First, read your contract and look for the termination clauses.
The site linked below explains 'breaking up with your contractor' and when to do it.

If you're not happy with the walls, now is the time to stop the work and find out why they're not like you expected. If you're considering firing this guy, then stop all work since the more that is done the more difficult it may be for another contractor to take over.
Working with a contractor means talking with him often and not moving forward if you're unhappy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ending contract

Thanks - on quick glance we're not at that point. He and I spoke today and I think we cleared things up, we're taking some things away from the job and adding others and it should even out, but he got me comfortable that what was bothering me isn't the end of the world, and it won't be perfect but we will give it a try and hopefully it will work out, or we'll have to change it somehow later.

It's best to calmly talk it out. Ours got to the point, and I held in my rage so long, that the encounter was ugly! I literally screamed at him for his sloppy subs, said I can't even look at him, I'm so disappointed, and now he's trying to finish, but avoiding me like the plague, and I avoid him too.

I'm still disappointed and wish we would have fired him a long time ago!!

To terminate a contract without a loss to you requires that you be able to prove that he has not met some essential obligation. What you describe seems more like poor design and coordination skills by both parties.

Renovator8, ouch! I've been feeling like my design and coordinator hasn't been the best, but honestly to even do minimal design has cost us an arm and a leg and our architect AND our interior designer (kitchen) are HOURLY and we are in a HIGH COST area and our budget is completely blown.

So what do I do - let the architect and/or designer (with the good design and coordination skills and experience) take over running the construction administration at their rates ($150-$200 per hour) or do I muddle through so we can even afford to pay the contractor... so far I've been involving the architect when it reaches a breaking point, and to sign off on the job in the end. But not for the day to day. And it's a fiasco.

It's been another week and I'm muddling through with this contractor. Honestly I've learned that his listening and focusing skills aren't what I'd hoped, and his follow-through isn't as great - like, we didn't get asked important questions on electrical when the architect's design changed from his original plan, nor did we push to ask - again, my bad, but I'd hoped the contractor I hired would THINK of things like that in exchange for his 15 to 20% markup or whatever it is.

I'm learning that hiring a GC is absolutely no guarantee that I'm hiring someone to be my eyes, ears and brain (even in part) on a bigger project. Which is unfortunate because there are real downsides to a GC - like, I talk to a guy on the ground and it's like it went into thin air unless I then ALSO contact the GC (who shows up what, once or twice a week and otherwise literally phones it in) and say the same thing. What a pain.

This is a permitted job so I've pulled back whatever optional work we had planned to do (about 15-20% of the overall job) and plan to get done with the part that he is covering through the permitted, get our architect to sign off, then move on - quickly - and not look back.

That's my plan. We had a time/materials guy and his partner in for over a month and he's just awesome, not perfect, can't do everything, but he is super responsive and kind and helpful, so I want him back to do the rest. Live and learn.

Architects are typically paid for the project. Not by the hour, unless it's for minor revisions. Designers as well don't typically work on an hourly rate unless it's for an initial consult or a small per job fee like for shopping help. It's a false economy to try to have such a large job switch to an hourly rate to save money. A job costs what a job costs, and you usually end up paying more for something structured hourly rather than by the job.

Any change orders should be IN WRITING, and they go to the contractor with everyone's signature on them. It's the contractor's obligation to communicate those changes to the individual trades, not yours. You don't tell the electrician that something is changed unless you get the GC on the phone right then and there and talk with him about that, and then follow up with an email to document the change. Then followed up by an official "change order" that also is in writing that documents the changes.

What types of written documents and plans is everyone working off of? THAT is "the bible" of the project. The written word and the signed plans are what rule the process. It avoids the "he said, she said" situations. If it's not in writing, it doesn't exist. What is the written change order process and associated fees? If something is done without there being a signed change order from you, then you have the right to hold the contractor to the original plan. If something has to be changed because of unknown site conditions, then you all have to come together to work out the solution and every party has to sign off on it. If you want to change something, there is a process that has to be undergone for that, plus the associated costs for that change have to be documented, including the change order fee.

Many people in the trades do not have good communication skills. That's why the written contract rules. Many times, that's a standard AIA contract. For a large renovation, it's always worth it to have a construction lawyer go over the documents. It pays for itself.

