"We need you on site tomorrow": what you agree to when you start before signing

It's a familiar sequence. The bid is accepted. The subcontract arrives and sits in someone's inbox. Then the call comes: "We need you stacking drywall tomorrow." The crew shows up, the work starts, and the contract gets signed weeks later, or never. When something goes wrong, the other side says, "You signed it," or "You started work, so you accepted our terms."

What starting work can mean

When you begin work without a signed subcontract, you haven't escaped the contract. You've made it harder to know which contract applies.

• Your conduct can show agreement. Courts can find that a contract was formed by the parties' actions. Starting work after receiving a subcontract can be evidence you accepted its terms.
• Or the terms are uncertain. If there's no agreement on key terms, you may be left arguing about what was agreed, with your proposal, emails and the GC's form all pointing different ways.
• Later signing can reach back. Many subcontracts say they apply to "all work performed on the Project, whether before or after the date of this Subcontract". Sign that weeks in, and the notice deadlines and waivers in it may cover events that already happened, including deadlines that have already passed.

What protects you

1. Confirm the key terms in writing before mobilizing. A short email is far better than nothing:

Confirming we'll mobilize on [date] under our proposal dated [date]: scope as listed there, price $[amount], progress payments monthly, retention [x]%. We'll review the subcontract and return comments by [date]. Work before signing is performed on these terms.

2. Ask for a notice to proceed or letter of intent that limits the work authorized, sets a dollar cap, and says how you'll be paid if the subcontract is never signed.

3. Review the subcontract in parallel, fast. Most subcontracts can be reviewed in a day or two. Don't let it sit until the dispute.

4. Watch the retroactive clause. If you sign after starting, add a line that notice periods for events before signing start from the signing date.

5. Sign with your exceptions attached. If the GC won't edit the form, a signed rider listing your two or three changes, accepted by the GC, still counts.

For GCs and builders

The same logic works in reverse. If you let a sub start without a signed subcontract, your flow-down, insurance and indemnity terms may not apply to the work already done. A one-page notice to proceed that incorporates the subcontract terms protects both sides.

The fix isn't complicated. It's getting the paper done before the trucks roll, or at least getting the important parts in writing.