Cairn Subcontractor Agreement

1. Who we are to each other

You are an independent contractor, not an employee of Cairn Home Co. LLC ("Cairn"). You run your own business, decide how to do the work, supply your own tools and vehicle, pay your own helpers, and are free to work for others.

You are responsible for your own taxes. Cairn issues a 1099-NEC each January for what it paid you.

2. Work orders and changes

Every job comes as a Cairn work order in Cairn Pro with the scope, the address and your flat pay. Accepting a job means you agree to do that scope for that pay.

If the job needs more than the work order says, stop and text Cairn before doing it. Extra work is paid only when Cairn approves it in writing (a text or a note in Cairn Pro counts). Work done without that approval is not paid.

3. Cairn's customers stay Cairn's customers

Every homeowner you meet through Cairn is Cairn's customer. On site you are Cairn's installer. Don't discuss prices, extras, upgrades or future work with the customer, and don't hand out your own card, number or quote.

If a customer asks you for a price or for more work, say: "Happy to note it. Cairn handles all pricing and warranties, so I'll have them send you a quote today." Then text Cairn right away.

While you work with Cairn and for 12 months after your last Cairn job at a customer's address, you won't solicit, quote or do work for that customer (or anyone living at that address) except through Cairn. This covers only customers you met through Cairn, not your own customers or the public.

If you do, you'll pay Cairn the greater of Cairn's gross margin on the diverted work or $1,000 per customer. You agree this is a fair estimate of Cairn's loss and not a penalty.

4. Confidentiality

Customer names, addresses, photos, Cairn's prices and margins, and Cairn's leads are confidential. Use them only to do Cairn's jobs, and delete customer details you hold once a job is done.

5. How the work is done

Do the work in a good and workmanlike way, to code, and to the manufacturer's instructions. Pull the permits and use licensed trades wherever the law requires (electrical, plumbing and gas work in NH need an OPLC license).

Before and after photos go into Cairn Pro for every job. Protect floors and finishes, keep the site tidy, and leave it broom-clean.

If you dig, confirm the Dig Safe (811) ticket number on the work order before breaking ground. On homes built before 1978, follow EPA lead-safe (RRP) practices whenever you disturb paint.

6. Insurance and paperwork

Before your first job and while you work with Cairn, you'll keep on file with Cairn: a W-9; a certificate of general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, naming Cairn Home Co. LLC as additional insured for both ongoing and completed operations (ISO CG 20 10 and CG 20 37 or equivalent) on a primary and non-contributory basis with a waiver of subrogation; auto liability for any vehicle you use; and workers' compensation or a signed exemption if you have no employees.

Keep these current. Send the renewal before a policy expires, and tell Cairn right away if one is cancelled. You can't work Cairn jobs while any of them has lapsed.

Keep general liability with completed-operations coverage in force for as long as your warranty to Cairn runs on your work (section 8), and send Cairn the renewal certificate when it renews.

7. Responsibility for your work

You're responsible for injury, damage and claims caused by your work, your helpers or your equipment. You'll defend and indemnify Cairn and its customers against them, to the extent they come from your negligence or breach of this agreement.

8. Warranty

You warrant your workmanship to Cairn for one year from completion on repair, service and install work, and two years from completion on remodels, additions, roofing, siding, windows and other build work. Any longer warranty Cairn gives its customers is Cairn's own.

If Cairn reports a defect in your work, fix it within 7 days at no charge (or sooner for leaks, safety issues or anything getting worse). If you can't or don't, Cairn can fix it and deduct the reasonable cost from what it owes you, or invoice you for it.

This covers defects caused by your workmanship, not normal wear, products or equipment that fail on their own (those go to the manufacturer's warranty, which Cairn handles), work done or changed by others, lack of maintenance, freezing, misuse, or other conditions outside your control.

9. Getting paid

When you mark a job done and send your invoice, Cairn checks the work and either approves it or tells you what needs fixing within 5 business days. If Cairn doesn't respond in that time, the job counts as approved.

Cairn pays the flat amount on the work order, plus any extras it approved in writing, within 7 days of the customer paying Cairn for the job, and in any case no later than 30 days after the job is approved, whether or not the customer has paid Cairn.

Send an invoice (a note in Cairn Pro is fine) with each job. Each payment releases your lien rights for the amount paid, and you'll sign Cairn's lien waiver for that amount on request. You keep any rights New Hampshire law gives you for amounts that are owed and unpaid. If you have a payment dispute, raise it with Cairn first.

10. Ending the relationship

Either of us can end this agreement at any time by text or email. Finish the jobs you've already accepted, or hand them back in time for Cairn to cover them. Sections 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 continue after it ends.

11. The rest

New Hampshire law governs this agreement. It's the whole agreement between us about Cairn jobs, and any change has to be in writing. If a court finds part of it unenforceable, that part is narrowed to the extent needed and the rest stands.

Typing your name and tapping "I agree" is your electronic signature, and it has the same effect as signing on paper.