Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In November 2023, because the Howard Family name is so respected in Morrow, I made a verbal contract with ****** to do add a 1200 sq ft addition to my home. The work entailed: separating electrical boxes, running new wiring, installing a swim spa, concrete block, framing and all finish work. The project was to cost est. $140,000, and I've paid $80,000. 

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  On October 10th, 2023, I was installing a deck in Morrow County. Around 3:30 PM, the neighbor (the complainant) approached me and stated he was looking for a 3-man crew to do a small addition to his house. The addition was going to be 16 feet wide by 30 feet long off the east side of his house. I gave him my number and told him to text me his information, and I would get with him when I could take a look and get more details of the job.
  On October 11th, he texted me and stated, "I am willing to pay a 3-man crew $1000 per day." I responded and told him I would be out there to look at the job.
  On October 13th, 2023, I went to his house. We agreed to the $1000 per day rate to build the 16-foot by 30-foot addition, and he would cover all material costs.
  On November 4th, we showed up to start digging the basement and ended up removing 43 trees. We hauled off the majority of the trees and agreed on a price of $3000 to remove all the trees. Since he already had rental equipment on-site that we used for tree removal, we just had to cut them down and haul off as much as we could.
  On Monday, November 6th, we started digging the basement. The homeowner came out and stated he wanted to do an addition all the way around the house. This required us to remove and haul the dirt to a different location, which made the digging process longer. After digging the basement, the addition was 58 feet down both sides of his house and 65 feet wide, totaling 3770 square feet – triple the original square footage. He also wanted a two-story addition down each side of the house, making the actual living space of the addition 5130 square feet.
  We charged him $22,628.54 to dig the basement. This included the use of our dump truck, mini-excavator, fuel, reimbursement for some materials I paid for, and the agreed-upon day rate.
  We had a block layer come in and lay the block. After the block was installed, my crew and I went back out and installed drain tile inside and outside of the wall, sealed the block with basement sealer, backfilled, and moved his hot water heater.
  On December 18th, I had everything set up to pour the basement. I charged him $22,000, which covered all material, the pump truck, and equipment rental needed to pour the floor.
  I was not able to get back to this job immediately because my crew was on another addition that we started before the homeowner rushed this project. This was due to a company he had previously hired to level his existing basement, a task that we also ended up having to pour concrete for.
  On February 4th, 2024, my crew and I returned.

  On February 6th, 2024, when I was talking to him, he stated that he didn't calculate the cost of the basement being as high as it was. I adjusted the agreed-upon rate to help him, so the bill I wrote him on Thursday, February 15th, 2024, was only $3815 instead of $8000.
  That morning, he stopped my crew and me, stating that there was a structural integrity problem with his existing house stemming from the addition. We called in an engineer who stated that the addition was structurally sound and that there was no bearing weight on his original house. This eased the homeowner's mind and allowed us to continue with work.
  On Monday, February 19th, 2024, I received a message from the homeowner stating that all construction had to stop immediately. I went to talk to him, and he stated that he found a different 3-man crew that could come in and do the job for $400 a day. Therefore, I had my crew load up our tools and equipment because he wouldn't allow us to proceed with construction.
  Later that day, we received a message from him stating that he decided to let us finish construction and that he wasn't going to have the other crew do it. I informed him that we already had our equipment set up at a new job site and wouldn't be able to return as he requested. He then started threatening legal action, canceling checks he wrote me, and harassing me over messages.
  On March 8th, 2024, I received this complaint he made to the BBB. The complaint has no factual basis, and the amount he is saying he has paid me is only $48,443.54, which includes equipment usage, material reimbursement, and labor. He is stating he has paid me $80,000  which is false. I have invoices, receipts, and bank statements to prove and back all my numbers. I also owes me for lumber that I purchased and he cancelled the check which I have copies of that from the bank as well. 

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