Business ProfileforCurran Design Center

One year ago today, there was a fire at ********* **** ***** ************ ** *****, a duplex. Curran Construction was awarded the contract to rebuild these residences. It is now almost the anniversary of the first year since the fire and work has not been completed. As a matter of fact, the only work that was done in the past three weeks, was the installation of the garage door. I had no knowledge he was coming. I believe my daughter, and owner of the duplex, indicated she did receive a text from ****, the property manager, indicating he would be here, only he did not indicate the time. While my daughter owns the duplex, I took out a loan for $25,000 to help her in the purchase. My name does not appear on any documentation to help her establish credit rating, letter. The first question you will have is whether any attempt was made to contact Curran and discuss with them. On or about June 21st, I called Curran to inform them their lack of effort was going to be the cause for lodging a BBB complaint against their organization. I talked to both **** and ****** and told them why I was going to proceed. In the course of the conversation, both requested that I hold off until we can discuss the issue the following day. June 22nd arrived and both of the owners of Curran arrived at the house. I showed them the poor workmanship, lack of attention to detail, and little pride in work. During the course of that discussion, ******, agreed this project had gone on too long and they were going to take care of it. He went so far as to indicate he was going to take care of things himself, and commenced taking photographs. Of note was a 6x6 support beam that was installed on the front porch that was boughed. This was brought to their attention right after it was put up and that was ignored until this meeting. Both **** and ****** asked for some time to make things right and on Monday, June 28th, employees of Curran were at the house. They stayed for about a week and then left early on that Friday to go "finish" another job. Three weeks later, all that has been done is the aforementioned garage door. ****** was a no-show after this meeting without explanation. I copies this off their website: "we are an Insurance Restoration Company. We handle wind, smoke, fire, hail, tornado, water repair to homes. we are known for our customer services. At Curran Construction, our goal is not only to put your home back to normal after a disaster, but to make the process as easy and enjoyable for you as possible. We are a full service general contractor that specializes in remodeling and insurance restorations. Whether it be from fire damage, water damage, smoke damage, storm damage, or you just would like to change things up a bit and do some home remodeling. We are a company with a wide range of experience, that knows how to handle all aspects of construction. We can help you with all phases of residential and commercial properties no matter what the size, including 24 hr. emergency service for temporary board ups. Curran Construction is a family owned and operated company that has over 50 years of experience to ensure that your project is done right. Our excellent reputation and long list of satisfied clients attest to our superior craftsmanship, attention to detail, clear communication, honesty and integrity. By doing business this way we have earned a spot on State Farm's Preferred Service Provider program. We are not the biggest around but we just might be the best. Just ask for our client reference list." This complaint deals with poor workmanship, no attention to detail, little pride in work and most frustrating, my experience with Curran has been "You get what we give you." Instead of making claims, I decided to use photographs that will explain my complaint." (see photos attached) This photo is of the front yard after the dumpsters were removed. Curran sent our laborers to level out the yard and to plant grass seed, Contractor's Mix." You can see in the photo, the majority of the front yard is shade, dense shade. Contractor's mix only came up in areas that received sun, which was not a large area. I will admit that while moving back I did get a U-Haul truck stuck in the front yard which left a depression. I assumed the responsibility of filling that, but the laborers filled the depression with leaves. I planted dense grass seed and it has changed the look of the front yard. For our next stop, we will stay in the front of the house area. (see photo attached) This is the kind of 6x6 lumber that was used on load bearing areas. The first three are the front porch and the last two are from the carport. Nothing was done about these even though it was brought to their attention. I ended up purchasing expanding caulk and shot the caulk into the cracks in the hope there will be no further expansion. The next photo on the next page, is of the 6x6 that is boughed. You can see the damage in this photo. This was in addition to the cracks in the wood that are clearly visible. This was brought to ****'s (project manager) attention and he chose to do nothing. This is the one thing ****** told me he would handle personally. When the time came, ****** provided instructions and it dealt with cutting out the beam and wedging it in place. This was not the only incident of the use of what I would call substandard lumber, it is the most egregious. (see photo) There was separation of the brick façade and the duplex walls. It was present before the fire. **** indicated to my daughter, in my presence, they were going to attempt to pull the brick closer to the wall in an attempt to minimize the distance. I found no hardware on the brick that indicates this was ever done. And when they finished the phones on the next page is what we were left with. (see photo) If you look closely, at the top, you can see white aluminum that was placed there because of issues with the soffit. This is the way it was left as a completed job. Later Curran did come out and placed the caulk to cover the gaps. The guttering had to be replaced. When it was replaced, these are the downspouts that were found. (see photo) This size of downspouts was larger than what was present before the fire. You can see the kind of result of erosion rain caused. There were leaf screens on the previous guttering which were not replaced at the time of the installation. These were replaced and advising **** of the problem. This may be something that others will think is "cutting hairs," but I believe this is one of the best "You get what we give you: examples. Two of Curran employees went to Home Depot to get these downspouts after it was brought to their attention they were missing and as you can see, the erosion around all downspouts was noticeable and severe. Upon return from Home Depot, this is what we found. These shows the color scheme for the house and it is beyond me that these two, who have worked on the house from the onset, would not take the time to purchase the white or the gray diverters. I brought this to their attention and was told they had to leave and go finish another project. These are still here to this day. (see photo) The photo on the left is the NE corner of the garage roof. After it was installed, I noted a steady flow of rain coming down as shown in the left photo. The middle photo reveals Curran's "fix" and the right photo demonstrates the effects of the fix. This may be something that others will think is "cutting hairs," but I believe this is one of the best. "You get what we give you" examples. Two of Curran employees went to Home Depot to get these downspout diverters after it was brought to their attention they were missing and as you can see, the erosion around all downspouts was noticeable and severe. Upon return from Home