Digests of Lien Laws WE CHAPTER XXVII. FORMS OF CONTRACT. E have followed the architect, owner and builder through the principal troubles to which building operations expose them, and it now remains to make some suggestions, in more definite shape than those contained in the preceding chapters, by which such troubles can, in most cases, be avoided. It is hardly necessary to point out to any one who has interested himself in these pages that nearly every misfortune which occurs to builders, owners and architects, in connection with their business affairs, proceeds from an oversight or misunderstanding in regard to the contract under which the work has been, or is to be, done. It occasionally happens that builders and owners suffer in consequence of their ignorance or forgetfulness of the local statutes and ordinances regulating building, or the mechanics' lien laws of their State. Such mishaps can only be avoided by familiarity with these laws and regulations. It is not uncommon for the compilers of "builders' handbooks," and similar works, to increase the size of their publications by adding "digests" of the mechanics' lien laws, and sometimes of the building laws, of the different States and cities; but building laws, and, still more, mechanics' lien laws, are in a constant state of transition, so that the handbook digests, even if they state the laws correctly on the day of publication, which is by no means always the case, are tolerably sure to be misleading as to their condition a year or two later; and reliance upon an erroneous statement of laws of this sort is more dangerous than total ignorance. For this reason, it has been considered best not to attempt anything of the sort in the present work, but to refer those who wish to know what the statute law on the subject may be at a given time in any particular State to the latest edition of the Revised Statutes of that State, including the annual additions. With regard to forms of contract, the case is very different, and, although it has not seemed advisable, in view of the diversity of the conditions which must be provided for in building contracts, to present any form as being absolutely the best, there will be advantage in reviewing some of the common forms, perhaps showing how they might be improved, both by additions and omissions, and to add a few examples, which have been tested by actual use, and present types suited to varying circumstances. It will be remembered that the modern practice among architects is to make the first page of every specification consist of a set of General Conditions, which form a part of the specification, and are thus impliedly agreed to by every one who offers to do the work in accordance with the specification. These General Conditions, in large offices, are usually printed, and it should be the aim of the one composing them to have them include everything, outside of the technical details of workmanship, that a bidder needs to know in order to make a fair estimate of the cost of his work; so that he will not have occasion, on being asked to sign the formal contract, to say that an addition must be made to his estimate of cost, to cover expenses required by the contract, of which he had not had warning. Like all other legal documents, they should be as condensed and clear in language as possible, but, as the greater part of the lawsuits in regard to building contracts turn upon points usually included in the General Conditions, they should leave nothing out, and express nothing obscurely; and a blank space General Conditions. should be left for insertion of stipulations for special occasions. For most purposes the following form is as good as any we know, and, as readers of the foregoing chapters can believe, nearly every sentence has been the subject of a lawsuit in which its meaning has been determined. SPECIFICATIONS of Labor and Materials for..... to be built... for....... from the plans and under the superintendence of... architect, .... Street, General Conditions. Each contractor is to provide all materials and labor necessary for the complete and substantial execution of everything described, shown, or reasonably implied in the drawings and specifications for his part of the work, including all transportation, scaffolding, apparatus and utensils requisite for the same; all materials to be the best of their respective kinds, and all workmanship to be of the best quality. Each contractor is to set out his own work correctly, and is to give it his personal superintendence, keeping also a competent foreman constantly on the ground; and no contractor is to sublet the whole or any part of his work without the written consent of the owner. The architect or his authorized representative is to have at all times access to the work, and may by written notice require any contractor to dismiss forthwith such workmen as he deems incompetent or careless, and may also require any contractor to remove from the premises such of his materials or work as in his opinion are not in accordance with the specification, and to substitute without delay satisfactory work and materials, the expense of doing so and of making good other work disturbed by the change to be borne by the said contractor; and each contractor is also at his own cost to amend and make good any defects, settlements, shrinkage or other faults in his work arising from defective or improper materials or workmanship which may appear within twelve months after the completion of the building; and is to clear away from time to time the dirt and rubbish resulting from his operations, and cover and protect his work and materials from all damage during the progress of the building, and deliver the whole clean and in perfect condition. All work and materials are to comply in every respect with the building laws, city or town regulations and the directions of the Inspector of Buildings, and such building laws, regulations and directions are to be considered as a part of this specification and the contract to which it relates. Each contractor is to give to the proper authorities all requisite notices relating to work in his charge, obtain official permits and licenses for temporary obstructions, and pay all proper fees for the same and for use of water for building, and entrance into sewers or drains, and is to be solely answerable for all damage, injury or delay caused to other contractors, to neighboring premises or to the persons or property of the public, by himself or his men, or through any operations under his charge, whether in contract or extra work. The contractor for the mason-work is to have charge of the premises, subject only to the right of other contractors, the owner and the architect or his representative to have free access thereto, until the (plate) (sill) is on, and is to provide and maintain all requisite guards, lights, temporary sidewalks and fences during that time; afterwards the contractor for the carpenter-work is to take charge in the same way until the whole is completed. Each contractor is to carry on his work at all times with the greatest reasonable rapidity, under the direction and to the satisfaction of the architect. The several portions are to be completed on or before the following dates: It will be observed that the General Conditions come under the principal heading of the specification of which they form. the first page. This is important, as it has been claimed, where the General Conditions were printed on separate sheets, and simply bound in with the specification, that not being incorporated with the contract, and not, apparently, forming an integral part of the specification mentioned in the contract, they were a mere extrinsic matter, not binding on the contractor. Whether this reasoning would prevail might depend on circumstances, but it is the object of the precautions suggested in this chapter to cut off all possibility, even of argument. The importance of the first paragraph will be best appreciated by architects who have had much experience with extra bills, and who know, among other things, the proclivity of contractors, especially in the country, for having their materials sent them by express, and charged by the expressman to the owner's account; and the first sentence of the next has had the attention of the New York Court of Appeals, which, it will be remembered, attached great importance to it. In regard to the provision that no part of the work shall be sublet without the written consent of the owner, the necessity for which needs no argument, it may be observed that some architects prefer to stipulate that it shall be the architect's written consent, rather than the owner's, which is to be obtained before subletting. While it is true that the architect probably knows more than the owner about the character and reputation of sub-contractors, it is generally better for the architect to place the actual responsibility of accepting or rejecting them upon the owner. The latter can make such inquiries of the architect as he wishes on the subject, and is likely to be governed by his judgment; but, in case he should have, as frequently happens, a personal prejudice against some particular mechanic, he will not be at all pleased to find that the architect, without |