Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/16/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I initially contacted ******* on August 4, 2024, in response to an ad he was running in the Berlin Journal-Billboard. I asked him if he could repair the back wall of a barn located on my property in rural ***************. He said he could replace the old concrete portion with new concrete block and estimated the cost between $5000-$6000. On November 1, I paid ******* $5000 to start the repairs on my barn. They removed the old concrete portion, but did not remove the concrete from my property. It was moved to the north side of the barn, in the process of doing this, the in ground electric fence used for my dogs was damaged and required service and repair. They replaced the damaged wall with new concrete block. In the process of doing this work, they used equipment which damaged my property from the driveway to the area surrounding the barn. I was not prepared for the amount of damage sustained to my property. On November 21, I contacted ******* to find out if they were finished working here. The workers had removed the equipment, but had not cleaned up inside the barn or the surrounding area. I mailed ******* an additional $1000, indicating I was not happy with the outcome. He said they would apply a concrete sealer to improve the appearance of the concrete block. The sealer was applied, but looks sloppy and unprofessional. ******* is now asking me for an additional $1000, which is too much money given the poor quality of work. I feel he is taking advantage of me because I am an older female living on my own. In the spring I will have to pay an additional $2000-$3000 to repair the damage done to my property.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  ******* seems to have had little experience with construction work.
  We rigged and lifted a portion of the barn to enable the work.   We then demolished a deteriorating concrete wall which supported part of the barn.  She asked for the debris stones to be spread along the back of the barn to disperse the rain water off the barn.   While doing that we cut a shallow dog fence wire that was improperly marked.   She blamed us for it, which is unreasonable.   
     The soil is *****,which was disturbed, and doing the work we cause some ruts in the soil.   This is normal on a construction site, and when the work is done, it normally needs to be graded and seeded.
  (We did level it the best we could under the conditions when we left.)
  ******* was upset that her soil was disturbed, which is unreasonable.
      We poured a footing and laid block to replace the removed wall, pinning it to the existing block walls on each end.  We filled the blocks with concrete to make a strong wall.   
      Once the concrete was poured, we left for a period to allow the concrete to cure, before letting the weight of the barn down.   
      Apparently ******* thought we were done and at that time sent a letter that she was unhappy how it looked and that we still had equipment there.   The old blocks looked different that the new.
  I called her and we chatted amicably.   I informed her we were coming back to finish.   And that we could surface bond the blocks so they would look the same, a stucco type finish.   I said it would cost some extra, and she agreed.
       So we came back and 2 worker worked two days to surface bond all the blocks, old and new,resulting in a swirly, somewhat rough finish, stucco type.
      I also offered to come back in the spring and grade the soil once it firmed up.    She said she would take care of it.
     The estimated price was 7500, which did not include the surface bonding fiber cement coating.
  As ******* is on her own, retired, I decided to not charge extra for the stucco, to help her out.   I had estimated the job for less in the beginning for the same reason.      It actually would normally have been estimated at $10,000.  
      It is an hour travel time for us as well.
  The contract we agreed to, holds us harmless for disturbed soil, and for any inadvertent or necessary damage..

      "******* shall be held harmless for any plaster cracks or any other damage happening to any part of the structure, trees, foliage, ground, driveway, or anything else during the above project."

  Im thinking that she is exaggerating things to avoid paying what is due.  
  It took us longer than expected to  get the job done, and the surface bonding was  substantial extra work.      The 7500 dollar price is very fair.     

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

  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.
  
  Contrary to Mr. ********* belief that I have no experience working with contractors, over the past 30+ years of owning this property I have worked with many contractors who have demolished the old farm house, built a new house and a metal building.  Approximately 25 years ago, we had a local ***** do similar repair work to the barn. His block work was professional and we had no damage to our property. I mistakenly assumed my experience with Mr. ******* would be the same.

  The ground was not graded, it was raining when his workers came to remove the equipment and further damage would have occurred.

  I did not agree or consent to having the sealer applied to the block, I stated in an email that I would consider it. I would have preferred it wasn't applied as I planned to make improvements to the appearance on my own.

  In our last phone conversation, a few days before Christmas, Mr. ******* and I agreed on the amount of $7000.00. I have paid him and consider the payment to be the end of this unfortunate episode.

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