Homeowner beware of this contractor

[Belmont Resident]

Homeowners beware
I’ve been working with a homeowner who’s had a bad experience that I feel should be shared.
This person hired a contractor, All Quality Construction, to put an addition onto his 1790’s house. He had to have to whole addition taken down and rebuilt as this outfit had no idea what they were doing. They had to consult with the design person one several occasions because they could not understand how to properly build the structure. They had no idea how to attach the new structure to the old one and therefore did it improperly causing damage to the house itself.
They got progressively rude to the homeowner and his wife to the point she was afraid to be home alone while they were working.
In the end the homeowner had it inspected and it was determined the structure had to be completely rebuilt. The contractor offered no course of action and walked away from the job. Since this happened I’ve heard of others who have had bad experiences with this outfit from other contractors whom I’ve had dealings with.
I have no affiliation with these people other than a working relationship as a painting contractor.
If anyone is interested the homeowner would be more than happy to talk about this experience in hopes that no one else has to go thru what they have.
Anyone with questions can e-mail me and I will put you in touch with the homeowner.
I rarely come on this site but will check for messages.

[dpg]

Thanks - guess I'm a little confused as to why your posting for this person??

[MJM]

I don't care why this person is posting for someone else, I'm just glad it was posted.

Assuming it's true (and the fact that the poster is willing to be contacted directly and connect anyone to the homeowner lends credibility), it's great information.

Disseminating accurate, timely information is a wonderful tool for helping others avoid potential hardships.

[Argie's Wife]

I hope this doesn't sound unsympathetic to the homeowners but how did they find this contractor and how well did they screen him? Did they check references?

A simple Google search of the company name told me that they made about $100K last year and have one owner, one employee. (www.manta.com) I couldn't find a license or anything else. Seems a little shady to me to start with. A reverse lookup of the company's phone number leads me to an unpublished landline. Just because someone can drive a nail it doesn't mean they can put an addition on a historic home!

That being said...

And not wanting to sound unsympathetic (honest!)...

But is this forum really the best place for rants/raves about businesses? Perhaps our mod can consider such a forum? Or perhaps there's another website that might work better for this... like Angie's List: http://www.angieslist.com/Angieslist/

[Belmont Resident]

I informed the homeowner of my intentions.
They are not boaters but farmers who own an organic farm stand in Gilmanton.
This was their retirement dream, the farm.
Also given this contractor is out of Meredith I thought it might prevent someone else from getting taken since many people from that area use this web site.
The unfortunate thing is that there is no recourse in a situation like this.
It would cost more to try and recover the lost money which was in excess of 50k.
This is according to their lawyer.
Did they do a ton of back ground checking probably not? But they did check and I believe it was a case of a contractor taking on more than he was qualified to take on.
This contractor could be very good at your run of the mill additions or repair work.
This happened to be of a post & beam construction.

[Sunbeam lodge]

[QUOTE=Belmont Resident;86794]Homeowners beware
I’ve been working with a homeowner who’s had a bad experience that I feel should be shared.
This person hired a contractor, All Quality Construction, to put an addition .

Iwould not hire this guy to build a birdhouse. I contracted an addition from him and he gave me references but I took him at his word. And even with a contract he did a terrible job. I went over the whole job with him in detail.
He showed up with an ancient table saw and a borrowed nail gun. And a guy that smelled like a barroom. The rest of the story is a horror story and it ended up with him bungling through the job and finally quitting. I understand he had problems with the Meredith Bay company he tried to do some work for in Laconia. Some of the work he did do was so bad I had to have it redone.
The job cost way more than planned and took months and Months to get him to do anything but he had an advance so I tried to get something out of him. Beware.

