Legal Question in Construction Law in California
Wrong Flooring Installed
We hired a licensed contrator to build us a 7 x 16 foot room addition to our home.
When we hired this firm it was made clear by all parties that we did not want a concrete slab floor.
We are on a raised foundation and wanted a wood sub floor installed to match the existing.
Concrete was poured when neither of us were home. The builder informed us that they were building and pouring the foundation for the room, not the whole floor.
Yesterday we were informed that they were not going to install the wood floor as contracted to do, they were going to leave the floor as a concrete slab.
We do not want a concrete slab in our living room as a floor, we want what we contracted to get, a wood floor.
What options do we have at this time.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Wrong Flooring Installed
If the contract clearly spells out that the room addition was to be constructed on a wood sub-floor and the contractor installed a concrete slab, he has breached the contract.
You can call the breach of contract and demand that he remove the concrete and install the wood floor per the contract or you can get a bids from other contractors to do the work as you wanted and deduct that amount from the contract and have someone elese do the work.
I would be happy to talk to you about this situation. Good luck.
Re: Wrong Flooring Installed
The first thing I want to know is how the contractor ever got approval to pour from the city or county if the foundation forming didn't match the approved set of plans? Is this being done without a permit or plans? Another question to ask is whether you're sure the contractor is licensed. Licensed contractors are well aware of permit requirements.
If your addition isn't being done with a permit or with plans, then it will make your claim for breach of contract a bit more difficult. How, for example, will you prove that the contract called for a crawl space if there are no plans and no permits to confirm that this was what was called for?
On the surface, you have a simple breach of contract question, but underneath it appears that you may have some evidentiary problems. True, you can hire a lawyer to start pounding on the contractor, but you may want to contact the Contractors State License Board first and see what they can do for you.
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