Capstone General Contracting, Inc.

Capstone General Contracting was negligent in the repairs they made to my home, the result was mold growth in the attic. I hired Capstone General Contracting to make repairs to my home after a fire. They where responsible for basically rebuilding my home to code. This work was completed in January of 2011. in July of 2013 when I tried to sell my home, mold was discovered in the attic during a routine home inspection. On further investigation, the problem was found to be very serious and cost me $2200.00 to get fixed before I could sell the home. I hired [redacted]. of [redacted], MA. The owner of the company, [redacted] found numerous problems in the attic that he said the contractor did wrong. First they installed the bathroom vent backwards, so that is was facing into the soffits and was never hooked up to a vent. Every time I used the shower and turned on the fan I was blowing steam into the the attic not outside. Then insulation was blown into the soffits and was blocking all of the vents so that there was no air flow. I lived in this house for 23 years and never had any trouble with mold in my attic until Capstone General Contracting did the remodeling work after the house fire, and within 3 years there was $2200.00 worth of mold growth in my attic! Desired SettlementI want Capstone General Contracting to refund me the cost of having to pay for the mold growth that they caused. I feel they owe me a check for $2200.00.Business Response In order for us to receive occupancy permit on the house, the City inspector would have had to signed off on the work. If there was work done with plumbing and venting, City Inspector would also have to go thru the entire house to approve the work and have Capstone correct anything that was not done properly. We can provide you with the occupancy permit to show that all work done in accordance to City standard. Also, the 1 year warranty on any work to Ms. [redacted]'s house had expired at the time Ms. [redacted] contacted us. We told her that we would send someone out to look at the mold issue and attempted to contact her on several occasions to schedule the appointment. No appointment was scheduled and therefore we were unable to assess the situation. Again, all our work was warrantied and inspected by the City of [redacted] Inspectional services. Final Consumer Response /* ([redacted]0, 12, 2013/09/24) */(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Capstone never got back to my Realtor [redacted], who made several attempts at contacting them. If the city inspector signed off on there work it was because they covered up there poor construction, it was obvious to the remediation contractor that I hired that their insulation installer covered up the fact that they never hooked up the bath room fan and that they installed it backwards in the first place.The insulation contractor also clogged all of the soffits in the attic which prevented air flow and caused mold to grow. I have a report from the environmental professional that clearly states this. The mold was caused by Capstones horrible construction, not by nature, they need to pay the bill. Final Business Response Customer was credited $[redacted] towards her job and was given a lot of extras. The job was completed end of 2010 and early 2011, the insurance payment was not paid until 2012. She also had a balance that took her until April 2012 to pay and there was still a $[redacted] that we forgave. During the 1 year warranty period, Ms. [redacted] had made several complaints, most of which damages were caused by misuse. We complied, even while money was still outstanding. Again, our warranty is 1 year labor. Inspections were all completed and occupancy was issued. Any mold issues cannot be guaranteed. If work was substandard, we would have been asked by inspector to rectify prior to issuing any permits.

Capstone violated contractual obligations by bilaterally terminating their contract yesterday.The problems were failure to repair damage to flooringCapstone was the general contractor for a [redacted] installation. Their time limit was 4 weeks(03/18/13-04/13/13. As of this date they have not completed the work. They informed [redacted] that they were unilaterally cancelling the contract over a repair of damage to a hard wood floor, specifically replacement of missing pieces that was caused by the removal of parts of a wall. This problem should have been included in their estimate. Before the wall was removed, I pointed out this problem to Capstone's [redacted] and [redacted] team. I was informed that "they would take care of it." The floor was also damaged during [redacted] by their failure to adequately protect the flooring with mats. The inaction resulted in small to large gauges in the finish and the wood.The flooring subcontractor that was sent to my home stated that attempted repair by the Capstone [redacted] was shoddy and needed to be repaired so that the wood would match the pattern of the rest of the floor and that the entire floor need to be sanded and refinished. This was the same advise that the framing carpenter gave me when he observed the damaged area. Capstone Construction created the problem of delay in finishing the work by having men on the site only 50% of the days and these men worked only 51% of the available work hours. The majority arrive at 10 AM and left by 4 PM. They took time out for coffee and lunch.Very few completed their tasks in 1 day. Many took several days to complete the