Nope

And I think that's why I'm inclined to say that he needs to honor the contract and if not then he needs to let me out and I need to reassess my other bids.

Him changing the price has already gotten you out of the original contract so you are good there....not a lawyer but i think i remember that from Mr. Swim's class

planoaggie123 said:

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...i apparently have lots of thoughts on this...

That $2 just eats into his margin. He will still do fine on the job. I am guessing there are not a TON of people shelling out $thousands on a fence in this economic environment so he should want your money if i had to guess but could be wrong...

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Oddly enough, I've anecdotally seen a **** ton of new fences going up recently. It seems like their business must be booming, at least here.


Also, OP should demand he do it at the quoted price. It's on him for a) not getting to it sooner and b) not having language in his contract to cover his ***.

ETA just saw OP's last post. Ask him to meet you in the middle. He quoted $24 and you have every right to hold him to it. Going up from there is doing him a favor. If you're willing to go up, he should be willing to go down.

Just offer to split the difference and go $1 per foot.

Guy could have also bid low intending to get the job, then ask for more.

Lumber prices just shot through the roof recently. We knew is was coming, but we got our 07/08 increases from lumber supplier and depending on material increases were 30%-50% higher on average. We are a small builder but purchase $250k+ per month on average. I would suspect retail prices that most small fence guys are paying have gone up even more.

As others have said above, holding him to that price is going to be one unhappy contractor and he will save in other areas. Sounds like he is being fair in the increase, and I can assure you the increase in material costs is absolutely valid.

For you and the contractor, would be best to have an expiry on the contract if work doesn't start within 30 or 60 days. If prices had gone the other direction and you were aware, you would want the option to reprice lower.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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Guy could have also bid low intending to get the job, then ask for more.

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While there are contractors out there that are unscrupulous, this likely is not the case.

Also, OP, you aren't being "screwed" as you want to call it. Being screwed would be if he did the work, then said, "By the way, materials cost more so I'm charging you more". He was honest, told you up front there was an increase in materials, likely more than he could absorb, and came to you to let you know this.

Lumber, as mentioned, has seen pricing increases through the roof and shortages of materials, especially in the pressure treated materials. Covid shutdowns have caused shortages on lumber, and with the added processes for pressure treating, delays are even longer and prices, as with all supply and demand, have increased due to high demand and low supply.

4x4x8's that were in the mid $7 range a few months ago are now mid $12. 2x4x16's that we use for rails are around $12 ea vs $7-8 range. Cedar has also seen an increase.

Should contracts be written to account for this sort of thing? Yes. Should contractors just eat exorbitant materials increases? No. And I'd say the fact that he came to you first to explain things says he's trying to do the right thing. If you don't have to replace your fence now, wait until pricing goes back down. I guarantee the other bids you got will likely not be good with the increases in materials. They will want to rebid them accordingly.

As a contractor who makes it a practice to give a price and stick to it, unless the customer changes the scope, or something like this happens to the market, I find if frustrating that the customer's first thought is that the contractor is being shady, lying, trying to screw them, etc.. There are plenty of honest contractors just trying to make a living, same as everyone else.

In all reality, the contractor should have sourced the materials on the day you signed the contract. In my opinion, he should eat any cost overruns. Just because he played lumber market roulette, no reason you should foot the bill for his misstep. If material costs went down, would he be willing to lower his installed price? Spoiler alert, heck no he wouldn't.

You acted in good faith that he would perform the project at an agreed upon price. Taking a hard line could leave you looking for another contractor, but I have found myself refusing to reward this behavior.

CapCity12thMan said:

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i was just quoted $23/sq ft in austin

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SF vs. LF

If the fence is 6FT tall - you just got quoted $138/LF.