I won't say where we are located but we are having some issues with Menards. We got a $20,000 contract for site surveying on one of their sites in the midwest, which is the poorest site condition/poorest managed construction site I have ever worked on. This site has been vacant for around 30 years even though it is in a prime real-estate area because it is in a low/wet area compared to everything around it. They had to buy another property about 1,000 feet north of it just for water mitigation if the site floods! Needless to say, we blew all $20,000 on it just because of re-staking and all our control points being taken out. When they would dig for columns they would dig down not even a foot and the hole would be flooded within ten minutes. They also found an underground aquaphor which happens to be right underneath the loading dock! LOL All the walls were up without any finished floor inside, just muddy ruts about three or four feet deep because they didn't have enough dirt on site to build up the building pad.
So when it came time for them to need their storm, sanitary, water, and curb stakes they realized they didn't have any money in the contract left and they signed another contract for $10,000. We did another week or so of work and our company called to our attention that we still haven't seen any of the $20,000!
Menards swore up and down that they sent a check, which we never received, and then they finally faxed a copy of a check to our boss, which wasn't signed and was for only $6,500.
Come to find out that pretty much nobody doing any work out there has been paid yet, so our boss has told them they better cough up $20,000 or we WILL NOT be working there again, their reply was, "Ok", that's it!
Guess they will find another sucker company to go out there and do work which won't get paid either.
Motto of the story: If anyone out there is thinking about taking a Menard's contract, do it at your own risk! Especially if you are a small comapny it could put you under considering the price of gas, wood, prep time, and field work!
Believe it or not
I had never heard of them until right now.
Supposed to be #3 behind Home Depot and Lowes.
Based on the Conflicts section in the following Wikipedia link, they seem to be bad boys at times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menards
You have the option of putting a lean on the project. A surveyor I worked for years ago used to do that on every construction project, and then release it at the end after we were paid. I don't know the particulars on his procedures in doing so. I remember we rarely had contractors stiff us on our bill. He also had it wrote in the contract that we would be paid monthly. The contractors hated it, because they like holding the money until the last minute possible.
Legal eagles.... Call em
Contact your attorney.... He needs the money, and his fee will go on top of yours.
Easy as pie.
Legal eagles.... Call em
if you can add the lien, add it
closings for these guys are a riot - i've heard of similar contractors. at the closing there are dozens of checks that get paid to nullify the debt.
good luck
We've had one of their stores here for maybe 20 years. I've always thought they had good variety in most departments, and priced competitively. Lumber is usually poorer grade than some of the other lumber yards, and priced accordingly.
Lowe's carries a better grade of merchandise overall, and you pay for it. HD just doesn't seem to have what I want as often as the others, and are pushing self-checkout, which I don't like.
> HD just doesn't seem to have what I want as often as the others, and are pushing self-checkout, which I don't like.
Off topic, but I've warmed considerably to self-checkout. I've always found the lines to be short or non-existent, and I get out the door faster doing it myself. I was leery of it at first, but now I prefer it.
Me too!
Wouldn't work for me
Who's gonna give me my change?
Look at the ad at the bottom of the page
Mine is an ad for Lowes. Really. Check it out.
>> "You have the option of putting a lean on the project."
Now that's funny! Does putting a lean on them involve hiring the Mafia or a motorcycle gang?
Liens
> >> "You have the option of putting a lean on the project."
>
> Now that's funny! Does putting a lean on them involve hiring the Mafia or a motorcycle gang?
Never did one myself, but liens do usually work. It's funny when they have a sale lined up but the lien is enough of a cloud on the title so they pretty much have to pay you of they lose the big sale. I believe you can even get interest on the debt.
Liens
>> . . . leins do usually work.
I've never heard of one not working if there's a post-services rendered real estate transaction occurring.