need advice - building contractor issues

[MoogieBoogie]

Hi all,

I need some advice here.

Earlier this year, I started to look for a contractor to refinish the exterior of my house. A friend recommended a good friend of his fathers and assured me that he was trustworthy and good. The guy gave me a fair price so we started work.

The demolition started and the job seemed to be going well. I was very specific on how I wanted the final result to look like. It's a stucco finish, but I wanted the texture to be smooth. The front of the house has parts that are stone finish. The work came out to be not to my satisfaction. He rushes the work and used a machine to apply the stucco, leaving it with a rough finish. He never applied the top coat. The stone was put on with large gaps - instead of stacking the stone from the base, he affixed it to the scratch surface with spacers in between. I'm not happy with the work.

During the entire process, he kept asking me for money, saying that he's doing me a favor by giving me a low price and he needs money (in cash) for materials. I wasn't comfortable, so I spoke with my friend who referred him and his father -- they both assured me that he was very trustworthy. So all the money was given to complete the work. When the work was "complete", I expressed my dissatisfaction. He got upset, started yelling at me, and seems to have abandoned the project altogether. Aside from the shotty quality, I still don't have lighting fixtures reinstalled.

What can I do here? My friend who referred him seems to not want to get involved with this. I learned a tough lesson from this...

Thanks,
-Brian.

 

[Dtrigg]

Take him to court. Take your friend as well.:wink:

 

[Vega$ NSX]

Does he have a contractor's license? Do you have a contract? If so, you've got options (court, Better Business Bureau, etc.) If not, you are pretty much screwed.

 

[skynet0419]

Take him to Judge Judy :biggrin:

 

[Cairo94507]

Send him a letter in which you briefly outline the agreement you had and the way the job was to be done. Then identify the fact that payment was made as he requested and that you are still awaiting completion of the job. Then give him a deadline to complete the job, like 30 days.
Then gather any and all paperwork you have, receipts, checks, etc. and take pictures of the job with some sort of scale to show gaps and problem areas. Then find a home with the look you wanted and take like pictures for comparison to make your point with the court. Then obtain declarations under penalty of perjury from the friends who witnessed these conversations, etc. Then cross your fingers.
If he fails to complete the job, file a suit and a complaint against his license.

I learned along time ago not to business with friends= never works out.

 

[steveny]

Send him a letter in which you briefly outline the agreement you had and the way the job was to be done. Then identify the fact that payment was made as he requested and that you are still awaiting completion of the job. Then give him a deadline to complete the job, like 30 days.
Then gather any and all paperwork you have, receipts, checks, etc. and take pictures of the job with some sort of scale to show gaps and problem areas. Then find a home with the look you wanted and take like pictures for comparison to make your point with the court. Then obtain declarations under penalty of perjury from the friends who witnessed these conversations, etc. Then cross your fingers.
If he fails to complete the job, file a suit and a complaint against his license.

I learned along time ago not to business with friends= never works out.

Are you an attorney?
What you have outlined here is exactly the correct legal thing to do. For the first time ever this year I had to chase a contractor down who did not complete a job.

 

[White92]

Are you an attorney?
What you have outlined here is exactly the correct legal thing to do. For the first time ever this year I had to chase a contractor down who did not complete a job.

Which car did you use to chase him down? Hopefully the Tundra?

 

[steveny]

Which car did you use to chase him down? Hopefully the Tundra?

I ran him over with his own truck after I seized it from him. LOL.

 

[Ryanmcd2]

I ran him over with his own truck after I seized it from him. LOL.

Yep that's the only way to do it, dont want blood on your car right?