[jetskier]

Hi all,

This is another one to stay clear of. We purchased a home that was newly constructed; this company did the HVAC installation. It had to be completely ripped out and installed by a professional company. An abridged list of the problems:

• Furnace improperly vented and carbon monoxide would be dumped into the house if operated
• Improper return ducting - no flow through the system. We had to have all of the ductwork removed and replaced
• AC drain hoses sitting in the attic - water would have flowed into the house - we had to have drains brought to the basement and a pump installed
• Leaks in the coolant system for the AC - inoperable. This was a big mess to clean up.
• All the ductwork was "used" parts
• 92% efficiency condensing furnace in the attic - condensing furnaces freeze up when placed in below 32 degree environments

Clearly, our home inspector was also at fault on all this. But, we ended up spending $35k to fix what this guy did. I don't like to disparage businesses...but this is one to definitely steer clear of. Forearmed...

Jetskier

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by jetskier

Hi all,

This is another one to stay clear of. We purchased a home that was newly constructed; this company did the HVAC installation. It had to be completely ripped out and installed by a professional company. An abridged list of the problems:

• Furnace improperly vented and carbon monoxide would be dumped into the house if operated
• Improper return ducting - no flow through the system. We had to have all of the ductwork removed and replaced
• AC drain hoses sitting in the attic - water would have flowed into the house - we had to have drains brought to the basement and a pump installed
• Leaks in the coolant system for the AC - inoperable. This was a big mess to clean up.
• All the ductwork was "used" parts
• 92% efficiency condensing furnace in the attic - condensing furnaces freeze up when placed in below 32 degree environments

Clearly, our home inspector was also at fault on all this. But, we ended up spending $35k to fix what this guy did. I don't like to disparage businesses...but this is one to definitely steer clear of. Forearmed...

Jetskier

Jetskier, why did you have to pay a dime? Who sold you the house and who was the GC? Did the inspector have to pay up?

[jetskier]

Originally Posted by VitaBene

Jetskier, why did you have to pay a dime? Who sold you the house and who was the GC? Did the inspector have to pay up?

Hi Vitabene,

The house was built by an individual acting as his own GC. Most of the subcontractors were quite good; I now know all the good subcontractors in the area. I did not have a contractual arrangement with Schneider Enterprises, so I could not litigate them directly. However, they were completely incompetent.

I spoke with a lawyer and a real estate transaction is really an "at risk" proposition. It is difficult to litigate an individual seller; a contractor provides a warranty and that would afford some protection. Typically, an inspector is only liable for money that you pay for the inspection. Wow, $600...not worth the time. I have found out that most inspectors are awful. I would hire individual professionals to do inspections in the future. I now know a fabulous HVAC guy, plumber and builder. That is the way to really do this properly.


Jetskier

[MJM]

In my family's case, references were checked, and all resulted in an acceptable comfort level in hiring the contractor. His own work was decent, he used good subcontractors, etc.

We did lose a lot of money, sued in court and won, but of course you can't get $$ from someone who has none, and we were far down on the list of people to be paid if there had been any money.

I believe the key is in the payment schedule. You can't put too much cash in the contractor's hands prior to the work being done. You need a specific payment schedule (i.e. certain percentages at certain milestones).

[rsmlp]

just had to post something positive and it was my experience with a builder who added a two room, one bath addition to my home on Winni. Rick Achenbach of Granite Shore Builders is on time, on budget (actually a little under) and high quality work. can't recommend him enough.

[SAMIAM]

Another positive note.....Stanley Grayton,a contractor from Ashland contracted to jack up our building which was settling badly.It was a big job needing steel posts drilled down to bedrock and "I? beams,as well as foundation work.We paid in three installments and when he gave me the final bill it was 8k CHEAPER than his estimate.
For those of you that don 't know him,this is the guy who's family has repaired and reconstructed covered bridges all over the country.Their word is as good as a contract.

[donnamatrix]

There are some great builders out there: Granite State, Cargill, Blue Water, White House, Twin Oaks, Peaslee & Sons, Wood & Clay, Interlakes Builders in Meredith is great ...

[dpg]

Thanks Donnamatrix....Have you personally used any of these people/companies? Family might be looking for some light work in the spring/summer of '09.

