[treeman82]

So I've done damage to a client's property. Let me get that statement out of the way. It's carpentry / roofing work. I've got a bunch of quality carpenters / handymen who I can call up that owe me favors to get it fixed for cheap (on the labor end). The client has a carpenter that he has been using for some time.

In a situation like this, do you call in the favors, or do you just say F it and take the hit with the client's contractor?

 

[himiler]

You use your properly insured contractors and have them submit an invoice. His contractor has the potential of really opening a can of worms for you. You did the damage, so take pictures and have your men bring it back to an as before condition.
Steve W.

 

[imagineero]

how bad is the damage, and do you have insurance?

If you do have insurance and your excess is only moderate then I'd have it done that way. Then if anything goes wrong in later years or the client is unhappy, it's not your problem. If you don't have insurance then definitely get your guy to do it for you. Do get them to submit a written quote though, and keep it above board for the same reasons. Waterproofing, flashing, water damage etc... can all blow way out of hand, and bring the bill up to x10 or x100 quite easily.

If it's only very minor then handle it however you like.

Shaun

 

[treeman82]

The cost of cure is within $200 of my deductable.

 

[treemandan]

The cost of cure is within $200 of my deductable.

I thought you said there was damage? Whatever, just don't let the HO bully you over it.

 

[alanarbor]

Like any contractor you want your client's loyalty and trust. If the client has a carpenter that he trusts and is loyal to, don't force your buddies on them. That has the potential to damage your relationship by questioning his judgement in his choice of contractors.

This also ensures that the repair will be done to the client's satisfaction. (Frankly, even if your guys did a great job, he'd still be more likely to find fault than if he uses his own guy)

Your professionalism and courtesy in fixing your mistake will more than make up for any out of pocket costs in repeat business and loyalty.

 

[jrr344]

I would at least have your guy look at it if you are not familiar with the work that needs to be done, so you can at least see if his contractor does quality work or just trying to make a buck and turn it in to a never ending headache and get yours to make a quote so you can also compare cost, I wouldn't push your contractor on him but I would at least compare the two.

 

[arbor pro]

I'll admit - I had a 2" branch poke right through a clien't roof a number of years back. could look right into the kitchen from the roof. Needed to be fixed asap so I called in my roofing guy and had him properly close up the hole within 2 hours. Then contacted my sheetrock guy who had the inside patched within a couple more hours. Clients were still a little shocked by the whole thing and concerned that the work was being done right but were also happy that I didn't drag my feet on it and the repairs got made asap.

I guess what that taught me was that the repairs need to be done asap but the customers need to be ensured that it will be done right - not just fast. If it were my house, i'd want to know who was doing the work and what their experience was. Ultimately, you've got an upset client to keep happy so you have to bend over backwards to do just that while still making sure that he doesn't try to take advantage of the situation. If the client becomes difficult to deal with, I'd step out and let the insurance company take care of it - that's what they're there for.

AP

 

[arbor pro]

I would at least have your guy look at it if you are not familiar with the work that needs to be done, so you can at least see if his contractor does quality work or just trying to make a buck and turn it in to a never ending headache and get yours to make a quote so you can also compare cost, I wouldn't push your contractor on him but I would at least compare the two.

Good idea to have your contractor quote the work as well. Then, if your guy and the client's guy are way off in bids, you can ask the client to go with your guy or at least have grounds to inquire as to why the client's guy will cost more.

 

[treeman82]

I thought you said there was damage? Whatever, just don't let the HO bully you over it.

As far as I am concerned, anything other than some pock marks in the lawn is damage.

 

[ronnyb]

I dented some aluminum siding about a month ago. It was about the size of a baseball and right at eye level. Ran it by the homeowner and they were more than happy to let my siding guy take a look at it. Turns out they were planning on residing the house, my siding guy got the residing job, everyone walked away happy. Hope it works out for you.

 

[lxt]

What kinda damage are we talking about here? 1st off if you the contractor caused damages that arent within your work agreements or scope of ability...then the home owner files a claim, give them your insurance cert./claim number & let your insurance handle it!!!!!

Be careful, take pictures & get the damage assessed by contractors whom do the type of work needing done!! hopefully you wont get hosed!!!




LXT............

 

[Rftreeman]

I would tell the HO that you're going to pay to fix it so that's means you use whatever contractor you like or the cheaper of the 3 of his choice....

 

[himiler]

So what's the latest?

After all these posts, guess it depends upon the relationship with your customer. First time to meet him? I would side on not knowing much about what his response would be. Long time old time? I would gladly pay double to make him happy.
Any updates?
Steve W.

 

[treeman82]

I'm paying the client's contractor directly, he's good friends with a few of my clients, so he's gonna take care of me on this.

 

[himiler]

Win Win Dude! Good on ya!

Steve W.

 

[lync]

Smart move Matt, if there is a leak or a complication in years to come their guy will be responsibe, not you or your roofer who made the repair. Last time I damaged the roof the home owner fixed himself and I ground 3 or 4 stumps for free.

Corey

 

[tree md]

Worst I have done is tore up a couple of fences (one was ornamental cedar and very expensive to fix), broke a sliding glass door grinding a stump and tore a weather head off a house (not cheap). I have been fortunate enough to never do any structural or cosmetic damage to a house. In every case I immediately told the home owner and in most instances hired my own contractor and paid the expense out of pocket. On the ornamental fence the HO had to hire the original contractor.

Much better to pay the expense out of pocket than file a claim unless the damage is catastrophic. And in that case that is what you have insurance for in the first place. You only get one chance like that though. The insurance company will drop you like a hot potato if you tear something up really bad. They will do the same if you file a bunch of small frivolous claims. Never happened to me (I've never filed an insurance claim) but I have seen it happen to others.

Sounds like you handled the situation well and everyone is going to come out of this without hard feelings.

 

[treeman82]

The damage I did was as follows:

Put a ding in the guy's gutter... while I was trying to re-adjust the client's gutter topper at that point I broke a piece of roofing shingle... (shingle was brittle)

Put dings in 2 top sections of railing (cedar railing) and 2 caps for posts... cedar.

All parties are ok with the amount of damage considering the work that was done... 130' tall 5'6" DBH white pine removed 10' away.

 

[treeclimber101]

So I've done damage to a client's property. Let me get that statement out of the way. It's carpentry / roofing work. I've got a bunch of quality carpenters / handymen who I can call up that owe me favors to get it fixed for cheap (on the labor end). The client has a carpenter that he has been using for some time.

In a situation like this, do you call in the favors, or do you just say F it and take the hit with the client's contractor?

You don't have a say at all in the matter ,you can only plead your case and hope that they have some pity on you , bottom line is they have complete say on how there property is repaired..