Appalachian Building Concepts

Review: Appalachian Building Concepts remodeled a garage for me. The estimated amount was $33,000; the estimated time was 4-5 weeks. At the end of the 8th week, 11/1, the owner, Mike Motley, presented me with bills that brought the total to over $43,000. There was still one day's work to finish and a broken window to repair. I refused to pay him. I told him I expect 10-15% over, but not 33% over estimate. Over the week-end, we negotiated and he said he would finish the job if I paid the materials portion of the bill. I agreed. On Monday, he showed up, demanded another $1500 or he would quit. I refused to pay; he quit. At no time did Mr Motley advise me he was so far over contract, despite a stipulation in the contract to do so. Nor had he given me any of the receipts. I was left with an unfinished job, no receipts and a broken window.Desired Settlement: I would like the broke window repaired and I would like my receipts. Until I have the receipts, I can't tell whether I have been burned on materials or just labor costs. I will have someone else finish the rest of the job.

Business

Response:

RE: Dispute ID#[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]

Mrs. [redacted] has been a client now for almost four years. We have built a deck, a roof

over the front door, replaced the front door, replaced siding on dormers on the roof of

her home, and replaced the heat register boots throughout her basement to provide

heat to the main living floor.

She had a pole barn garage that was collapsing to the point that we had to use

chains and wenches to secure the building until we could arrive to demolish the

existing building and build a new carport/guest quarters.

There are several problems that I have with her actual complaint as written to you.

We did not remodel anything, we completely demolished and disposed of a building

that 24'x24'x21'. The estimated time in my contract stated 5 to 6 weeks depending on

weather and procurement of materials. While we did have a couple days of rain, the

materials were not really a problem. At the end of the eighth week we had 8 full hours

of work (one full billing day) left to complete the work. Our contract was set up so that

every Friday, I was to be reimbursed for material expenses for that week and the

labor rate for my company which was billed out at $500 per day for a carpenter crew,

a truck, all necessary insurances, and tools. Additional laborers would be billed out at

an additional $125 per 8 hour day if needed.

At the end of Friday, on the last full week of work, I was told that I would not be paid

another penny because we had over run our estimate. At this point she owed almost

$3000 for materials for the week and $2500 labor. I convinced her that I should not

be responsible for the materials put into her home and to write a check to at least

cover the materials, which she did reluctantly. After that I explained that we had one

more day to complete trim work, install cabinets, and replace the pane of glass. That

would be one more day at $500 plus the $2500 owed to date would make the

balance $3000. As she was a good client who seemed to be having some problems,

I told her that I would be willing to come back Monday and finish if she would write

me a check for $1500. That would have been a $1500 discount. She refused. I stated

that I would leave the $5000 worth of tools that I had on the job to give her a chance

to think it over, I did not want to leave a job unfinished but there comes a point where

you have to draw a line. I left the property. She called me twenty minutes later and

told me to "come get my tools." Which I did.

At that point, I was fired and did not consider spending any more time, money or

effort to work with her. In twenty years I have never been fired or walked away from

an unfinished job. I have hundreds of satisfied customers and am an award winning

contractor. I have won the Angie's List Super Service Award, and best display at the

Roanoke Valley Home Show with another contractor.

There are several factors that did drive the cost of the garage/guest room higher than

the original estimate.

. The homeowner is an avid gardener and has more than 100 different types of

rose bushes and exotic plants around her home. There were rose bushes that

were 16' in diameter planted right up against the old garage. She explained to

me that the build was scheduled after the bushes bloom and that she would

cut these bushes down closer to the ground so that we could work around

them. When we arrived to begin work, the client had decided to not trim the

plants. We had to spend a full day wrapping and pulling rose bushes back just

so we could begin. Later in the job, when it became time to install the roof, we

had to use 75 feet of strapping and additional time to pull a Crepe Myrtle tree

back far enough so we could continue.

. We also spent many hours mowing her lawn, moving I telephone poles, and

building a border around her garden. We installed a new garbage disposal

and a new GFCI outlet in the kitchen. All of which added to the original

building time estimate.

. One of the largest cost boosters was her decision to change the siding on the

exterior of the building. When I did the estimate we planned on using 29

gauge metal siding that runs .80 cents per square foot for materials and

installs quickly and easily. She decided she wanted to use a vinyl siding that

would match what we had previously installed on the dormers of the home,

the product named Foundry Shakes vinyl cedar shake siding runs $3.50 per

square foot and takes twice as long to install. I estimate that materials and

labor difference on this one change cost $2850.

. We also recommended a style of under pinning to trim around the base of the

guest room. Because of the topography around the building and room there

were places under three sides of the room that were left exposed as much as

24". She agreed verbally to the extra work and was very happy with the

finished project. This was an additional $400.

All of the additional chores and minor projects were at the request of the client and

contributed to the additional time on the site. All time and charges were presented

and discussed every week with the client. As I wrote earlier, she was a trusted client

with a long standing relationship with our company. She never expressed any

problems or concerns until after we had worked the last week.

I have included a copy of her complaint and my response to Angie's List.

I have additional copies of all receipts and expenses that I will be glad to provide the

client should she decide to pay me for the week I feel she deliberately robbed me of.

Sincerely,

Mike Motley

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

1) I did not tell Mr. Motley I would cut the two roses in question to the ground; I said I would prune them heavily and I did. It did not take them all day, nor even 1/2 a day to pull them back (I was there) and they never "wrapped" them. Mr Motely was aware of the crepe myrtle from the get-go; it, and the roses, should have been accounted for in his estimate.

The telephone poles came out of the original structure; I asked they be moved to surround the garden instead of being sawed up and hauled off. One way or the other, they had to be dealt with. I asked Mr Motley to mow the grounds once while I was away. This takes 2 hours at most and I told him he didn't have to do the whole property.

Yes, his assistant replaced the garbage disposal and replaced a burned out outlet. Mr Motley hung around while [redacted] worked. I have photos of him standing around. The whole job took two hours.

These "helpful" extras, even if one included the roses, crepe myrtle and the skirting at bottom of the building, do not add up to two weeks of additional labor.

Contrary to the requirements in the estimate, I was not told of the difference in price between the two sidings, much less signed for a change.

I have Never seen a receipt for any of the materials Mr. Motley purchased.

The new window that appeared with a crack the morning after his drywall contractors finished has never been fixed.

Business

Response:

This is a written response to complaint ID# [redacted] response to my response as requested by the Revdex.com.

1) The client was most certainly told of the cost difference in the siding changes that were made to her building. On a previous job for this client we installed the same siding on the dormers of her house.

2) While we did go over the receipts and work completed on a weekly basis, I will be glad to provide hard copies when I am paid what I am owed.

3) I ordered and paid for the glass to repair the window that was cracked, however when terminated, all business for this client ceased.

I have made several attempts to settle this matter with the client. All were refused. I discussed these offers with other contractors and professionals and was told that my offers were more than fair.

I have the right to file a mechanics lien against her property. I also have the right to file a warrant in debt and sue for the balance of $2500. This whole debacle has caused me too much time as it is and is not worth pursuing.

I wish the client luck finding another contractor that does the quality work that we performed for her over the last three years. We will continue to do quality work for people who realize what value we provide. For this one complaint I can give you 100 very satisfied clients. We have many repeat clients that use our services for all of their contactor needs.

Sincerely,

Mike Motley