I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.May 9, Re: ID [redacted] Dear Ms***, I am writing to you in response to LAD Construction’s letter of April 13, since it is riddled with factual inaccuracies and misapprehensions I shall respond to each of the claims in the order they are presented in that letter With respect to LAD’s willingness to order materials for us at our request there is no dispute We did order siding to repair damage done to the siding with a weedwacker, but we never burned it with a grill as claimed LAD did order material for us to repair damage done to the trim on the garage door We do acknowledge that LAD did come and patch two areas of damage done to the ceilings in two bedrooms as a courtesy It however was only a patch, it was not a complete, seamless repair as LAD informed us that it would be too costly to undertake as a mere courtesy These observations, however, have absolutely no bearing on the issues we have raised concerning the failure of the exterior grading, and thus are irrelevant With respect to the exterior grading, the allegations made in the letter are both nonspecific and erroneous The exterior grade left by LAD Construction WAS NOT changed as claimed Because it was not changed, water ran toward the house at the back and caused mold damage [redacted] claims to have seen that the grade at the front and side of the house was changed causing water to run into the septic tanks There are two problems with this allegation First, we never changed the grade at all—we left it as ***’s subcontractor left it at the time of the original construction [redacted] actually claimed, in the presence of both me and my wife, that his subcontractor at this time had done a poor job of grading in the area of the septic tanks, specifically piling the mulch too highly around the risers (he even kicked the mulch around while saying that) [redacted] never “repeatedly” told either one of us to have this grade changed Even if he had, why should we have done so? It was his subcontractor and not us who had made a mistake, and thus it was his responsibility, and it was within the one-year warranty period Additionally, his contention that he told us it must be changed demonstrates that he was aware that work done ultimately by LAD, as a general contractor, was faulty Secondly, and most importantly, the grade in this area had no bearing on the flooding of the septic tanks [redacted] did replace the electric pump the first time the tank was flooded After his attempt to replace the electric pump, the tank containing it was flooded a second time so we had septic professionals ( [redacted] ) come make the necessary repairs They told us that water from the grade of the land had nothing to do with the water level reaching a critical point and signaling the in-house alarm Rather, it was the fact that [redacted] had merely plugged the electric pump’s power cord into an outlet inside the top of the enclosed septic tank—which contained waste water, in combination with the failure to install a check valve to stop water from flowing back down into the tank from the leach beds, that caused our septic failures They also told us there was a fire because the top of the tank was black After the pump was hard-wired into the power source and a check valve installed, we have had no further problems [redacted] actually laughed when we told them that ***’s advice to us was to install higher risers And, most importantly, we have never changed the grade in that area to this date Thus, ***’s incompetence is clearly demonstrated And finally, LAD’s letter of April does not address the mold issue at the back of our house caused by the failure of the swale and the fact that the grade from the base of the swale to our exterior back wall as established by LAD, and left completely untouched by us, caused water to flow directly to the house Perhaps he is aware that in the area in question he left a slope of inches (as measured by laser on a tripod)? We did, in this case, “listen to the professionals” and plant grass This was his solution for the large pools of water in the back yard that we told him about Obviously this advice was as useless as his other advice We do agree with [redacted] that “it is hard to deal with people that cannot be honest.” May 13, Re: ID [redacted] Dear Ms***, I am writing to you in response to the letter of April 23, sent to you by [redacted] of LAD Construction Company We do intend to pursue this matter In order to do so, this letter will address the issues raised in LAD’s letter of April We did not contact LAD Construction concerning the mold growing on the back basement wall due to water draining from the hillside toward the back of the house simply because we did not discover it until November When we had the area excavated and the mold remediated we discovered that the causes of the problem were the incorrectly created swale, failed French drain at the base of the bank we paid extra for, uneven kitchen patio stones sloped toward the house, and buried, unpainted wood In April 2015, we also discovered that the yard from the base of the bank to the back wall of the house sloped inches toward the house bringing all of the water to the house foundation These problems were unknown to us until this time We did not bring them to LAD’s attention because the house was out of the warranty period and because we simply did not desire further advice from the builder who committed such egregious mistakes Rather, we had the situation evaluated by two other experienced contractors who advised us of these serious flaws in design and implementation as well as our rights under the Consumer Protection Act In addition, the allegation that LAD had no knowledge of the problems with pooling water and drainage in our lawn is falseWhen we told [redacted] of our concern that water was pooling in the lawn directly behind the house, he told us that planting grass would solve the problem For this reason