ComplaintsforGround Breaking Remodeling and Construction

• Initial Complaint

  10/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Ground Breaking Home Remodeling (****** ** ***) failed to installed the p-trap in the shower drain. The p-trap is a barrier that stops sewer gas and odor from entering the home. The old p-trap was cut out by ****** ** *** during the shower demo. A new p-trap should have been installed prior to installing the shower pan. The shower walls interlock into the shower pan. The bathroom (and hallways) now smells of sewage whereas it did not prior to the rehab conducted by Ground Breaking Home Remodeling. When you flush the toilet, you can hear it from the shower drain further indicating a p-trap was not installed. We have attempted to reach out to ****** ** *** on several occasions to discuss a solution. Mr. ** *** has not responded or attempted to discuss a resolution. The shower pan, shower walls and glass shower doors all need to be removed and repurchased as they cannot be reused after removing in order to reinstall a p-trap. The system is an interlocking shower system where the walls lock into each other and the shower pan. In addition, the sliding shower doors are not level. Mr ** *** stated that our walls were not level therefore the shower doors could not be leveled. This is not true. It was Mr ** ***'s job to make the frame level before installing the shower doors. Mr ** *** incorrectly measured the hole for the shower head and upon installing the shower head, the shower arm head flange/assembly did not cover the hole. A larger shower head flange was purchased by Mr ** *** but is was the wrong finish and he did not secure it to the shower wall. Mr ** *** did not use self-leveling mortar underneath the shower pan as required according to the installation instructions.

  

  Business response

  12/04/2023

  When clients can’t manipulate a company to doing things outside the contract, the BBB is their go to in an effort to defile the character of the company and its constituents. But rather than retaliate, we pray for them. All the Glory belongs to GOD, we are Stewart’s with ownership responsibility. We will continue to love and not hate in spite of the odds against us. IN JESUS NAME!!!!!!

  Customer response

  12/11/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  the contractor did not properly install the tub surround, shower door and plumbing associated with shower.  As a result of the ineptness/incompetence of the contractor we have to have the shower surround, shower door and shower pan removed and replaced.  The items cannot be reused since the holes that were drilled into the items are not at the correct locations to make the items reusable.  In addition, the shower surround and pan will need to be cut in order to be removed thus making them unserviceable.  As stated previously, the contractor removed the old shower p-trap and did not replace it before installing the shower pan thus allowing sewer smells to emit from the shower drain.

       According to the Missouri Residential Code (2015), Chapter 32 - Traps.  25.04.030 - Penalty clause.
  Any person who shall violate a provision of this Code or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof, or who shall erect, construct, alter, extend, repair, remove, demolish any plumbing system of any building, structure, premises, or equipment regulated by this Code in violation of an approved construction document or directive of the building official or the Board of Building Appeals, or of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this Code, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
  (Ord. No. 71644 , § 4, 2-20-2023.)

  According to the Missouri Residential Code, Mr ** *** should incur the penalty as put forth in addition to refunding the amount it cost to repurchase the supplies.  

  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******-*****

  

  Business response

  12/12/2023

  We did what we were hired to do, we are not responsible for previous contractor errors, the client told me and my team that he was very happy with job and paid the balance after reviewing the finished job, people don’t usually pay until they have viewed the job and are satisfied, again it is a very clear case of a client attempting to scale our company out of money to get the job free which is also punishable by law and I would think this client would know this since he is a retired police officer.

• Initial Complaint

  07/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife and I have a home in Missouri we have been trying to get renovated since the beginning of 2023, and we have gone through a few contractors in St Louis that want a percentage down before they can start the work. They seem to start the work then slack off and eventually walking away and leaving the project unfinished. As of 6/21/23 the work and the house is still incomplete so we went through a professional hardware company ******* to use a contractor through ******* for better results and completion. ******* gave us ****** ***** owner of Ground Breaking Home Remodeling LLC. ***** signed a bid with my wife 6/21/23 and had her pay 50% down and up to 2 weeks to complete the job. He claimed that he had a large crew and could not start until his trip back Chicago delaying our project 4 days and no crew member. He did a walk through with my wife and agreed on the work. ***** only wrote certain things, did not complete the work discussed and appears to only do what he wrote meaning he was tasked to place a new sink in the new countertop but that’s all he would not seal it unless we start a new contract. He did the kitchen back splash and cracked 3 tiles but refused to correct it. He put some framing on interior doors but left large holes he would not fill for painting. He brought his son to the house who did a very incomplete paint job that looked terrible all in 4 days and demanding payment in the house alone with my wife. The son demanded payment also which is when she said she was calling the police. Before they started my wife gave $3000.00 and before they left to get them out the house another 2200.00. A total of 5200.00 and still a balance of $780.00 is left where ***** threatened my wife that if he does not get the balance by 7/6/2023 he was going to put a lien on our house, mess up both of our credit and turn us over to collections. We’ve been through enough this year with St Louis contractors I you can see I did file BBB complaints with my wife.

