Garage Construction and Issues with Freezing Temperatures

[robinb]

We hired our contractor to build our garage back in November. He finally demolished our garage about a month ago in December. He worked alone. He was supposed to work on our garage while we were away in Florida but never did. He now wants to start work on our garage next week. It is currently 10-degrees here and it is not expected to get above freezing until mid-February. The ground is frozen and covered in snow.

My DH thinks that if he wants to go ahead and build in sub-freezing temperatures then that's fine and we should let him. I am not uncomfortable having him do the job this month and I would prefer to put it off until mid-February when the temperatures are in the 30's and the snow lets up. We *thought* this was going to be a 2-3 week process and it has already dragged out to two months. Back in December before our first big snowfall, I hauled all the stuff that needs to be protected into the house or covered it with tarps, so it's not like we NEED the garage to be done now. I would have no problem waiting for Feb or March to have it done.

I am afraid that the work will not be done correctly in the super-cold weather. Does anyone know any issues with building in sub-freezing weather? We don't need any concrete poured as our slab is still good. He is buying epoxy to use and I always thought that was a substance that needed to be used in above-freezing weather. We did not have a timeline in the contract (yeah, I know) and my DH thinks that we need to let him work at his own pace even if that means working in weather in the 20's. If he does then it will be on again-off again construction (only when it's not snowing and in the 20's) and inconvenient for me because I have to move my car when he is here. I would rather just have him come when it's a bit warmer and get it done all at once. I assume that he will be working alone again.

So, does anyone know what the issues are with construction in sub-freezing temperatures? My DH thinks that I need more of an argument to ask him to wait than just the fact that I am not comfortable with it. Oh ... and the construction will be right outside my window.

One more thing ... my DH says that one of the reasons he wants to start the job now is that we owe him half the amount when the walls go up and he wants his money ASAP since he has to put $$ out for materials. Would it be reasonable to pay for some of his materials in advance instead of waiting until the walls are up?

 

[sbell111]

Different epoxies have different working ranges, so I can't speak to that. Other than that one issue, I would let him work out there regardless of how cold it got. I would not pay him another dime until the job was completed (or whatever benchmarks your contract used).

BTW, allowing him to wait until it's warmer is no guarantee that the job would then be done promptly. It actually might tend to slow him down since he might then be trying to juggle multiple projects and those newer projects would be paying him more, since you've already paid half.

 

[robinb]

We only paid for the tear-down so far. Half is due when the walls are up.

 

[LMC]

I would not pay him ahead of time for anything. does he have to "black" it in when the walls go up? I would be worried that he will a) purchase the materials and they will rot in the weather if he doesn't get them up or b) he will erect the walls just enough to get paid half and then they will rot in the weather if they are not protected from the elements. I am assuming of course that he will be using untreated framing lumber.