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Lewis Cramer Construction Co Inc

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Lewis Cramer Construction Co Inc Reviews (3)

Revdex.com:
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.
I received no offer from the business, only an attempt to discredit me.  My rebuttal is attached.
Regards,
[redacted]Rebuttal to Lewis Cramer Construction Complaint ResponseIn response to my simple complaint, the contractor attempted to discredit me by writing a rambling narrative of lies.  To set the record straight:1. The contractor submitted a FIXED PRICE contract that included “grade the lot where needed” and “grade and pour concrete floor.”  The exact garage location had not been established when the contract was signed; only an approximate area was identified.  Two and a half months later, the contractor called and asked me to stake out the garage location (work was to start the following day).  The exact location of the layout stakes was irrelevant because we had already signed a fixed price contract to build in the approximate area.  It was the contractor’s responsibility to evaluate the site (slope, topsoil depth, etc.) and include appropriate provisions for fill in the fixed price.  A contractor should be capable of correctly calculating grading/fill volumes, assessing risk, and incorporating the appropriate cost in the fixed price.2. We discussed several design and pricing options with the contractor prior to placing the contract.  We never “changed the design” after the contract was signed.  3. The property owner and customer has the right to witness any work that he is paying for.  The contractor’s complaint that I was present for most of the construction suggests that he is not interested in having the owner witness his practices or those of his subcontractors.4. Virtually all of the work on this project was performed by subcontractors; we were never informed of this when we signed the contract.  Seven (7) different subcontractors were used on the job, including three different carpentry subcontractors.  The subcontractors were completely unsupervised; the contractor was rarely on site and did not have the manpower and resources to perform any of the work himself. 5. The contractor’s recount of the metal siding installation is completely untrue.  When the contractor states that “we” hung the metal siding, he is implying that he was on-site.  In fact, the metal siding was installed by a subcontractor; the contractor wasn’t there.  The subcontractor did not align the ribs of the wainscoting (lower part of the siding) with the main siding, made crooked cuts, and severely scratched numerous pieces (which voids the siding warranty).  The contractor was not there to witness any of this; I had to call him to complain about the subcontractor’s work.6. The contractor was unable to find a masonry subcontractor to pour the concrete floor.  It was late October and we agreed that the floor needed to be installed before the weather became too cold.  This was nearly two months after construction began and there had been significant inactivity due to the contractor’s inability to obtain subcontractors.  I researched concrete subcontractors and suggested several candidates to the contractor – it was the contractor’s option to evaluate the candidates or find his own subcontractor.7. The masonry subcontractor directed the contractor to install a 6-mil polyethylene vapor rder below the concrete floor (prior to pouring); this recommendation is in compliance with accepted industry practice and IRC building code requirements.  Instead, the contractor installed a cheaper and thinner 4-mil polyethylene vapor barrier, with no taped or sealed joints.  This is poor practice and violates industry standards and IRC requirements.  I was forced to purchase the correct 6-mil polyethylene and install it myself prior to the concrete installation the next day.  The installation of the inadequate vapor rder was one of the only tasks that the contractor actually did himself.8. The contractor refused to compact the floor fill in 6 to 8 inch layers (or “lifts”) per accepted industry practice.  Instead, he stated that “running over the fill with the skid loader” was adequate compaction.  I find his position debatable.    9. I paid the contractor extra to perform trenching and install underground piping.  The excavation subcontractor never completed the work, leaving uncompleted and unfilled trenches, along with large piles of dirt.  The contractor would not complete the work because his skid loader was broken, thereby forcing my wife and I to finish the work ourselves with wheelbarrow and shovel.  During the excavation, I was forced to labor in the trench (laying pipe and shoveling stone) because the contractor had insufficient manpower.10. Backfilling and rough grading around the garage was never done.  I was forced to do it myself with wheelbarrow and shovel.11. I complained about the crooked man-door for months.  The contractor’s statement that the door was “reset four times” is completely false – it was never reset.12. The contractor fails to mention that it took almost four months (from the start of construction) to build a 24 ft. by 28 ft. pole garage.13. The contract contained numerous violations of the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA).  The contract required a 50% down-payment, which exceeds the HICPA-mandated 33% maximum.  The contract failed to include the names and contact information of the subcontractors.  The contract did not include estimated start and completion dates.  The contract did not state the amount of the contractor’s liability insurance.14. The contractor demanded full payment in advance for the extras (exterior steps and trenching).  He provided no written change order or contract amendment for this work.  Construction of the exterior steps was not started until two months later.15. I have other complaints about the contractor’s conduct and performance that are too numerous to mention here.  Unlike the contractor, I will not resort to personal attacks.16. The contractor’s other accounts are completely untrue.In summary, I stand by my original complaint.

