Home Improvement Contractor - Licensed Contractors

Is a home construction contractor responsible for repairing damage caused by his actions?

Say a homeowner hires a contractor to paint some exterior trim on a house. As the contractor works, some of the wood being painted breaks off due to dry rot. the homeowner feels that the contractor should now repair the trim in addition to painting it. The contractor says he should not be held responsible for the condition of the wood he was asked to paint and since repairing was not negotiated in the contract, he is under no obligation to do any carpentry work.

Public Comments

1. Normally Yes. If you signed a contract with him review it that should give you your answer.
2. The contractor should not be held responsible for the condition of the wood he was asked to paint and since repairing was not negotiated in the contract, he is under no obligation to do any carpentry work.
3. No... He should not be required to fix the siding. In order to work out an agreement, meet in the middle. Find the siding, pay for it, and he will possibly put it back up, without charging a labor fee. But that comes with strings attached, since he may not be a professional in siding. ie sealing, etc. He may also not want to delve into the siding, as he may find more underlying problems of rot, etc. Best bet would be find the main problem, and fix it, then worry about the paint.
4. The dry rot is a material defect in the trim, the contractor who was contracted to paint the trim is not responsible to repair all the dry rot on their dime unless the owner wants to pay to replace the dry rot The courts will not rule the contractor must replace all the dry rot at their expense this would unjustly enrich the home owner for they would not only get the trim painted they would also get all new wood in regard to the trim; all for the price of painting the trim The home owner would not prevail in court
5. If they can proof it was dry wood the the Home owner is in trouble. Normally the contractor should be the one making trouble not the home owner. He owner should have inspected the wood before he let another human endanger their lives working on rotting wood without informing them of danger underneath.