ComplaintsforEagleLift, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  i bought a house in 2021, and have been noticed that the previous owner have paid Eaglelift to repair the foundation in 2015 Eaglelift have fixed the foundation in 2015, with a 10 yrs warranty. i noticed a settlement while bought this house, and noticed one main supporting beam in crawlspace is dangling. the previous owner transferred the warranty to me, i have been in contact with Eaglelift, i have asked them to re-evaluate whether there's a settlement, and their previous fix need adjustment since 2021, after several assessment they insist there's no settlement thus no need further adjustment. but i believe they saw the dangling beam in crawlspace--it's huge and very obvious. they just pretend not seeing that. also, one of the said that the push-piers may need adjustment, but after he called his co-worker(or manager?) , they says different. i think they are playing with me, dodging the responsibility and wait for the warranty to expire in 2025. i hope there's a 3'rd party that can help me .

  

  Business response

  03/24/2023

  Hope this email finds you well and thank you for the opportunity to respond. EagleLIFT is a Class (A) engineering contractor in business since the early 2000's . 

  Our primary scope of work in the residential sector is underpinning. We treat settlement (downward movement). With respect to ***** ***, we dispatched a Superintendent earlier this month to take measurements prompted by her request. This is the 3rd or 4th visit to her property since 2021. I am also more than happy to have a phone conversation with you as I may be inundating you with information,

  
  

  Original job info:

  • Performed in 2015 for a prior owner
  • Original contract states 11 Push piers however, it appears there was a change order reflecting that only 9 piers were installed.
  • void fill
  • interior post adjustments
  • The warranty against appreciable settlement for push piers is 25 years (Not 10 as ***** stated) .
  • Interior post adjustments are not warrantable items.  

  Attachments:

  • Contract/Change orders (original job 2015)
  • Final project elevations
  • Recent elevations
  • Letter to ***** *** - results of claim assessment
  • Small scope performed for ***** *** in 2021(we initially declined to perform the small scope under our project minimum but they insisted we must do it) 
  • Warranty Certificate

  Add'l info:

  • In 2021 the new owner ***** *** contacted EagleLIFT to report issues with their foundation.
  • No warrantable items were found.
  • There was some crawlspace work that needed to be done. It was not part of our original scope so we provided the client a proposal for a small paid scope of work to treat a hump and dip in the floor.
  • The client argued that it should be covered under warranty but we were able to eventually explain that it was not part of the scope through documentation.
  • We removed the shims from a floor beam and adjusted a couple interior posts in 2021. 

  In instances where a seller tells a buyer that EagleLIFT "fixed" the foundation it can be challenging as the new owners tend to be under the impression that the repair includes any/all items that pertain to a foundation but that is not the case. We have a very narrow and limited scope pertaining to settlement of a structure.  The main application we performed on this project is the installation of (9) steel push piers on the exterior perimeter where settlement was occurring.  Recently, ***** asked us to come out and take measurements again.  We took the measurements and concluded the work was functioning as intended. 

  
  

  If ***** wants us to assess the reported dangling piece in the crawlspace we can arrange to do so however it was my understanding that our most recent visit was to document measurements as indicated in the email exchange below.

  Customer response

  03/27/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  As they stated, 

  First of all, 

  this is 4th time they evaluated the elevation in my floor. But every single time, their measurement is different from last time even they measured it in two weeks, sometimes, the measurement is not even clearly documented, and when i asked about measurement result, they simply stated they the assessor has left this company so they don't have the data. One assessor mentioned to me that the push piers need adjustment but after he called his manager , he said differently and they were dodging the responsibility. 

  Thus, their measurement is no longer valid to me anymore. for the integrity of the project, any further measurement must be done under a justified third party. 

  Second, Eaglelift  should be more explicit about their justification of 'warrantable items' specifically, i ask them to document , under what condition, they judge the installed push piers is supporting the floor, and under what condition, they judge that it needs adjustment.  For my point of view, the push piers are installed to level the floor, they are very deep under the foundation so it's impossible to look at the push piers themselves. we must look at something else to see if they are working. i ask them to give a clear standard and disclose to 3rd party(BBB).

  Very last, they mentioned the work done in 2021. for my point of view, this is much smaller project than adjusting push  piers so they tried to mention that hump in foundation to dodge the warranty. i agreed with that project and we paid them to do that, it's not free. i paid and they get it done , it's fair.  I don't know their intention of mentioning irrelevant things but i didn't take any advantage of them.

  So, i ask them to evaluate and clearly document everything and disclose to BBB, every measurement should be under surveillance of  third party. 

  
  

  

  Business response

  03/30/2023

  We received ***** ***'s rejection of our response.  We are more than happy to provide additional documentation, if needed. We do however, need to understand what the client feels is the problem, they reported a dangling beam, unlevel floors and wanting pier adjustments.

  
  

  We can offer the following options:

  
  

  Option 1.  Following an extensive review of several sets of elevations, field notes and other project documentation, during the original project, the exterior perimeter piers achieved a lift of 1.3 inches on average.  The piers are still holding and functioning as intended on the exterior perimeter.  EagleLIFT attempts to lift to as level as practicable to avoid causing damage to the foundation/structure.  Field notes indicate the foundation's condition was considered brittle and under those conditions we do not continue to try to effect a lift.  We strongly advise against pier adjustment when elevations do not confirm the need for adjustment, especially when the condition of the footing is considered brittle. It is our professional opinion that making adjustments at this time is of no value and can in fact cause damage to the foundation/structure.  The interior floor that the client describes as unlevel is supported by other members/support mechanisms, not the push piers.  We would like to reassess the area where the client feels it is unlevel to determine whether an adjustable jack may serve as a more feasible support mechanism as an adjustable jack will allow the jack to be adjusted.  As the soils in the crawlspace shift, adjustments to the levelness of the floor can be made. We are happy to return the results to the BBB.

  
  

  Option 2.   Following an extensive review of several sets of elevations, field notes and other project documentation, during the original project, the exterior perimeter piers achieved a lift of 1.3 inches on average.  The piers are still holding and functioning as intended on the exterior perimeter.  EagleLIFT attempts to lift to as level as practicable to avoid causing damage to the foundation/structure.  Field notes indicate the foundation's condition was considered brittle and under those conditions we do not continue to try to effect a lift.  We strongly advise against pier adjustment when elevations do not confirm the need for adjustment, especially when the condition of the footing is considered brittle. It is our professional opinion that making adjustments at this time is of no value and can in fact cause damage to the foundation/structure.  The interior floor is supported by other members/support mechanisms, not the push piers.  While we disagree with this push pier adjustment, if the client will sign a full release of liability for any damage to the foundation, structure and fireplace, caused by an unwarranted adjustment, this includes damage that may occur during the adjustment or as a result of the adjustment.  This will also rescind any future warranty. The support mechanisms under the interior portion of the floor will still likely need to be addressed.  

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