Construction Management - Partial Payment of Concrete or Shotcrete Work? 2

[LocalCM808]

Would you wait until you receive the compressive strength test results before paying the Contractor 100% of concrete or shotcrete work? Our city specs are not very clear on this section. Some say pay a portion some say wait until the results pass the spec requirement. The work is completed in place but afraid if payment is made and test fails then it will difficult to have the contractor redo the work. Thanks.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

IMHO, pay a portion of the cost now. The Contractor will have to pay for the labor to perform the work and possibly for the materials before the (28 day?) test results. Usually specifications have a clear requirement to withhold "retainage" (often 10%) until project final acceptance.

Before the next job, rewrite the specs. It is false economy to "think" that payments can be delayed solely to benefit the Owner. Reputable Contractors will quickly discover this one-sided arrangement and either not bid, or more likely provided inflated bids that have a calculated (but unseen) cost to compensate for delayed payment.

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[Ron]

Agree with SRE. You should have some indication of concrete meeting spec with early strength testing at 7 days. Withhold retainage only

 

[bimr]

Agree with SRE. It would normally take more than a week to submit the payment application and review of it. By then, you should have the indication that the work is acceptable.

You should custom tailor the specifications and payment details to the scope of work.

 

[cvg]

I agree completely with retainage, however are not clear on why this would be in the "specs" written by an engineer. this should be in the owners contract. If you are preparing all the contract documents for the owner as well, than by all means, that clause should be in the agreement.

 

[dik]

Sorry I missed this... in most jurisdictions, retainage, is established by lien legislation or by contract. In most jurisdictions lien legislation overrides contract; there is no way to void lien legislation. Your 7 day strength should give you a good indication of the 28 day strength, and, you have ample time to do what is required to ensure that you have a properly supplied concrete.

Dik

Dik