The Honeywood Files

by H. B. Creswell

  Another aspect of the case is whether Spinlove’s notification to “Nibrasp” that he had recommended their tender for acceptance, constitutes actual acceptance, and therefore debars “Nibrasp” from withdrawing; but as the tender relieves the proprietor from obligation to “accept the lowest or any tender” we may assume the tender has not been accepted and that the “Nibrasp” withdrawal is good. In any case it would be a foolish policy to compel him to build at a price which was known to be disastrous for him: a house is not a sewer or a gasometer, and the ready collaboration of the builder is necessary for its success. Spinlove’s predicament is, therefore, an awkward one; and he has also the painful duty of swallowing his own complacency and deflating the exuberances he has roused in the bosom of his client.

  SPINLOVE TO BRASH

  Dear Sir Leslie Brash,4.8.24.

  I am extremely sorry to have to tell you that with your letter of Saturday I found a telegram from Nibnose & Rasper withdrawing their tender; and this morning I have received a letter from them stating that they made a mistake in casting up their total, and substituting a tender of £18.953 4s. 7d. Such a thing is quite new in my experience. This revised tender is only £27 less than Grigblay’s and I am very sorry to say, more than my estimate has prepared you for. I should mention, however, that the tenders include the sum of £300 for contingencies— that is a sum to cover unforeseen work which may, only, be wanted—so that the actual tender for the work can be considered to be £18,653 4s. 7d., which is only £153 4s. 4d. more than my own estimate. I am extremely sorry this has happened and am much disappointed. Perhaps it would be well if I saw you to-morrow. I can come over at any hour that suits you if you would be so good as to ring up and let me know.

  Yours sincerely,

  As Spinlove was before far too self-congratulatory, so he is here altogether too apologetic. Although the uninitiated may suppose that an architect, by looking at the plan of a house, can name the lowest sum for which unknown builders on an unknown day and under unknown conditions will bargain to build it, Spinlove’s estimate of £18,500 was, in fact, not so wide of the mark as such estimates go. He was probably too ready to hope for the best in arranging modifications with the quantity surveyor, but he is less than 2.5 percent below the tendered price. Brash has nothing to complain of, and Spinlove should not, as he does, invite him to think that he has. Spinlove ought to have found an early opportunity of letting Brash understand that an architect can, at best, make only a shrewd guess at the cost of a building; and that even builders, with exact particulars before them of the measured amount of labour and materials involved in the work, arrive at results varying by 20 and even 30 percent and, when all is done, often find themselves on the wrong side of the account. Spinlove, although his earnestness is exemplary, is worrying and wearying himself to no useful purpose by identifying himself so closely with his client’s monetary anxieties. He should regard himself strictly as an agent conducting another’s business; his own particular business being to get the house well, economically, and beautifully built. He should have written in some such terms as these: “Dear Sir Leslie Brash—Nibnose & Rasper have withdrawn their tender on the grounds of an error in their calculations, and have substituted an amended tender for £18,953 4s. 7d. Will you let me know what you wish me to do. Perhaps it would be better if I saw you. . . .”

  If he had so written he would have exonerated instead of blamed himself, and put the plain question before Brash instead of confounding him with a confusion of issues. Such a letter, it is true, would appear to Brash curt and offhand in contrast with those he is used to receiving from his architect, and is to be regarded as the sort of letter Spinlove ought to be able to write without appearing curt and offhand. The meeting, we gather, duly took place, for we next read:

  SPINLOVE TO WILLIAM WYCHETE, ESQ., P.P.R.I.B.A.

  Dear Mr. Wychete,5.8.24.

  You have been so kind in letting me ask your advice that I hope you will not mind my writing to you, as I am in a fix. On the enclosed sheet I have set out the position of affairs. The question is what ought I to do? Sir Leslie Brash, my client, is fixed in his decision to accept the second lowest tender, that of John Grigblay, because Grigblay is the better builder. He says he has the right to accept any tender, and he can do what he likes. I can make no impression on him. If you could tell me what line I ought to take I should be very much obliged to you.

  Yours sincerely,

  WYCHETE TO SPINLOVE

  My dear Spinlove,7.8.24.

  Your scrape interests me. Your client is morally bound to accept the lowest tender: that is clearly understood when particular builders are invited to tender, for if their tenders are not wanted there is no just reason for troubling them to prepare them. You can do no more than tell your friend this. He is, however, within his rights in not accepting the lowest or any, although this right is intended only as a safeguard.

  I do not think Nibnose & Rasper’s revised tender is admissible. It was sent in after the amounts of the other tenders were published, and for all we know their actual prices may originally have been higher than Grigblay’s. If you accept it, Grigblay would have grounds for feeling aggrieved. You could write to N. & R. and say that as they withdrew their original tender their substituted tender is a new tender and was received too late for you to consider it; but I think the best course would be to tell them that the owner has instructed you to say that he cannot accept. Grigblay will certainly come to terms; you will have secured a good builder; will be free of responsibility for the choice, and relieved of the necessity for deciding a difficult point and finding reasons for your decision. You ought to be glad your client has taken the matter into his own hands.

