[TowerTalk] Questions.Tower Installation & concrete cost

[K7LXC at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/7/2006 9:03:23 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
towertalk-request at contesting.com writes:

>  Of course, the contractor attempted to bill me for the extra  concrete. I
refused on the basis that it was his responsibility to ensure  the hole was
dug to the specification. He wasn't thrilled about it, but the  relationship
continued after that, so I guess my refusal wasn't all that  unexpected.
 
    First, it's rare that you can get the exact hole  dug that you want. 
Excavators are NOT precision tools. OTOH I've had some  excavator operators that 
were dirt magicians and produced (in good soil)  squared up holes. 
 
    Second, soil conditions vary widely and can work  against you. I dug a 7 
yard base hole in river bottom rip-rap and the thing  sloughed a lot, 
enlarging the hole from inside. It finally took 10-11 yards or  so by the time we 
filled it up. 
 
    Finally, did you get a fixed price bid from the  contractor? If so, he 
probably had some extra time and money built in for  unexpected things to 
happen, like your bigger hole. I prefer to work on a  time-and-materials basis so 
the customer only pays for what time and materials  were actually used without 
having to inflate the original estimate for  the unexpected. 
 
    It's your prerogative to refuse anything to do  with your job but it sure 
makes it tough on us little contractors  when we're incurring costs the 
customer won't pay for. :-(
 
Cheers,
Steve    K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for hams
Cell: 206-890-4188