I am a home owner who hired a project manager to oversee the rebuild of my home damaged by fire. The project manager exceeded the contracted completion date and did not manage the flooring contractor and allowed engineering floor installation without proper floor prep and room acclimation, this resulted in clacking floor boards in uneven placed and curved boards that are popping up at the seam in certain areas of the floor. It was a bad install, plus my kitchen cabinets install was incomplete and one cabinet is damaged. I proposed to buy the contractor their final pay less the cost to replace flooring and complete the cabinet installation and other agreed upon credit. In addition I added the charges to complete the areas around the fireplace. He wants all final pay without adjustments for incomplete and faulty work.
Very VERY generally speaking, you are authorized to withold from final payment the amount necessary to repair any work that the contractor failed to perform or correct. However, there's a complicated statute that partially governs residential construction disputes in Texas called the Residential Construction Liability Act (Tex. Prop. Code Chapter 27). I'm telling you this to warn you that there are hoops home owners must jump through to protect their claims against errant contractors. In that regard, I recommend at least reaching out to an attorney to discuss these issues in a private and privileged setting to get a broader and more accurate idea of your options.
Very best,
Ben House
281-762-1377
ben@houseperron.com