The telehandler: what L&G put in writing, and what happened
A metal building this size cannot go up without a lift. My contract made renting one my job, for one week. This page is about what happened when the week ran out.
What the contract says
Company statement
The sales order lists “7k Telehandler Lift (customer Provided)” at $0. The terms add that any building 13 feet or taller, or over 30 feet wide, may need a telehandler because of the weight of the trusses, and that “if the customer is providing lift it must be available for one week unless otherwise specified.”
So the deal on paper was one week of lift from me. Nothing in the packet says what happens if L&G’s crew shows up late or does not finish inside that week. I asked.
What L&G said by text
Company statement: texts from the L&G contact scheduling my installation
L&GYeah like your getting lift for one week that’s all if we need it long it runs through us
Me, Thursday, August 27, 8:29 AMConfirming you’re for sure building Saturday morning 8am.
L&GOur crews are still behind get the lift will be there Monday at latest but lift needs to be there
MeI’m not paying 3k. If you’re guaranteed to be there Monday I’ll have the lift there Monday morning
L&GLift
L&GYes sir if you can have lift there schedule for a week if we need it longer I’ll get my own lidt
L&GAre you good with that ?
MeYes
MeAs long as y’all are there doing it this week
L>hank you I appreciate it
MeI have to pay the entire 2k up front this time. So just so I have it in writing. This is my fulfilling the entirety of my telehandler responsibility.
L&GYes
These are typed exactly as sent, typos included, in the order they appear in the screenshots below. Messages that fall between the screenshots are not shown. The phone number at the top of each screenshot has been cropped off. Nothing else has been changed, and I have kept the full thread.
Twice, in two different messages, L&G’s contact says the same thing: my obligation is one week of lift, and if the crew needs it longer, that is on L&G. When I asked him to confirm that a $2,000 prepaid rental was “the entirety of my telehandler responsibility,” he answered with one word.
What happened
My project record
The install was set for Saturday, August 29, and I was told to have the telehandler on site the day before. I rented it. Two days before the date, L&G moved the crew to “Monday at latest.” The crew arrived the following Thursday, September 3, five days after the Saturday I had been given.
Between Thursday and Saturday they stood up about half the building. On Saturday, September 5, with more than a week gone since I first rented the lift, I was told the crew needed a different telehandler. L&G has not provided one. It did ask me for the installation payment, the $8,568 my Balance Breakdown says is “due upon building completion.”
My position is simple. I did what the contract asked and what the texts asked. L&G’s own words say the lift is its responsibility from here. The building has been half-finished since.
Another customer described a lift dispute too
Third-party report
In a November 2025 BBB review, a customer alleged that L&G demanded $1,500 for a lift rental although her contract listed the lift at $0, and would not continue work until she paid. L&G replied that it was a subcontractor on that job, that it explained the equipment and costs during the work, and that it requested nothing beyond what was discussed. I cannot verify her account. Both sides are summarized, with the link, on the other customers page.
If you are buying from any metal building company and the order form shows a lift at $0 or “customer provided,” get three things in writing before you sign: what size machine, for how many days, and who pays when their crew is late. More checks before you sign.