we hired his landscaper [redacted] to seed, to fertilize and to mulch our yard the following year as well as spreading grass seed ourselves The additional grass helped but did not solve the problem, but this was not Mr [redacted] ’s problem, so we did not contact him again In order to elucidate the complex issue of whether or not LAD was cognizant of the problems with water drainage, I have included a narrative account of our dealings with [redacted] in the form of an approximate timeline: June - We find water in the rear of the cold cellar There is a pool of water on the floor I mop it up, contact LAD LAD comes to look at it, and has the siding subcontractor come over to the house to review their own work They find nothing wrong with the siding in that area near the garage I was told it was most likely condensation – nothing to worry about About weeks later or so, a portion of the bank (about 5%) collapses due to an underwater spring and the swale is affected, so we call LAD This is what LAD neglected to state It is not the shed that affected the swale but the collapse of the bank [redacted] comes to take a look at the collapsed bank This is when [redacted] walked the property with my wife and me It is at this time that [redacted] states to us that he does not like the shed location [redacted] states that the shed is all my responsibility, and of course I agree with him since LAD had nothing to do with the shed I told [redacted] the shed is on level ground, far from the end of the swale (feet in fact), not on top of the swale, as LAD falsely claims Also, it sits on runners that in turn sit on top of gravel, so water should just trickle through it I also told him the shed guy said it was fine, and has nothing to do with the swale After I told [redacted] all this, [redacted] shrugged his shoulders at me [redacted] then states that [redacted] did not do the swale correctly and that he did not follow his construction directives He also states he does not like the mulch [redacted] placed around the septic tanks, nor how the front yard slopes down directly into the septic tanks [redacted] spent the entire time criticizing and blaming [redacted] , not us We were still under warranty [redacted] never stated that we were responsible for the swale, grade or anything else Why would he, when we were still under warranty? [redacted] tells us he will speak to [redacted] about the issues, and that [redacted] would be back It is at this time that I tell [redacted] I want to dig a trench (French drain), around the side basement area and septic tanks to move the water away from the house and septic tanks [redacted] states that it will accomplish nothing and is a waste of my time [redacted] then comes back as LAD states in the April letter, places soil on top of the bank collapse, reforms it and fixes the swale due to the bank collapse—not the shed as LAD states [redacted] also makes the swale deeper this time, as [redacted] told him to do [redacted] places some mushroom mulch down around the pooled water areas After this time, [redacted] never visited our house to inspect [redacted] 's completed work About weeks later, the collapse happens again in the same area on the bank LAD ignores it as an act of Mother Nature for the time being July, August and September 2011: My wife and I have noticed all the water pooling at the basement door in June, so I decide to create my own French drain This is the trench LAD refers to in point of the April letter I let a friend with a backhoe finish the job He installs a inch pipe, and some gravel The French drain seems to work as I can see the water coming out of the end of the pipe after a rain I realize it is not a huge amount, but better than nothing at the time We did not know what else to do since [redacted] told us to let the grass grow as high as we could so it would suck up all the water around the house With regard to the nail pops being normal, no, they are not We found out through other contractors in and that if the drywall is installed correctly, you won't have any nail pops Also, if you use dry wood and not wet wood that hasn't dried enough, then that helps too All the nail pops LAD "fixed" came right back Even the corners of walls are showing the corner metal they used when doing the drywall All I know is when I asked one of LAD’s subcontractors (mudders) working on the ceiling, he said yes those drywall guys worked too fast and did some "jerky" things I wrote LAD an email and my wife came to the new house and confronted [redacted] about this, and [redacted] said it was no problem to worry about As far as that release we signed about the DEP and EPA dated 06/02/2012, LAD knows perfectly well why they made us sign that LAD left long, deep trenches in our front yard which were only getting worse as time went on My daughter was not even years old yet, and I told LAD I wanted them to extend those pipes to the end of the front yard because someone could get really hurt, and it was difficult to mow the lawn They eventually agreed, but would not extend those water solid white drainage pipes unless we signed a release so that they would have no liability or responsibility if the DEP or EPA tried to fine us or made us modify it My wife and I said fine as long as it gets done because at that time it was a safety hazard and needed addressed quickly I didn't want my daughter to get a broken ankle or leg, and I didn't want to make a mistake on my riding mower and end up going down the sloped front yard and down the hill (or rolling the tractor) Because a contractor has been in business for 30+ years, does not mean they make no mistakes, nor does it mean that all their work is effective, of quality or will not fail Each house is different, and there are different topologies that have to be dealt with Thirty years of experience does not guarantee they will get it right every time / [redacted] Style Definitions */ / [redacted] Style Definitions */ Regards, [redacted]
