Contractor question

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lardlad

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I started calling around for bids on a drilling a deep well for a summer home in Northern Michigan back in May and received several bids all pretty close for doing a 5" PVC well to 150' with adjustment for $16/ft beyond 150'. My main concern was getting it done ASAP as this is a summer place and we can only use it from May to October in comfort. I went with the guy who actually drove out to the property, took the time to look over the site and who said he'd try to get it done by Memorial Day. I realized at the time (mid May) that it was going to be tight to have them drill and set up in two weeks, but at least he was willing to say he'd do what he could to get it done by then. Long story short, we've been back and forth, 50% down and I still have no running water. The last conversation I had was "you'll have water by the 4th of July". My conversation prior to that was "you'll be up and running by June 22."
I was at the property last weekend and there is a rig in my drive and a 5" piece of PVC with a green cap on it. Now I'm being told it must be "grouted" and then run to the house.
So those of you who do this full time, am I being unreasonable to demand that I have a usable water supply by this Friday when I have a whole bunch of folks showing up for a two week vacation? I've gone from "try hard to get you done by Memorial Day" to "water by 4th of July". Is there that much variation in the drilling and how things get done?
Sorry for rambling but I'm getting it from all directions on being the go to person for this well project.
Thanks,
Jim
 

Valveman

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There is always something going wrong in the drilling business. Always breaking stuff, rain, getting stuck, redrilling the same hole. It is hard to give any kind of schedule. The trick is to not give the 50% down until the rig shows up in the yard. Sometimes people get on several list, pay the first one to come, call the rest and cancel. Drillers hate that but it works. Even when he gets to your place it may take a while. If he has to redrill or something else, you don’t want him leaving your place early just to keep a schedule with the next guy. Scheduling anything requiring water before the well is drilled is counting your chickens before they hatch.

As for everyone showing up for the holiday, the same pump system needed for the well can probably be used in a 1,000 or 2,000 gallon plastic tank and have the water hauled in. Then when the well is drilled, you can move the pump to the well. Pain in the butt I know but, some people live that way.
 

Speedbump

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I know a few drillers here in my area who have a rig that doesn't even work. They drive it to the site just to keep the homeowner thinking he will be there soon. I never understood this mentality but it is done by some. Others get there on time and get the job done as agreed. These are usually the ones that charge a little more but are the most dependable. You are stuck with the guy you have now, so about all you can do is hurry up and wait.

bob...
 

lardlad

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Well finished

My driller finished the job. When I arrived on the property on Friday I could tell they had been there. The well was done, the main into the crawl space, pressure tank and hooked to the house plumbing. My water is somewhat cloudy gray at times (clay?) so I'm going to try and run a hose for a few hours. My concern is I'm not sure who did the final hook up, as the contractor walked the property with me and told me where we should come into the foundation to avoid the drain field for my septic tank and it looks like they are right on top of it with my main line. We're on Lake Michigan, so it's nothing but sand, so I think I'll be okay with drainage but I'm not real happy about it.
 

Pumpman

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As a contractor, I always tried real hard to have a job finished when I said it would be done. You run into problems that you don't expect, but you work around them and try to finish on time.
I don't like it when contractors purposely prolong a job.
I'm also amazed by the requests you'll get from customers sometimes.
I had a customer who ask me if I would come do a job on Thanksgiving day because he would be off that day. He stated that he wanted to watch how I did the job, so that next time he could do it himself, and he wouldn't have to call me. I ask him about doing the job the next day (Friday). He said that he started vacation that day and didn't want to have to "fool" with it.
I didn't do the job.
I'll bet every contractor out there has had a request like that!
Ron
 

Speedbump

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Yup, Christmas, New Years etc. Phone calls at 2:30 in the morning before opening up a store front to prevent such calls.

I really love the one where the customer asks if you give free estimates. Me > NO, Customer > but why do you charge for that, all I want you to do is tell me what's wrong with it, not fix it.

bob...
 

Valveman

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Ahh the stories we could tell!! I repossessed a house well system that I had been trying to get paid for over six months. Their lawyer called me, going to take me to court for creating a health hazard, for taking away these peoples water. I informed him that I did not take away any of their water. All they needed was a 200' string and a small bucket if they want water. I also told him that if they had paid their pump man instead of their lawyer, they would still have water shooting out the faucets.

