[mooseymom93]

We are having a gutting and remodel of our kitchen. The contractor, a very dear friend, is doing the demo/renovations/remodel. He rented the dumpster, for which we paid and we are also planning to clear out unwanted/unused/broken items. Came home and bathroom renovation debris was in it, which almost filled dumpster. Asked contractor about it, he said the debris was from a job he did on the church personage. It is a large dumpster. I am annoyed at him and want to confront him. Am I being too picky and unreasonable?

 

[Patty Sutter]

We are having a gutting and remodel of our kitchen. The contractor, a very dear friend, is doing the demo/renovations/remodel. He rented the dumpster, for which we paid and we are also planning to clear out unwanted/unused/broken items. Came home and bathroom renovation debris was in it, which almost filled dumpster. Asked contractor about it, he said the debris was from a job he did on the church personage. It is a large dumpster. I am annoyed at him and want to confront him. Am I being too picky and unreasonable?

No. You are not unreasonable! You pay for the dumpster, it is for your use. If he wants to use it for his other jobs, he should make sure you agree and pay at least half!!

 

[Daisybel]

If you are paying he should not put anything in there that isn't yours, in my opinion. However, if he is a friend it may be best to let it go, unless you can point this out gently and suggest that you should pay half the cost and either he or the Church should pay the other half. I don't think you are being unreasonable at all. Perhaps he always does this and because no one ever wants to confront him or upset him he doesn't realise it's wrong.

 

[gloriam]

Since you're paying for it I don't think you are being unreasonable at all.

 

[jinx]

You are not being unreasonable. However, confrontation may be a bit strong. Try to work out an agreement that is acceptable to both parties.

 

[Casey47]

You are not being unreasonable and you are within your rights to ask him to compensate you for using the dumpster you paid for. I think the mistake was hiring a friend.

 

[colleenmay]

If the dumpster is almost filled, where does he expect to put the debris from your kitchen? I would tell him to pay to have the dumpster emptied before he started your job. Only fair way to do it. Otherwise your friendship will be strained. Are you willing to do that?

 

[disgo]

You obviously haven't been around him when he does jobs since this is common practice--your luck the neighborhood isn't filling it since in Seattle you have to have a guard to keep people from throwing things in and worse dumpster diving.

Since it was for the church then count it as a contribution when it comes to tax time--you wouldn't be able to deduct this when doing taxes so now you can! If he now runs it over then it is up to him to pay for another one--just make THAT clear.

 

[KroSha]

It makes sense ecologically to combine dumpster trash on construction sites. Quite frankly, this is done all the time in small increments. Many times it's done somewhat clandestinely and isn't noticed.

On a remodel I designed and managed about 12 years ago, we needed a container and a half of haulaways.

In this case, my client was a friend, but the contractor wasn't. He didn't take advantage of the situation, he asked me if it was okay to put in some rubbish from another job site he was working on. We agreed that he would show me the amount he was putting in and if by chance we went over the 2 dumpster estimate, he would pay for the third one.

You have to pay for a dumpster whether it's filled up or not. Better to make your contractor happy and not get too picky about things like he should pay half or he should pay a quarter, etc. Some folks can become passive aggressive, although you would hope not, but he could always cut corners in ways you don't know if he decides that he doesn't appreciate your attitude, friend or not.

I would just call to his attention right now when he's done it, how much you observe being in there and if your disposables don't fit in this dumpster, you would expect him to handle the next one. AND that is assuming that the excess amount you need does not exceed the amount of space he used up. Also ask him not to place any more of his materials in there without discussing it with you first. Just tell him nicely that you want to have the opportunity to observe the amount.

 

[chickkie]

what kind of a friend will take advantage of another friend like that. If he had asked it would be different.

 

[Lostie]

i'd gently point out you paid for it.

 

[Angelsmom1]

We are having a gutting and remodel of our kitchen. The contractor, a very dear friend, is doing the demo/renovations/remodel. He rented the dumpster, for which we paid and we are also planning to clear out unwanted/unused/broken items. Came home and bathroom renovation debris was in it, which almost filled dumpster. Asked contractor about it, he said the debris was from a job he did on the church personage. It is a large dumpster. I am annoyed at him and want to confront him. Am I being too picky and unreasonable?

You say he rented it, but your paying for it, My thinking is he should use it only for YOUR renovations and since his stuff is taking up so much space, he should help pay for it. I'm a bit confused about him putting stuff in it from "the church parsonage". Is that a different job of his? or is it part of your job? If it is a totally different job of his, then he shouldn't put anything from church job in the dumpster.

 

[seamer45]

As far as I'm concerned he's stealing from you by doing this. Make him share the cost.We had a few things lik that happen, I remember telling one guy who did a tile floor where he could put the leftover tile. He had to go and take it out of his truck, he was going to take 21 12x12 tiles home with him. And that's the least of it.

 

[Angelsmom1]

You are not being unreasonable and you are within your rights to ask him to compensate you for using the dumpster you paid for. I think the mistake was hiring a friend.

Just saw this post, I agree about hiring a friend. Not a good idea as things like this can strain your friendship. Would you feel different if he were a stranger?

 

[DonnieK]

Never borrow money from a friend, never hire a friend to to work for you, and never lend money to a friend. That is just my motto for my life.

I think he is taking advantage of you by making you pay for the dumpster and then "assuming" it would be okay to use it for church debris. Just my opinion. And, not meaning to offend anyone, but he is putting the screws to you!!!

Tell him nicely that you did not agree to pay for the church rubbish to be put into a container that you paid for and you make your contributions to the church at your own discretion and this is not it. Also tell him that you expect him to pay for the next container as you are intending to fill it up and he did wrong by now consulting you first before just doing it. Especially if you paid full rental for a container. You are already not getting what you paid for and the job isn't even going yet!!!!

 

[Stablebummom]

Dumpsters are expensive, I agree mostly with KroSha; if your job was expected to FILL the dumpster and you have to get another one because his stuff took up too much room then he should expect to pay for it. After all, he charged the church for their reno.

 

[Glenlady]

i'd gently point out you paid for it.

Yeah me too, wouldn't count him as a friend

 

[Casey47]

I've thought of something else too. I'd be willing to bet that he has charged the church for hauling away the remodeling trash. All contractors do this. But he didn't have to pay to leave the stuff at the city dump (or whatever disposal place you have) because he put it in the dumpster YOU paid for. And just because it came from a church doesn't mean you have to be charitable with YOUR dumpster. As I said, the contractor is getting paid by the church to dispose of that stuff. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.

 

[Sherry1]

No, you are not unreasonable. I'm thinking he did this as a contribution to his church, etc. if so, he needs to reimburse you if the dumpster runs out of room.
I'm with Donnie on this. Don't do business with a friend. You think it's good because he's someone you can trust but you might not get what you want in the long run and dealing with friends under these circumstances are hard.

 

[Pocahontas]

My hubby has always said "never do business with a friend or family".
I believe he took advantage of you - even though maybe he didn't see it as such.