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.May 9, Re: ID [redacted] Dear Ms***, I am writing to you in response to LAD Construction’s letter of April 13, since it is riddled with factual inaccuracies and misapprehensions I shall respond to each of the claims in the order they are presented in that letter With respect to LAD’s willingness to order materials for us at our request there is no dispute We did order siding to repair damage done to the siding with a weedwacker, but we never burned it with a grill as claimed LAD did order material for us to repair damage done to the trim on the garage door We do acknowledge that LAD did come and patch two areas of damage done to the ceilings in two bedrooms as a courtesy It however was only a patch, it was not a complete, seamless repair as LAD informed us that it would be too costly to undertake as a mere courtesy These observations, however, have absolutely no bearing on the issues we have raised concerning the failure of the exterior grading, and thus are irrelevant With respect to the exterior grading, the allegations made in the letter are both nonspecific and erroneous The exterior grade left by LAD Construction WAS NOT changed as claimed Because it was not changed, water ran toward the house at the back and caused mold damage [redacted] claims to have seen that the grade at the front and side of the house was changed causing water to run into the septic tanks There are two problems with this allegation First, we never changed the grade at all—we left it as ***’s subcontractor left it at the time of the original construction [redacted] actually claimed, in the presence of both me and my wife, that his subcontractor at this time had done a poor job of grading in the area of the septic tanks, specifically piling the mulch too highly around the risers (he even kicked the mulch around while saying that) [redacted] never “repeatedly” told either one of us to have this grade changed Even if he had, why should we have done so? It was his subcontractor and not us who had made a mistake, and thus it was his responsibility, and it was within the one-year warranty period Additionally, his contention that he told us it must be changed demonstrates that he was aware that work done ultimately by LAD, as a general contractor, was faulty Secondly, and most importantly, the grade in this area had no bearing on the flooding of the septic tanks [redacted] did replace the electric pump the first time the tank was flooded After his attempt to replace the electric pump, the tank containing it was flooded a second time so we had septic professionals ( [redacted] ) come make the necessary repairs They told us that water from the grade of the land had nothing to do with the water level reaching a critical point and signaling the in-house alarm Rather, it was the fact that [redacted] had merely plugged the electric pump’s power cord into an outlet inside the top of the enclosed septic tank—which contained waste water, in combination with the failure to install a check valve to stop water from flowing back down into the tank from the leach beds, that caused our septic failures They also told us there was a fire because the top of the tank was black After the pump was hard-wired into the power source and a check valve installed, we have had no further problems [redacted] actually laughed when we told them that ***’s advice to us was to install higher risers And, most importantly, we have never changed the grade in that area to this date Thus, ***’s incompetence is clearly demonstrated And finally, LAD’s letter of April does not address the mold issue at the back of our house caused by the failure of the swale and the fact that the grade from the base of the swale to our exterior back wall as established by LAD, and left completely untouched by us, caused water to flow directly to the house Perhaps he is aware that in the area in question he left a slope of inches (as measured by laser on a tripod)? We did, in this case, “listen to the professionals” and plant grass This was his solution for the large pools of water in the back yard that we told him about Obviously this advice was as useless as his other advice We do agree with [redacted] that “it is hard to deal with people that cannot be honest.” May 13, Re: ID [redacted] Dear Ms***, I am writing to you in response to the letter of April 23, sent to you by [redacted] of LAD Construction Company We do intend to pursue this matter In order to do so, this letter will address the issues raised in LAD’s letter of April We did not contact LAD Construction concerning the mold growing on the back basement wall due to water draining from the hillside toward the back of the house simply because we did not discover it until November When we had the area excavated and the mold remediated we discovered that the causes of the problem were the incorrectly created swale, failed French drain at the base of the bank we paid extra for, uneven kitchen patio stones sloped toward the house, and buried, unpainted wood In April 2015, we also discovered that the yard from the base of the bank to the back wall of the house sloped inches toward the house bringing all of the water to the house foundation These problems were unknown to us until this time We did not bring them to LAD’s attention because the house was out of the warranty period and because we simply did not desire further advice from the builder who committed such egregious mistakes Rather, we had the situation evaluated by two other experienced contractors who advised us of these serious flaws in design and implementation as well as our rights under the Consumer Protection Act In addition, the allegation that LAD had no knowledge of the problems with pooling water and drainage in our lawn is falseWhen we told [redacted] of our concern that water was pooling in the lawn directly behind the house, he told us that planting grass would solve the problem For this reason