All Phase Construction Company LLC

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/08/27) */
I was hired by [redacted] in October of 2014 to install 2 egress windows. The house is almost a hundred years old with a stone foundation. There was no visual way to determine the thickness of the stone or if the stone was resting on a concrete...

foundation wall as many of the older homes do. The homeowner had no information that was helpful to the situation. Both windows were scheduled to be done at the same time, so all materials were purchased and delivered to the site. Both holes were dug out and the first window was completed in December of 2014. At that time we were now in winter and were working our hardest in between freezing snow storms to complete the first window, but, we did. The first window took 3 times as long as any "normal installation" due to the stone foundation being almost 2 feet thick which we were not able to determine until we actually dug out the holes and begin the work. The process of cutting out the stone, for the window opening, took 8 days alone. The homeowner was aware of this and had no problem with this because, as he said, he knows it will be done right, based on his visual assessment of our diligence and quality of workmanship being done. We completed the first window and he was very happy and satisfied with the work. At that point the weather had changed and I told him I will get back to do the 2nd window as soon as there is a break in the weather. There was no break in the weather, especially March through May when we had torrential rain storms every 3 or 4 days apart. I felt it was not a good time to be opening up the side of the house during these weather conditions. He called me in March to tell me that water was coming into his basement, from these rains. I was out there the next day tore out the interior sheetrock around the window and dug up the outside. I discovered a small hole that did not take the caulking that was applied with the original installation. I got right on it and fixed the problem put everything back the way it was and he was fine with everything. At this juncture my company is in the middle of many projects and I kept him apprised of this through several phone conversations. In June of 2015 the homeowner called me to tell me I was fired and that he had another contractor lined up to do the other window. In 20 plus years I have never been fired from a project, but, I told him I understand and that was fine. A few days later he calls me again to tell me he wanted $2,500.00 back for the 2nd window and I told him I would think about it because I wanted to total up all my "additional costs" due to the time spent on the cutting of the stone foundation. After totaling up all the additional costs, not including the repair work for the leak which cost me over $1,200.00, I have a total of $6,940.01 into the materials for "both windows being dug out, 2-windows,2-window wells, 2-steel grates, 2-escape ladders, sub-contract labor to dig out the holes and cutting the stone, all of which has been paid for by me. This does not include any of the 50 plus hours I put into the project. All that is left to do is for him to hire a contractor to cut out the stone and install the window. He has copies of the engineering plans. I told him that I would pull permits if he wanted and I never heard another word about the permits after that. And this makes sense, since [redacted] is a property investor, (fix and flipper) and has done many purchases of houses, in the Denver and surrounding areas, and does not pull permits for any of the remodeling work done on those homes. I know this because even after all the egress window stuff that went on, he called me and wanted me to give him a bid on one of his properties he had just purchased. I told him I would not do the type of work he wanted without pulling permits and he told me he has "guys" that will do it without permits, so I didn't get the job. As far as, his children going to the doctors due to "sleeping in a damp and dusty work zone," well I feel bad about them being sick, but, let's not forget that his children were sleeping in those "rooms" without any means of escape if there was a fire. This, as the homeowner told me, all of a sudden became important enough for him to finally take action. As far as a resolution to this unfortunate situation...I have spent all that I am going to and have lost several thousand dollars on this job. I never asked him for more money during the problems I encountered, which were unforeseen at the time of the original proposal, but, I took the job and had every intention of completing both egress windows. I feel I did two thirds of the work that needed to be done and he fired me for my efforts. I don't know why he feels he thinks I owe him when I lost money! I don't know why he thinks money will make his child's cough better. I think he just wants me to pay for the 2nd window because he probably got estimates that were much higher than the one he got from me.