project update... If only!!!! Long

[schmism]

ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh sucktastic crete!

Have you bought your building kit yet?

you might consider upping the size a fuz repouring the outsides and skim pour (say 2") over the other slab.

Your gonna have to pay for the crete already on the ground, but with such a p1$$ poor job i think a fair case could be made that it is unuseable. As such you should be able to sue the dude that did it to get at least some money back.

 

[bones1]

Schmism has the right idea,that is if you can get a larger building.Or maybe you can find a qualified contractor that can repair the mess you have that's if the concrete he poured you has any strength to it.Sometimes it pays to have a non-friend do the work.

 

[schmism]

that's if the concrete he poured you has any strength to it.

based on what i see on the pics and his discription of the pour (adding so much water) your strenght is a real consern. (consider that more than guess)

ultimatly the flatness and voids could be fixed, but the overall strenght of the slab as a whole i could not live with. But it should be sound enough for "base" for a new slab (thus my suggestion)

 

[tile]

Thanks for all the replies. Of course it's not what I wanted to hear but does confirm my fears.

The guy has been in construction for over 30 yrs. I met him through a construction firm we work for. We've been doing their work for 15+ years and he was one of the Project Managers. About 3 years ago he got his GC license and has been doing mostly government housing projects. We've worked on Multi Million dollar projects together ( thru the other Contracting company. Multi Million for them, only my contracts were much much smaller

I've called the factory today and they are having their engineer look at it. I'm having the concrete tested only I can't do it until Dec 11. It needs 28 days to cure and it was poured on 11-13-06. I've contacted an architect/engineer company that we have worked with in the past to see what we can do to fix this mess.

I have not paid the contractor a dime yet. I have paid for the permit, rebar and the concrete. The concrete was on my own account as I get a better price that way. I have over 60 pictures and have started a log of events, just in case. Of course I am not allowing any further activites until this is ironed out.

I could probably extend the length of the building because of the type of structure. The bad part about it is the building was and is on site. I had the base plates here when they poured. From my understanding he could have removed the forms and placed the base plates that day. Not permanently placed but for the purpose of bolt placement. He left the forms in place, my husband and I removed them this past Saturday.

I had four trucks in all, 38 yrds. 2500 psi with fibre. The trucks recieved 105 gallons, 95 gallons, 100 gallons and 55 gallons of water.

Yeah! That's what everyone says.

I'm not sure what it's going to cost me to get this thing corrected and I don't know what will ultimately happen. I do know that he will get his as I do not need to exact revenge, I have a higher power that handles that end of my affairs. Just can't figure out why.

Thanks again
I'll keep you posted when further details come about.

 

[TomKioti]

Tile,

My heart goes out to you

I recently completed a $250,000 renovation of a 4000 sf metal building on some commercial property I own. I was going to use a so-called contractor that was a friend of a friend. His bid was the lowest by far (red flags). The day before we were to sign the contract with him my wife (God Bless her) called the State to double check the contractors license. Turns out He didn't have a contractors license He was going to use His buddies (an electrical contractor) license. I confronted Him with this info and He stammered and mumbled something about how qualified he was blah blah. I looked Him straight in the eyes and said "If you can't tell the truth about actually being a licensed contractor how can I trust you with a quarter million dollar project!" I then asked him to leave and I reported his buddy to the state licensing board. Man we dodged a bullet!

The next day I was driving buy a metal building that was being erected and asked who the contractor was. The building was a boatel and it looked awesome as it was almost complete. I met with the contractor, did a backround check with the state and hired him. He did a great job and did it on time and at budget. Sure there were wrinkles (there always is) but overall the mission was accomplished and the spaces are leased.

My advise is to do all of what the others suggest AND when you hire a new contractor (and you should) make darn sure He's a qualified metal building erector with a current class A license. Also ask him for references and follow up on those as well. Be thorough and have your lawyer have a look at the contract and have him write in whatever is neccesary to protect you from all this happening again. I would also make the original contractor pay whatever it costs to rectify your slab and make it usable with the original building you purchased.


Good luck, my prayers are with you.

 

[CurlyDave]

The one thing I haven't seen anyone mention yet is contacting the state licensing board.

They may be able to help you. I would talk to a lawyer first and ask about the most effective way to handle a complaint.

 

[Buckeye_Jim]

I think you have had some good advice here, but I want to temper it some. Keep the lawyers, your documentation of the problems, going to the contractors board, etc. in your back pocket. You and your husband need to find the wisdom to not destroy the long term relationship you have had with this contractor. Because of his substandard work, YOU MUST FIRE HIM. At the same time he needs to come away thinking that this is the best move for everyone. This must include a payment for what the job (up to this point) would have been worth if it had been done right less what it will cost you to bring it up to that point. If you and the contractor can come to an agreement on this point, you and him will save the money spent on the legal side and you can move on into the future doing your subcontract tile work with him.

As a builder of one of these buildings, it would appear that your project is salvageable. Voids can be filled with grout. Bolts not aligned can be cut. Expansion bolts can replace the j bolts. Your consulting engineer can advise you on this issue.

You should also be aware that the metal will not rust when properly installed, but sitting out in the weather in tight stacks will void the warranty. Best if you can store out of the weather. Next best would be a wooden sticker between each piece to allow air to move through it.

Good Luck,

Jim.

 

[EddieWalker]

...You and your husband need to find the wisdom to not destroy the long term relationship you have had with this contractor. Because of his substandard work, YOU MUST FIRE HIM. At the same time he needs to come away thinking that this is the best move for everyone. This must include a payment for what the job (up to this point) would have been worth if it had been done right less what it will cost you to bring it up to that point... Jim.

Jim,

I can tell that you are a very caring and compasionate person, which is a characteristic that I both admire and lack. It would be nice if this could be worked out reasonably, but experience tells me that when somebody takes advantage of another person to the level this contractor did, you just encourage him to continue to do so by being nice.

This contractor needs to be put on the defense right away. He needs to know that there is NO friendship left. He obviosly doesn't know what he's doing pouring concrete. I don't know what he knows how to do, but this isn't it. 30 years of doing one thing does not qualify anybody to do anything else. This pour was criminal.

To pay him anything would just encourage him to fight for more. I Don't belive a little grout or filling in the low spots is a practical solution. It's what we call here in Texas as "Southern Engeneering!"

Another person mentions pouring over and around the pad. This isn't ideal either. It might work for awhile, but two seperate concrete pours on top of each other with destroy each other. Concrete moves. Getting both pours to stop moving will be very expensive and not work over the long run anyway.

With what's already invested in this pad, they may have to live with what they have, but they sure don't have to pay for it. He isn't a real friend and he's not sombody I'd want as a friend. I fail to see how it would be wise to continue to pretend there is a friendship here, nor can I see a downside to ending that "friendship." Friends like this just make life miserable for those who make the mistake to trust them.

Sorry for being so blunt,
Eddie

 

[TomKioti]

Curly,

Give me some props, I mentioned it

 

[TomKioti]

Here's a pic (i hope) of the renovation I had done of an old 1940's truck repair shop on my property. 4000sf total.
Building to the left is a 15,000sf minimall.