  

  Business response

  07/17/2023

  This gentleman made a complaint and stated that I would not do any additional work unless it was listed on the contract, which is true.  The consumer wants something for nothing.  There are many inconsistences within this complaint.  They have had multiple contractors and I am the second, and they have had issues with all of them.  We walked through and provided her with everything she requested.  I had 2 guys working and she complained about the number of workers involved. The project was given a time frame of up to 2 weeks to complete and my crew completed the work in 4 days. They have went through 5 different contractors, but I still went ahead with the work.  She wanted us to do additional work that was not included in the contract. This is where the complaint comes from, trying to get additional work for nothing.  The balance still owed to us is 2600 dollars.

  Customer response

  07/24/2023

  Contractor, ***** basically did a walk-through with my wife to identify what needed to be done. And yes, there was major problems with previous contractors. Yes, but we hired him to complete the jobs that were not finished by the other contractors, and that’s what he agreed to do example door with the door. The framing needed to be adjusted caulked, so that there are no openings in and secured and one door the smaller door was supposed to be reframed by Mr. *****, that door was not completed there was gaps with the gaps. We had problems where he use oversize screws instead of small nails to put the frame up all the frames have a gap that he did not fill in with caulk. It was said that my wife and I would do the painting ourselves we just needed him to reframe put up the door knobs which he did, and make sure that the doors were balanced and they close properly and that everything was caulked so that there’s no openings around the framing work of the doors, and you can see all of the pictures that was sent the completion of what he’s done , we believe that he gets people in contracts in order to minimize those contracts so that he can get more money by adding new contracts to the same job and that’s what’s happened here. He’s also brought his wife into our home and his son without our authorization, he and his son ate lunch inside our home without our authorization most contractors break for lunch and they leave the property. I’ll go eat in the truck or whatever they never are inside a persons home unless there’s authorization it was never authorization. Also ***** took out the backsplash that the previous contractor messed up. We bought a whole different new backsplash for ***** to install and he left six crack tiles. We still have a pack of new tiles there. He refused to go back in and replace those stating that he would probably have to tear out the whole thing in the whole wall, and start all over which we did mine we had enough tile, but he refused to do that. He refused to follow up and come in and repair those things that he did. He mentioned that we were adding items we did not add anything extra what we required is to have the work completed that he started and again his job was to fix and repair the work. He agreed with my wife that he can do that and he will take care of that. He claim he’s a Christian man and he will take care of this project and we wouldn’t have to worry about him . They are other areas that he worked on and we do not feel that the quality of work and craftsmanship was on point it was horrible. He did the bare minimum for maximum pay. He demanded pay and we do have we have gone down to Clayton and we filed a civil suit against him and his company and the court date is next month August 15, 2023. We also filed a police report because we had a theft of items from our home and he is the only person that’s been at our home.  He and his family his wife has been in our home. I’ll ask Daughter caught her coming out once, and the camera system picks up the the wife entering the home as well as on the last day he used to side to paint and it was a very terrible job. You can tell that he’s not a professional painter. All the information is either in the pictures everything I’m stating is also on camera that is our proof of what happened so we have two court dates that we’re going to deal with this company and this gentleman and we will update the BBB once we have the information of completion from a judge, but the information with his response and we have information backing our statement with pictures, camera footage and conversations that he had. He did half with my wife.

• Initial Complaint

  06/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This person was referred to me by **** *****, so I trusted that it was true and valid referral. I should have checked BBB because there are already complaints about him here and they all have the same theme: this person asking for $$$$, not doing the job, and people complaining. And his replies are all the same: blaming the customer and not finishing the work. In case it was not clear from the previous complaints about him: he will connect with you and give you a great plan. - He will ask for a big chunk of $$$ upfront (despite the fact that his card says "no upfront money needed"!) and another big amount on the third day of work. Notice that the "third day of work" can be whatever day it is, despite of the amount of work done. Which, in my case, was not worth the amount of $ asked for. - I had to text him every time to get information about the next steps. But if he needs money, he will promptly be at your door. - He may change his mind and not do a piece of the job. On the day that they were supposed to finish a piece of the project, he just decided to not do something. - Then, when he is about to start the real work, he will ask for more money to buy materials. Despite the contract being signed for a specific amount, after some work done (definitely not worth the amount that I had paid him!), he will ask for more money. He will not offer proof as to why he is asking for more money, and blame it on the "price of materials". I did the math and it does not make sense. I liked him and his son but this person is a scam.

