Prime Welds Before Laying Roof

[bbradsby]

The horse is out of the barn; work done, welders fully paid & gone. But hopefully not your GC.

At this point, you have only the GC's next payment to hold ransom for doing a workmanlike job: prep, prime & paint the welds. Find a note in the drawings that says all metal is to be painted, and thats your leverage in the tussle. That plus the word: "workmanlike" and tell him youre not paying him farang prices to do a half-arsed job.

Did you expect the architects and engineers hired/brought in by the builder would show independent judgement?! The GC's their repeat client, not you! So you have no independent architect's & engineer's thorough drawings & real specs, and nothing in the construction contract to state that painting welds is required? No certified welding inspector? Take heart - for a house (not a mansion) in the country, esp in Thailand, cert welding inspection is never done. A good arch/engineer is all you need, besides the fact that you should certainly get structurally sound welds!

YOur only leverage - IF the welds are not covered yet - is to hold back payment to the GC for the cost to weld the roof framing + his profit & overhead, until YOUR architect or engineer comes to review & report the quality of the welds and any required remedy. Money is your only leverage, but only to the extent that the GC's not already ahead of you in the cash flow for the project - the other favorite GC trick. Building construction is not an amateur's game, else little girls would be doing it. In any case, best of luck with it, and keep us posted on your process & outcome.

Best,