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quoted. Our Hero forwarded them for payment to the Board, while committing the cardinal sin of construction payments in Ontario: they didn ’ t holdback 10% (Gasp!). Over the course of the project, our Hero missed that the contractor was front - end loading the project, leaving only 15% of contract value to complete the last half of the work. TIP: Hold - backs not only protect the Corporation from construction liens, they provide leverage to ensure completion/performance. Halfway through the project, the ground floor wallpaper started to peel off. JW touched up the seams, but the owners also started to point out that there were minor defects everywhere. The board sent out a notice to all owners, asking them to report any defects in the project to our Hero, who then spent the next several weeks reading through hundreds of pages of issues. Tired and worn out, our Hero began to forward the complaints to JW without reviewing them. JW sent an email to all the board members, and started replying to owners directly, that their complaints were unreasonable. He stopped showing up to site as diligently, the project slowed considerably and no longer picked up the phone when our Hero called.
In a 3 rd act twist, Joe Wallpaper didn ’ t actually install the wallpaper and had subcontracted that aspect of the work. JW ’ s wallpaperer, Jim ’ s Flooring, wasn ’ t paid for months and decided to lien the project. As a holdback fund was not created, there was no pot to deal with liens quickly. With the contractor not on site, overpaid, and non - responsive the board engaged a lawyer to wind up the contract. The limited PO was not very helpful to establish how the contract should have been cancelled and how the board could hold the Joe Wallpaper accountable. TIP: Create a file for each project in your email or computer. Keep all correspondence easily accessible for reference and even rename subject lines for easy searching. The board reached out to the second lowest bidder to finish the project and touch up JW ’ s work at a premium. When the sun set on our project, our Hero learned that you truly “ don ’ t know what you don ’ t know ” and “ the lowest bidder is not always the cheapest option ”. Upon completion our corridor refurbishment project was 4 times over budget and a year behind schedule. Set yourself up for success with steps we ’ ve learned from the mistakes above: 1. Be involved but hire a qualified consultant 2. Communicate frequently, in writing, with the consultant and the Board, focussing on timelines, budget and ensuring follow - ups completed. 3. Document, document, document. ■
CCI Review 2021/2022 —March 2022 - 26
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