  

  Business response

  07/05/2022

  She hired is to do the job with the understanding that she would be able to pay more when the ground was dug out with the excavator.  We did that, but she refused to pay the extra for the necessary materials.  We explained those material were needed to be able to move forward in the job.  She said "I guess this job is over."

  Customer response

  07/05/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  - I have proof of texts with:

  * me asking for details of the cost of the work done with the $4500 that the contractor had. No explanation was given.

  * there is nothing in the contract saying that there would be extra cost for the materials 

  * the text by the contractor fluctuates in the number of the dollar amount that he asked extra (first was $2100 and then it was $2000), showing that really there was really no plan

  * the text by the contractor after I said that I would no longer interact with him saying that the job could actually be done with the money that I had paid him, indicating that really the job could indeed be done with the amount that was outlined by the contract

  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** *******

  

  Business response

  07/06/2022

  This client knew that it would cost what it cost to rent equipment, excavator, bob cat, she needed the ground dug out and leveled, then to be formed up to prepare for concrete then rock then rebar then concrete trucks to come out and pour concrete then concrete finishers. She could not possibly think that all this would cost only $6500.00,  of course there was more money needed to complete this project, and she simply did not want to pay any more money and she told me that she was not paying anymore money and that this job is over in her words. We at Ground breaking we’re still ready to move forward and finish the job

  Customer response

  07/07/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  Again, I am rejecting this response because:

  - There is no language in the contract that there would be an extra cost for materials if needed
  

   - I really want to know where the contractor rented the excavator, because the price that I see online for the size of the excavator he needed is not more than $500. Even with paying him for the work that he did, I would no pay more than $1000 for labor. 

  
  - The area that we needed to put concrete on (which, according to the contractor was the main reason for the extra money) is not that big and concrete is, as of now about $120/yard. So unless the contractor is miscalculating and trying to cash even more money out of me, I do not see how the math matches.

  
  - After I posted the reply yesterday, I found an invoice – after I had paid $4500 to the contractor – for $3000 extra that was sent to me with no warning, no explanation. This is yet a different amount than the one that the contractor was requesting… showing, again, no planning and no transparency about how the money was being used.

  
  - My words was a reflection of the contractor’s words, who simply said: “now it cost an additional $2000 for the materials needed to move forward or it cost zero dollars to not move forward”. And this is after he had $4500, which – again – does not reflect the work that was done. I chose the zero dollars to not move forward with this person.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** *******

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In October we gave this company a payment (half) for a deck. The personal check was for $4397.00 and the check cleared straight away. We have a contract. He purchased some lumber and delivered it. But this is the sum total of all the work he has done. We have tried reaching out to him multiple times but he has given us every excuse to not come. No work has been done.

  

  Business response

  05/26/2022

  without applying for a permit and didn’t do it right so she then proceeded to ask me if she can give me money to (BRIBE) a public official which is the County Permits department, that was a red flag for me, we can also provide a copy of that recording where she stated  to me ****** ***** on the phone about (BRIBING) a public official I ****** ***** made **** ****** of the permit department aware that she made a statement about me (BRIBING) him  so that he would look over the gazebo and let us do put it on the deck with out a permit.  further instructed the client that we are not going to go against counties orders and codes to satisfy something she wanted us to do against County‘s code, which would cost us a lot in fines and probably our license which we are not willing to gamble with. Below or in the attachment  you will find a copy of an email sent by county inspector **** ***** showing the permit was approved in March. The money that this client is demanding back is sitting in her garage in the form of lumber as we do have a level of integrity that we intend to keep and we will not break that to go against county codes for any client. We aim to satisfy our clients but not if that means breaking the law. And for future clients reading this please do not try to bribe an inspector as this client wanted to do it will only land you in financial utter ruine and maybe even jail our motto is we don’t work for the money we work for the reviews Money just comes with this as it should we don’t get excited about money we get excited about a happy client but unfortunately you’re not going to be able to please everybody all the time no matter how great you are. Glory be to God praise him hallelujah.

