Can you hire a plumber and electrician without going through the contractor?
My first contractor flaked out and never gave me an estimate after I spent hours explaining to the plumber and electrician what I wanted done. Now I am trying to get the plumber and electrician’s estimates and have them lined up to work on a specific date. “Professional courtesy” because the bid was under the flakey contractor has impeded the process. I want to save the “surcharge” my contractor would charge and just hire the plumber and electrician by myself. Why is this so hard? What is the secret code to get this done??!! I want to save myself the money, especially since the bids are already done and they know what I want/need done!
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Yes of course you can! But if they are the general contractors sub contractors they might not feel right about doing it without the contractor. If this is the case, go through your local phone book or a home improvement book (they usually have them for free in the super markets) and find a LICENSED and INSURED plumber and electrician.
Has the first guy actually started doing anything or not? If you are still waiting for an estimate, then you can simply ask other guys to offer a competitive tender and choose the one you like best.
If someone starts a job and messes up part way through, you are usually better off just junking them and writing the money off and taking on someone to put it right. Legal action gets costly and can take years. If they are a member of a professional body, you can contact them for assistance in resolving matters. You have to pay for work done correctly, not for work not done or done wrong. If a contractor/ worker doesn’t meet a deadline, that you have agreed to and put in writing, then you don’t have to pay them for extra time they take.
I’d tell the guy to go away and then start again with someone else, as they don’t seem to be doing anything. Get the plumber and electrician together, tell them what you want doing and have them go away and prepare a joint plan for getting it all done. Normally, a plumber or electrician will have contact they have worked with before and can work well together. Ask them for a reference from a previous job.
If this is for your home, you can hire anyone you want to out of the phone book. I have worked for multinationals where we pick a local name out of the phone book to carry out small jobs around the buildings. Don’t be courteous to people who aren’t.
I just redid my entire kitchen and bath without a contractor. It was a headache, but you can do it. I called the plumber, electrician, cabinet man, tile guy, etc… I got the estimates, setup the work, paid the bills one by one (vs. to the contractor). I saved thousands of dollars, but if you had asked me at the end of the job, I would have said that I would never do it again, but now that I have had time to relax and enjoy it, I did the right thing.
Is this a new home? is this something that is covered under warranty or are you just doing extra and paying for it yourself, if so whatever you want done to your home that is not covered by the contractor you can hire whomever you decide. The plumber and electrician are probably sub-contractors that work with that builder, just find someone else reputable. Make sure they have a contractor’s license, sometimes the smaller companies like i work for are more reliable. I am in southern california and i am an electrician. post where you’re from I might be able to refer you.