Depot, this is what we found. These shows the color scheme for the house and it is beyond me that these two, who have worked on the house from the onset, would not take the time to purchase the white or the gray diverters. I brought this to their attention and was told they had to leave and go finish another project. These are still here to this day. (see photo) The photo on the left is the NE corner of the garage roof. After it was installed, I noted a steady flow of rain coming down as shown in the left photo. The middle photo reveals Curran's "fix" and the right photo demonstrates the effects of the fix. Next on the list is the siding. The back of the house was sided by Curran personnel. The rest of the job was subcontracted to another company. It took them about a week to side the garage and car port. (see photo) Not long after installation, we observed the siding became loose and separated from the garage and carport completely. The same siding has come off a total of 3 times. The subcontractors came out and re hung the siding and did nothing to correct the issues. (see photo) These photos show how the siding is "wavy." On this topic I do have some personal experience. I would work for an ex-brother in law putting up siding before I went to work and again on my days off. We dealt with both aluminum and vinyl siding. The key to vinyl siding is not nail it tight. Let it hang and allow room for expansion and contraction. This apparently was not done. I also know that before one begins to side, they should check the house for the lowest point and then place a level, starter strip at that point. That ensures that all rows of siding will be the same. It it not the case here. When the workers showed up that Monday, I overheard "John" indicate to **** that the siding needed to be removed from about half way up and rehung to eliminate it's "wavy" nature. I don't know what happened. I do know nothing was done about it. I did note some unusual siding hanging practices, such as putting J. Channel up in addition to the top securing strip. And that brings me to the point that Curran's subcontractors should do the job and someone from Curran, probably the project manager, should have the job of "quality control." This job should have never passed Curran's inspection and at the time the subcontractor should have been contractually required to do it right. Nothing like this occurred. There was a replacement door installed from the carport into the garage. The same people that sided the carport and garage also installed the doors. The door knob stuck because of the way it was hung. This was taken car of by a Curran employee who had to chisel out the locking holes. This is the way the door was left. Screws are still exposed and the frame is a different color than the door. My daughter and I opted to have an island installed, at our expense. Because of size constraints and the desire for more counter space, I opted to order an apartment sized stove. My daughter handled this with Curran. This is what I got. (see photo) **** indicated they had to order another one which took months. I was present when **** indicated the new counter was in and it was a month or so before it was installed, and that would be the same time after the meeting with Curran. When the right counter was installed, there were problems. (see photo) The counter was not mounted square. The measurements taken are off and you can see what I'm talking about if you look at the gap of the counter, front to back. You can also see how the island drawer seats in relation to the countertop. I did all the staining and finishing work on the cabinets. It was something I enjoyed as well as it saved me money. When the cabinets were hung, they looked fine . After time, kitchen cabinets and doors would not shut. This was taken care of during the week of work and I was shown how to adjust the doors in case of future problems. The front piece to the bathroom cabinet was missing for multiple months. After all the staining and finishing was completed, I was told there were issues with the drawer fronts and provided three drawer fronts and the center piece for the cabinet. There was nothing wrong with the bathroom doors. It was not until the week of work, this front was finally installed. There was an issue with frozen pipes. The plumbers told me that both sides water lines should be replaced. Curran, however, made the decision, I experience low water pressure in all sinks and tub. One final issue: With the fixing of the water lines and the installation of the air conditioner the photos below show how Curran left the air conditioner drain tubes. These would discharge on the ground and drain against the foundation. The previous ones were longer and would divert the water from the house. I purchased pipe and fittings and managed to allow the water to drain away from the foundation. This back door had a ramp prior to the fire. One is supposed to be built. My daughter received a call from **** who asked her to take a measurement. That was three weeks ago or more and still nothing has been built. The ramp is needed by one of the family members who has problems walking up and down steps. I also am aware that this ramp should meet ADA standards. In order to get electricity to the garage, they had to dig a trench as shown on the next page. This trench has been around sine last fall. It was covered by some 2x6's and the OSB seen in the right photo was the "bridge" we used to walk from yard to yard. Every time it rains, the sand from the pile washes into the carport where it dries and is carried back into the house. I have heard no plans for how this trench will be filled. My experience with Curran throughout this process is they will fill the trench and then pound asphalt over the trench and call it good. I was told it was their job to return the fence and entry into the different yards. I expect it will be as it was. There are a few small things that most likely will be taken care of myself. When Curran first showed up, they indicated it would take some time to complete other projects and free up personnel to get on this. During the late summer and early fall of 2020, weeks of nice, clear weather saw no Curran personnel on site. Then came the fall rains and the excuse for the lack of work. Completing a project requires planning and proper use and allocation of manpower. I cannot tell you how many times workers were pulled from this project to go complete another. In the overall scheme of things, some of these issues may seem petty. It is when you look at this experience in it's totality it rings loudly of the type of workmanship, attention to detail and pride in the work Curran provided at this site. When I talked to **** Curran, I got the lesson on how they have to finance things, borrow money, until they get paid. Being told that rubbed me very wrong, it was a "you have to understand" statement. I know the difference between "reasons" and "excuses" and this part of the conversation was an excuse, having no bearing on why this project took this long. I have a feeling that an argument will be made that since I am not the owner of the property, I have no standing in filing a complaint. I've lived in this duplex for over 15 years and I call it my home. I have taken care of the property, made improvements during my time here. I have also been a part of the criminal justice system for 46 years and I know what evidence is. It doesn't matter who presents it, the evidence I have shown is real and I hope it is not ignored. This complaint is being forwarded with no additional contact with Curran. I am aware of their Better Business Bureau rating, something that was made clear to me during our meeting. Actions speak louder than words. It seems to me there was little action, just words.