I don't know what you expected to pay as far as costs go, but just from the past posts about the project, it's not a budget one. It's an old building. It's multi family. In New York. That all adds costs. 120K wouldn't be out of line for the scope of the initial project. That's with very cheap finish materials too. About 25-30K of that would be for the services of an architect and designer if you needed both services.

Time and materials guy isn't going to be licensed and insured. Or able to permit. That's a big risk for you to assume. One that involves the possibility of a lawsuit because of him injuring himself, and that also has the possibility of a neighbor turning you in and you being fined. And your being denied any future ability to get a CO for a multi family dwelling because you can't prove that the project was done correctly and inspected.

The two biggest mistakes anyone can do on a renovation is to first, go into it underfunded. You're there and have already done that. Second, is to try to "save" money by doing it with unlicensed contractors. You're thinking about that one. Think harder. Live and learn indeed.

The time/materials guy is a licensed contractor, and he is insured, he's just self-insured as is his business partner (who is also good). He just can't have employees working under him so he can't be a GC. Plus he doesn't do exterior work and our permit covered interior and exterior. The guy we hired, the guy I dislike and regret having hired, pulled the permit for both interior and exterior. Yes I knew I needed someone for the bigger part of the job, that was a GC (our other guy could've pulled the permit for the interior, but not the exterior as well).

I wasn't underfunded for the big job but I am underfunded for the optional things we wanted to do - more importantly, once I saw how the GC we hired handles things I didn't want to pay him to mess up optional jobs, so we pulled them from him. We don't need that pricey terrace in our backyard - would be great, but not on his dime since I lost confidence in him.

And it's easy to say it's a mistake to go in under-funded but what if you applied for a loan and a bank turned you down because of a technicality (our credit is great), so you have to self-fund a renovation or sell your house at a big loss and capture that loss. We decided to renovate and now I see why people just sell, even at a loss. Our third option would be to rent elsewhere and be landlords, and yet the layout made it challenging to do even that. If we decide to do that later, we'll get more rent post-renovation, I'd think, with a better layout. Or that's the idea.

People in the business seem to think us newbies make mistakes because we don't know better. But if you're not in the business how do you avoid making mistakes, over-paying, hiring the wrong person. I checked SO many references on this guy, who was recommended highly by our architect. And he seems like a hack. Not in the big ways, hopefully - he knows his stuff - but in the small ways, like asking the right question at the right time and managing, really managing, a job, so we don't finish everything else and have to wait a month for the last piece to get done, and don't want to pull all optional work from him and wait for someone who listens better. I'm sure I'm making a lot of mistakes but what's my GC's excuse.

Sounds to me like your not letting your GC be a GC, You pay him to be in charge, not you directing things, making decisions and the like. What does your contract with him say? Is he the one who pulled the permits (he better be)? Is he paying the subs? Did he hire the subs?

what would it look like to let the GC be a GC? how about his ordering a door to the outside? I left that to him, he just asked what I wanted. Weeks ago I emailed him info and now he's throwing the decision back to me, saying he could order the door but he wants to be sure it's what I want. I was planning on going to the lumber place to work out what I want and he said, just let me know what you want and I'll go from there. so it's lingered and now the whole job is going to wait weeks because he didn't "be a GC" and get it done So now do I just say "order whatever you want you're in charge" and live with whatever he comes up with? We didn't get to this level of specificity with the architect, and the interior designer is a kitchen person and this is the door from kitchen to outside. I've just gotten some input but no one is running this. It's down to the GC and me.. Now weeks later he is saying perhaps I should go to the lumber yard and pick something out.

yes he pulled the permit, yes he hires and is paying the subs (other than a steel guy I hired and paid, who did the best job of all as I knew he would - the direct hire was pre-negotiated with the GC and it's in the contract).

by "subs" that means the electrician, the flooring guy - NOT a plumber, after he got the job he mentioned in passing that they weren't going to hire a separate plumber but would do the work "in-house" (would have been nice to know going into the job when comparing bids

I have no idea what your contract states with anyone or what your expectations are but the only thing I can completely understand from your posts is that you have a convoluted mess and no clear cut plan to get to the finish line. Everything should have been specified before signing a contract, truthfully all products should have been selected prior to bidding so that everyone was bidding apples to apples. I do not mean to sound like a dick but it seems you really don't have the people you need hired to properly do this job nor have had right from the beginning.

