AboutPeter M. Elliott Expertise First response to queries regarding extensions of time, variations orders, site instructions and payment using FIDIC and other forms of Conditions of Contract, based on English Law, and derivatives only.
Experience Value . . .
It's unwise to pay too much, but it's unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it's well to add something for the risk you run.
And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.
. . . John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)
"We are too poor to buy something cheap"
.Romanian Proverb 2002
A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit.
George Herbert (English poet 1593-1633)
I said it in Hebrew, I said it in Dutch,
I said it in German and Greek:
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
That English is what you speak!" Hunting of the Snark - Lewis Caroll
Match your presentation to the reader!
The joy of food lasts but an hour, of sleep but a day, of a woman, but a month, but the joy of a building lasts a lifetime. Syrian proverb.
Comments and observations leading to improvements in the translation of FIDIC Red & Yellow books into Romanian prior to approval by FIDIC (reference 'Preface to the Romanian edition')
Question My husband and I are in the process of building a home in a township in southeastern Michigan. When we purchased the lot, there was never standing water on the property. With the record setting rainfall that we have had in our area there is enough standing water on the property to require the builder to continually pump it off just to keep it out of our walkout basement. It is not possible for them to adjust the grade as the rear of the property is the low point and we are surrounded by a hill on three sides.
The builder has obtained an engineering consult and will have to set up some kind of permanent drainage system. This will likely be a holding tank and pump system that will have to be installed at the rear of our property, at the builders expense. Although the builder is addressing the issue, my husband and I are having serious second thoughts about continuing with this project given the unforseen developments. We never would have agreed to purchase this lot had we known up front about the drainage issues or what would be needed to correct it. Is it even possible to get out of a building agreement at this point or are we stuck?
Thank you, Karen L.
Answer Hi Karen,
You can get of any contract, but at what cost? I presume that you want to cancel the Contract and leave without paying the Contractor for his work. Not a realistic, or even honourable, solution. Construction is an inexact science at the best of times and the unexpected always happens.
I do not understand part of the basis for your question. Is the problem due to rainwater or ground water? Is it a short term problem due to ponding just after a heavy rainstorm, or is the problem due to a rising ground water level due to a long term change in the environment? During construction, it is normal enough to have pumps removing rainwater after showers, or even groundwater. Once the construction is finished, the pumps go away.
If the problem is short term due to ponding of rainwater, then firstly, study the rainfall records and see if the heavy rain is likely to occur every year, every five years, every 50 years. Then take a view of the risk. If the site is open to the front, can the drainage be organised for rainwater to escape to the front of the site. Alternatively, I would try to make a virtue of necessity. Can the rainwater be used to irrigate the garden, or recycled for wasting and toilets within the house? Why not consider a softer solution to removing the water, through a large soakaway, which is likely to be cheaper and require less maintenance.
If the problem is due to rising groundwater, then the basement could be made water proof, or at least water resistant, in several ways depending on the method of construction. The Contractor should have been aware of any groundwater problem before starting work and made the necessary provision to mitigate the problem.
If the Contractor is resolving the problem without difficulty, I would not worry too much and I would sleep easy at night. You have the chance to have an attractive new home. If you are really stressed by the hiccups, then you could try to sell it on, but that might increase the stress by several orders of magnitude. Alternatively, ask the Contractor how much it would cost to cancel your Contract, but sit down before you ask him.
I hope that the above has helped, but feel free to ask a supplementary question if I have misunderstood anything.