Lewis C[redacted]Lewis Cramer Construction, Co. Inc.[redacted]I am writing this in response to the complaint that was received about my company. ID# [redacted]Here is an overview of what I had to deal with this customer. I did 3 different layouts of this garage. After the 3rd time,...

the owners said that was good and the one they wanted. I came back the next day to find the building markers had been moved by the owner 4‘ farther back. I told them this would take more fill to level the pad. By moving the pad it took 4' of fill. Before I started the pad, I asked the owner how much top soil was there.  He said 4". It turned out to be 2 1/2" deep, which caused more fill. I told him this would be more money. He made no comment.I was ready to start the next day on his job because I had other jobs after his to do. The owner told me to wait about a month to start because he was going out of town. So I started another job. I realized after he got back that the reason he wanted me to wait was so he could take off work, so he could watch us everyday. Nobody likes somebody standing over you working, watching your every move, every minute, of every day.The 1st week my men dug out the pad, leveled the pad, laid out and dug the holes for the posts. They poured the footers, set the posts and purlins, set the band boards and set the gambrel trusses. They installed the purlins on the trusses, installed the face boards on the overhangs. They installed 3/4" Avantec on the 2nd floor, installed insulation on the trusses and installed the steel on the roof. We worked 48 hours that week in 85 degree plus heat. And all the owner could say was “Why didn't we install the ridge cap on the roof, because it was possibly going to rain that weekend?" So I sent my son back out to cover the 2nd floor with plastic at 7:00 pm that night. At that point it was apparent that this owner could not be pleased. And as the job went on it only got worse.The next week, we started to install the steel on the sides of the building, There was a difference in the shades of the steel on the garage and the trim was a different color. We worked all day on the steel. The owner sat there watching us put the steel up. We asked him, how it looked, 4 different times and he said it looked good. One hour after I got home, he called to say he didn’t like it. So I told him to put a piece of tape where he didn't like the steel. The next day I got there and there was tape all around the garage.  The next comment that was made by the owners was they thought they were going to get a perfect garage. I have been in business 43 years and have done both commercial and residential buildings and remodeling. And I can give you many people's names, who are more than pleased with my work. Everything is not always perfect. I felt this job, when it would be completed, would be perfect to the best of my ability. You can't work with steel without getting a scratch here or there. So I tried to please the owners and I replaced most of the trim and over half the steel at my expense. And at present, as their complaint to you, the owners are still not satisfied.I then graded the floor to pour the concrete. My concrete finisher was sick when the floor was ready to pour. The owner could not wait to get the floor poured. So he was shopping at Lowes, one evening and came across another concrete finisher and asked him to pour the floor. The owner called me at least a dozen times to tell me to get this finisher. I knew nothing about the man and nothing about his work. He quoted me a price that was $400.00 more to pour the floor than my finisher. So to please the owner I got the guy he wanted to pour the floor. The floor was poured and at this point according to my contract, the next payment of $4000.00 was due. His response was he would pay me $2000.00 and after I totally finished the job he would pay me in full. My contract did not call for this progression of payments and he signed the contract. But at this point I just wanted to get done and away from this job.The owner on two different occasions had my men install 4 - lights on the garage and 1-6' slider door in the 2nd floor. These were not part of the original contract. He purchased the items, but he should have paid for the labor for my men to install them. He did not. And he paid nothing for the extra fill that we needed to level the pad. The contract states that any extras or changes will be paid for separate from the original contract.Reluctantly, I stayed and finished the job. He and his wife an different occasions yelled and used profanity to my men and myself. I finished the job on 12/23/2015. Upon finishing, I knocked on the owner's door to inspect the job. All the owner could say was he didn't like the door installation and it was out of level, We reset the door 4 different times. The door's reveal is uniform and the door opens and closes fine. His other complaint to you was that the job was not cleaned up. I took pictures of the job cleaned up that day. He never said anything about holes or tears in the steel. And no where in my contract did it have anything about final grading. Grading is usually done by the owners because they want to seed and plant.The owner then told me he was going to take money off of my $4000.00 balance. He told me to get off the job and he would send me a check. I told him if the payment was 10 cents less than the $4000.00, not counting the extras he still owes me; that I was going to put a Mechanics Lien against him. At that point things got ugly. He called me everything but a white person. He started swearing and told me to get the [redacted] out of there. I went to leave and he started beating on my passenger side windows and door. He then came around to the driver's side and started beating on my windows and door. He stated he wanted me to get out of the truck so he could kick my [redacted]. I left the job. When I got some distance away from the job, I pulled my truck over to see if he had done any damage. He broke my passenger side door handle. I tried in many ways to satisfy him. But it was impossible. I am not willing to put my life or my men's lives in danger to go back and do anything else for these people.

