Long story short; after paying over $25,000 for a screened-in porch Todd will not return my calls or my emails. I guess I have no warranty. I over paid by about $1000 and he does not want to refund the over payment though he has acknowledged it. And he will not take care of major issues because of it. I'm screwed twice.
I have a one inch gap between the brick house and the 6x6 beam. I get flies, mosquitoes, mice, bugs, etc. etc. in my porch. Not sure what the point is of having a screened porch. It would have been cheaper to build a deck with an awning. It would be no different where bugs and flying insects are concerned.
The owner, Todd, designed/built an access panel to a sunken hot tub. The panel is too heavy for one person lift. And the two-fingered handles are over 5 feet apart making it impossible to use more than two fingers to lift. The inspector could not lift it and had to ask for my help. I have no way to drain and fill my tub as the drain valve is under the panel. Todd and I talked extensively about how to provide access to the hot tub panel. This was my biggest concern and he promised he knew what to do and could do a good job.
There not enough room for the hot tub cover to fully retract.
The screen door was installed upside down.
There are large nails and screws, wood and concrete buried in mud
Screens have ripples and need to be tightened
The wood floor is full of splinters
The horizontal railings are not smooth and will (and have) cause splinters
2x4s left around the concrete slab which will eventually attract termites
Long story long; To start Todd was responsive and solicitous. We talked extensively about my hot tub and how we were going to place it and provide access to the motor and drain vlave. I wanted it sunken to make it safer to get in and out as I have back and neck problems and I'm not getting any younger. Access to the motor and the hose bib was a big concern for me. He assured me he knew exactly what I needed.
Though I could see the hot tub clearly marked on the blueprint I could not understand much else. The screen door began to materialize once construction was underway and it was apparent the new walkway would be in the middle of an existing beautiful flower bed. That's what happens from letting someone over 200 miles away draw up the plans when he has never seen the property, I guess. Another issue with being from another state is that his company is not licensed to do any electrical work. I had to coordinate that myself which was a nightmare in itself and my responsibility to manage, and though not part of this story.
During the first week things were taking shape. When David, the forman, asked me to write checks to himself, Todd and the 2 workers I was concerned and thougt should I be writing checks to these men? Are the 2 workers even documented? Will this somehow come back to haunt me? It seemed every few days I was asked to write out 2, 3 or 4 checks. In the course of a month I wrote a total of 16 checks.
The porch was finished quickly. I asked what about the gutters. David said they don't do gutters. I know he and I had talked early on about burying the downspout extension. What's the point in burying something connected to nothing? So, this was another expense that I had not anticipated. The picture on Todd's web site showed gutters and downspouts.
When the inspector came for the final inspection he tried to open the hot tub access panel to inspect it but couldn't. He is not a small man; he is fit and at least 170-180 lbs. The panel was just too heavy. The pulls are about 6 feet apart and each only has room for two fingers only. (They are already rusting.) I called David and he said he knew it was too heavy. He promised they would be out to fix it and address my other concerns.
Rails/spindles for the bottom portion of the deck were delivered so obviously, I paid for them but they were not installed. Todd, during the design phase, said I would not need them since the porch is close to the ground. Then why did I pay for them? But in retrospect, it will be quite easy to go right through the screening with a chair or a table getting pushed into it.
The guys came out to finish up. David said I had to write a check now or they were going to pack up and leave. I showed him how I had actually over-paid because I had lost track of the many checks. Todd emailed the final invoice. I saw the very first payment of $1000 was omitted. David and Todd both admitted I was right. The workers quickly realized they were not getting paid for the day and packed up and left. I begged David to fix the access panel. I called Todd left voice messages
I have no choice but to sue Todd. I will pursue this complaint with the BBB, the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, the MD Attorney General's Office of Consumer Affairs, and the MD Dept. of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. Someone will help me. read more