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Sep 9th 2021 ****** gives initial bid, refinish wood floors & lay tile in our kitchen & dining room.he quoted us $2500 for 800sqft wood floors & $1500 for 265sqft tile. his wife ***** picks up $1500 check for deposit. We had 10 calls this day confirming. I sent him pics of all floors, he has us buy: 4 2.5g buckets of polyurethane, 300sqft of tile, 4bags of thinset, 300sqft of backerboard, grout, threshold divider-totaling to $1,020.94. Sep 10th 2021 Reggie, ******'s brother starts wood refinish. Since we had changed plans w/ ****** to do 2 of 3 rooms we ask that the price reflect actual sqft. He says no. Sep 11th 2021 They begin tile. Argument over sqft begins. He tells us he isnt doing the dining room, only doing 173sqft of tile while expecting we pay for 265sqft. Eventually we say ok fine to pay more, tile is almost done. 1hr later he calls to say he will not complete project and is leaving as is, threatens to put lien on the home. He ripped up all the tile and damaged our property

  

  Business response

  09/24/2021

  First let me start by saying I am not a man of confusion, *******'s girlfriend ********* ******** is who we have an estimate with, we have not signed any agreement with ******* ******* and the agreement with ******** was for Ground Breaking to lightly hand sand the wood floors as needed and cover the floors with polyurethane which we did and only charged her $3000 and it was paid to us. The original plan was to machine sand the floors all the way down to the natural wood which the price for that was $6000 but ********* called me and stated she foudn out that she had really bad foundation issues and she couldn't afford $6000 and asked could I do something less work but still give her a nice finish on the floors that would be cheaper in dollars. I then suggested ground breaking very lightly hand sand the floor just so the polyurethane would stick and produce a nice shine but the floors would be the same color but clean looking. ********* said yes lets do that, it would show the old character in the floor but a nice shine, then she asked how much would that be and I said $3000, She said perfect lets go with that she would give me $1500 down and $1500 when the wood floors were done. She did and it all went smooth. Then we agreed to do the kitchen floor in ceramic tile for $1000 which is way below market value to try to help her out since she had purchased this home and no one told her about the foundation issues until she got the house. So in an afford to help her out we dropped the price a great deal. In the beginning we knew nothing about ******* until she found out about her foundation issues. Part of what we do is that we don't operate like your typical contracting company, as a way to give back, we look for clients to bless in any way we can within reason. ********* made us believe she was a single woman having a hard time financially so we gave her another alternative  to help her out. It was $1000 left to pay once we finished the ceramic floor, when we got to the last parts of the ceramic floor, she comes to the house with ******* and ******* tells me guy that was doing the floor and me that he's not and ********* is not going to pay $1000 for the kitchen and he and she was only going to pay $500 that's it take it or leave it  he don't care. I then asked ********* since I had the agreement with her is that what she's saying as well and she said yes. So at the point the agreement was breached on her part and they left. So I called ********* and told her that my team and I didn't feel comfortable at that point staying there and finishing the tile work since we had already gave a significant discount and now you are taking $500 more from us after we got 3/4 of the tile work done. That is not fair, so I told them both that we are leaving and that she can use that $1000 to pay another person to finish. We never received any of the $1000 on the ceramic fllor even though we completed 3/4 most of the ceramic floors. So in trying to help a lady out that she said she was having a tough time financially we ultimately lost the money, I have attached pictures of the work that we done which is how I left the home, we did not remove the tiles.
  
  

  Customer response

  09/24/2021

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  First of all, I never had stated I was a single woman…from the get go he knew it was me and my boyfriend. In fact we had a group call with all three before anything was agreed upon. So this is lie #1. 
  ****** states he did not pull up any tile, yet includes pictures of all the tile pulled up. To add to this he responded to the attorney generals office with the pictures from when it was laid to be deceitful. As I mentioned the last time we had seen the tile is when a n argument began over paying for the correct sqft at this time the tile was mostly done, and we even agreed to pay him for more work than he was going to do! It was $2500 for the hardwood and $1500 for the tile. Lie #2&3

  he also sent me a backdated invoice a day or two after he trashed our home and ruined the materials WE BOUGHT. Stating there was no sanding on the hardwoods which by looking at them you can tell there was MAYBE a light buffing. He literally put poly over paint splatter on the floors…. Lie #4. 

  ****** made us feel like we were getting a good deal on everything, however we had another professional out who was literally shocked at what he charged us/the quality of work  

  They also shattered multiple boxes of tile WE PAID FOR, he ruined our ice line to the fridge, left water sitting under our sink which caused damage, I could go on.

  This man ruined our faith in contractors and has caused me and my boyfriend an extensive amount of stress  

  He threatened to put a lien on our home after pulling up all the tile he had laid after we agreed to pay for 265sqft while getting 150sqft of tile and just a coat of poly on the hardwoods. I truly hope NOBODY has to deal with this. This is so wrong and he knows it.

   

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********* ********

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