[Lakegeezer]

I can highly recommend Interlakes Builders and would be happy to provide details via PM.

[Seeker]

It's too bad you only get to know the best ones after you've had a run in with the worst. I have had experiences with all types both in home and 35 years of commercial construction.

Not a hard and fast rule but if it seems that the guy is readily available use extreme caution. If he is booked way out he is probably good. The main thing is go look at work he has done similar to what you want done. If there isn't any run away. Secondly, stay current with him on payments as he progresses. This will involve some of your and his time to set up a schedule but if he is honest and reliable he won't have any problem.

[jacka82942]

Jason Drouin custom homes built my new house in Meredith last year.Did an absolutely fabulous job.Located in Gilford.All local superb craftsman working for him on every phase.Big plus - once he works for you,your his friend for life and he'll take care of anything you need forever.His wife even helped my wife decorate the house for xmas

[Sunbeam lodge]

Thanks for the Information. I would like to do some more remodeling but have been kind of cautious after my last experience. I will keep these contractors in mind.

[Fishy Cover]

Back to All Quality Construction-- There are two sides to this story. I worked for a subcontractor on this project for a short while and from my perspective the facts are somewhat different than what Belmont Resident reported and I hate to see this guy slandered.

There was an architect and a structural engineer on this project as well as the owner who was intimately involved in the day-to-day work and decision making. Problems arose because the drawings were not properly dimensioned, the foundation walls (owner's responsibility) were built incorrectly, the owner made changes that the architect agreed disagreed with (after they were built) and when the exterior claps and sheathing of the original house were removed and the actual construction of the old house was seen it was obvious that the addition could not be built as designed by the architect. There ensued a major axx-covering and finger-pointing contest.

We finished our part of the job and left before all of this was resolved, if it ever was. Unfortunately the builder seems to have been blamed for everything that went wrong, and although I'm sure he is responsible for some of the issues, my opinion is that he was not the bad guy.

By the way, I checked with the town building inspector and the framing inspection was passed so despite all of the negativity the work that was done was done properly.

I have worked with this builder on other projects with excellent results and very satisfied customers. As a small businessman I hate to see someone criticized without both sides being presented.

[Belmont Resident]

The facts are as they were posted. There was no problem with the drawings and the foundation is being built on without any problems what so ever.
Back to the drawings! Why is it the current contractor whom is very skilled at post & beam houses and specializes in old house restorations is having no problems building the addition to the very same specifications that you people could not.
He was able to install the ridge truss correctly by laying it on an existing beam within the walls of the old house with the help of a boom truck. Something your outfit could not do but instead attempted a hack job.
Oh and what about the roof. You had to build a roof over a roof and leave a gap between them because you couldn't follow the plans building that also.

Sorry if I was to guess I'd say you were either the contractor or related to them. The bottom line is this is not the first time your outfit has done this as posted by someone else earlier.

[neckdweller]

Originally Posted by Seeker

Not a hard and fast rule but if it seems that the guy is readily available use extreme caution. If he is booked way out he is probably good. The main thing is go look at work he has done similar to what you want done. If there isn't any run away.

Like you said, it's not a hard and fast rule but I can think of one builder who seems to have quite a bit of work (at least you see the signs as you're cruising the lake) but I've heard some not so great things about. I'm sure for the 3-4 people that I've talked to that had negatives there are probably a bunch that had positives, but if I was spending the amount of $ these people have spent, the negatives should be zero.

[The Big Kahuna]

[QUOTE=Argie's Wife;86858]I hope this doesn't sound unsympathetic to the homeowners but how did they find this contractor and how well did they screen him? Did they check references?

These people were older and probably don't use a computer much, I could be wrong. If you have ever been through a bad construction experience you wouldn't be asking this. It is the most terrible experience you can go through and the last thing you want to hear is someone rubbing it in your face by asking if you screened them first. From someone who has been there, done this, you sound very unsympathetic.