Crown Foundation & Concrete Lifting, Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/10/28) */
I did get a call from Mr. [redacted] regarding the foundation. I met with him Oct. 14, 2015 and view the foundation area of his concern. He expressed his opinion that the house needed raised 1.5". My response was that the house did NOT settle in...

the area where our piers are. It has settled adjacent to our piers. I made numerous efforts to show Mr. [redacted]
what the problem was. He continually disagreed with the problem and the solution. He would not even consider my professional opinion and knowledge of the house. After being told continually how to do my job, based on his own experience with other houses he had purchased. I suggested he either get a structural engineer or an attorney. Communication was impossible. I have 41 years experience installing piers and an education in this field. I became very frustrated. We went into the home to view the floor and walls. I showed Mr. [redacted] where the floor throughout the house had heaved and settled. Again, he would not listen and seemed to know far more than I. So I told him I would raise the house his 1.5 inches but would not be responsible for any damage caused and he would have to sign a waiver holding me and Crown harmless. I told him that I would come out and shoot elevations of the floor so he could see exactly what I was saying. to pay an engineer to do this would cost him $400.00 but I would do it at no charge. To lift existing piers would not take more than a couple of hours. This was not my concern. But the house would be damaged by doing so.
The existing work was performed in August of 2006. The home was occupied. I was unable to lift any further as I would damage cabinets and cosmetics of the home. Additional concerns was plumbing damage as this work was performed in area of kitchen sink. When he purchased the home he removed counter tops and was not concerned about the floor coverings or damaging walls or interiors since he was taking everything out to remodel. This was not the situation when work was originally completed. We are not responsible for prior work performed outside the circumstances of the original work completed. This home has major floor problems which I have repeatedly told the prior owners about. They chose to do nothing about it. In 2006, I did place a little material under the floor slab to fill some voids. This was an indication that the home had floor problems in 2006 and prior to. The floor has differential movement throughout the house. The heat and air boots have been replaced because of deterioration from rust caused by wat3er moving under the structure. As the floor heaved over the years, the up lift placed pressure under cabinets causing them to displace. At the NW corner, the footing shows erosion from water caused by improper drainage of west side. Proper drainage is to be maintained in order for our warranty to stand. Mr. [redacted] purchased a home that he should have had reviewed by a qualified experienced engineer. He apparently chose not to. Now he wants to repair it but not be responsible for any prior damage. The major floor problem, which when taken at face value by a novice, might appear to be foundation settlement. However, the floors are not at original elevation. The remedy: Crown never stated we would not raise the foundation where piers were placed, as he so desires. We just asked him to sign a hold harmless waiver of damage. Crown will not refund any money in this case., Crown also suggests to the owner that he take advantage of our offer to shoot the elevations so he may get a correct handle on any possible solutions. Crown will rescind this offer as of October 30th, 2015. Exhibits available.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/11/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
[redacted] began being defensive and condescending before even making his way into the home. Once inside he was quick to search out other issues to blame the obvious problem of the NW corner sagging. His response at the home much like his written response was one well rehearsed and more than likely repeated often to his other clients. I had 2 additional leveling companies come out and check his work, both were disappointed with the situation stating the sagging was obvious as well. As for lifting the home an inch and a half, I did say it appeared to have dropped this far but understand completely that lifting the corner that much would create more damage. My intention and needs were to simply correct the pier failure and honor Crown's Warranty. Mr. [redacted] said the same thing he probably tells everyone and said the only way to fix the home would be to level the whole home. Remembering the numerous invoices given to me by the previous owner I checked and Mr. [redacted] must have forgotten that he had indeed already done this, 20 piers over the last 20 years had been put in place on all sides of the home and charged to the previous homeowners. No documentation of ever having any warrantied work done though so I am assuming the same conversation was had several times over the years. The tenants that moved out before I purchased the home clearly stated that over teh last few years the tile and cabinets had been cracking and coming apart. I explained this to Mr [redacted] in the beginning of our conversation which is when he lost it and said "Prove it, if you don't like it call your attorney" I do not trust [redacted] or Crown leveling and will be paying another company to come out and fix his failed work.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/11/11) */
This gentleman has purchased a home which was lived in and lifted to a standard that we were able to do whle the home was occupied by the previous owner. The house had cabinets and furnishings in place. We could not lift more without causing damage to counters and cabinets. Now this individual wants us to work under a different set of circumstances. We will lift structure but we will have to have a waiver signed against any overlift of foundation. This home has many other problems which must be dealt with as well. I will pay for an engineer to come in and evaluate his problems. The engineer must be qualified to do structural residential inspections, An engineer from the Structures Group or Metro Engineering. The engineers should shoot elevations of the entire house and advise in their opinion what should be completed to remedy the situation. The owner is trying to spend the least amount of money he can to get this home ready to flip, however, I am not going to refund any money to him or previous owner, which was [redacted] with the work at the time and understood the circumstances with which the repair was made and understood the limitations. He purchased a home with many problems which he will have to disclose to whomever he might sell this home to. I CANNOT repair that which is not repairable in a cheap manner and I will not lift a section of the home just because an individual walks in after the original work was done and wants me to meet a different standard.