[Shadowrider]

I have a contract to have a screened cage added to my home. The concrete pad was poured rather quickly. I am now waiting for the cage to be built. I has been over 8 months. Every time I call the contractor they say probably another 3 months. They claim to be waiting for materials. I know there have been material shortages recently. Has anybody else had trouble getting a cage built?

[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by Shadowrider

I have a contract to have a screened cage added to my home. The concrete pad was poured rather quickly. I am now waiting for the cage to be built. I has been over 8 months. Every time I call the contractor they say probably another 3 months. They claim to be waiting for materials. I know there have been material shortages recently. Has anybody else had trouble getting a cage built?

I had a pool installed with birdcage installed. It took 3 months from first shovel in the ground to project completion. I think, once the foundation was complete, the birdcage took 2 or 3 days.
So 8 months for only a birdcage is excessive.
If only a birdcage, probably 4 weeks MAX.

[retiredguy123]

Sorry it happened, but that is way too long. If you paid all or most of the project cost in advance, they have no incentive to complete the work. If so, they are probably too busy finding other people to pay them upfront.

[Paul1934]

Who are we talking about? Looking at repair/replace of mine and am always interested in other experiences.

[villagetinker]

OP, I would start calling around to other birdcage installers for an estimated time to complete. I am assuming that you can get your deposit back or you did not pay up front for this work.

Ours took less than a week after concrete was ready. One word of caution, I am assuming you got ARC approval, and submitted plans for this project, if you go with another contractor, they will need to follow the original plans. We had to specify the color of the aluminum, as well as the basic design of the structure, location of doors, etc., I think the contractor was also specified on the ARC form.

We recently used A+ screening for a complete replacement of all of the roof panels (33 total), they had a 1 month lead time, and completed the work in 3 or 4 hours. Also, they were the only firm to provide license and insurance information the same day as the estimate.

[Babubhat]

Poor excuse by contractor. I would be contacting an attorney for advice. Friends are not having issues with completing cages

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

I had a pool installed with birdcage installed. It took 3 months from first shovel in the ground to project completion. I think, once the foundation was complete, the birdcage took 2 or 3 days.
So 8 months for only a birdcage is excessive.
If only a birdcage, probably 4 weeks MAX.

Maybe in the good old days a few years ago. These guys are now routinely estimating between 8 months and a year to complete a birdcage.. We had ours built in 2021 and from contract signing until completion it was about 6 months. The cost of the project went up 15% from the time I started talking to these guys in November 2020 to February 2021 when I signed the contract because the price of materials went up. Also, they coujldn't get the bronze aluminum for awhile and there are still shortages of material they are dealing with, labor shortages because people would rather live off the government than work etc etc. This is the new reality under the current administration in DC.

[Papa_lecki]

Originally Posted by pauld315

Maybe in the good old days a few years ago. These guys are now routinely estimating between 8 months and a year to complete a birdcage.. We had ours built in 2021 and from contract signing until completion it was about 6 months. The cost of the project went up 15% from the time I started talking to these guys in November 2020 to February 2021 when I signed the contract because the price of materials went up. Also, they coujldn't get the bronze aluminum for awhile and there are still shortages of material they are dealing with, labor shortages because people would rather live off the government than work etc etc. This is the new reality under the current administration in DC.

It was Summer 2022 (last year).
The 3 months was from shovel in the ground to completion..
It was 12 to 18 months from contract signing to completion - but I did not have a construction project in my back yard for a year.

[bowlingal]

hopefully, you did not give any money up front.... bad, bad idea

[Katthughes]

If you dont mind

Originally Posted by Shadowrider

I have a contract to have a screened cage added to my home. The concrete pad was poured rather quickly. I am now waiting for the cage to be built. I has been over 8 months. Every time I call the contractor they say probably another 3 months. They claim to be waiting for materials. I know there have been material shortages recently. Has anybody else had trouble getting a cage built?

[Rwirish]

3-4 months easy.

[me4vt]

Maybe you should convert it to a shuffle board court!

[Altavia]

During COVID, All Around Aluminum forecasted 8 Months but completed 2 months early, very nice work.

[midiwiz]

Originally Posted by Shadowrider

I have a contract to have a screened cage added to my home. The concrete pad was poured rather quickly. I am now waiting for the cage to be built. I has been over 8 months. Every time I call the contractor they say probably another 3 months. They claim to be waiting for materials. I know there have been material shortages recently. Has anybody else had trouble getting a cage built?

depends on size, etc. First thing is the pad has to set for a certain amount of time as each day of curing gains more strength. It also depends on color, I've been hearing the white frame is harder to get than bronze...which doesn't make sense because bronze is better and more common.

lastly don't know who you are using so I can't comment there.

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Originally Posted by Shadowrider

I have a contract to have a screened cage added to my home. The concrete pad was poured rather quickly. I am now waiting for the cage to be built. I has been over 8 months. Every time I call the contractor they say probably another 3 months. They claim to be waiting for materials. I know there have been material shortages recently. Has anybody else had trouble getting a cage built?

Less scrupulous contractors will never turn down a job, no matter how much is on their plate. They will also "lock up" the job by performing a small amount of work up front, making it difficult for you to switch contractors.
Our birdcage was recently completed in 3 months, but only because we were very persistent (weekly status talks), made only a very minimal upfront down payment ($500) and paid in installments only after the various tasks were successfully completed.
All that said, I advise you to "stay in the face" of the contractor (they do tend to respond better to "squeaky wheels") and threaten them with publicly sharing the facts of your experience (e.g. TOTV). The prospect of losing new business may provide the additional motivation required to finish your work.
To those considering future work: Be sure to include a "drop dead" clause in your contract; one that gives you the option to void the contract if the work is not completed in a specified time. This tends to separate the honest quotes from the greedy ones.