Cost Cutters Fencing and Construction

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:This morning we retained a licensed structural engineer to review the fence and deck structure the company was hired to buildWhile the company is correct that they did not finish the job for us, it is because 1- they did not perform work in a timely manner and 2- we had strong concerns about the quality of the workmanship and decided to get an independent evaluation of the project to determine if the structure, as far as it was currently constructed, was structurally sound and safe to complete. In summary the assessment by the engineer was that structurally the deck was not sound- the support posts did not appear to be set deeply enough to safely hold the structure (given the measurement of the foot posts above ground, there could be no more than 1ft of post buried), the support beams were set too far apart and were too long to safely carry the load, the deck foundation was not created correctly so that a railing could be safely installed, the deck was not level and the deck boards used in the construction were not appropriate material- they would warp and be high maintenanceOriginally we requested cedar be used for the decking, but were told by the owner that cedar boards were too expensive and that using white pine was the best option, and that after sealing we wouldn't have to worry about it again for yearsAt no time did he represent that such material would be prone to warp and need regular maintenanceSo while we do not dispute that we agreed to use white pine as decking material, the appropriateness of the material was completely misrepresented to us by the company. Regarding the fence- the engineer assessed the wooden fence posts were unusable- as they were installed they did not appear to be set deep enough to support the wind-load for a fence and many were able to be moved by hand with some also being warped and crookedAlthough we did not have the engineer evaluate the metal posts that were set for the portion of fencing related to the no-climb fence, we know by simply measuring these posts that they are too short to support a 5' fence- in most spots they did not quite reach 5ft and must be taller than that for a foot high fence and thus the metal fence posts are unusable and must be torn out. Overall, the engineer's assessment was that the deck and fence were not adequate for their intended purposes and unusableThey need to be completely torn down and are not usable as constructedWe have requested a written copy of the engineer's assessment and will be happy to provide this to the appropriate parties. Our original desire in requesting an accounting of time and materials for this project was to negotiate a settlement by paying the company for the parts of the project which were usable and had been completedHowever, it has now become apparent that none of the project can be used- all the materials installed must be torn down at further cost to us and none of the excess decking materials that were left onsite are appropriate for their intended use- as decking boardsThe third part of the project- clearing of an area at the side of our property, was only partially completed- the cement that was to be removed was not hauled offHowever, because we are so tired of dealing with this company we were willing to pay for the clearing project ($300). Unfortunately, with this information from the engineer, we have come to the conclusion that we can not pay the company for any labor or materials except for the clearing projectBecause of the company's negligence in materials selected and installed, we will be incurring further costs to have the partial deck torn down, fencing posts pulled up and used material hauled off our propertyAny future company that we hire to rebuild the deck and fence will still have to drill new holes, as the current holes are not to the correct depth (inches) and may not be in the correct location for the deck, given the need to change the support spacing under the deck, so the labor that went into this part of the project isn't even of any value to usPlus, we had to incur a $expense to hire the licensed engineer to assess the project. Here is what we believe is a fair a true accounting given what we've now learned from the engineer: The company may retrieve the excess materials they left on our property within days, with notice of when they intend to pick it upWe have no use for this material as it is not appropriate for the deck and certainly don't want to claim any right to it as we will not be paying for it. The company may either remove all materials used in the fence or deck - uninstall all of this- or they may pay for us to have it uninstalled and hauled offWe would have to get a bid for this work but would be happy to share that information so they know what their expense will be. The company owes us $to reimburse us the cost for the engineer which was necessitated by their poor workmanship.We will pay $for the clearing job even though it wasn't completed properly. Given that in this analysis the company will end up owing us more than the cost of the $clearing project and we are not interested in a long, drawn out conflict with the company which we believe in the end will be settled in our favor, we would be satisfied that the company simply refund the total amount of money paid to them to date via our credit card company - $within days, and if they desire, retrieve any materials within days and with notice, and we will consider this transaction concluded.
Regards,
*** ***

We are in receipt of the complaint against our company, as identified above. While we acknowledge that the work was not completed by the specified date, we expressly deny that there was any problem with the workmanship. There were a number of factors that led to the delay in completing the work,...

such as the illness of the owner of the company, not [redacted], and problems with the person that was hired to manage the business office. These factors significantly contributed to the delays and the communication issues. As to the workmanship, the job was nowhere near completion and certain steps must be made, in a specific order, for completion to occur when installing fence and deck work. We sincerely regret not being able to complete this project to the [redacted]' satisfaction and are in the process of determining the exact cost for the materials on site and the labor that was done. We will be happy to refund any amount that was paid over and above that figure once that determination is made. We should be able to get this done within the upcoming week. [redacted] Owner [redacted]