Legal Question in Construction Law in New Jersey

Unlicensed handiman dispute

I engaged an unlicensed handiman by the hour to take wallpaper off a room and paint it. We had no written contract. After taking off the wallpaper, he was upset because there was some mold on the walls behind the paper. After working for a month on the project, he still had not taken all of the glue off the walls. The price was up to $2500 and he has not even fixed nail pops, finished taking off the glue or prepping the walls to paint. I finally told him that I didn't want him to finish. The exhorbitant amount of hours for glue removal is what I am disputing. He damaged my pillow shams which he agreed he would pay for. He does not feel that he should pay for any carpet damage. He expects cash for his jobs. How do I determine how much I should pay him? I don't feel that what he has done is worth what he claims. Also, I don't know if he worked the number of hours he is claiming, since I work and have not been home while he did the work.


Asked on 10/09/06, 8:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Corbett Corbett Law Firm LLC

Re: Unlicensed handiman dispute

It sounds as if you should have ended this arrangement a long time ago. If you were paying him by the hour, then you bought only his time and not any guarantee of results. If he has been submitting regular accounts of his time, you may have difficulty paying less than the agreed amount.

You might try this: Get one or more estimates from an experienced contractor as to how much time it should take to do the work that he has done. Be a little generous and throw in some extra. Deduct the damage and pay the result. The worst would probably happen is that he would take you to Small Claims Court.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

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Answered on 10/10/06, 11:35 am


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