work. Capstone did not send men to work for multiple successive days. Many errors were made and corrected thus increasing the length of the project. The most blatant of these concerned the staining of the trim. They showed me the a sample of the stained wood and asked me to approve it. It was unacceptable and I informed them of this fact. They made several excuses stating that it was the incorrect stain(one that I have used over the years in my entire house during 3 major projects done by 3 different tradesman), exposure to sunlight would lighten the color. They gave no reason for the dark spotting of the wood. When I suggested that they call the manufacture or check with the [redacted]' paint desk they blew me off. I also suggested that the stain be applied with a cloth and not a brush. Again I was ignored. They finished staining and the results were totally unsatisfactory. After they left, I called the head of the [redacted] Installation Team. When she arrived at my home,I proceeded to stain a scrap piece of trim with a cloth using the same stain that was supplied for the project and a 8 year old sample that I had. The results showed that both colors matched and there was no dark pooling of the stain. I had complained to [redacted] during the entire course of the project about Capstones failure to devote an adequate amount of time to this project.This last incident was the final straw. I told the Capstone's [redacted] that I wanted every thing corrected and the projected finished by May 1st. Needless to say that has not been done. After a meeting between [redacted] and Capstone's [redacted] of projects,they agreed to finish the project by May 10th.,but would not repair the floor unless I paid for it. The floor problem was an "unforeseen problem and was not covered in the contract. I explained to Capstone's [redacted] that their owner had visited the work site prior to submitting an estimate and since he was a expert in construction, he should have foreseen and have had knowledge of this basic carpentry situation. I was aware of this possibility as a layman and had conveyed this possibility to the on site [redacted]. When I asked him to "man up" to his company's mistake and correct it, he laughed at me.Desired SettlementI want Capstone to do the following:1. Repair at their expense all mistakes and problems that they caused to my satisfaction and at no additional cost to me or Lowes;2. I want Capstone to complete the project no later than [redacted] 15, 2013; I want an apology from Capstone for the way this project was handled by them and for their employee's behavior([redacted] of Projects). It can be written or verbal.Business' Initial Response [redacted], [redacted] XXXXXOn [redacted] 7 [redacted] and I had a meeting with [redacted] and [redacted] at Capstone office to resolve the ''[redacted] issues''. There had been flooring damaged during [redacted] and an attempted patch done to repair holes made upon removing the existing closet. The flooring repair was an unforeseen item that had not been estimated therefore nothing had been charged to the client originally. He did not want to discuss any responsibility on his part for paying for any floor repairs. That afternoon, the customer visited [redacted] and insisted [redacted] call the Capstone office for him to speak with [redacted] The call was taken in [redacted] office on speaker. The customer refused to allow [redacted] to speak and offer any information on possible resolutions. He was belligerent, insulting and used profane language. At that point it had been determined for Capstone to pull off the job due to unfavorable, possible dangerous working conditions due to an unstable customer. [redacted] informed us they would cover our costs for the floor repairs if we would please return and complete the project as sold (including floor refinishing). We agreed to do so and gave a TENTATIVE completion time table. The custom shower door would not be delivered until 5/20. The customer also added crown molding to the scope, which we agreed to add on provided the materials would be on site when needed. Capstone continued working (although all materials were still not available to us) in an effort to complete the project to the customer's satisfaction. The remaining items of original scope of work as od 5/22 was the installation towel bars and shower door (which was not delivered until 5/21). [redacted] was instructed on 5/22 that he was not to return until ALL necessary materials to COMPLETE entire job were onsite. A message was left on the customer's phone informing him of this schedule change in the morning of 5/22.At approximately 1:00 pm on 5/22 the customer called the Capstone office and spoke to [redacted]. In the course of the phone call, he again used profane language, was extremely abusive and offensive. He did not allow for possible resolution or explanation. His demand was that all work including HIS punch list be completed to his satisfaction by 5/23 at 12:00 pm or else he expected [redacted] to refund him his money in full. [redacted] was contacted by the customer as well. After speaking with [redacted] informed him that Capstone would need from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm to complete work if allowed. He felt this reasonable time frame and called the customer back himself. The customer refused the solution and instead repeated the same demands made of [redacted]. [redacted] deferred to his Supervisor (executive level [redacted]). His supervisor