Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Contracts and Proposals

A bill of sale is given to a buyer when he or she buys something. For example, Mary buys a small gazebo the timber framer already has cut. It basically says that the gazebo now belongs to Mary, whenever it will be delivered (often fob at your shop). The timber framer could probably put something on the bottom of the bill of sale that says the frame is sold “as is, without any express or implied warranties or guarantees about anything.” I don’t know if this cya would be necessary or effective, as I am not really that familiar with bills of sale. Doesn’t say Mary is responsible for putting up the frame, obtaining local code approvals, making sure her subdivision permits gazebos, etc etc. Not a legal problem for the timber framer as he didn’t promise to do these things, but it sure might leave Mary in a lot of trouble, and mad at the timber framer, if she didn’t think about things like this. So, if you’re going to use a bill of sale, you might want to think about giving the customer a piece of paper spelling things like this out. Not a contract, but just more information your customer might find helpful, and will prevent some from coming back disgruntled because you didn’t mention that they needed concrete footings and tie downs. Again, I don’t think Mary would have any legal recourse against you for not telling her these things, but it sure hurts your reputation (and isn’t that really what you have to sell) if you have grumpy former customers.

Now let’s say Mary comes back years later and wants a frame cut for her dream house. No way a bank is going to loan her money to give to you without a contract. And unless Mary and the timber framer live in a handshake world, neither should want to tackle a larger frame without some kind of a contract. It’s just too big a risk for both parties without a contract.

Things I've learned, mostly the hard way, that need to be on my contracts.
- Who is responsible for time spent shimming up or trimming post bottoms an out of level/plumb frame because the foundation is not level
- Not everyone thinks protruding pegs are attractive. Proud or flush? Need to know ahead of time. Don't think for a minute that the closing in guy can run a hand saw
- Raising wounds, beautiful to me, are what the customer, usually the wife, zeros in on. Usually a chipped edge up on the ridge. Talk about what people expect ahead of time
-Insist that the foundation is backfilled before your crew gets there. Falling off a floor deck can end the day for everybody. I once had a M.O.L.(ministry of labour) inspector show up the day before a raising at a non backfilled site. He put a stop work order on the whole thing and issued an order to comply to the homeowner and me to build a suitable barricade AND cover the open basement stairwell. We (I) were lucky we weren't fined. Now I put it in the contract.
-If you finish cutting a frame in the agreed time period but the client drags their ass and isn't ready for weeks, months, A YEAR! (yep it happened) there needs to be a storage fee charged for that frame in the yard you keep on re-tarping. Also, they need to know that the water stained, grayed timber is NOT the way it looked when you put it there.
-On the same vein, some wood, like Doug Fir does not age well. A frame of Doug Fir is a bitch to put together after sitting for months. The extra costs for these potential issues needs to be up front.
-Is there room at the site to put the bents together? Or is there only enough room for 2 cars on the entire property. Will the crane need to sit on the septic tank? A really challenging site can run up costs really fast. A pre-job visit is absolutely essential. Don't go by the pictures
-Avoid letting the client look after things like the crane rental cause he "knows a guy who owes me a favour". This has failure written all over it. You can bet the "crane" will be somebody's tow truck or something like that. Say no thanks, I'll look after it.
-Does the client want to help? Will he be insured if he gets hurt? I let them fetch braces and slings and stuff like that. Absolutely no work aloft.
That's all I've got.

That's great stuff Ray. Thanks.

A few more thoughts,

The framer has sold Mary a gazebo that is probably implied to be suitable to pass code and for some service. She might have recourse if it is not. Our local BO was not impressed with one outfit that made those prebuilt sheds. He got them when they provided delivery and set-up services, they then became unlicensed contractors. In his view you can sell anything, it is up to the buyer to seek redress in that case, but, as soon as you build or set it up you are on his turf.

I state what the homeowner will provide, what I will do and what I will not do. They will provide;
Power,all foundation work (oh you meant the porch footings too!), little house on the prarie, all permits, and be responsible for all taxes and fees and any material handling equipment I need.(Some states do require you to be their tax collector, yes I've had to pay the taxes for the entire built value)

I exclude responsibility for bought goods that should carry a manufacturers warranty, or any responsibility for weather related delays. My state also requires a completion date on a contract, I've never included that as it strikes me as a willful lie but they want it in there. I also write out any areas that I know I'm not doing to remove the assumption that I am going to shingle or frame out the basement... yes I've done both for the fun of it by not excluding them.

We then detail the scope of work, I've had a lawyer call this a handshake but at least it gives us the basic talking points.
Payments are detailed at progress milestones. Change orders are to be written up and signed by both parties and are payable immediately. I typically actually bill for them in the end and use judgement in those bills. Sometimes I have felt I didn't explain well and we had an honest misunderstanding that I shouldn't bill them for. Some folk, well, I wish I could charge a "hassle tax" on top of the change

I explain everything as we read through it with the exception of my judgement on change orders, I push them to get it all right in the first place. Promise short, deliver long, you'll be a hero.

I do that in triplicate, we all sign, I get one and only one signature, that is my boss. This keeps me out of the middle if there are marital disagreements. I keep one copy and give them two, one for their files and one for the lender.

A contract is really something that exists in the minds of the parties, it is an offer and acceptance of that offer. The paper is the basis for the discussion but it must be based on the good faith of both parties. It will never cover everything that goes on or goes wrong. If you suspect the good faith of the other party no amount of paper will protect you and no amount of money will make the job worthwhile, talk it out then or politely exit. That suspicion or feeling is not necessarily them, it is likely you, but you must respect it. Life is short, take on the jobs and clients you can do your best with.