Review: Contractor (Lewis C[redacted]) built a garage under contract. The contractor did not complete the contract (never performed final grading/cleanup) and refused to resolve workmanship/quality issues (door is installed crooked, subfloor is improperly installed, and there are holes and tears in the metal siding).Desired Settlement: Fix crooked door, fix siding, complete final grading.

Business

Response:

Lewis C[redacted]Lewis Cramer Construction, Co. Inc.[redacted]I am writing this in response to the complaint that was received about my company. ID# [redacted]Here is an overview of what I had to deal with this customer. I did 3 different layouts of this garage. After the 3rd time, the owners said that was good and the one they wanted. I came back the next day to find the building markers had been moved by the owner 4‘ farther back. I told them this would take more fill to level the pad. By moving the pad it took 4' of fill. Before I started the pad, I asked the owner how much top soil was there. He said 4". It turned out to be 2 1/2" deep, which caused more fill. I told him this would be more money. He made no comment.I was ready to start the next day on his job because I had other jobs after his to do. The owner told me to wait about a month to start because he was going out of town. So I started another job. I realized after he got back that the reason he wanted me to wait was so he could take off work, so he could watch us everyday. Nobody likes somebody standing over you working, watching your every move, every minute, of every day.The 1st week my men dug out the pad, leveled the pad, laid out and dug the holes for the posts. They poured the footers, set the posts and purlins, set the band boards and set the gambrel trusses. They installed the purlins on the trusses, installed the face boards on the overhangs. They installed 3/4" Avantec on the 2nd floor, installed insulation on the trusses and installed the steel on the roof. We worked 48 hours that week in 85 degree plus heat. And all the owner could say was “Why didn't we install the ridge cap on the roof, because it was possibly going to rain that weekend?" So I sent my son back out to cover the 2nd floor with plastic at 7:00 pm that night. At that point it was apparent that this owner could not be pleased. And as the job went on it only got worse.The next week, we started to install the steel on the sides of the building, There was a difference in the shades of the steel on the garage and the trim was a different color. We worked all day on the steel. The owner sat there watching us put the steel up. We asked him, how it looked, 4 different times and he said it looked good. One hour after I got home, he called to say he didn’t like it. So I told him to put a piece of tape where he didn't like the steel. The next day I got there and there was tape all around the garage. The next comment that was made by the owners was they thought they were going to get a perfect garage. I have been in business 43 years and have done both commercial and residential buildings and remodeling. And I can give you many people's names, who are more than pleased with my work. Everything is not always perfect. I felt this job, when it would be completed, would be perfect to the best of my ability. You can't work with steel without getting a scratch here or there. So I tried to please the owners and I replaced most of the trim and over half the steel at my expense. And at present, as their complaint to you, the owners are still not satisfied.

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Description: CONTRACTORS-GENERAL

Address: 182 Ken Lohr Rd, Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States, 15501

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