Interesting - I'm already full of self-recrimination about how this job was handled, both on my end and that of others, so it's hard to hear from third parties how I've bungled it. As a newbie it's hard to know how to make it happen. I guess the better approach would have been to let someone else run the job, soup to nuts, and just pay more for their services. I thought I could handle it, and learn quickly, and I was wrong.

I'm an attorney (write contracts, so am leery of contracts, I realize how little they are worth and the people behind them are more important), and a lot of people think what I do is hard to understand - well, compared to the contracting business it's easy! When I say I'll be there at 2 - I mean 2 not 4. At least in NYC 2 is just a ballpark time and it really means, whenever I can get there, maybe 2 maybe 2:45. And I've found that most contractors follow that approach here.

Most contractor candidates just bid out a door, maybe a type of door, but not a specific product. Not one person said to pick out a door ahead of time, and had they done that I would have had no idea what type of door to pick anyway. I'm relying on professionals for that.

This is a temporary kitchen job; I've got appliances either delivered or being delivered. I just have to buy cabinets and countertop and backsplash but that doesn't have to be part of the GC's job and in fact it wasn't part of his bid. My goal has been to get the basics done, so I can get a tenant on our lower floor and apply for a loan so I can finish the job with the proceeds. If we don't get approved for a loan we can still finish, just on a tighter budget.

I guess my original question comes back to, what to do when you have lost confidence in your GC, do you try to get it back, do you muddle through, do you fire them. I don't want to fire this guy, he's in the thick of it, I just don't want to use him for anything someone else can do that doesn't require a permit - and he's almost done with the part that required a permit. We'll close out the job (he has to do the floors, install the appliances, and turn a window into a door and he's mostly done; all but the window-door conversion should be done in a week and then we wait for the door to come; he's also putting together a laundry area and that's an add-on and since we really could use a working washer/dryer we're not pulling that from him)

I guess the harder part is, once we're done with this guy we're not really done. Then I have to get cabinets and sink ordered and installed, and then get a countertop ordered and backsplash installed. I guess there's an end in sight. But with filthy floors, dust all over, no washer/dryer it's hard to see the end game.

So yes I messed up thinking I was up to the challenge of being on the front line with the contractor. Perhaps some contractors, yes, but mine no, so yes he's getting the blame, perhaps unfairly. In the end, perhaps we needed an architect to just run the job, and yes an architect getting paid by the project not the hour. The architect I liked best is hourly, and a number of people have had problems with him for that reason, he ended up overcharging them and they either couldn't finish their job or complained to him about his fees and got them reduced. I took the tack of, using him less and adding stress on myself. Not a good approach.

Like I said and I don't nor do I mean to sound like a dick. And I commend you for coming on here and being honest, most just run and are never heard from again as son as someone offers constructive criticism. I really don't have a concrete answer to give you at the moment. I will think about the situation and try and get it all straight in my head and come back later or tomorrow with some sort of advice and in the meanwhile perhaps someone else will happen by with some advice as well. In the meanwhile take a deep breathe and maybe just step back from the entire project for a day or two, sometimes just clearing your head you will get a better idea on what to do.

Thanks millworkman - I have come to the conclusion that my expectations were too high, of my GC, and that I should have hired an architect to handle the job and not tried to do it myself. I hired an architect but tried to be the admin person - a rookie mistake for a control freak like me. I needed more help. I thought it would be fun. In a lot of ways it was. But it was too hard for me. And I'm up to a challenge, but it was too much.

Part of my own personal challenge is, my husband has NO interest in all this stuff. So most of the decisions are on me, and the stress, and his stress is mostly dealing with the chaos, and dirt and dust and doing some more of the childcare.

I've been vilifying a contractor who is just a person, with a lot of knowledge, a good guy, but only human. I've been blaming him for not being able to help me more when really it's not his job, I needed a bigger team.

Again I commend you and am sure going forward you will make the correct decisions to rectify you problems. Don;t take this personal but there are plenty of people who don't think they need an attorney either and get royally screwed so your not the first nor the last to realize that other professions are not always easy.