The Construction Contract Review

Remodeling your home?

Good advice below from Money Magazine.  Also, don't forget to contact an experienced construction attorney.  It's like measuring twice and cutting once - just a good idea that can saves time, effort and money later. 

(Money Magazine) -- Home improvement is one of the fastest-growing segments of e-commerce. But the consequences of a bad decision when it comes to finding a contractor or remodeling products online are far worse than buying the wrong paperback.

What if those rave reviews you read about a contractor are ringers posted by his daughter -- or if your supposedly in-stock sink order doesn't ship for two weeks, throwing off your entire work schedule?

Follow these tips to avoid glitches and get the most for your money.

To find a contractor: Sites that are driven by consumer ratings are your best bet. That's because you get to see what as many as hundreds of prior customers say about all the pros in your area.

Just watch for sites with anonymous postings and ads that appear in search results that look like positive ratings. In the New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles metro areas, or a few counties in New York, Connecticut, and Florida, check out Franklin-Report.com, which compiles user comments into Zagat-like ratings.

Beyond those regions, a good alternative is Angieslist.com, which charges $5 a month, and uses the credit card info to prevent anyone from creating more than one login in order to

via money.cnn.com

Construction firm settles suit for $3.9 million

A Livermore construction company that has built housing for university students and low-income residents has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the state claiming that the firm cheated its workers out of pay for two years, officials said Wednesday.

Country Builders Inc. must pay $2.2 million in back pay to more than 120 construction workers to settle a suit that Attorney General Jerry Brown filed in Alameda County Superior Court. The remaining money consists of civil penalties and payments to a state compensation insurance fund.

Under the settlement, the company is also barred from working on any government-funded public works projects for three years, the maximum period allowed by state regulations.

Some of the company's government-funded construction projects have included the University Village student housing in Albany for UC Berkeley students with families, student housing at California State University East Bay, and housing complexes in Oakland, Berkeley, San Pablo and San Jose.

Brown's office began investigating the company after employees reported that they weren't being paid the prevailing wage for public-works projects. The company also misclassified its hourly wage rates to avoid paying the full amount it owed to the state in workers' compensation premiums, the state's lawsuit said.

The attorney general's office sued the company in March, claiming that the company engaged in unfair competition and violated state labor laws. Besides Country Builders, the complaint named President Weldon Offill, Chief Financial Officer Keith Offill and agents Kelly Offill, Sandra Offill and Bryan Offill as defendants.

Bryan, Keith and Kelly Offill are Weldon Offill's sons, and Sandra Offill is Kelly Offill's wife.

Weldon Offill said Wednesday that the lawsuit "was a big union deal," but declined further comment.

"I'll just pass on that," he said. "I just wanted to get this behind me after 33 years of working everybody in the Bay Area."

His attorney, Roger Patton, said the company did not admit wrongdoing. "They're going to continue to do quality construction work," he said. "We think it's a fair settlement, and the company's happy to get it resolved and move on."

Paul Cohen, spokesman for the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council in Oakland, said the union is "very pleased that workers will get the wage they are entitled to."

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

via www.sfgate.com

Are you paying prevailing wages and properly classifying your employees? Could you afford a settlement like this?

EASIER TO BUILD AND RENOVATE GREEN, LEED-CERTIFIED BUILDINGS

New "Building to LEED for New Construction" Designed to Help Contractors, Designers and Developers Navigate Green Building Certification Process, Maintain LEED Accreditation

The Associated General Contractors of America today unveiled a new green construction education program designed to make it easier to build and renovate green, LEED-certified buildings. The new program, called Building to LEED® for New Construction, Second Edition is designed to help contractors, designers and developers successfully navigate the green building certification process and keep their green accreditations current.

"Green building is rapidly changing from a niche market to the industry norm," said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer. "Within a short time, the ability to master the complexities of green construction and certification will be essential to succeeding as a building contractor."

Sandherr said the association developed Building to LEED to meet the growing demand for green construction and design experts. He noted that the number of green buildings under construction is expected to grow by an estimated 25 percent by 2013. As a result, anyone involved in building construction will need to complete a course like the association's new program to be successful, the association head added.

Starting next Wednesday, August 18th, the association will begin taking orders for the Building to LEED program, which includes Instructor's Guides and Participants Manuals to be used during the program's one-day class. In addition to learning invaluable green construction and design skills, anyone taking the class will earn 7.5 continuing education credits that can apply to maintaining LEED certification.

Anyone interested in learning more about Building to LEED, ordering the program or finding out where the new education program is being offered should visit www.agc.org/green. Anyone can order the program, which is designed to be used by construction firms, community colleges, joint-apprenticeship training programs and construction association chapters, among other groups.

Sandherr said that the new education program was part of the association's broader commitment to green construction. He noted that the association released, earlier this year, a comprehensive new green construction plan, "Building a Green Future," that outlines a series of public and private measures to further increase demand for green construction. "Policy makers need to understand that you can't simply wish for a green future, you have to build it," Sandherr added.

via www.agc.org