Friday, March 15, 1991 - North Shore News - 49

NEWS photo Mike Waketield

Do it right the first time

Keep family members aware
of hazards in the work area

From page 18

tract that spells out the rights and
obligations of both parties.”” says
Harvey) Kirsh, a fawyer in the
Construction department of
Cassels, Brock and Blackwell,
Toronto, **We see a iot of litiga-
tion between contractors and
homeowners resulting from the
fact that the conditions (of the
contract) weren't clear.”

Among other things, the con-
tract should specify how long the
project will take and address how
the parties will negotiate further
time and price of something un-
foreseen is discovered during the
work,

“Keep 10 per cent of the con-
tractor’s final pay as holdback

SIMMONS

and don’t release it until 45 days
after completion of the project
and vou have searched title on
your own house to ensure that
there were no liens piaced against
it.

“This protects vou from the
contractor's subtrades (plumbers,
drywallers) coming back to you
for wages the contractor should
have paid.”

Make sure your contractor has
liability insurance ($1 million min-
imum is standard) to cover any
injury or damage that results from
negligence on his part, says Well-
ingion’s Doug Grieve.

Grieve suggests you declare the
work areas off-site to kids and
dogs while the job is underway.
“Besides having a good helping of

‘a

patience, family members should
go about their business mindful of
lurking safety hazards.”

Wellington Insurance offers the
following guidelines to minimize
the risk of accidents.

e Declare job-site off-limits to
all family members, whether or
not work is in progress;

*Don't lift heavy objects or
help the tradespeople in other
ways:

® Check with the contractor for
hazardous materials such as
cleaners and make sure they are
stored safely;

¢ Be aware of airborne particles
such as drywall dust and solvent
vapours;

* Designate a specific spot for
discarding used materials.

BEFORE JUMPING into your home renovation with
both feet first, make sure you take some precautions
to ensure you'll do it right the first time around and
at the least unnecessary cost.

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