A Sub Did Work You Have to Redo: Decision Tree
Why this matters
Sometimes the question is not whether a sub's work is bad. You already know it is, and it has to come out and be done again. The decision left is who redoes it, in what order, and who eats the cost. Handle that well and it is an expensive afternoon. Handle it badly and you compound the defect, blow the schedule, or hand the sub an argument that lets them walk away clean. This tree assumes the redo is happening. It is about doing it safely and making the cost land where it belongs.
Start here: is the defective work a live hazard?
Before you schedule anyone, decide whether the bad work is dangerous right now. Defective trade work is not just ugly, it can be lethal: a bad gas connection, an improper electrical splice, a fitting that could let go under pressure, a structural member cut wrong, an unvented appliance.
- If it is an active hazard, make it safe first. Shut off the gas, de-energize the circuit and verify it is dead, relieve the pressure, or take the equipment out of service and red-tag it so no one uses it. Warn the customer not to operate it. Do this before any conversation about cost or blame.
- If it is a workmanship or finish defect with no safety risk, you have time to plan the redo. Continue below.
Nothing about a payment dispute is worth leaving a live hazard in a customer's home overnight.
Confirm it truly has to be redone
Redo is the expensive path. Make sure it is the right one.
- Is it a defect or a preference? A code violation or a failure is a redo. A finish the customer merely wants different may be a change, not a correction, and who pays shifts with it.
- Was it in the sub's scope? If they built exactly what the written scope said and the scope was wrong, the redo is on your scoping, not their workmanship. You still fix it for the customer, but you do not get to backcharge them for it.
- Did your materials cause it? A bad part you supplied is not the sub's failure.
If it is a genuine workmanship defect inside their scope, move to who executes the redo.
Decide who redoes it
This is the core call, and three factors drive it: time pressure, whether you still trust the sub, and whether you can safely let them back on site.
| Situation | Best redo owner |
|---|---|
| Sub is reachable, competent, willing, and time allows | The sub, at their cost |
| Schedule is tight or sub is slow to respond | You or another sub now, backcharge the first |
| You no longer trust their work at all | Another qualified party, backcharge or withhold |
| Customer has lost confidence in the sub being on site | You or a new sub, keep the first away |
Letting the sub redo it is cheapest and correct when a standup sub owns the miss and the clock allows. State clearly what is wrong and what fixed looks like, and re-inspect before the customer sees it.
Doing it yourself or bringing another sub is right when time will not wait or trust is gone. Do not let a slow or defensive sub hold your schedule hostage while the customer waits.
Protect the schedule and the customer
Whoever redoes it, the customer comes first.
- Do not make the customer wait on your dispute. Get the correction moving to your normal standard, then settle who pays as a separate track.
- Sequence around the trades that follow. Catch this before the wall closes or the next trade builds on top of the defect, or the redo multiplies.
- Keep the customer informed in plain terms. They do not need the sub drama. They need to know it is being made right and when.
Make the cost stick
Once the customer is handled, recover from the sub.
- If you have not paid, withhold the cost of the redo from their balance. Never release full payment against a promise to fix.
- If you have paid, backcharge them with documentation: photos of the defect, the standard it violated, and the real cost of the correction. Give written notice before the deduction, not with it.
- If the defect caused damage, their insurance may respond, which is exactly why you confirmed coverage before hiring.
- Decide the relationship. A one-time miss a good sub corrects is recoverable. A defect they deny, or a pattern, ends the account.
Ordered recap
- If it is dangerous, make it safe and red-tag it before anything else.
- Confirm it is a real defect in their scope, not a preference or a scoping miss.
- Pick the redo owner by time pressure, trust, and site access.
- Correct it for the customer first, on your standard, on the schedule.
- Withhold or backcharge with documentation, then decide if the sub stays.
References
- OSHA: contractor and multi-employer worksite safety responsibilities
- Trade-standard practice for red-tagging unsafe equipment and workmanship correction
- See related: The Backcharge, and When It's Fair to Use One; The Sub Who Does Bad Work Decision Tree