  Best Wishes from,

  Yours sincerely,

  SPINLOVE TO BRASH

  Dear Sir Leslie Brash,8.8.24.

  I saw Mr. Grigblay to-day. He is willing to renew his tender, and I am meeting him to-morrow at the quantity surveyor’s to see what reductions can be made in the matters I proposed to you. I will write to you to-morrow or call in the afternoon.

  Yours sincerely,

  SPINLOVE TO NIBNOSE & RASPER

  Dear Sirs,8.8.24.

  I am instructed by the owner, Sir Leslie Brash, to thank you for your tender of August 2, but to say that he regrets he is unable to accept it.

  Yours faithfully,

  NIBNOSE & RASPER TO SPINLOVE

  Dear Sir,9.8.24.

  We were naturally astonished to get your letter informing us that our tender is not accepted. We may say that we are unused to being treated in that style and we are quite as capable of making a good job as Grigblay or any other on your list. If we had known our tender was only going to be made use of as a check upon the prices of other firms we should not have accepted your invitation, and we may say that we are not anxious to tender again with any such purpose. We do not know what the meaning of all this business is nor why Grigblay is given a preference over us when we were invited to tender and our firm was well known long before Mr. Grigblay came on the scenes, but we may say that we consider that we have been treated in a very offhand and inconsiderate manner.

  Yours obediently,

  SPINLOVE TO NIBNOSE & RASPER

  Dear Sirs,11.8.24.

  Permit me to assure you that in inviting you to tender I did so with the intention that you should be given the contract if you offered the lowest price. The decision not to accept your tender did not originate with me nor did I favour it. I can only say that I regret very much what has happened, and that I hope you will tender to me in the future and be successful in securing the contract, for I should have confidence in entrusting work to you. Believe me,

  Yours truly,

  Spinlove is distinguishing himself. Wychete’s advice has been well observed by him. Without it he would characteristically have elaborated the matter of the substituted tender and involved him self in a wrangle. As it is, he has written a letter which is obviously sincere and which will go far to sooth
e the “Nibrasp” chagrin— although not so fully, it appears, as to produce an acknowledgment—and he has not, for once, said too much.

  SPINLOVE TO BRASH

  Dear Sir Leslie Brash,11.8.24.

  I send you herewith memorandum of agreement in duplicate signed by Grigblay. If you will sign both with witness where marked and return to me I will let Grigblay have his copy and get yours stamped. I enclose copy of the schedule of variations you saw, showing the reductions by which the total of £18,440 is arrived at.

  Grigblay signed drawings and specification to-day. He will begin getting his plant on the site on Wednesday and on Friday I am going on to the site. Can you come down on that day and approve the marks fixing the position of the house?

  Yours sincerely,

  GRIGBLAY AND BRASH GET TO WORK

  SPINLOVE TO EWART HOOCHKOFT & CO., LTD.

  Dear Sirs,15.8.24.

  I shall be glad if you will send me two or three samples, with prices, of your medium, red, broken-coloured, 2.5 in. sand-faced slop facing bricks such as I saw at last year’s Building Trades’ Exhibition. The samples should show extremes of variety in colour, texture, etc.

  Yours faithfully,

  GRIGBLAY TO SPINLOVE

  Dear Sir,22.8.24.

  Our foreman, Bloggs, who is setting out house, has informed us that dimensions on plan do not work out correct. Shall be glad if you will give immediate instructions so that we can get on with the digging.

  Yours faithfully,

  We are to gather that Brash duly approved the position of the house on the ground, and that the builder has since been engaged in setting out the position of walls preparatory to laying their foundations.

  Grigblay may be a good builder and a competent organizer, but he appears from this letter to be a man who means to get the job carried through and no nonsense about it. Spinlove would be justified in feeling a little uneasy. A really first-rate builder would be likely to show solicitude and say what the difficulty in question was. Grigblay may have had unfortunate experience at the hands of architects in the past and, having met Spinlove, may have sized him up. He does not intend to put up with flabbiness. As a successful builder he knows his job and he expects the architect to know his.

  BRASH TO SPINLOVE

  Dear Mr. Spinlove,23.8.24.

  Lady Brash and myself have been considering the plans and have decided, after mature reflection, that we desire the drawing-room inverted the other way round—that is, turned at an angle of 90 deg. to its present orientation. There is still time to make the emendation, and as the dimensions will remain the same there will be no inflation in the expenditure. The alteration would permit the loggia to extend the whole extent of the length of the apartment instead of across its width, and it would then be possible for my daughter to play ping-pong there on wet afternoons.

  Will you please instruct the builder accordingly.

  Yours sincerely,

  The foregoing letter evidently crossed the following one from Spinlove, as the dates are the same.

  SPINLOVE TO BRASH

  Dear Sir Leslie Brash,23.8.24.

  I think I ought to warn you of extras. Everything necessary for the completion of the building, with fittings and decorations, is included in the contract, and I can promise that there shall be no extras so far as I am concerned; but if you make changes in the work it will be impossible for me to avoid them creeping in.

  Another matter I ought to mention is the importance of your making any request through me and never on any occasion saying anything to the builder’s people that can be interpreted as an order; otherwise it will be impossible for me to keep control and extras are sure to arise.

