So sorry to hear about your contractor problems. They are the worst. So stressful.
I can describe for you how it works in CA. You'll need to determine how much of this applies to TN. There might be several things you can do before you start paying a lawyer.
It is flat out illegal for a CA contractor to ask for more than a 10% deposit. There are some obscure exceptions to this, but they would not apply in your case.
In CA, there must be a properly formatted contract, and the contract must have a properly formatted 3-day cancellation clause. If either are missing, then a consumer can invoke the 3-day cancellation option at any time, including any time after three days. You must return all materials to the contractor, he must refund your money in full.
Are you saying you gave him half of $17K, or $17K was the half you gave him? In CA, small claims court goes up to $10K. So if TN has a small claims venue, and what you gave him is less than the limit, you can pursue this in court without a lawyer.
But before you do that, i see that TN has a "Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors." In CA, the Board would be all over this. Go to their website, and if available, file a complaint immediately. Then you can call them (or they will contact you), and you can find out what they can do for you. In CA, once a complaint has been filed, they contact both parties and attempt to mediate a solution. My mediation failed, and I thought I was done with the Board, but apparently my case worker had some tricks up her sleeve and a few weeks later the contractor ponied up the entire amount of the damages I was seeking. No court!!
If you do end up in court, and win, the challenge is actually collecting. Your money is most likely long gone, probably spent on some other project. This, unfortunately, is not atypical of contractors who seek large deposits. They get behind, then use deposits from future contracts to finance ongoing ones. In CA, if you win a judgement, and the contractor won't pay, the Board will step in and suspend the contractor's license until he pays you. In your case, this is a dual-edged sword. He'll be out of business, and will have to cease all projects, until you're paid. But he'll be out of business, so how can he pay you? But at least with a judgement, and the threat of suspension, you'll have some leverage. (Again, if TN works as CA does.)
You should have already ceased speaking to the contractor and should now communicate only in writing. That way, there's no chance for any he-said-she-said BS. Email is OK, certified letters are preferred. You could try asking for your money back. Or you could give him a deadline (say two weeks), to begin construction, or inform him you will be pursuing a resolution in court. In CA, you must notify the contractor of the issue(s), allow him a reasonable time to perform, and you must state that you will be suing him otherwise. Once the deadline is past, you're free to pursue the resolution to the construction issues with another contractor. The more of this communication you do in "provable" format (in writing), the better.
Hold off on the lawyer, write a demand letter to the contractor, explain what you want, give him a deadline (include the language about suing him), send it certified mail, file the complaint with the Board. Wait a few weeks and see what happens.
I'd be tempted to secure that equipment from outside. What you don't need is him coming to claim it without you knowing about it. Or having it stolen. It would be sticky determining who owns it at this point, and who is liable for it. Moving it inside would protect it, for now.
Good luck.