we hired his landscaper [redacted] to seed, to fertilize and to mulch our yard the following year as well as spreading grass seed ourselves The additional grass helped but did not solve the problem, but this was not Mr [redacted] ’s problem, so we did not contact him again In order to elucidate the complex issue of whether or not LAD was cognizant of the problems with water drainage, I have included a narrative account of our dealings with [redacted] in the form of an approximate timeline: June - We find water in the rear of the cold cellar There is a pool of water on the floor I mop it up, contact LAD LAD comes to look at it, and has the siding subcontractor come over to the house to review their own work They find nothing wrong with the siding in that area near the garage I was told it was most likely condensation – nothing to worry about About weeks later or so, a portion of the bank (about 5%) collapses due to an underwater spring and the swale is affected, so we call LAD This is what LAD neglected to state It is not the shed that affected the swale but the collapse of the bank [redacted] comes to take a look at the collapsed bank This is when [redacted] walked the property with my wife and me It is at this time that [redacted] states to us that he does not like the shed location [redacted] states that the shed is all my responsibility, and of course I agree with him since LAD had nothing to do with the shed I told [redacted] the shed is on level ground, far from the end of the swale (feet in fact), not on top of the swale, as LAD falsely claims Also, it sits on runners that in turn sit on top of gravel, so water should just trickle through it I also told him the shed guy said it was fine, and has nothing to do with the swale After I told [redacted] all this, [redacted] shrugged his shoulders at me [redacted] then states that [redacted] did not do the swale correctly and that he did not follow his construction directives He also states he does not like the mulch [redacted] placed around the septic tanks, nor how the front yard slopes down directly into the septic tanks [redacted] spent the entire time criticizing and blaming [redacted] , not us We were still under warranty [redacted] never stated that we were responsible for the swale, grade or anything else Why would he, when we were still under warranty? [redacted] tells us he will speak to [redacted] about the issues, and that [redacted] would be back It is at this time that I tell [redacted] I want to dig a trench (French drain), around the side basement area and septic tanks to move the water away from the house and septic tanks [redacted] states that it will accomplish nothing and is a waste of my time [redacted] then comes back as LAD states in the April letter, places soil on top of the bank collapse, reforms it and fixes the swale due to the bank collapse—not the shed as LAD states [redacted] also makes the swale deeper this time, as [redacted] told him to do [redacted] places some mushroom mulch down around the pooled water areas After this time, [redacted] never visited our house to inspect [redacted] 's completed work About weeks later, the collapse happens again in the same area on the bank LAD ignores it as an act of Mother Nature for the time being July, August and September 2011: My wife and I have noticed all the water pooling at the basement door in June, so I decide to create my own French drain This is the trench LAD refers to in point of the April letter I let a friend with a backhoe finish the job He installs a inch pipe, and some gravel The French drain seems to work as I can see the water coming out of the end of the pipe after a rain I realize it is not a huge amount, but better than nothing at the time We did not know what else to do since [redacted] told us to let the grass grow as high as we could so it would suck up all the water around the house With regard to the nail pops being normal, no, they are not We found out through other contractors in and that if the drywall is installed correctly, you won't have any nail pops Also, if you use dry wood and not wet wood that hasn't dried enough, then that helps too All the nail pops LAD "fixed" came right back Even the corners of walls are showing the corner metal they used when doing the drywall All I know is when I asked one of LAD’s subcontractors (mudders) working on the ceiling, he said yes those drywall guys worked too fast and did some "jerky" things I wrote LAD an email and my wife came to the new house and confronted [redacted] about this, and [redacted] said it was no problem to worry about As far as that release we signed about the DEP and EPA dated 06/02/2012, LAD knows perfectly well why they made us sign that LAD left long, deep trenches in our front yard which were only getting worse as time went on My daughter was not even years old yet, and I told LAD I wanted them to extend those pipes to the end of the front yard because someone could get really hurt, and it was difficult to mow the lawn They eventually agreed, but would not extend those water solid white drainage pipes unless we signed a release so that they would have no liability or responsibility if the DEP or EPA tried to fine us or made us modify it My wife and I said fine as long as it gets done because at that time it was a safety hazard and needed addressed quickly I didn't want my daughter to get a broken ankle or leg, and I didn't want to make a mistake on my riding mower and end up going down the sloped front yard and down the hill (or rolling the tractor) Because a contractor has been in business for 30+ years, does not mean they make no mistakes, nor does it mean that all their work is effective, of quality or will not fail Each house is different, and there are different topologies that have to be dealt with Thirty years of experience does not guarantee they will get it right every time / [redacted] Style Definitions */ / [redacted] Style Definitions */ Regards, [redacted]