It took nearly two months for a contractor to finish the fence (PT wood) around our property. The project dragged on and on ... it felt like he was chasing me for money, while I chased him to get the job done, and done right. Of the many lessons learned -- the belated benefit of 20/20 hindsight -- the most important decision is selecting the "right" fence contractor. Don't decide solely on price. And never, ever let one of your neighbours make the final decision for you (and others)...
Anyway, here are some danger signs. Please feel free to add to the list!
Contact Information
- Contractor gives you his cell phone number as the only means of contact
- Contractor excuses: lost my cell phone, dropped it in a hole, bought a new cell phone, ...
- Contractor doesn't answer his cell phone and if/when it goes to voicemail, you're told the mailbox is full
- Contractor drives around in a vehicle with expired license plate stickers
- Contractor asks for 50% up-front based on "estimate"
- Contractor offers a "cash" discount without an invoice
- Contractor insists on balance on completion with no holdback
- Contractor cashes your cheque with a cash advance lender, instead of depositing it at a bank
Schedule
- Contractor won't commit to a deadline except "soon"
- Workers arrive late, leave early (~ 4 hrs is typical of temp laborers)
- On a cool weekday, nobody shows up for work
- Skeleton "crew" (e.g., 1 worker), e.g., a Contractor that has taken on too many jobs concurrently
Quality of Work
- Contractor himself isn't there to supervise crew
- Work site isn't kept clean (rocks, garbage bags, empty water bottles, empty cement bags) ... unnecessarily killing parts of your lawn
- A four feet deep hole (about a foot in diameter), in your lawn ... left open and uncovered
- Holes aren't dug down to the frost line (it's 4 ft in Brampton); you really don't want to see a 10' post sticking 8' above grade
- Where ground slopes, large gaps start to appear under the fence because Contractor doesn't want to cut 8' boards
- Posts aren't on the corners of the property (this isn't just for aesthetics; where the property line for an abutting property is irregular, cutting corners can result in encroachments)
- Posts and boards aren't straight, and things don't look level or square
- Fence doesn't follow the property line (e.g., tying into existing fences without verifying survey or markers)
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