How to get paid for residential construction delay claims

The most common reason for construction litigation is for non-private, residential project delays. Delays in one area of a project flow into other areas, causing a larger delay that often is expensive.

Although contracts do help the construction company reduce delays with independent contractors, they will never eliminate them.

For someone to establish a claim for delays, they will have to possess the original plan and as-built drawings. Most construction firms will hire a construction claims management team who will look at handling claims with the help of accounting, project management, scheduling, estimating, methods, and efficiency analysis. Advisory firms will also recommend hiring an attorney before commencing a project to help mitigate the harm caused by delays.

Apart from hiring a strong team to assist a project to reduce and mitigate delays, it is also important that project managers are aware of potential causes for delays. Delays can come in the form of poor weather, poor planning or failure to address scheduling issues. If delays are anticipated early, the project can avoid a major mistake, request for more time or receive additional labor or equipment to run as per schedule.

After a project begins and a delay has occurred it is important that the construction claim management team gathers all documentation relating to all activities that occurred just before and after the delay. Keeping detailed information of a delay is key to ensuring you have a strong case if faced with a construction delay claim.

Written by Lyle Charles. Let the experts at Lyle Charles handle your construction claims management. Lyle Charles has helped construction companies, sub-contractors, owners, banks, bonding companies, and many others quickly assess deviations from the construction schedule.