Another time my insurance company paid out $18,000.00 because my pump system would not pump drift wood. The customer refused to put a screen on the inlet from a lake, because the screen was always getting clogged up. They actually brought a big bag of shredded drift wood to the mediation and dumped it out on the table. Proclaiming that my pumps were not any good because they could not pass drift wood and plastic fishing worms. My insurance company paid them because it was cheaper than what it would cost just to go to court.

Another time I paid out $40,000.00 to replumb a house and put in a new septic tank. All I did was recommend that the home owner chlorinate his well due to bacteria problem he had. I recommended a ½ gallon of liquid. The home owner thought that if a ½ gallon of liquid was good, about 10 pounds of granular HTH would be better since he was leaving town for a couple of weeks anyway. Came home to a basement full of water, every copper pipe in the house ruined, and a septic system so full of chlorine it would never function again. It was all my fault though because I never informed the guy in writing that to much chlorine would be harmful. I no longer recommend treatment of any kind.

I know lots of good pump people who have been put out of business because the loser never pays. It is always the guy with insurance who pays, right or wrong.

I could go on and on, and people wonder why most well drillers become gruff old farts who don't trust anybody and want their money up front.
 

Dunbar Plumbing

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valveman said:
Another time my insurance company paid out $18,000.00 because my pump system would not pump drift wood. The customer refused to put a screen on the inlet from a lake, because the screen was always getting clogged up. They actually brought a big bag of shredded drift wood to the mediation and dumped it out on the table. Proclaiming that my pumps were not any good because they could not pass drift wood and plastic fishing worms. My insurance company paid them because it was cheaper than what it would cost just to go to court.

Another time I paid out $40,000.00 to replumb a house and put in a new septic tank. All I did was recommend that the home owner chlorinate his well due to bacteria problem he had. I recommended a ½ gallon of liquid. The home owner thought that if a ½ gallon of liquid was good, about 10 pounds of granular HTH would be better since he was leaving town for a couple of weeks anyway. Came home to a basement full of water, every copper pipe in the house ruined, and a septic system so full of chlorine it would never function again. It was all my fault though because I never informed the guy in writing that to much chlorine would be harmful. I no longer recommend treatment of any kind.

I know lots of good pump people who have been put out of business because the loser never pays. It is always the guy with insurance who pays, right or wrong.

I could go on and on, and people wonder why most well drillers become gruff old farts who don't trust anybody and want their money up front.

Did you put the recommendation to add chlorine to the system in writing? And is that how they covered the expense because you didn't give a maximum amount to use?

I can't see how hearsay equated to a $40,000 payout when advice is free whether via internet, in person. Put it in writing though and I can see where a lawyer picked that apart.
 

Valveman

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The problem is that it is usually cheaper for the insurance company to just pay out 18,000 or even 40,000 than it is to get all the depositions, expert witnesses, etc., that are needed to take the case to court. In the case of the 18,000, the lawyers said it would cost $25,000 to get ready for court. Then even though you are right and would win the case, you aren't able to get any money from the losing side. The case is just dismissed and you are just out the 25,000, so it is cheaper just to give them 18,000 to make it go away, but it's not right.
 

Dunbar Plumbing

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:eek:

I've only had two claims that I paid out of pocket.

One was a plastic pipe failure, PEX riser to a kitchen sink that damaged a wood floor because it burst

and

a toilet that leaked for months because the homeowner didn't follow the statement of "no operation for 24 hours". He calls me that next morning stating the toilet isn't flushing right.....and I turn around and ask him "why are you using that toilet anyway? I told you not to use it! :mad: He made a ridiculous statement that the 1/2 bath on the first floor gets the most use and can't have everyone running up and down the steps.

Then I get a call that the wood floor man came to inspect why the floor turned black at the toilet. Leaking spacer. Those kits come with a latex-based sealer that when in contact with water, degrades over time, especially if exposed to water within cure times.

Between the two.....I spent $700 to have the floors replaced on both along with the carpenter to rework the flange *that the customer was refusing have corrected, initially* and do the necessary repairs to the ceiling below in the finished basement.

This was back in 91' so that amount today would be triple. I had a good working relationship with both contractors who actually sent me the work so I got a good shake on the matter. If it would of went outside those perils, thousands would of been spent through my insurance policy.

This is part of the reason why I don't take every call that comes through my office. I just know there are people looking for the opportunity. I've had people call me and ask if I was sending out a worker or me. ???

Like they were hoping I'd send out someone other than the boss so they can criticize the experience. With the boss coming to the house......you know who you are talking to when you call back to complain. :D
 
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