Spotters

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Dennysoccer

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Jun 29, 2016
23
FRISCO/Texas
Curious to see how much people have paid for spotters. Our stonemason had extra tile when he installed out tile and asked if we wanted spotters cut.
We have about 30 spotters precut from our tile install. Pool builder saw them and is now wanting us to pay over $700 for the install. The pool build has had some issues so far, so I thought they may have let this one slide but apparently not. Just want to make sure I am not paying way over what it should be?

MD


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I purchased my own tile for trimming the stairs, benches, ledge and bubbler shelf. I wasn't charged anything for the labor to install them and I used about 200. I think $700 is ridiculous, especially when you have so few AND you are using left over tile from your job that you paid for already.
 
Our pool was finished a few weeks ago. We also had left over tile we used to outline the steps and edges. We didn't get charged for it and it wasn't planned in the contract.

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$700 seems very expensive for 30 tile spots. Depending on the market the tile setter may get around $3 per spotter and the plaster crew may also gets paid for the extra labor finishing around the spotter, between $5 and $10 per tile.

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Do not pay a single penny.

You paid for that tile and all the materials already. I doubt the tile crew worked every hour they were on the clock anyway.

Your PB is being ridiculous.

Not to mention if he was against doing it then he can charge the crew as you entered into no agreement with him for it.
 

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Not paying is not really an option as spotters were not in the contract. So like it or not I will probably have to pay or not have them- or figure something else out. Really at the end of the day I wanted a fair price and don't feel like I am getting that. At least now I know what I'm getting from them -which is no help.


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Dennysoccer said:
Not paying is not really an option as spotters were not in the contract. So like it or not I will probably have to pay or not have them- or figure something else out. Really at the end of the day I wanted a fair price and don't feel like I am getting that. At least now I know what I'm getting from them -which is no help.


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Click to expand...

I guess my point is this, you weren't told they would cost extra money. The extra money can't be from materials as you've already paid for all of those. The only cost he could rightfully associate with the spotters is the labor. And the individual that did the labor asked if you wanted it, he did not talk about price so therefore you made no verbal agreement on cost because no cost was implied.

If you feel you must cave in to his demand, then find out how long it took for the stonemason to do it and then that's the labor cost. Again IF you feel you must pay something. Remember, you paid for the material, the stonemason asked you and you just said yes. Without an addendum to your contract the PB has no actual right to charge you. He should have his crews under control and not "offer" something without knowing the procedure.
 
We had about 33 2x2 glass tiles I had gotten and put them as toe tiles or step markers. Pool builder let me pay the stone mason out of my pocket for laying them. They charged me $150. I was ok with that amount as it took them a little bit of time to get them measured out right. $700 is way too much in my opinion.
 
I just did the exact same thing. I waited until they were laying the glass tile and decided I wanted borders along the steps. At the time they thought they had enough materials to cover it, so I asked for a price expecting labor only....$950!!!

it was about double what I was expecting, but I was in the same boat, not in the contract and it was now or never with the tile being installed.

In in the end I wrote the check and got it in writing to have the borders added. Then they ended up using all the tile and the builder had to purchase more for the borders, so maybe $950 wasn't as bad as I first thought.
 
Dennysoccer,

I do not see you "caving in to his demand" at all. I see you as trying to work out a fair business compromise.....there is no better path than to try to work out something everyone can live with. I would approach PB again and ask if it's something he can compromise with you.

There's always more than one way to approach an issue and I think asking him to rethink it might be helpful.

TFP does not want to be in the habit of dispensing "legal" advice, especially when there is most always a better path.
 
Thanks- that is what I am attempting. It was never going down a legal path. More me seeing what a fair price is.
I am seeing if there is anything he can do to help us out. If not we will probably just get less spotters or forgo that extra cost. Just seemed a bit extortionate based on the fact they are already cut.
I guess any lack of compromise just means I will stick to my guns more if anything else comes up.
Thanks


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As a former home builder project manager. If it's not on a signed change order, it doesn't count. If the sub-contractor did it without authorization from the contractor it's not your fault. I will also tell you that I would charge double my estimates for changes. So if time and materials came to $2000 I would charge $4000 and if they didn't want to go ahead after that I didn't care because I had a house to build.

If you want to be a nice guy explain that you didn't sign anything and offer him $350.
 
Whatever you pay, it's effectively 100% profit for your pool builder or subcontractor. For my owner-build, we picked out 2x2 step markers, and NPT's invoice came in at under $5 for the tile. Between ordering them and plaster day, they got lost. When plaster guys showed up bright and early, I was a bit frantic and told them I had to run to Home Depot to buy some tile for step markers. The plasterers had some generic blue step markers on their truck and they offered to put them in for $50. When it came time to pay up, their boss happened to be on site and with him looking over their shoulders they sheepishly told me to keep the extra money. It wasn't in the bid or my contract with the plaster company to install step-markers, so effectively I got their tiles and whatever extra labor it required for free, even though I was desperate and waiving cash at them.
 
donlumber said:
As a former home builder project manager. If it's not on a signed change order, it doesn't count. If the sub-contractor did it without authorization from the contractor it's not your fault. I will also tell you that I would charge double my estimates for changes. So if time and materials came to $2000 I would charge $4000 and if they didn't want to go ahead after that I didn't care because I had a house to build.

If you want to be a nice guy explain that you didn't sign anything and offer him $350.
Click to expand...

Exactly my point, well made.

nothing was signed and when you answered the Mason by saying sure, then that was it. Nothing was agreed upon, so I would work on a compromise. As stated the only thing the PB is out is labor , that being if there really was in as they will build in extra anyway.
 
Here is another take - charging you any price is a sign that you negotiated the contract pretty well with a fair margin. Typically, if it was a high margin job to start with, PB would not really bother. It really does not cost him that much more.

A fair price is a certain $ per square feet. 30 spotter tiles is probably 6 to 10 square feet. Even glass tiles @ $ 40 per square foot ( with material included) should not exceed 400 bucks.
 

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