contacted the customer to reiterate the solution and the customer insulted him and again used profane language. At that point [redacted] has instructed Capstone that the relationship with the customer is terminated and that we would not be returning to his home.Consumer's Final Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)It is true that I used profanity in my conversations mentioned above. However that was after all parties with whom I was speaking insulted my intelligence, common sense, and in one instance laughed at me.As far as my being belligerent, I am[redacted] years old, have a bad back,suffer from hypertension and have several other serious medical conditions. This did not prevent me from pointing out that there might be a problem with the sub flooring being exposed after the walls were removed. This was pointed out to [redacted] before his [redacted] crew removed the wall and severely damaged the hardwood bedroom floor because they did nothing to protect it. So I am to assume from Capstones' reply that I am responsible for their shoddy work(damage to my floor)as well as their lack of knowledge of construction techniques? The lack of materials on site was not my responsibility since I contracted with [redacted] to design and supply all material for the project. [redacted] failure to order the crown moldings initially is their fault. Are the two shipments of damaged shower surround walls my fault? Is the ordering of the incorrect brand of shower surround my fault? I think not. Their refusal to supply the proper product in a timely fashion is not my responsibility.Can Capstone explain why the projected three to for four week time frame for the project has swelled to ten weeks as of 5/24/2013? May I offer a few reasons:1.workmen arriving at 9:30 to 11;00 AM and leaving at 4:00 PM, sometimes sooner;2.no work being done on 50% of potential work days which I have documented.3. utilizing about 50% of the available work hours which also is documented.4. scheduling the plumber and electrician to install their rough work when there were no framed walls present requiring a return visit;5.sending the painter home because he arrived late on the job to teach him a lesson. This resulted in all finish carpentry to be done before the wood was stained and a failure on the part of the carpenter to fill the nail holes;6.refusal on the part of [redacted] to allow the painter to correct a stain match by preventing him to go to [redacted] Hudson to try to match the stain;7. failure on the part of the painter to use a rag to apply the stain. He used a brush which loaded too much stain on the wood;8. failure to sand the finish wood and trim before and during application of the stain and polyurethane. Steel wool was used.9. failure to use a requested satin finish urethane([redacted] supplied a high gloss finish)10. sending their work crew([redacted] and [redacted] team) on the first day without any plans for the project;11. assigning a [redacted] who can not remember any information about the project hour to hour much less day to day. He can not offer a solution to any problem that arises unexpectedly on the job and relies on his workmen or the customer for an answer. He has a "deer in the head lights" look in his eyes when you ask him a question. He instills no confidence in the customer. To sum it all up,incompetent.12. damaging areas of the house such as staining the hallway carpet with black greasy wax from the toilet bowl seal. Scouring the stair well wall with the edges of the plaster board sheets. Breaking a window sill that was not involved in the project. Failing to protect the rug on the stairs and hall way 100% of the time thus requiring the rug to be in need of cleaning.13. having [redacted] approach the flooring man to repair and finish the floor in an unacceptable manner after [redacted] agreed to pay for the proper repair. On this point,I would like to state that Capstone should have paid for their mistake.14. believing that they(Capstone) are blameless for all of their mistakes and inadequateness. Pointing the accusing finger at everyone but themselves, and not taking responsibility for their errors.15. for failing to call on multiple occasions to inform the customer that no work was scheduled for that day or that workmen would be arriving at a certain time. Your customer relations and your consideration of your customer's time is deplorable. Your expectation that an elderly couple[redacted]) should live in a home with a completely disarrayed second floor for six weeks more than the agreed upon time is shameful.As of this date(5/24/2013) the project is not completed. Capstones states they will require one more work day to complete the job. This statement was made even though they claimed previously that the completion date would be April 13, 2013, then [redacted] 1, 2013, then [redacted] 15, 2013, then [redacted] 22, 2013.I would like to state that no workers showed up on [redacted] 22, 2013 to complete the project. I am now compelled to disrupt my vacation to allow them to work for that last day. Business' Final Response Good Afternoon [redacted],I wanted to respond to you today regarding the issue above. We are in the process of writing our response to [redacted]'s issues, however, considering this job also directly involves [redacted] we are requesting their cooperation in responding. We ask a few days time to complete our response and will submit it as soon as possible.Thank you,-- [redacted]Capstone General Contracting[redacted]