Legal Advisor: Framing Subcontracts

Contractors who normally take on complete remodels or whole-house new construction projects occasionally find themselves working as subcontractors. This often happens, for example, when a contractor who loses the bid for the primary contract takes on just the framing. Whether the contract for this work is with the owner or with the GC, there are plenty of opportunities for misunderstandings. To prove my point, here are a few scenarios I encountered in my law practice. In one case, the framing sub discovered that the GC expected him to provide an itemized material takeoff for a 7,000- square-foot structure, even though he was not furnishing the materials. In another case, the owner expected the framing sub to construct a 180-footlong temporary