This is a subject that really gets me riled up. A home owner should absolutely NOT be liable for issues arising between a GC and his subs or suppliers; they should only be responsible for paying the people they have personally contracted with. I have no idea how this ever became legal (seems like someone got a kickback of sorts, IMHO).[/quote]
It gets me riled up too, but to be fair there are slimey homeowners too which probably necessitated the law. Consider a homeowner who conspires with a general contractor to do work way below cost, with the owner and gc knowing full well there would not be enough $$ to pay subs. The homeowner gets a new pool/room/whatever for very cheap, the gc gets his money, only the subs get screwed.
The 20 day notice thing is probably the best compromise (thanks for that info, UCGal!) and probably makes nobody happy, least of all subs and homeowners. Sometimes that the best sign of a good compromise. 🙂
Finally, I’m not sure it would work too well on something like a pool, but I’ve known people who have told the gc to send all shipments and bills directly to the homeowner…all lumber, concrete, etc are then drop-shipped directly to the home, the homeowner writes a check upon delivery, and the issue of nonpayment for materials disappears. It has worked well for the people who have used this method.
