Your contractor won't come back

Send one written list of what's left, with photos and a date to finish. Hold back only what the open items are worth, and pay the rest. If the deadline passes, your contract and state law decide whether you can hire someone else and charge the cost back.

A homeowner asked contractors directly how to push their crew to finish the last items. The big work was done; the small things never were. Another had a gutter company refusing to honor its workmanship warranty two years after the install.

Getting the punch list finished

Write one complete list with the contractor if you can, or send yours with photos: item, where, what done looks like. Our punch list template works for this.
Hold back only what the open items are worth. Holding the whole final payment over a few small items gives the contractor a fair complaint and may put you in breach. A fair holdback is what it would cost someone else to finish them.
Set a date. "Please finish these by the 20th. If they're not done, we'll get them finished by someone else and deduct the cost." Check your contract allows that first.
Photograph each item when it's done.

When the warranty is refused

Find the warranty in writing: what it covers, for how long, and how to make a claim. Send the claim in writing with photos and the date you noticed the problem. If they say it isn't covered, ask them to say why in writing. Your state's contractor licensing board, the attorney general's consumer office, or small claims court are the next steps, depending on the amount.

A message you can send

"Hi Dan, thanks for the work on the kitchen. Here's the list of what's left from our walkthrough on June 3, with photos: the cabinet door that rubs, the missing outlet cover by the island, the caulk line behind the sink. We'd like these done by June 20. We've paid everything except $600, which we'll pay as soon as the list is finished. If they can't be done by then, please let us know, because we'd need to get someone else to do them and take the cost from that $600." It's polite, it sets a date, and it shows you're holding back only what's fair.

The end of the job, in pieces

When your contractor uses Everkept, each stage is signed off as it's done, so the end of the job is a short list. You sign off the job only when that list is closed, and the record shows what was left and when it was finished.

Start a job

This is general information, not legal advice. States differ on what a home improvement contract and its changes must contain. Check with your state’s contractor licensing board or an attorney.