Who's responsible for the damage?

[gobofraggle]

I just had a tile floor installed in my kitchen. The job was done by a subcontractor of my general contractor. A few days after the tile was installed, the electrician (another sub) chipped a piece of tile due to carelessness.

The general contractor acknowledges the damage and has accepted responsibility for having the tile repaired, but he stated that he's going to be attempting the repair himself, rather than bringing back the tile company. (Certainly as a cost-saving measure.) I would prefer that the tile company come back to make the repair, because I know that they'll do a better job than the contractor, who's good, but not a tile guy.

Can I insist that he bring back the tile company to make the repair, or is "a repair a repair", and if the contractor does it himself, it's considered "repaired", and that's the end of it?

If he refuses to bring back the tile company to make the repair, can I get my own tile company to do it and then withhold the money from my contractor?

[ransley]

Being a new floor its easy, but he has a right to fix it first and you cant butt in. If he does a poor job then you could demand it, by why, its not heart surgery. Even you could do it easily.

[trader4]

I agree. It's not rocket science to replace a tile. Even if he botches it up, to further fix that is pretty much the same process, so it can be done over again. Give him a chance and if its' not done right, then take it up with him.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, I had similar thing happened to me when my house was being built. Plumber damaged vanity cabinet in the bathroom doing his job. General contractor fixed the damage and he id an excellent job. As long as he says he is responsible let him do his thing.

[Chris Hill]

You are assuming that the guy will do a bad job. This is dumb. He probably wouldn't do it himself if he didn't think he could handle it. You should wait until the repair is finished and look at it then. Don't borrow trouble.

[Bubba]

My best advice would be to NOT listen to the replies from these four posters: ransley, trader4, hwang and hill Why on earth would you pay to have a tile job done, have it damaged and then have someone fix it that is not a tile person by trade? Its real simple. The electrician damaged it. You hire a tile person or the same tile guy your contractor used. Pay for the repair and then use the receipt as a deduction on your final payment to the contractor. There should be absolutely NO REASON your contractor would argue this with you. You paid for a pro and you want it fixed by a pro. It would be very helpful to let the contractor know this all up front. Doing a tile floor is not a simple task like those 4 posters suggested. It is an art just like any other trade. If your money doesnt mean much to you then I would think you would have laid the tile floor yourself in the first place. I can guarantee you that if that happened in ransley's or trader4's home, they would have a fit just like anyone else. Good Luck,

Bubba

[trader4]

No, trader4 would not have a fit. Replacing one tile that was chipped is something I've done myself. And despite what you claim, it doesn't require anywhere near the skill, nor usually the tools, that a professional tile installer would have. If it was one chipped tile I'd let the GC do it.

Also, consider this. Who picked the tile contractor in the first place? Was it specified in the contract with the GC that he must use XYZ tile, or only that a specific tile floor was to be installed by the GC? Unless the contract states who must do the tile, the GC is free to use whatever sub he feels like, or no sub at all, and doing some of the work himself. Certainly replacing one tile is within the scope of work capability of most GC's.

The OP can do whatever they want. They can insist the GC bring back the tile sub. But I'd be willing to bet that if they get some other tile guy of their own choice to just do the work, as you suggested, then present the GC with the bill, it's likely to lead to problems. If a case like this went to court, the plaintiff would likely lose, because they never gave the GC a chance to fix it. This isn't an irreplaceable Picasso painting, where any attempt to fix it could ruin the whole thing. Even if the GC doesn't fix it correctly, there is no irreparable harm, and the original tile sub could still be brought in to correct it.

How about this. Suppose there is a 2" hole in the wall made by the electrician hitting it. How reasonable is it for the homeowner to insist that the drywall sub and the painting sub be brought back, instead of letting the GC fix it?

[jack]

Unless the contract specified that the tile work would be subcontracted, which would be very unusual, the GC can fix it any way he wants. Unless he does a bad job, you have no reason to complain.

If you have it done yourself, you will be doing it at your own expense; neither the GC or a Judge will think you acted reasonably.

I guess "Bubba" says it all.

[bigjimpack]