moregrip, new to TFP

[moregrip]

Hello all, I'm certainly looking forward to getting educated, but more immediately, I need some serious advice regarding a less than desirable situation I'm in with my pool contractor.
Little about me, I'm 43yrs old, 19yrs active duty Navy, family of six.

I'm not sure how to say all that needs to be said but bottom line is this, I believe my pool contractor is dishonest at best; more likely he's just a crook, how can I severe ties with him?

Reasons why I don't want him on my property anymore:

1. Damaged my existing cinder block wall, has only repaired one of the two holes and has not patched gouges.
2. Damaged the stucco on my house(read hole in stucco), made repair but still has spider cracks from the damage.
3. Made the gate to my backyard to pool code(it did pass inspection) but the work is so poor and inconsistent it's actually dangerous(thin gauge metal/sharp edges bowed outward. I have 4 boys (one of them a 2yr old)
4. He made a square footage miscalculation on the pool plans (the graphical representation doesn't match the sqft number elsewhere on the document). He admitted it was his mistake but still wanted to charge us for the mistake to the tune of $1900. I said I would not pay him for that mistake as our pool budget is all we have to spend. He then started throwing his hands in the air, saying I was "so cheap" and then threatened to break the concrete out of my yard. He later said he wouldn't break the concrete out of my backyard but it was within his right to do so and because he lost money on the mistake he would no longer finish the side gate, fix the damage to the cinder block wall, or anything else he promised.
5. He also threatened several times to hold up the plaster for whatever reason suited him that day.
6. Lastly, he promises one day and then goes in the opposite direction the next.......

So here it is, I don't feel safe with him at my property and my wife alone. I am active duty military and gone quite abit. I have made all work payments to date. There is one last payment for plaster left. At this point I just want to dissolve to relationship and hire my own plasterer.

What options do I have?

Thank you.

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi
Welcome to TFP!

We hate to hear things like this, but unfortunately it happens from time to time.

I guess the 1st question I have, is do you have a signed contract with him?
If you have a signed contract, is there any "out clause" (doubtful but figured I would ask).

If you have a signed contract, it may be difficult to just fire him, but if you are caught up on payments for work provided to date, it might be worth a shot. It may be more headache than he is willing to bear to try and hold you to it.

But do it in writing and provide pictures with your letter explaining why *workmanship less than the industry standard* and damage to your property... and let him know firmly, but nicely, that you are dissolving the contract for these reasons.

Other than hiring an attorney, I really dont know what more to tell you.

 

[BoDarville]

Welcome to TFP!

Dave gave you good advice. Only other item I can offer is recourse through appropriate social media - especially those that focus on rating contractors. However, I would not pull this lever until the relationship is over and you do not plan on a lawsuit. Those two items aside, you have the right to post the facts of your experience. Most legitimate contractors are "scared straight" of negative reviews on social media. As one once told me, "Social media can make or break us."

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Get thee to your local JAG office and have them review your contract. They may also be able to provide some direct advice or action on your behalf in the hopes of keeping the military personnel happy and not have his business put "Off-Limits".

 

[Texas Splash]

Wow. Moregrip, that is nauseating to say the least. I can't offer much more than what you've already read other than I agree that the sooner you can keep that "individual" off your property the better. That person doesn't sound very stable. Being military (A/F) like you for 21 years, I/we know how to be "particular" about things, so I'm assuming you've been logging good notes, keeping good history, and taking photos of everything. Continue to do so, and let him know that as well in a professional way. I hope that through your meticulous monitoring and patience, he "wakes-up" soon to make some wrongs right for you and your family. If/when things do finally dissolve, you are welcome to PM me and let me know if you need help to recover and start-over on some things. I live in Texas now, but I'm a Vegas native (Rancho Class of '81) and I have a friend or two in different industries there locally who may be able to help with pool work or general contracting. I wish you the nest of luck brother.

 

[moregrip]

Thank you for the help, advice and responses.

Yes, pictures and details the whole way through.

The convo with the pool guy did not go well today. I told him he is not allowed on my property anymore because we are not comfortable with his stability/professionalism (lack of really)
With that said,total pool cost was 32,500.......we have paid him 29,350 to date with one final payment of 3150 upon completion of plaster.
I told him him that I thought we are too far apart in expectation to meet in the middle as a compromise(his next few words confirmed that). I then explained that we didn't feel comfortable with him around our family based on his erratic behavior, the threats, and lies and that we should just shake hands and go our separate ways.
He then said that I WOULD pay him the last payment and he WOULD do the plaster in my pool per the contract. Yeah, that didn't sit to well with me either. So then, as nicely as I could, I explained that I would be contacting the Contractors board with pictures of his work and business practices and let them decide who's right.
He said he would take me to court to get his last payment. I said ok, see you in court then.

To that end, can he put a lean on my home for work not performed based on the above circumstance? I truly do not trust this individual at my house, ESPECIALLY when I'm not home.
Thoughts?

- - - Updated - - -

I'm going to post some pictures of some of what I consider poor work, your thoughts are welcome.

 

[moregrip]

Here are pics of the gate that was "pool coded"

IMO it is unsafe to have children going in and out of it based on the poor construction (lots of sharp edges). The builder thinks this is perfectly acceptable:









So this is what I'm left with......I just have visions of children rushing in to go use the pool and catching fingers and toes on these sharp edges........I wouldn't think of myself as responsible to leave it this way.

 

[Texas Splash]

I honestly don't understand how some people (like this) can sustain a business practice.

 

[moregrip]

Little things that bug me that I can live with but when added together = why in the heck did we pick this dude!

