Contracts & Disputes
Quotes, subcontractor agreements, change orders, warranties, and resolving disputes before they reach court.
14 guides in this section
Guides in this section
Change orders: how to actually get paid for extra work
If you do extra work without a signed change order, you are gambling on getting paid for it, and you will often lose. A change order is a short written...
Construction warranties explained: what you're on the hook for, and for how long
A warranty is your promise that the work is sound, and you are bound by two kinds: the express warranty you actually wrote into the contract, and the implied...
The contract that protects you (and the one that gets you sued)
A written contract is not paperwork, it is your protection, and a bad one (or none) can strip your right to be paid and land you with penalties. For...
Delay claims and no-damages-for-delay: getting time and money when the job runs late
When a job runs late, two questions decide what you get: whose fault was the delay, and what does your contract say about it. Those two answers determine...
How to write a demand letter that actually gets you paid
A demand letter is the cheapest tool that works. It is a formal, dated letter that lays out exactly what you are owed, sets a firm deadline, and spells out...
Indemnity and hold-harmless clauses: the clause that can make you pay for someone else's fault
An indemnity or hold-harmless clause is a promise to cover someone else's losses, and in the wrong wording it can make you pay for damage, injuries, and...
Mediation, arbitration, or court: where your dispute actually goes
If a job turns into a real dispute, there are three ways it gets settled: mediation, arbitration, or court. They differ hugely in cost, speed, and how final...
Notice and cure provisions: the paperwork deadlines that kill good claims
A notice provision is a contract clause that says you have to tell the other side about a problem, in writing, within a set number of days, or you lose the...
Pay-if-paid vs pay-when-paid: the clause that decides if you eat the loss
These two clauses look almost identical and do completely different things. Pay-when-paid controls the timing of your payment, so you still get paid even if...
Red-flag clauses: what to catch before you sign a subcontract
When a GC hands you a subcontract, it was written by their side to protect their side, and six clauses in particular can quietly move risk from them to you....
Scope of work and exclusions: write it tight so change orders stick
Your scope of work is the line between what your price covers and what is extra, and if that line is fuzzy, you lose every argument about it. A change order...
Standard contract forms: AIA, ConsensusDocs, and the one-pager
Most construction contracts come from one of three places: an AIA form, a ConsensusDocs form, or a custom one-pager somebody typed up. Which one is on the...
Subcontractor agreement essentials: what a sub agreement must contain
A subcontract is not the GC's contract with the owner in miniature, it is a separate deal that decides what you build, what you get paid, and how much of the...
Termination for cause vs convenience: how a contract gets ended, and what you're owed
There are two ways a construction contract gets terminated, and the difference decides whether you get paid your profit or just your costs. Termination for...