Why can't I supply my own posts to staircase contractor?

18 years ago

My staircase contractor is acting weird. When I told him I would supply my own posts - I am going with gorgeous carved Enkeboll posts ($224 each), which my kitchen company agreed to stain and glaze, he said he would turn these himself and is trying to sell them at 450 each. Why would I reject a well-known quality for something I do not quite want? He said he would not take somebody else's posts. At the same time, he is OK to supply his stock posts. I gave him the size upfront, the size is only 1/4 difference on each post. We are doing post to post. We are only at planning / quote stage. Is it time to change the contractor, or is it the rule not to accept posts supplied by the owner?

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Comments (3)

User
18 years ago
Stair building parts are designed to work together---a quarter inch difference in height is a BIG deal---that means every other part will have to be modified. A quarter inch difference in diameter is still something that has to be adjusted for.

Plus, you have taken away part of his job.If he is staining/finishing the rest of the stair, why would you have the kitchen people stain stair parts?

Sounds as if you need to find another contractor---and tell them up front what you want.
inna0410
Original Author
18 years ago
There is 1/4 inch difference in the square block top and bottom one. The one he has is 3 1/4, the one I supply is 3 1/2. I realize that it could be easily adjusted, especially considering that I will have a circular staircase, with only one post in the bottom and two posts on the second floor on each side of the staircase. The construction is post to post with goosenecks - only two given the circular design. The posts height difference is somewhat substantial (again, my assumption) - 49 mine vs 56 his. But then again, he did not explain his offer, just sent it out with the wording - extra-charge for custom posts - 450 pp. This is ridiculous.
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kmealy
18 years ago
What you are describing is known in some trades as C.O.M. (Customer's Own Material). Most people hate it because it it more work and more risk for which they get uncompensated.

In addition to working on something with different specs and something that he may not be familiar with, he is taking a risk. If something goes wrong, who are you going to want to buy a replacement? If something goes wrong with his post, he'll probably eat it and build a new one. It also makes it a smaller, potentially less profitable job with the same amount of work.

It's his business decision to go with your material or not. It's your decision to go with this contractor or not.