Get a lawyer to help you decide how to terminate without creating a problem for yourself. If she's this difficult to schedule now, she'll be this difficult when you need a punch list done. Why you'd want to pay her even more for doing a punch list I can't imagine. Find a home inspector to do your punch list.

It will cost you a little money. Well spent. There's a place for lawyers(unfortunately) and this is it--to prevent trouble. They're MUCH cheaper this way.

An architect who doesn't put light switches to control the fixtures? She's not careful enough to do a punch list for you.

Why do you need a lawyer to terminate a contract?? They owe no money and are seeking no refund. All you will be missing is the hte one inspection, which she cannot perform anyways.

I would be happy to face that type of wrath and fury. If that person even said one bad thing to me I would rip em. Otherwise just say your goodbyes and end it.

He needs a lawyer to help him know how to construe terms like "failure to perform her duties" within the context of his unique set of facts--the contractual definitions and his own actions and how they may have affected her timely performance of the contract. And to know the case law in his jurisdiction. I doubt that most homeowners know all that.

Looking at it from different perspective...

Does she have other members of the architect firm that could serve the same purpose or is this a 1-person office?

If there are other members available, I'd go that route as they would probably find something & you've already paid for that.

Are you saying that she did do the 1st inspection? If so, how did it go?

She works alone out of her house and has no one else to perform the inspeciton. She did the first inspection and it went fine. But by the time she's able to perfrom this inspection what she is supposed to inspect will be sheathed in plywood.

I usually think that getting an attorney's opinion is good advice but with no monetary issues and the inspection being her last duty under the contract I'm leaning towards just terminating it. And I'll contact her tomorrow to be sure that either she or someone else can't do the inspection. I don't see any way that someone would expect two weeks notice for this type of inspeciton. No one knows exactly when a house will be at a certain stage. And when it's ready for inspection it's ready and we need to keep building. Her informing us of her two week notice requirement and her vacation schedule came up 8 months after we signed the contract and the construction had started. Tom

That's interesting. I've never met an architect, among all that I've worked with, that could do onsite framing inpsections.

Can you work out a deal where she supplies the punch list in lieu of the framing inspection? At no additional cost, of course.

Let her do it without your presence, and give it to you in writing. She does know the job better than a stranger coming in.

Claire

Jason, Since we signed the contract a year ago April we've had a pretty good education about architects. I'd never contract for one to do anything but design a house. Maybe she doesn't know what she's looking at with a framing inspection but I'll have the give the Devil her due; she designed a wonderful house.

Claire, with a reasonable person you might be able to work that out.
Tom

The person who designed the structure of the house should review the work. Any architect is capable of determining if a shear wall and trusses have been installed according to the design drawings but such drawings are normally prepared by an engineer rather than an architect so that is who should review the work. Of course, the GC should first review the work and determine if it complies with the design documents.

The reason architects don't normally include formal scheduled framing inspections in their services is because that can be construed as usurping the role and responsibility of the general contractor to build according to the design documents. Architects usually provide informal construction observation services during site visits as the work is being performed where they look at the work and report any deficiencies they see without relieving the contractor of any responsibility for meeting the requirements of the contract drawings.

If you don't want the architect to prepare a punch-list (never heard of an architect doing this) then you don't need to do anything except tell the architect you don't need that service. It is not necessary to terminate a contract in order to eliminate an additional service not included in the original fee. It is always wise to avoid a confrontation when it does not gain you anything. You never know when you might need someone's cooperation later.

As far as inspection is concerned, consider asking the GC to give you a written statement that the work conforms to the design drawings (or provide a statement from an engineer) and also photograph it for the architect to review it later. Remember that the GC's responsibility to conform to the structural drawings is not affected by any action or lack of action by you or your architect.

I consider myself as capable as a structural engineer to review residential framing but I always have the design engineer review it with me because engineers have the ability to focus on structural details rather than being distracted by all the other design and construction issues.

Anvil, your suggestions may work out better in the end than just terminating. Thanks, Tom