Cinder Block mortar different colors:






Leftover cinder block I asked him to remove (I even stacked it nicely in a single pile for them) so they just broke them into small pieces and distributed those smaller pieces around my yard.......cool right?

 

[moregrip]

Another safety concern, this is some sort of plastic coping that is supposed to butt together..........it's plastic but it's actually quite sharp to the touch......was told he would "do something" to smooth it out" but no such luck:



Notice the lower edge cool deck paint/sealer peeling up......that repeats itself full perimeter style......

 

[moregrip]

Cool deck paint/sealer coming up in several areas (less than a week old/low traffic)









I'm no expert but it looks to me like the mixture is a little too sandy, such that it wasn't mixed thoroughly.

 

[moregrip]

excavation damage to cinder block, one repair, three no repair:









- - - Updated - - -

Damage to utility cover................it's a $50 cover..........says he is not responsible and is not replacing:

 

[moregrip]

soil amendments(lol) not really, I asked them "not" to do this.......well you get the picture:

 

[moregrip]

After some further thought on the matter I think I'm going to submit some feedback on this company not only because I don't like to spend the same money twice but maybe it would offer some caution to future potential customers so they don't experience the same thing. My spidey sense tells me this company is no stranger to this type of relationship with its customers.

Does this seem to harsh?

I am seeking reimbursement for the cost to repair the poor quality work completed on the textured “Cool Deck” finish not to industry standards as it is lifting and flaking off in several areas. I am seeking a refund for the damage incurred to our existing side gate. I received several quotes to repair the work ***** Pools performed and was told by every gate company that the work done to the existing gate was so poor that it essentially ruined the gate and it would be more cost effective to replace it with a new one rather than trying to fix what we were left with. I am seeking reimbursement for the cost to repair the damage ***** Pools did to my cinder block wall and the stucco on our house while they were digging our pool. Unfortunately, this is my desired resolution due to the owner’s erratic and poor behavior while interacting with either myself or my wife and due to the verbal threats during the course of executing the various job milestones. My wife and children are not comfortable with him on our property as a result of his behavior.

Things that have already been repaired or that is “in process” of being corrected that the owner verbally promised he would fix and did not: Replaced the water supply cover damaged in the front yard, remove construction debris left behind, currently having a new side gate built, in process of replacing front yard decorative rock that was mistakenly thrown away, repairing the front yard irrigation that was damaged, final pool electrical hookup complete, and had the pool finish plastered. I have pictures to support all the above.

Damage (holes and gouges) to our cinder block wall never repaired. A poor repair attempt to the stucco on our house after ***** Pools damaged the wall (Read: hole). Construction material/waste left on property not removed as promised. Textured "Cool Deck" finish flaking off in several areas only two days after it was applied/getting worse every day. Existing side gate was to be "Pool Coded" and to have a "Powder Coated finish"/low quality work with what I would consider to be too many sharp metal edges (Read: Safety Concern for children) and no paint finish at all. Verbally threatened to "break up all the concrete in our back yard" because of a mistake his designer made to the submitted deck plans/not what I would consider reasonable or rational conduct. The owner raised his voice in anger several times to both my wife and I while discussing the execution of the jobs performed, the damage to our home incurred while building the pool/plans to fix them. He then went on to explain that "he was over-stressed and taking his anger out on us from an earlier conversation he had with another dissatisfied home owner he was building a pool for"; He also stated "he was not good at dealing with job related problems and that he needed to hire another employee to deal with them, that he was just a builder" I assure you when we interviewed him for the job he did not communicate these things to us or we would have looked elsewhere. Lastly, I am active duty military stationed in San Diego CA and find it extremely difficult to come home with any regular frequency to discuss work issues already agreed upon.

 

[Casey]

Welcome to TFP.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this moron. I hope you can find a way to finish this project with professionalism and have it look great. What a shame. He should be embarrassed!

 

[moregrip]

quick update; went ahead and submitted our situation to the state contractors board; they completed their investigation and issued a 20 day notice to correct for 5 items. Also in the meantime, the pool contractor submitted a mechanics lien on our house for the remainder of the work he did not complete or even start for that matter. So essentially we are dealing with each situation on its own but feel if we went to court the contractors boards findings would be to our favor.
So far that is where we stand.

- - - Updated - - -

Welcome to TFP.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this moron. I hope you can find a way to finish this project with professionalism and have it look great. What a shame. He should be embarrassed!

thank you

 

[Texas Splash]

I hope pressure from the board helps to resolve your issue and get this guy out of your business for good. Hang in there!

 

[moregrip]

Soooo.....final update on this situation, the state contractors board did their inspection and issued a notice to correct to the pool builder to which he paid us what it would cost to fix the damage and/or work below industry standards. I then was starting to collect data to sue him for a false mechanics lien placed on our home simply because I had paid him for all work and supplies to date; essentially he had no basis for the lien but I believe this is a common practice with him and he does this sort of thing to intimidate his customers (gut feeling). Shortly thereafter I received a letter from the city stating that he had dropped the mechanics lien; go figure. Someone probably talked some sense into him.

What a mess! But it all worked out I suppose..............Like I said previously, wish I would have found this site sooner! Thank you for all that took interest; very much appreciated and Happy New Year!

 

[360 Modena]

In hindsight, I would have done a $25 online background check. You never know if the contractor is a convicted felon or sex offender.

You certainly would not want that person working around your family.

Good luck getting everything resolved.


Sent by incredibly fast electrons

 

[kimkats]

I am glad to see your update. Nice job! Have you had the areas fixed yet? The one I would love to see is the fence/gate. How did the fix that?

Kim