Legal Question in Construction Law in Texas

Construction Company

i contracted to have my house

painted and my deck stained. Two

months later my house is mostly

finished (needs some touchup) and

my deck is this awful maroon color.

Can I get out of part of this contract

and not pay for the deck? I can

finish it myself and know that it will

be to my satisfaction.

i am making all the contacts with

them and then they do not call me

back. I am tired of waiting. I want

this job finished!


Asked on 8/21/07, 2:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Jason Charles Ciarochi Ciarochi and Associates, PLLC

Re: Construction Company

It sounds to me like you have not completely paid the contractors, so they may file a lien if you do not pay them anymore. I appreciate your frustration that they cannot be found when there are issues.

You need to document everything, meaning have letter or two that identifies the defects and what else needs to be done to get the job at an acceptable level for the total scope of work and the cost (and keep a few photos, in case you need them later). Keep a copy of the letter.

Stain jobs do not have to be perfect or a perfect color, just a reasonable color. Maroon is a tough call.

What happened when the deck work started? If you were around, you might have had a duty to say, "no stop" unless the ultimate color could not be detected at the time...

If you choose to write a letter and provide the accounting for what you are and are not paying for, it might be helpful for you to put your estimate in for the various costs of parts and labor to get the thing in the right direction (so they can see that you waited on them, gave them a chance to fix it, and now are doing your own thing to fix it).

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Answered on 8/22/07, 7:03 am


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