Stage Payments

M

MacTheKnife1

Registered User
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165
Am thinking of proposing the following to my contractor for a builders finish:

- Once the foundations are laid. 10%

- The roof level is completed, slates are on and house is weather tight. 25%

- The plastering is complete. 25%

- The house is finished as specified. 25%

15% of the payment will be withheld until house snag list has been rectified.


Any comments? Is this too simplistic. What have others done?


Mac
 
sounds good to me ... but the withholding of 15% for snags seems a bit excessive to me.

You can try ... if he agrees I reckon you're on a winner.

Make sure you agree 'visitation rights' with him so that you can inspect the build regularly.
 
PaddyBloggit said:
sounds good to me ... but the withholding of 15% for snags seems a bit excessive to me.

You can try ... if he agrees I reckon you're on a winner.

Make sure you agree 'visitation rights' with him so that you can inspect the build regularly.
Click to expand...

You mean he can refuse me rights to visit my property while it is being built!! Yikes!

Thanks.
 
hey if i understand the question, and from my own experience of a stage payment buld, its more the bulder thats ets the amounts ofvarious stages as the payments ahve to reflect the work / value that has beeen done. definitely I nneded an arcahitect to sign certs for bank and he would only certify the value of work that had been done and not any notional amount
 
MacTheKnife1 said:
You mean he can refuse me rights to visit my property while it is being built!! Yikes!

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Normally there should be no problem but a builder could decide that once his contract starts he's the boss and he may decide to secure the site from unauthorised entry/visits and that would include you calling to look around. He could quote insurance etc.

You'll need to clarify this .... if he does restrict access make sure you that you get to visit the site at least once a week. And get the work checked (professionally) before you make a stage payment. On your visits check anything that will get hidden away behind walls etc. A digital camera is a great thing .... it will 'remember' where wiring/plumbing is etc. if you ever need to find them again!
 
PaddyBloggit said:
Normally there should be no problem but a builder could decide that once his contract starts he's the boss and he may decide to secure the site from unauthorised entry/visits and that would include you calling to look around. He could quote insurance etc.

You'll need to clarify this .... if he does restrict access make sure you that you get to visit the site at least once a week. And get the work checked (professionally) before you make a stage payment. On your visits check anything that will get hidden away behind walls etc. A digital camera is a great thing .... it will 'remember' where wiring/plumbing is etc. if you ever need to find them again!
Click to expand...

Thanks for this.

Great tip about the digital camera. So important to document where stuff goes. Once hidden away it is often impossible to remember where it went. I had a friend who had his garden dug up to search for a pipe that he had installed only 8 years earlier when the house was being built. He was sure he remmebered where the pipe had been placed. He was wrong and they dug and they dug.... I lived beside him and I thought I knew where the pipe went. I was wrong too. The JCB found the pipe eventually after destroying most of his manicured lawn.
 
Times are a changing with regard to builders and stage payments.

10 years ago it was very common to have a retention amount for say 6 months after completion- to address any snags that would arise during that period. During the boom years when builders could pick and choose work they would refuse to entertain a contract with a retention sum.

Last week for the first time in 10 years I had a retention clause agreed with a builder. It was a 5% retention.

I also had a penalty clause inserted- every month the builder over runs after a set time period X amount is taken from the final stage ( X being the amount equivalent to renting similar house).

Two things to think about.
 
Vanilla said:
Last week for the first time in 10 years I had a retention clause agreed with a builder. It was a 5% retention.

I also had a penalty clause inserted- every month the builder over runs after a set time period X amount is taken from the final stage ( X being the amount equivalent to renting similar house).
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And the builder agreed this??? What sort of price was he looking for?

Thanks for this.
Mac
 
It was agreed, yes.

What price do you mean- over all price? I'm seeing the price in this area working out at around 75/sq foot but just over builders finish for that.
 
Vanilla said:
It was agreed, yes.

What price do you mean- over all price? I'm seeing the price in this area working out at around 75/sq foot but just over builders finish for that.
Click to expand...

Good deal. The price is the builders finish - 75 / sq ft is good.

Where abouts are you? Near Dublin/Cork/Galway or more rural? I am building in Mayo.
 
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