What to Know Before Signing a Home Improvement ContractWritten by Susan Chana Lask, Esq.
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a consumer protection law is New York’s General Business Law §771 ("GBL") requiring all home improvement contracts shall be in writing and contain certain terms of payment, fees for services and materials and start and completion dates, among other terms. GBL §771 is a consumer protection statute to prevent misunderstandings between contractor had consumer and to protect consumer from overreaching of contractor, such as charging for work that was not agreed upon. GBL §771 limits contractor who disregards its written contract requirements to satisfactorily proving to a court each and every item of work he did and reasonable value of each item by detailed invoices, timesheets and proof of hourly rates, among other proofs. So, if contractor who failed to put your home improvement work in writing attempts to collect $20,000.00 from you, he has to prove value of his services in detail before scaring you into paying an amount you had no idea about. New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act and Home Improvement Act protect consumer even more by denying contractor from recovering any monies if he violates any of consumer laws AND he will pay three times amount of damages (called treble damages) to consumer for his failing to obtain proper permits or licenses or any other violation of those laws. Lastly, protect yourself by not paying 100% upfront. Most contracting companies ask for a deposit upon your signing contract. I suggest that you put down as little as possible and arrange a payment schedule with company where you will pay a certain amount as certain work is completed. Of course, always get a receipt, signed by company and stating date and amount of any monies paid to company if you pay anything in cash. This article is certainly not all inclusive and is intended only as a brief explanation of legal issue presented. Not all cases are alike and it is strongly recommended that you consult an attorney if you have any questions with respect to any legal matters. Any questions and/or comments with respect to this topic or any other topic, contact: http://www.appellate-brief.com Law Offices of Susan Chana Lask 853 Broadway, Suite 1516 New York, NY 10003 (212) 358-5762 Susan Chana Lask, Esq. c 2004
Susan Chana lask is a New york attorney named by the media as "High-Powered", she practice sin all state, appellate and federal Courts nationwide handling civil & crimnal cases.
| | Removing your old wood double hung windowsWritten by John Rocco
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Next,we need to remove middle stop, or parting bead. This piece is going to be thrown away, so you don't have to be careful when removing this piece. The parting bead will be on top and along both sides. It's never on bottom. Take a screwdriver and tap it into groove between side frame and parting bead. Pry out. The bead is nailed into a recessed groove. When all of parting bead is out, upper sash will come out. If it's painted to outside stop, CAREFULLY pry sash from outside stop with a stiff putty knife. You want to avoid damaging outside stop. Remove upper sash same way you did lower sash, cutting cords under tension. At this point,you should have inside stops removed and set aside to be installed later, both sashes removed, middle stop or parting bead removed and discarded,and outside blind stop left in place undisturbed. Check to make sure there are no obstructions in opening such as nails,the metal tab at bottom for holding in old screen, etc. The final step is to take a stiff putty knife and scrape face of outside blind stops to get rid of any old caulking. This is surface that replacement windows are going to rest against, and we are going to want this area as smooth as possible. Clean up all loose debris from opening, and you are now ready to install your replacement windows. That will be our topic for next weeks article.
John Rocco has been installing replacement windows since 1978 To learn more, visit http://www.how-to-install-windows.com
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