Kevin asked:

So, that said, how does one go about resolving vague contracts that result
in
dispute?  Does anyone have experience with non-court resolutions methods?
Are
there generally available public services (free or not) that help guide
individuals through some of these issues?  For clarity I'm in Pittsburgh,
PA.
USA.  Any starter advice is appreciated!

My Response:

If you and the builder agree on how to resolve the dispute, then any
mechanism will work. You might agree to name a neutral third party to
resolve the dispute. Or, if neither of you can agree upon a neutral third
party, each of you can name a non-neutral party, who are then jointly
instructed to pick a neutral third party to resolve your dispute.

The key here, of course, is that both you and the builder agree upon the
resolution mechanism, and that *that* agreement itself be enforceable. After
all, it doesn't do you much good to agree that "Fred" is a neutral party and
that he will resolve the dispute to then find that Fred agrees with one side
and the other side refuses to go along with Fred's decision.

Quite often the local Bar association will have a dispute mediation program,
so you might start out there.

Another possibility is small claims court. The jurisdictional amounts are in
the several thousand dollar range these days and that's probably adequate
for your dispute. There is minimum paperwork involved in a small claims
action, lawyers don't get involved (most small claims court rules forbid
either side from being represented by a lawyer) and, most importantly, the
decision is binding on both parties. If you search "small claims court" and
Pennsylvania you will find more than you ever wanted to know about the
process.


Jack

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