  I mention these matters because I am most anxious to avoid extras, and I can only do so with your co-operation.

  Yours faithfully,

  All Spinlove says is perfectly true, and he might have drawn a harrowing picture of the confusion, disasters, cross-purposes, and ill-temper that interferences by the owner produce. At the same time it is most unusual for the architect to give the matter the weight of a formal warning that has almost the character of a threat. Spinlove might with better diplomacy have explained the point in conversation and perhaps confirmed in a brief sentence when writing. The hint is usually welcomed by the client, and observed. The letter which follows is one such as Spinlove ought to have written, but apparently did not.

  SPINLOVE TO GRIGBLAY

  (Supposititious)

  Dear Sir,23.8.24.

  I write to remind you that the contract lays down that no claim for any extras shall rank unless that claim is made at the time the work is ordered and acknowledged by me as an extra.

  I, on my part, agree to notify you of any omissions as the work proceeds.

  Yours faithfully,

  The object of this letter would be to make the builder understand that the stipulation in the contract as to extras must be observed. There are always some variations, and it is understood that omissions are set against extras unless the contrary is recorded at the time; and if the builder is to notify the architect of extras for which he claims payment it is only fair that the architect should similarly notify the builder of omissions in respect of which he claims credits.

  Builders are shy of claiming extras while the work is in progress; to do so has an appearance of refractoriness. If, however, work is done which the architect knows to have been an extra, he is bound in honour to allow it to rank in the final statement of account, and the fact that that extra was not claimed and acknowledged at the time it was ordered, and that it has, nevertheless, been allowed, makes the architect a party to the irregularity and opens the door for the builder to claim other unrecorded extras.

  As the architect has acquiesced in the one case it is very difficult for him to refuse to consider other claims on their merits. The result is that the stipulations of the contract are stultified, and the statement of account becomes not a plain question of fact, but of argument and wrangling of which the builder always has the best, for he has kept records of extras whilst the omissions, which might be set against them, have been forgotten.

  For this reason it is well for the architect to notify the builder of extra work involved in his details, as well as of omissions. The builder has then no grounds for making claims at settlement which have not been agreed, and if he does so the architect can, with perfect fairness, refuse to consider them.

  Our friend Spinlove, however, seems to have other ways of safeguarding extras. We shall perhaps see later on what his methods are and how far they succeed.

  SPINLOVE TO GRIGBLAY

  Dear Sir,23.8.24.

  I am at a loss to understand your foreman’s difficulty. The dimensions on the plan were all checked up, and as you do not say what the discrepancy is I am unable to arrange matters. It is impossible for me to go on to the site until next Tuesday. Will you please wire to your foreman and ask him what it is he wants to know?

  Yours faithfully,

  BRASH TO SPINLOVE

  Dear Mr. Spinlove,25.8.24.

  I can assure you that I am the last person to order extras of any description, and you may place reliance in my refraining from doing so.

  I note that you desire all communications with the builder should be transmitted through yourself. This may, I apprehend, prove somewhat an inconvenient arrangement, but I commend your purpose and will keep it in mind.

  Yours sincerely,

  SPINLOVE TO BRASH

  Dear Sir Leslie Brash,25.8.24.

  Your letter was a shock to me because the alterations you propose involve a radical change in the design, a new set of contract drawings and, I am afraid, a supplementary bill of quantities to determine the amount of the variation in cost, if any.

  There are many objections and difficulties in the way of your proposal, and you will notice that it would not be possible to get from the hall to the drawing-room without turning the stairs round and making them begin on the other side of the hall.
This would involve making other modifications in the plans and spoil the effect aimed at and which I have, I think, been fortunate in achieving.

  I may also point out to you that the pump-house chimney would, as a result of the alteration, be visible from the end of the drawing-room and from the bedroom over, as the trees will not screen it from that point of view.

  The alterations would also hold up the work for many weeks and, all being well, the digging for foundations may be expected to begin in a few days. I hope, therefore, you will reconsider your suggestion.

  I am sure, when you are aware of all that is involved in the change, you will prefer to leave things as they are. I will take no further action till I hear from you.

  Yours sincerely,

  Spinlove’s adroitness in himself making profit out of the pump house chimney is a master stroke. There is some advantage after all in having no sense of humour, for no one who had any would have dared such impudence.

  SPINLOVE TO HOOCHKOFT

  Dear Sirs,26.8.24.

  I like the samples of the bricks and the price is satisfactory. The very light-coloured brick seems soft and under-burnt, the red and purple brindled bricks will give all the variation in colour necessary. I have directed the builder, Mr. John Grigblay, to place the order with you.

  Yours faithfully,

  SPINLOVE TO GRIGBLAY

  Dear Sir,26.8.24.

  Please order from Messrs. Hoochkoft & Co., facings of their multi-broken coloured red 2 ½ in. sand-faced slops to sample already approved by me, price 147s. per 1,000 on rail.

  Yours faithfully,

  Spinlove is looking well after his bricks, but it would have been wise, as he does not know them and has not ordered from a merchant known to him, to have seen the bricks in bulk at the brickyard.