ComplaintsforIndoor Outdoor Home Repairs

• Initial Complaint

  06/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ****** was hired to replace an elevated deck on the back of our home as well as 2 front porch posts. After work was completed, I called the city for the inspection and was told this contractor was never permitted and did not go through the city. ****** claims he mentioned permitting and that he 'would've had to charge much more and wait 30 days' and I declined. I have all of our conversations via text and from our home video surveillance and can confirm this was never the case. I take the responsibility for not following up with the city myself and lack of detailed plans / contract. However, I will not take responsibility for a terrible job done. Porch Posts: - No jack used/ posts kicked into place, and neither post was set into place; I had to mallet them into place and we had to apply our own caulking to the gaps and paint. We had another contractor come out to review the back deck with our city's inspector, and the issues stated by them were: - Support posts were not set into the ground - should be 42" deep below frost line - Railing and house tie in inadequate - could not withstand 300 lb fall - Double rim not through-bolted - Outlet higher than 6'6" with no electrical inspection - Deck slants back toward house and no flashing was used, causing water to come behind the siding, through the door frame, and into the house - When called out, ****** stated this was due to our threshold and he could charge to replace that. The building inspector confirmed this is definitely not the case and is due to poor craftsmanship - Ledger board using straight-line pattern instead of z-pattern and only using lags - Sides of deck bow & posts twist - All beams running the wrong way - Tongue and groove planking used - not good for snow load - Did not correctly repair where previous balcony attached to the house Beyond not going through the city, the work was also completed hastily and slapped together. I just want to make sure no one else gets slighted by this contractor.

  Business response

  06/05/2023

  RECEIVED VIA PHONE BY BBB STAFF MEMBER:

  The business stated that they did not do the work detailed in this complaint. The consumer did give the business a deposit to start work. The business made it clear that they would not be able to start the work for 3-4 weeks but the consumer got upset after a week and wanted it started then. The business could not because of scheduling conflicts with other jobs. They handed the job as well as the deposit over to another independent contractor who did the work. That contractor was paid for the job and completed the work. Any complaints about the work should be with the independent contractor. 

  Customer response

  06/06/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  ****** accepted the first 1/2 of payment for the work prior to the job beginning and was here on the day the job was completed and directly handed the 2nd 1/2 of payment. He was in direct contact with the 2 gentleman who completed the deck and the post replacements during the work and at the time the work commenced. Cash was handed directly to ****** in both instances, in which he signed and returned an invoiced receipt on each date. The first cash was received by ****** on Apr 8, 2023, as noted by ****** on the attached Contractor's Invoice and as shown in the Ring camera still provided. Work began April 26th. The second cash was received by ****** on the day of project completing, Apr 27, 2023, as noted by ****** on the attached Contractor's Invoice and as shown in the Ring camera still provided. ****** at no point in time made us aware the job had been passed to any other contracting agency and accepted payment on behalf of his company for the entirety of the job. ****** did reach out directly to discuss the BBB complaint, but did not offer reimbursement or resolution. He did state he had fired **** (one of the contractors who had worked on our home), as noted in the attached Text conversation from June 1st, showing **** was fully employed by ******** company at the time work was completed. ****** has not offered reimbursement and is aware we are working directly with the city and a reputable contractor to fix all issues that are not up to city code/ordinances. There has been no resolution on behalf of ****** or his organization to claim responsibility for the poor craftsmanship exhibited and, regardless of whether a permit had been pulled or not, the work was not executed to code. Per the city inspector, the work requires a full deconstruction and rebuild. I would not trust ****** and his team to work on anything further at my residence and am seeking compensation for the work completed and, potentially, damage to my home due to water intrusion. If ****** is interested in resolving directly with me and discussing reimbursement options, I would love to regain some faith/trust in him and his company in resolving this issue outside of the court system.
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ******
  
  
  
  
   

  Business response

  06/22/2023

  I sincerely apologize to Alexis, if she is unhappy with the work that was done on her house. However, I would like to point out a few important facts from my side and perspective:

  I came and gave ****** a quote on her balcony porch, and told her I would not be available to start for another 3 to 4 weeks, which she seemed to be totally okay with, at the time. Within a week later, she contacted me stating she did not want to wait any longer, because she was having family come into town and needed it done. So, I got her another Independent Contractor, ****, who was available to start asap. **** is the one who did all of the work on ******** house.

  I originally discussed getting a permit with Alexis, prior to any work being started. She was not worried about getting a permit, nor did she offer or seem to want to pay for a permit. She was trying to cut cost corners, from the start, as is. A permit for the work she wanted done could cost anywhere between $200 to $500, possibly more. Also, it takes up to a month to pull a permit, which ****** definitely was not trying to wait for since she could not even wait the 3 to 4 weeks for me to start her job in the first place. Hence, why I had to find her another Contractor to do the work, (****).

  Without the permit, **** had no way of knowing the specific City Codes. ****** was definitely not concerned about any of these things prior to, during, and after completion of the job.

  Also, everything she has complained about in her claim, was all she adamantly insisted on having done in the first place. Everything on the job was done exactly how she wanted it done, and was persistent on. During and after job completion, she was very happy and voiced absolutely NO CONCERNS or ISSUES, because everything was done exactly how she persisted and wanted.

  Unfortunately, I am not able to offer a refund for the work already completed, at this point, since the money for her job was already spent on the demo, materials, dump fees, and **** and helper.

