Delay damages: do not carry the whole schedule on your back

Delay clauses can turn a late project into a direct bill against your shop, even when the delay was outside your control.

5 min readLiquidated damages / delay damages

Plain-English translationIf the project runs late, the GC may try to charge your shop a daily amount or pass down owner damages.

Why it mattersMillwork is often late-sequence work. Your install window can be squeezed by problems that happened months before your crew arrived.

Late-sequence work gets squeezed

Millwork shops often inherit the mess. Walls are not ready, field dimensions are late, finishes are changed, and then the install window gets compressed.

A harsh delay clause can make the shop pay for that compression. The right question is not 'Was the project late?' It is 'Did this shop actually cause the delay, and by how much?'

The fairer rule

Delay exposure should be proportional, capped, and tied to your own fault. If the GC wants you to own schedule risk, it should also give you timely access, approvals, dimensions, and change decisions.

Push for language that gives the shop time extensions and compensation when delay is caused by the GC, owner, design team, other trades, or late changes.

These guides are educational and are not legal advice. Contract enforceability changes by state, project type, and facts. Use this as a checklist, then have a construction lawyer review important final language.

American Bar Association: liquidated damages basics