The contractor did not grade my land according to the grading plan. He said I need more dirt. So originally when we purchased the pool they said that if we needed more dirt it would not be a problem-he had plenty. Now we need the dirt and they told me that they don't have it. They also said if they dig for a pool in my area that I wouldn't have to pay for it. So the dirt was supposed to be delivered last week and it didn't happen so I called the contractor and they made reference to waiting for a pool to be dug-but they were still charging me. I agree I can pay for the grading of the dirt but how can they charge me for dirt they did not pay for? Isn't that illegal? They are charging the person to remove the dirt as part of the overall installation and now charging me for that same dirt?
Contractor Charging for Dirt
- Thread starter Stephster81
- Start date
I had a similar problem that my excavation sub removed dirt from my site when I asked him not to. I figure about 15 yards.
My lot is seriously sloped so all the elevations were a bit of a crapshoot on my build. I didn't argue too much at the time and the PB said they don't exactly guarantee the final gradient. I had to get about 5 yards put in by my landscape guys later and it cost me about $750. (Yes $750 is high, but my terrain is difficult and my landscape guy seriously underbid an earlier job that he did for me. I'm letting him get it back a little at a time, he's good and reliable and I want to keep him).
Charging someone to remove some material and then charging someone else to receive that same material is just business. Unless the other pool owner said, "remove my material and you must take it to the dump", if the contract just says "excavate and remove" then the material belongs to the poolbuilder after it's been removed, he's free to do what he wants with it, including selling it to someone else.
My lot is seriously sloped so all the elevations were a bit of a crapshoot on my build. I didn't argue too much at the time and the PB said they don't exactly guarantee the final gradient. I had to get about 5 yards put in by my landscape guys later and it cost me about $750. (Yes $750 is high, but my terrain is difficult and my landscape guy seriously underbid an earlier job that he did for me. I'm letting him get it back a little at a time, he's good and reliable and I want to keep him).
Charging someone to remove some material and then charging someone else to receive that same material is just business. Unless the other pool owner said, "remove my material and you must take it to the dump", if the contract just says "excavate and remove" then the material belongs to the poolbuilder after it's been removed, he's free to do what he wants with it, including selling it to someone else.
It certainly is not free for them to truck it over there. This is why everything should be in writing. That way gray areas do not happen as is the case here.
The only relevant question is what he promised you. If he told you you would need to pay for extra dirt needed it's irrelevant whether he gets the dirt for free. It has value and he is monetising it. On the other hand, if he implied he would give you dirt for free, that is a different story
He certainly is paying for the machinery to dig it up, transport it, and the labor involved too. I can understand the charge. Even if he had another pool going in nearby he's still paying to move that "free" dirt.
