J.D. Griffiths

Review: Contracted J. D. Griffiths to build a garage.After four months the garage was completed. The concrete floor had several low spotes on both sides of the floor drain,which held water away from drain.The shingles on the roof had several corners bent up. The concrete floor also had very large groves about 1 1/2"wide 1 1/4"deep. Lag bolts on overhead door, were missing. I had to install myself.Mr. [redacted] came over and I showed him all the botched up work that was done. He tried to convince me that the job was done right. I paid 1/2 of the final payment $4000. Mr.[redacted] said he would not do anything more to finish the job. He now sent me the balance of the bill with interest added on.Desired Settlement: No more payment until the job is done right.

Business

Response:

I am enclosing a rough timeline of the above job to show that it did not take 4 months to

complete. We are working on numerous job sites at any given time and this job was done in

the order that it was sold in our system.

The owner made multiple changes to the job during the process without notifying me of almost

all of these changes.

Per our contract we did not sell a floor drain on this job. The owner on his own modified not

only the location ofthe slab, but supplied a drain system and accessories when our masons

arrived to pour the slab. The owner was present during this process and stated to our mason

foreman (Nice job guys).

On November 18th• I personally inspected the job as to discuss the final payment due us per our

contract. I noticed a few shingles had not sealed completely yet, and advised the owner that

due to weather conditions additional time would be needed to seal them down.

The floor has control joints V-grooved into place to help limit cracking at a future date. Control

joints are installed in every job, slabs, driveways, or patios. These are hand toweled joints put

in during the finishing process.

The owner has installed an epoxy type floor covering on the entire slab as a finished floor. We

had nothing to do with this process.

The owner states that 2 lag bolts were missing from the overhead door installation, I have no

information on this as the owner never mentioned this issue until his letter, received November

10,2013.

Since our crews were finished, the owner had installed the epoxy flooring, insulated and

installed wall and ceiling sheathing, along with his own electrical work and numerous other

items, I had left numerous messages for the owner to call me regarding the various changes.

On 8/28/13 we talked for the only time during the bulk ofthe construction regarding the

concrete billing and what credits the owner would be receiving on the final billing, The owner

had just moved in to this property in July and only had a ce ll phone number at that time.

CHANGES MADE BY OWNER WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE:

-Garage location moved by 5' from 15' to home to 10'

-Floor drain added without my knowledge

-Original contract was for (2) windows, Owner cancelled my windows on 8/28/13 and said

he would supply his own (2) windows. I explained that they had to be new construction

windows not replacement windows, When carpenters arrived owner had (3) windows of

the wrong type,

-8/28/13 was the last conversation until 11/13/13 when the owner answered his cell

phone.

-Owner added house wrap to the job which was not included in the contract,

-Owner added a ridge vent which was not included in the contract,

-Owner changed the rear overhang from flush to 12" which was not included in the contract

and we had to take apart and redo this overhang, '

All of these changes were made by the owner at his house without ever contacting me or

leaving a message or sending a letter.

CHRONOLOGY OF JOB

July 3rd Job Sold

July 9th Owner obtained his own permit, Job put into active rotation along with all jobs sold & ready before this date.

Aug. 8th • Grading crew begins work.

Aug. 21st. Slab is poured and finished, now in 3 week cure time.

Sept. 13th• Material (lumber) delivered.

Sept. 16th Roof trusses delivered.

Sept. 17th• Roofing and siding delivered.

Sept. 23rd- Carpentry complete.

Sept. 25th • Roofing complete and cleanup crew same day.

Sept. 26th• Overhead door and opener installed.

Oct. 7th• Decorative brick front started. .

Oct. 9th Decorative brick front done. "

The owner's project took approximately '90 days from contract signing to substantial

completion.

I don't know how to respond when there was no communication from the owner except

8/28/13 phone discussion, yet the owner decided to change all of these items without ever

calling me or leaving me a message or sending a letter until the note on the statement sent

back to me on November 10th stating his displeasure.

The owner currently still owes us $4,277.00 plus interest.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted],

In response to the latest letter we will continue to try to resolve the customers issues going forward.

We would like to proceed with the arbitration process on this matter, please contact us to discuss the matter at ###-###-####.

Thank you in advance,

Consumer

Response:

Mr. [redacted]:

I own an investment property: a 1920's duplex bungalow in Wauwatosa. It has never had a garage, so we had one of the sales folks, Jerry, come out and determine whether it was even possible, given the space available. At first glance, the space seemed too cramped, but Jerry and I brainstormed different solutions and he came up with a design that would allow us to get two cars around a sharp turn and into the garage comfortably. He also took into consideration some other variables and was able to design a structure that met all of our needs.
Jerry was early to the appointment, professional, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. It's obvious that JD Griffiths has experts on staff. I felt very comfortable with Jerry and hope we can build this garage with Griffiths, after we figure out our financial situation.

Although my job (service door replacement) was relatively small, they treated me as a top priority and accommodated my scheduling constraints. The work was excellent, completed swiftly and fairly priced. All of the individuals I encountered were professional and friendly.

Absolutely enjoyable experience from start to finish. On time/On schedule/Curteous/Professional/On budget. Quality materials and workmanship from start to finish. Put up a 32x30 3 car garage after removing an old one from the 1920's.Demo/cleanup/concrete/carpentry roof and doors all in one package. Couldn't be happier. Highly recommended !!!