The guy in our kitchen was on his hands and knees, investigating the area under the sink to try to determine why our new dishwasher was gushing water out of the air vent. As we tried not to stare at his butt crack, which was all too visible above his lower and lower-riding jeans, we marveled at the fact that this was his seventh or eighth visit to complete the work on our kitchen started oh so long ago. The adventure included kinked water lines, leaking faucets, dented panels, chunks out of our tile floor, damaged cabinets, late or missed appointments, the list goes on. But this was nothing compared the saga of our new countertop, which was to be the crown jewel of the project.
The comedy of errors started the instant the workers hired by the lead contractor to cut and install our new granite countertops, hereafter referred to as the dreaded subcontractor, entered the house. It evolved that the subcontractor guy responsible for getting the granite picked up the wrong piece, cut it to fit, and brought it over to install. Now this isn’t a small piece of stone, mind you. The slab we picked out was at least 10 feet square and had a huge sign with our name on it taped to the top of the slab. How this guy got the wrong piece is beyond me.
I never even knew what a subcontractor was until we had our kitchen re-done. I certainly know now.
After the correct countertop was finally installed, and the dishwasher was finally working correctly, and everything else was smoothed out, we paid our primary contractor the full price of the job. Problem is, as we came to find out, he neglected to pay the countertop subcontractor within 30 days. So it would make sense that the countertop company gets the primary guy to pay them, wouldn’t it? Not so fast.
Here is where Wisconsin Legislative Statute 779 comes in. This gives subcontractors all kinds of rights and procedures. While the intent of the statute is to protect the subcontractor in case the primary contractor doesn’t pay them, the practical application of this statute actually screws the homeowner.
It means that the subcontractor, if the primary contractor doesn’t pay them for a job, can put a lien on the homeowner’s residence. And a lien is basically collateral on your home, which can, until the subcontractor gets paid, prevent you from selling your home, at best, and at worst cause the mortgage company to foreclose on your house. This is serious stuff.
So despite the fact that we’d paid in full, we received the dreaded intent to file lien letter from the countertop subcontractor, again despite the fact that we’d already paid for the job. And to add insult to injury, the letter was preceded by a rather nasty and threatening call from countertop company Treasurer. I’m sorry, this law is absolutely absurd. And so is the concept that we should pay twice.
We’ve come to find out that there are two ways this can be solved. First and most desirable is that the primary contractor ultimately pays the subcontractor. Second and absolutely unacceptable is that you pay the subcontractor, then go after the primary contractor for the money.
But there is a way to avoid this upfront. And it’s the ONLY way to protect yourself. BEFORE any work begins, ask the primary contractor if he intends to subcontract any work out. If he does, you MUST have the subcontractor sign a “waiver of lien” prior to any work commencing. This means that no claims for lien can be put on your home.
So let’s talk about this subcontractor, the shark-ish countertop supplier who unfortunately has to remain nameless for this blog. Okay, the primary contractor didn’t pay them initially. But here’s what they did: a) pick out, cut and attempt to install the wrong piece of granite; b) take a big chunk out of the backdrop behind our stove during installation of the correct piece a week later; c) fail to deliver a strainer for our kitchen sink that we had paid the primary contractor for; d) add more than 100% to their cost of the granite in their attempt to gouge either us or the primary contractor; and e) send us a notice of intent to file lien on our home if we didn’t pay them this exorbitant amount of money.
This all worked out, thank heavens. The primary contractor finally paid up, and got the countertop company to give us a lien waiver, but only after we threatened to get our attorney on the case.
We learned some valuable lessons here, and I’d offer that if you are planning to have any home improvements done, contact me and I’ll let you know who’s swimming in the contractor/subcontractor pool. Because, really, Jaws would most likely treat you better.
