Sorry if this is in the wrong subreddit.
I'm working with a contractor for a small condo bathroom. The demolition started early February, and in theory should've been done in 3 weeks. It is now almost 10 weeks and we are at the last stretch, but the contractor has pretty much ghosted me. I know he has other commitments, but leaving existing jobs with existing clients unfinished without any form of communication of a final game plan is ridiculous.
He texts maybe once a week to get my hopes up that he will get back to me soon, but doesn't, and then continues to ghost the next week. It's a repeated cycle. At this point, the only thing left for him to do is very easy, small tasks that I know I can do myself, however I have no idea if this guy has already bought the materials (he doesn't respond to any of my messages when I ask him if he's purchased them yet), and if he has intentions to actually finish the job.
I have little confidence that he has any of those materials and I'm at the point I'd like to do the rest of the job myself. I still owe him a good chunk of money which we agreed would not be paid until the job is finished. It can easily cover the material cost and my own time/labour so I think I have the upper hand. We have no signed agreement on anything, just a digital invoice.
My thinking, deduct the cost of materials that I've purchased myself that was part of the original scope/invoice + 15% for my time/labour off the remaining balance owed to him, pay him the balance and walk away (I'm really not trying to screw anyone over, but I think this is fair. In fact, I would say the time lost and added headache to my life in the last 7 weeks of delays surpasses any amount of money). Is it that simple? Or am I bound to some form of an inherent contract to let him complete the work?
Every day that he delays this project to prioritize his other jobs is another day lost of not using my bathroom to its full function. I've pushed so many things because of these delays and I cannot afford to waste another day with the summer coming.