my home in Rosswood, BC
When my grandfather passed away I got some inheritance money and decided that I would purchase a piece of land as a solid legacy that I can pass down to future generations. The land was raw and untamed. It was nearly unpassable and certainly unliveable. It was a dream waiting for its time to come. That was 20 years ago.
Over time things have been developed and there have been numerous things I've wanted to do with the land. However, in a very remote rural area things move slowly. First land clearing. Then an electricity pole. Then an RV to stay on property. Bit by bit things were being done.
Then a little over a year ago I contracted a company to build a container home for me. You can see it in the title picture. $65,000 and I could have a tiny little home to call my own. No running water. No electricity. Just rainwater collection, solar panels, and a quiet, basic structure to keep my wife and I safe and dry.
Unfortunately as I've learned over time, things rarely go as planned. Indeed when I showed the final work to a contractor about whether it was done in a professional manner his response was "It looks like it was done by a drunken plumber".
In february of this year I was told that the cabin was completed. Come on up and look at the new home. After 20 years I was so excited to see a place to call my own. Horray!
Then I got to the property and things weren't exactly as I had hoped that would be. The nails, screws, and building supplies strewn around the outside of the home were my first clue that the work hadn't been done as I'd hoped. As I looked further, things didn't get any better.
Now the contractor and her crew were there. Seven contractors and myself were looking over the property. They were pleased with their job and told me they put their heart and soul into the project. Looking back on it I kind of wish I had the nerve to laugh in their faces. It is probably better than I just kept my cool and did my best to think logically.
There were so many things wrong I barely knew where to start!
I had asked for a heat pump to be installed which could run on a solar generator. It was included in the quote but included in the build.
I didn't mind not having a well as collected rainwater would be quite adequate for washing and cleaning. The local public water supply is easily brought to the cabin for drinking water. Now there were fittings for rainwater collection but none of them were connected and the actual rainwater tanks weren't there. Again, paid for but not delivered.
Now some work was just negligent. In my dictionary it means done without care or thought.
Seriously. How does someone forget screwing in a support for the posts on the deck?
Now negligent means someone didn't use care. Incompetent is where someone can't do the job properly. Here is an example from the front door:
The hinges have to go on the inside so that thieves can't just remove the door.
Now an incompetent worker does it wrong. A negligent worker forgets to do it. Shoddy workmanship just means someone didn't take pride in doing it right.
Now a good framer would make sure that things line up nicely and are flush on all angles. They would so use a nailer to make sure that I'm not looking at ugly construction screws. Whoever did this didn't really take pride in a job well done and aesthetically pleasing.
Of course some jobs just never get finished. Quite unfortunate but really if you are going to say a job is complete then actually finish the job.
If you say the sink is finished it should have a pipe going somewhere on the bottom.
If you are going to put in a countertop range you should (a) make sure it has electricity that matches the house or (b) make sure it is hooked up. In this case they just left bare wires. Really?
Now if the job had some in at $65,000 I wouldn't have been happy because it just wasn't done according to contract. Unfortunately when the job was done they told me it would be $130,000! Now there were contingencies in our contract for overages, taxes and so on. However, even in the worst case it should have been no more than $105,000. I had budgeted for a worst case scenario and had cash to cover $105,000 but never dreamed they would go to double. If they had contacted me as the costs were rising perhaps we could have done something earlier but to just spring a gigantic bill on someone after the fact?
Now when I refused to pay the $130,000 the contractor threatened to take me to court. Being sued for payment for a job poorly done was highly insulting. My first thought was to sue them back for all the money I had paid up front! My wife was furious, my family told me to go for it, my gut told me to think this out carefully.
If I enter into court proceedings under $35,000 then I can go to small claims court. A court for smaller matters where lawyers and formal legal wording is not required. In this case the amount was well over $35,000 so that means going to the Provincial Supreme court which is very formal and lawyers are absolutely required.
Lawyers are expensive
Now I have learned few things over the years:
Lawyers
When people get angry and fight for the principle of something then they dig and and lawyer up. They pay legal fee after legal fee to prove that they are right. They spend more and more money to be right! That is especially common in divorces but applies to any issue with a disagreement.
Which comes to the question: Why would I pay huge legal fees and spend a huge amount of time in court just to be right...and likely never recoup my costs?
The lawyers win in that case but I certainly don't!
When I was young a friends sister took her father to court for sexual abuse. The court proceedings were long and emotionally draining. It affected her mental state and brought out painful memories. After a long battle the court sided with her and she ended up winning a large cash settlement.
A win, right?
Except she never got a penny of the awarded settlement. Her father was broke and could not pay. There is no law that puts someone into jail in Canada for failing to pay a debt. End result: She won and lost at the same time. The courts proved her right but she still got nothing.
I also have a couple of friends who are lawyers. They looked at the work that was done. They looked at the contract that was drawn up. They heard the details of the situation and they both agreed that the law was on my side and that my case was certainly winnable.
They also both stated that you could never predict the way a judge would go. There is always a chance that even with the best evidence and a "clear cut" case that the judgement would be in my favor. They also told me one more thing:
I had already come to that conclusion myself. Even if the contractor didn't do what they were supposed to do, I had to hold up what I should do. I agreed to pay. I signed my name to say that I would. In that regard I must pay.
Or as another example: When people get married, they typically say that they won't cheat on one another. The couple make a vow to honor their marriage and their spouse. However, if one of the spouses cheat and break their side of the contract does that give the other spouse a validation for cheating also? In my eyes, no. It is certainly a grounds for divorce. When the divorce is final then by all means find someone else. However, before the divorce a vow was given and should be kept...even if the other side didn't hold up their side of the bargain.
In the end I made the decision not to sue for the shoddy workmanship. I may still take them to small claims court for the amount I've had to pay to get things back up to where they should have been. I've documented everything and have hundred of pictures. I likely won't though.
Why not?
I'm unlikely to get any money. The company that I contracted is small and has limited financial resources. Sure I could win the case but then what? I end up with a bill that never gets paid. In addition I'll be facing months to years of court hearings, paperwork, and stress. Why would I want to get that?
As I mentioned I signed on for up to $115,000 and not a penny more. As a matter of principle I will honor my word. However, $130,000? I never signed a contract for that amount and would never pay that amount. After a few days of thinking I came up with the decision that I would offer to pay the bill and be true to my word and signature. If they would accept that then they would get their money. If they insisted on their full bill...then we would go to court. The contractor would have to take me there. The contractor would have to justify why they charged more. Plus, if I'm there anyways I may as well countersue for damages.
Unsurprisingly they grudgingly accepted my proposal.
Sure other people think I was taken advantage of. They are probably right. Sure I'm not happy with the work they did.
But I focus on the bright side
It may not be perfect. Life rarely is. However, I now have a warm and dry place for myself and my wife. The deficiencies can be repaired over time. It will only get better frome here. Be happy with what I have rather than fight for what should be.
Maybe others would fight.
Maybe others would be stressing over court time, judges, paperwork, and taking time off work to get to court.
I'm just happy I don't have to deal with all that
Of course, feel free to tell me what you think as I always love comments.
