ComplaintsforHalbig Lawn and Landscaping, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired Halbig Lawn & Landscaping on 01/05/2022 to tear down my existing deck & rebuild a concrete deck. I told them exactly what I wanted, stairs on both sides, but if possible ramp on one side and stairs on the other, regardless I told them I wanted stairs or ramp. I also told them deck would have to be level with my back door just like previous deck in order to get wheelchair in and out of house & concrete would have to be 5-6" thick due to storm shelter placement . They agreed they could do this & wrote the estimate. The deck was supposed to be 24 x 27 it ended up being 18 x 21, very un-level, no stairs or ramp, a 5" drop off to deck from back door leaving lower half of my house exposed to the elements, as well as a 2' gap between pool and deck so no way to put deck ladder in pool. When brought to their attention I was told I would have to hire another contractor to fix their mistakes because that wasn't part of their estimate. I have no way to get my handicap daughter and her wheelchair off the 3 1/2 foot tall deck in the case of a fire or emergency. In the process they destroyed my asphalt driveway and done a terrible job of trying to repair it. It's been over 3 weeks and I still can't drive on it without causing indents in asphalt. The project was completed 3 weeks ago although final invoice states 03/15/2022 & cost a total of $14,303.10.

  Business response

  07/11/2022

  Business Response Contact Name and Title: ******** Owner Operator Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: ***************@gmail.com We have gone over these concerns with the customer multiple times. The stairs/ramp was brought up multiple times throughout the entire patio build and we explained that our company does not build stairs or ramps but we would gladly help get another contractor to get the job done/re -evaluate at the end of the job as stated in the bottom of the original and final estimate. "You wouldn't want a plumber installing your ac unit". This was not "our mistake" it was brought up multiple times and the customer was okay with it. With that said we can not complete that part of the job and the customer was never charged for that part of the job in any form of materials, labor, etc. We did contact multiple companies after the job was completed and they did get ahold of the customer. As with most companies in todays market they were a ways out on a potential start date. The customer did tell us to leave one set of the old stairs to possibly re - use temporarily, which we did. With the way the new stone patio walls sat up against the house and up against the pool supports this did not allow us to build level with back door/up against rubber pool. I explained to customer that they would need to have rotten wood on home, caused by old deck, repaired before adding any kind of concrete/ramp from patio to back door. I also explained that we could not build new deck right up against rubber pool as the ridged stone would puncture the sides of their pool. They were in an agreement and understood the situation. With that said, I recommended they build a small deck in between new concrete and posts from old deck that are up against rubber pool. As for the storm shelter. The thickness of the concrete as shown in the sent in pictures is where the wood to the deck would need to later be installed. The thickness of the patio is between 5-7" thick in most places and I relayed to the customer that we could drill temporary holes to prove this fact. We also added extra gravel and a higher psi rating to our concrete mix to help reinforce the area the storm shelter would sit. The size of the patio was also discussed with customer. Customer brought to our attention as we were building that the patio was smaller than what was on the estimate. I told customer that we had made a mistake and would be more than willing to go ahead and extend patio to original size but it would have an extra corner due to having to go around their existing wooden deck that they were wanting to keep for their slide. The customer said that they were okay with the smaller size and to just update the estimate to reflect the smaller size. We Updated the estimate which returned $2,052.40 to the customer. I have attached the original estimate/Invoice showing these changes. The handicap complaint about a fire/emergency escape route is a false statement as there is a very nice ramp on the front of the home that was used multiple times during the back patio build. The driveway was damaged during the process and I told the customer we would do our best to repair it. We spent over $1,200 on asphalt and another $200 on labor out of pocket to repair the driveway the best that we knew how. The driveway was in bad shape before the start of the project. I agree the repair was not perfect but we left it better than it was and I do not see any problems with that outcome as I would recommend the entire driveway being replaced. Not stated in the complaint in the section about total cost of the job: we are at a negative as the job is a total loss. We brought in complimentary sod for the east side of the patio to help prevent any erosion from their downspout. We also complimentarily seeded and strawed areas we damaged from our equipment for a total of roughly $2,000 in out of pocket expenses when added to the cost of the driveway repair. We do not see nor understand the thought process of us paying for another contractor to do a separate job/phase of the patio. We would be more than willing to continue to help get another contractor to help with that part/stage of the project. Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention as we will use this to continue to improve our industry as well as pass on to other contractors. Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The business states that we discussed the stairs/ramp multiple times throughout the building of the patio and that they do not do stairs or ramps, This is untrue! I discussed the stairs with him before he started the patio & before the estimate was given. I told him I would prefer a ramp on one side "IF" he thought it was something he could do, but I definitely needed stairs on both sides regardless . He stated that he could build stairs, but he had never done a ramp, but they would re-evaluate after the patio was completed for a possible ramp. This to means that once the project was completed HE/his business would build the ramp for an extra charge if they thought it was possible or hire another contractor to complete. Which we did discuss the ramp several times throughout the building process, but never once did he tell me he couldn't do stairs, if that was the case I would've went with a different contractor. In fact I posted pictures from his business page showing that in fact he does do stairs. I would never put my family in danger by not having two exits. By law you have to have 2 ways to exit your house in case of a fire or emergency. Yes, I do have a wheelchair ramp built in front of my house, but if a fire was in the front area of the house we would have no way of getting my wheelchair bound child out the back of our house & off the 3 1/2 foot patio without stairs at least. As far as the other wooden stairs being left, those could not be re-used nor did I plan on using them for this patio, they were saved for my son and his house. Although, due to the fact that the patio he built wasn't the same height as the previous deck, as a result of his mistakes and mis-measurements they couldn't have been used on this patio anyway. The rotten wood he is referring to wasn't even a part of the house, it was part of the previous deck which doesn't effect whether a concrete or wooden ramp could be added in front of the doorways. He stated he could do concrete ramp in front of each door but couldn't do wood , in which I told him I preferred concrete in order for it to match, but after they noticed they didn't have enough concrete he changed his entire story stating I would have to hire another contractor. The storm shelter couldn't be put in the original spot I had planned to put it because in fact, the concrete was not thick enough, so I had to put it in a different spot where the concrete was thicker. The driveway, was not damaged as he stated in his response and it was in no way in need of being repaired before they damaged it with their equipment, so as far as them being out of pocket for these damages, they caused them and they should've been responsible for the repairs. As far as the sod & grass seed, these were not things that I requested, these were things they done on their own free will and as a result of tearing up my yard, so those expenses have nothing to do with my estimate or the fact they were in the negative because of it. In fact, I was charged $1568 for unexpected expenses so part of their out of positive expenses were paid by me. They also stated in their response that they contacted several contractors to complete the repairs needed & they have been in contact with me, this is untrue, they contacted one contractor,Koberstein, and said they couldn't recommend anyone else, I was never contacted by any other contractors. The reason I feel they should have to pay for the expense of driveway asphalt repairs, ramps in front of back doors and stairs is because if it wasn't for all their mistakes in the building process of the patio I wouldn't have to pay another contractor to do it. I'm not even asking them to fix or build the deck between the pool and patio because I know that was due to the legs on the vinyl pool and they told me that couldn't be helped! All I'm asking is that they pay for the damage & mistakes that they caused! I don't think that is too much to ask & if they were a reputable business they would have no problem fixing or paying another company to fix their mistakes. Business Response We would love to come back out for an estimate on the stairs as we do build stone stairs yes. We do not do any wood building but can give a couple different options/estimates on a stone staircase. This is all that we can offer. Thank you for your time and bringing this to our attention....once again. We look forward to using this to improve future customers communication. Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I do not accept the proposed resolution because I refuse to continue to deal with a company that it so dishonest. First they lied and said they don't do stairs but, when I proved that they did do stairs by submitting pictures from their business page, they admit that in fact they do do stairs. Their response said that, yes they do in fact do stone stairs, which is what I asked for before job started, but they don't do anything with wood. They also stated in previous response that they don't do ramps, so I dug a little deeper into there business page and seen that in fact they do do ramps & guess what, they make them with wood. Please see attached photos, you will notice their business name is on photo as well as location & date job was done! Not only does it show they do ramps, but it also shows that they do stairs as well, all made with wood! They continue to be dishonest & want to charge me extra for a job that was supposed to all be included in the original estimate, because he knew exactly what I wanted before he started the job so, therefore I do not wish to do any further business with them & I will also share my experience with friends, family & acquaintances so they know exactly what I went through while dealing with this business. Business Response I want to thank the customer for there business and for doing their research. The pictures submitted were done by a subcontractor with the help of some of our employees and was done in the ********* Indiana area. We were not liable for any of the work and I have documentation showing that if needed. Therefore, back to our original statement, we do not do any wood work/building. Again, as shown in the invoices the customer was not ever charged for stairs or a ramp but we would gladly come back for an estimate/"re-evaluate since original job is now completed".Thank you again for this experience and yes, I do hope the customer spreads their experience with our business as well as this thread and all pictures/job progress. We hope to use this as a learning opportunity on communication for further team members/customers. Thank you again.

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