  I was more than willing to try to help ****** on any "after-thought" concerns or issues she may have had since the completion of her job. All she had to do was communicate with me in an effective manner, which is what I have tried to do, time and time again with her, to no prevail.

  I had the posts going into the ground on my original quote, and I had 2 x 6 joists, but 2 x 10 joists were actually used, which were changes made between ****** and ****, and instead of putting the posts into the ground like in my quote, they were bolted to the ground, which she was okay with. I had no knowledge or control over any of these changes. ****** agreed to any changes made by ****, and was okay with everything. That is why I can not answer to any changes that transpired between **** and Alexis, since **** is an Independent Contractor, he is NOT employed by ME or a "helper".

  Since I had already collected the deposit, originally for the job I quoted and believed at the time I was going to do, I still felt obligated to make sure everything was done on the job and exactly how she wanted it done. And that is what I did. The money went straight from me to the Contractor, ****, after ****** okayed everything, I did that only to make sure there were no issues.

  Customer response

  06/27/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Putting personal feelings of ******** blatant lies and desperate attempts to save himself while throwing an innocent man under the bus aside, I will continue to publish truth as I know it while additionally continuing to provide whatever supporting material I have at my disposal to the BBB in hopes they are reviewing the documented evidence and taking serious consideration on this claim.

  I have attached all conversation taken place between ****** and I. In review of the timeline, ****** first came to the property on April 7, 2023. He issued a quote and we texted confirmation on April 7th. On April 8th, ****** stopped by and collected the first half of payment. On April 10th, ****** stated he could likely get the balcony started the following week. On the 16th, I was informed the start time was delayed. I did express disappointment, as shown in the texts, due to family being in town and the miscommunication on start date. However, I was clearly not angry during this interaction and stated I understood the reasoning for the delays. The work officially began on April 26th, almost 3 weeks after the initial quote. Regarding items being completed 'to my specification', I inquired about the footers at the time materials were dropped off, as the workers were clearly getting ready to start and this surprised me, as ****** stated on the 16th via text he would be setting the posts and they would need at least a day to set. I was told by ****** directly, as he was dropping off the material (as seen in texts from the 26th) the plan had changed and brackets into the patio would be fine. Our previous porch had an outlet underneath I stated I wanted to keep for yard tools when ****** came out on the 7th. I was not asked about decking material, but told the porch boards would be best by ******.  I was not consulted on construction of the deck framing, nor would I have expected to be. For all aforementioned items, I am not a contractor with knowledge of city code or guidelines - This is why I hired a contractor. If I had intimate knowledge of regulations, I would not have needed to hire the work out to someone who is supposed to ensure things are completed accurately and to standards, while ensuring the completed work is not a safety hazard to me and my family.

  On the 26th, ****** let me know via text his guys would be back the next morning with the remaining material to finish the job. On the 27th, you can see again ****** messaged stating he was coming out with the caps for the railing. At that point, he looked over the work, accepted the 2nd half of payment, and left. While he was here, I asked about some of the items of construction, such as the previous decking's attachment to the house being left open and the questionable attachment on each end, as photographed and provided in the initial complaint. I was told siding wasn't quoted for but could be done at an additional cost. A similar story was told in regard to the front porch posts that were not aligned, caulked, or painted. Wanting to be done with ****** and his team, we made the second payment directly to ******, as seen in the Ring camera image previously provided.  When it rained, we noticed water coming into the house through the door frame. I reached out to ****** on May 1st with this issue, and as you can see in our text conversation, he responded and came out the following day to check it out. ****** stated the issue was the existing threshold, and he could fix it for an additional cost. Not confident in the work completed at this point, I reached out to another contractor and the city inspector. Both reviewed the work together the date the first BBB complaint was filed, and they stated a full tear down and rebuild would be required as the current condition is a safety hazard and nothing is salvageable. This quote has been attached here. An electrician came out today and confirmed the electric work to add the outlet and split the lights is also a safety hazard, as the wire was run directly behind the siding, without conduit and not on its own circuit. The quote to cap and remove the outlet completely is expected to be around $1,500 and will be amended to the Snake Creek Construction quote in the near future. This is just the work to fix the decking and resolve the unsafe wiring. It does not even take into consideration the water damage the back wall of my house is incurring due to ******** negligence.

  As stated in the texts with ******, I will certainly be confirming more in writing moving forward with future contractors to ensure all permits are pulled and plans approved by the city before work begins. However, I am not okay with a contractor not only trying to shirk their responsibility to a client but also trying to pin it on an employee I have never communicated with to save themselves. The text conversations provided show the only communication I have ever had in regard to this project was directly with ****** - Before the project began, during material drop-off and work completion check / acceptance of the 2nd half of payment, and in regard to all issues post-completion. Submitting a claim to the BBB was not a decision I made lightly, and it is one I will continue to stand behind while providing whatever I can to the BBB and additional agencies as necessary to back my claim. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ******
  
  
  
  
   

  Customer response

  07/23/2023

  Better Business Bureau:

  I elect not to participate in mediation to resolve the complaint ID ********.

  After multiple attempts/conversation with ****** directly, his reluctance to resolve the issue is clear. It does not appear we will be able to reach a reasonable resolution on our own terms. I have already begun a claim with the Attorney General and believe the next steps for us to find actionable resolution will be to file through the courts. Thank you for your time.

  Regards,

  ****** ******

*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. ↩