[futtyos]

Woodco makes very good suggestions! In addition I would put the following into your proposal:

All materials remain property of Joe Painter until all materials and labor are paid in full.

Any alteration or deviation from above specifications involving extra costs will be executed only upon written order and will become an extra charge over and above what is stated in this Proposal. All agreements are contingent upon delays beyond our control.

In addition, I would advise taking photos of the areas you will be working on BEFORE you do any work. I just finished a small exterior job where there was ivy growing on the trim. There was also old white paint on the bricks on the inside circle. When I finished the job, the HO saw the paint on the bricks and asked me why I got paint on there. I explained to her that that paint was already there before I started. When I got home I checked my phone and saw I had taken some photos of the job before I started. Here is one that shows the pre-existing paint on the bricks:

I just now uploaded this photos to my pc so I could post it here. I will be emailing this photo to the customer so she can see that the paint was on the bricks before I started painting.

futtyos

 

[futtyos]

Stuff like that can be saved for the actual contract.

I put that in my proposal as I want the client to know up front what I am proposing to do and anything else will be extra. When the client signs the proposal it becomes the contract. I like to kill 2 birds with one stone. When the job is done I convert the proposal into the invoice. I guess that would make it 3 birds.

futtyos

 

[futtyos]

walking into the prime before finish drywall mud touch ups, the entire house , floors and walls were filled with drywall dust and mud mountains on the floor. is it the painter or the drywaller to clean this up before the prime? I feel like they are using me to clean all of this up prime it so they can see their errors and fix them. then im going to have to re prime all of their misses. Please help us decipher whose is what
Thanks Tom
Reliable Painting Plus llc
se michigan

It sounds like this is not the first time you have cleaned up after the drywallers. Since you are doing work for this construction company it seems likely that you will see more cleaning up in the future. Why not type up a checklist for the PM to go over BEFORE giving him a proposal? That way you could include cleaning up the drywallers' mess as one of the tasks you are going to charge for. Have a signature line for the PM to sign off, then include the checklist with your proposal. This will make it clear what you are and are not being authorized to do. No more headaches as if they ask you to do something not on the checklist you just show them what they agreed to. I would make sure the first time you do this you go over the checklist with the PM and specifically point out the section on cleaning up after the drywallers. I think the PM will get the point. No more need to get upset.

futtyos