Roofing contracts are known to either be a contractor’s best friend or worst foes. Therefore, every contractor should know the roofing contract’s provisions. In addition, 5 essential contract provisions should be attended to avoid business harm. Finally, roofing contracts should be well structured to avoid having issues in the future with your clients. This article will help highlight some aspects of the roofing contract provisions that should be attended to carefully.
Roofing Contract Provisions That Should Be Well Taken Care Of
Here are essential provisions in a contract that every professional roofer should pay good attention to.
1. Scope of Work Provisions
The scope of work forms a huge part of litigation under a roofing contract. Scope of work disputes includes a contractor seeking payment for work that was not included in the original contract, followed by a dissatisfied owner disputing if they agree to the work done. Scope of work issues often arises when contractors discover other areas of the roofing system that need to be worked on that may not be included in the contract.
This would call up for an additional charge. The extra charge could lead to a disagreement because the original contract did not include an extra charge for fixing that issue. Therefore, the scope of work in a contract should be well-drafted. It should be stated that if an additional discovery pops up, it will lead to an extra charge. The method of pricing for the extra work should be stated too.
2. Indemnification Provisions
Indemnification provisions are another essential part of a roofing contract. It is compensation for loss or damages due to the roofer’s omissions or poor work. An indemnification clause is essential because it reduces a roofer’s liability. Standard indemnification, super indemnification, and those that fall within are the kinds of indemnifications within a roofing contract. Standard indemnity is a type of indemnification of the client for the roofing contractors’ actions that cause damage to the property. Super indemnity involves indemnification from the roofer’s activity that causes damage or loss and indemnifies the client’s action. Indemnification provisions are severely litigated and very complex. Some statutes and rules govern indemnification provisions in roofing contracts in each state. Therefore, contracts need to be reviewed by both parties to ensure that it is under state laws.
3. Liquidated Damages Provisions
When one party breaches a contract, the non-breaching party may ask for a liquidated damage provision in the contract to minimize its damage exposure. A liquidated damage provision is drafted to compensate the non-breaching party for damages or loss from the breach of contract. This is based on an agreed amount and protects a roofing contractor from a bigger loss. In roofing contracts, liquidated damages are attached to the roofing contractor’s timely finishing of the work. If the project is not completed on the agreed time, the client may ask for liquidated damage from the contractor. A liquidated damage provision must abide by the following terms and conditions:
- The damages must be made to compensate the client for the breach of contract. Liquidated damage provision must not be a penalty. Sometimes, the liquidated damage provision may not be enforced if the damages are huge compared to the original contract amount.
- If the non-breaching party contributes to the breach, the liquidated damage provision may not be enforced.
- Liquidated damages cannot be asked for when the project is almost completed, even when the contractor did not meet the deadline for completion of the project.
The terms and conditions for liquidated damages are vital for roofers to be aware of. When a project owner tries to withhold proceeds, the contractor can make necessary arguments to safeguard the payment and void the liquidated damage provision.
Conclusion
Before signing a roofing contract, these highlighted contract provisions should be well taken care of and structured up to standard. A roofing provision contract is a delicate aspect of a roofing project. Terms and conditions of construction work in a particular state should be well understood before drafting a contract. Conclusively, working with an experienced local roofer is important. A local roofer understands the state’s laws and will always abide by roofing contracts’ state rules and regulations.