Get It In Writing!

You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating, GET IT IN WRITING! How many times have you contracted for a home improvement project and when it was done, the end product wasn’t what you were expecting? If you’ve experienced this, it’s common, so don’t feel bad.

Both the homeowner and the contractor want a successful project and are looking for a win-win. One of the best ways to achieve success is to have all the details down on paper so everything is understood up front. If this is so obvious, how come some contractors don’t provide details and customers don’t ask for them? Read on, I’ll tell you why.

This is the scenario: The “completed” job is missing a few things the homeowner assumed would be done. When asked about them, the contractor replies, “They weren’t included in the contract.” (Not included items can be anything from hauling away trash, to touch up painting, to reinstalling window coverings that came down when replacing windows, to who was supposed to pull the building permit, etc., you name it.)

Most items are not big things, but potential extra charges at least.
The homeowner responds: “Well, we assumed _________ was included in your bid!” The contractor counters with: “There’s nothing in my contract about doing that.”
Homeowner responds: “Well, I thought we talked about it! The job isn’t complete until _________ is done!”

At this point, you are at a stalemate. You thought you had a complete job, with a final dependable price. The contractor is acting defensive. He feels he’s about to be nickeled and dimed for some extras he didn’t charge for. Obviously, no one wants to be at this point.


It doesn’t pay to accuse the contractor of promises you heard. If you received more than one bid on the job, there may have been promises made by other contractors that you’re mistakenly applying to this contractor. Honest contractors will often recall a previous conversation about your issue and try to work out a solution. Other contractors may claim the conversation never took place. The estimating and bidding process is a detail laden, code rich environment that most homeowners are unfamiliar with. On top of that, speaking with several contractors about aspects of your project can create confusion as each contractor may have a different approach. It’s no wonder that “who said what” becomes a blur.

How do you prevent this? GET IT IN WRITING! But you need to get two things spelled out clearly.

1. Make sure everything that you want done on the project is written down on the contract.

2. Make sure the contractor writes down everything that ISN’T INCLUDED and what he’s NOT doing. This is as important as item #1.

As a layperson, you aren’t expected to know every aspect of your project that should be written down. This is the responsibility of the contractor. Unfortunately, many contractors don’t like to get too detailed for a couple of reasons.

First, the details on complex jobs can be tedious to explain, have many choices to review and time consuming. Many of us contractors didn’t get into theis business because we love paperwork and documenting details. If that was the case, we’d all be attorneys. Why, I’ve heard that 70% of us have ADD and just want to do our jobs, please our customer, and move to the next job. That’s why we tend to skip details during the estimating stage. There is nothing sinister or intentionally deceptive about a contractor skipping details. Contractors are doers not writers.

Secondly, some contractors feel that excessive details in the paperwork may complicate things during the work phase. When a field condition, supplier interruption, or unforeseen condition requires a change to what was originally specified, writing a change order, getting an approval from the homeowner, and refiguring the cost often bogs down the contractor who’d prefer to substitute in another item to just keeping working on the job. It’s important to note that a substitution isn’t generally an attempt to cut corners. Also, I am not excusing or condoning the lack of clear, precise and detailed paperwork.

Generally, 1 hour spent planning, specifying, and writing down details saves about 10 hours of explaining and resolving disputes. With that in mind, here are some helpful tips:

1. If your contractor has very simple forms and minimal paperwork, be prepared to assist in documenting what you want and what you expect. Ask the contractor to explain everything about the process, step by step. Ask questions if you don’t understand. Don’t allow yourself to be rushed.

2. Be wary if the paperwork is minimal compared to other contractors’ paperwork. That could indicate a contractor who is counting on your vague understand of what’s required to do the project, then doing minimal work, and relying on the phrase, “Well, it wasn’t in the contract.”

3. Don’t be intimidated by the contractor with lots of paperwork. This contractor knows the pitfalls of relying on non-specific promises and the customers’ good nature to forgive an oversight. Yes, you’ll probably be signing more than one document when you proceed, but the paperwork is designed to make all aspects of the job as clear as possible so there are no misunderstandings.

4. Make a list of what ISN’T BEING DONE. With multiple bids, this will get a better “apples to apples” comparison, and prompt a discussion on those excluded items.

5. Ask-“Is there anything else in this job that we should discuss, or issues not covered that we should talk about?” This is a final “catch all” inquiry. Be quiet and wait as long as you can for an answer. Important issues often surface at this point.

GET IT IN WRITING! And good luck on your next home improvement project!