Mike Potter Landscaping & Hardscaping

We have received the  [redacted] letter on March  11, 2013  inquiring about the concerns  Mr.   & Mrs. [redacted]  on the work  we performed at their  home in January,  2014.  It also should be noted that we agreed to address the items about...

the  BBQ, Flagstone Cap on February 20th,  before they  contacted the  [redacted] or there was  any indication they were  going to do so.

1 will address each of the issues in the [redacted] letter as listed.

Barbeque Grill Box- I put the junction boxes at the height I always put them at. You are not working with drywall where you can just put them anywhere you have to allow for the joints, grout and the structural integrity of the block. [redacted], our mason spent a couple of hours discussing the tile before and after Mr. [redacted] purchased it with Mrs. [redacted] on the layout of the tile.  If we had put the boxes lower you would be leaning down to open and close them, because of block joints, grout, etc. [redacted] laid the tile out with Mrs. [redacted] and after he had the entire top cut for overhang for the wrapped edge Mrs [redacted] came out and asked about putting the tile wrapped edge on the back of the BBQ SheiL  [redacted] told Mrs. [redacted] that he could do it but Mr. [redacted] (per contract customer was to supply tile and grout) would need to go out and buy more tile and he would have to redo the top as he had it already cut and installed based on the layout she told him she wanted.  Mrs. [redacted] responded to [redacted], "oh" and went back in the house and not another word was said to [redacted] about it At the end of the job Mrs. [redacted] liked the way it looked. Now, they are complaining about no trim on the back of the BBQ shell after they laid it out with us.  We explained we will be happy to back out there but it is a change order.

We tried to explain to the customer it is best to have the grill on site before building the BBQ Shell as the Templates don't always allow for flanges etc, but the customer wanted it built with the Template. We had agreed to send [redacted] back out and do whatever is necessary to make it fit Due to illnesses and scheduling (unfortunately with this economy we share our Masons with 2 other companies) [redacted] is going out on Sat. March 151h to address this issue. We didn't have anyone else to send any sooner than this. Not every employee is good at potential retrofits if that is what is needed.

The Factory representative went out on March 7th and repaired the defective lights this issue is completed.

30 Tons of granite was purchased by Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] per the contract for $2400.00 it was to go around the perimeter of the house and that is what our crew did.  There home sits on a multiple elevation lot.  Ispread the granite so it would hold on the slopes and when it packs down from rain and time there will still be granite there. At the time of install Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] wanted to extend the area to all edges of there property and there was not enough granite to do so.  1 Ton of Granite covers 100 SF- 10x10 area.  They need more granite to do the additional areas.  Again, we tried to explain this to them and offered to come back and install more granite but it would be a change order. [redacted] suggested 40 tons based on what she saw when she met with Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] on Feb. 18th which would be $3200.00

I met with Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] on December 5, 2013 and January 71h, 2014. Each meeting was 2-3 Hours long. We had multiple discussions on the work they wanted down.  We looked at the Culture Stone Catalog and discussed the types of stone, wet stack, dry stack, etc. We discussed building a BBQ Shell, not building a BBQ Shell.  Yes, we discussed the slopes and elevations of his lot in regard to the pavers. We talked about the slope along the side of the house to the back patio and the back patio area.  The slope on the side of the house I could make more gradual with adding dirt.  The back patio area we talked about going out to the wall but it would have to be built up and have a retainin wall to hold the dirt and then the plants would be to low and the cost.  When I left on the 71  of January and they signed the contract they had narrowed it down to what is listed on the contract. I built up the sidewalk on the side of the house to the back patio with dirt. I did a dirt turn down with concrete to support the back patio pavers against the slope and that is what I said Iwould do based on the contract signed. The slope in the back patio area is not slight it is severe and there is no way to just put dirt there, it won't hold. It has to have something to retain that dirt, hold it back and they didn't pay for that.  [redacted] and I have both tried to explain that to them.  I have offered to install a retaining wall and backfill it with dirt but they don't want to pay for it When [redacted] met with them on Feb. 18th  she explained the same thing to do them- we didn't charge you for dirt work for the area along the back patio, as you can't put dirt along the back patio pavers as it won't hold with out something to retain it. [redacted] suggested a metal railing or retaining wall in this area if they were concerned about the elevation. If it was an inexpensive solution Iwould do it and make it go away, just like I did two drain boxes for free because it was the right thing to do to keep the water from pooling and causing erosion problems, but correcting that slope is not an inexpensive solution, nor did we charge them for that.

Attached. please find the written signed contracts, the typed version of those contracts that Mr & Mrs [redacted] requested as the Carbon Copy is hard to read and all correspondence regarding this project.

We run our business on Integrity and Quality Workmanship.  All work has been completed on Original Contracts and Change Orders executed, it should be noted there are no open Change Orders at the writing of this response. There is nothing to mediate. The items we felt that could be questioned, because of inherent characteristics of material, factory defect, or appliances not being on site at time of construction we are honoring and making sure they are correct for the customer.  Customer changes of mind or wanting more after the construction is completed should not be held against any Contractor, especially when they have explained the scenarios to the customer several times during the estimating process, construction and afterwards and have offered to come back to do additional work and the customer is unwilling to pay for them.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office at[redacted].[redacted].

Respectfully,

We hired Mike Potter to install pavers at our home. On the positive side, they are responsive, show up when promised and get the job done on time. The quality of work is satisfactory as long as it is a straight forward flat simple job. Anything that requires turns, steps or any real craftsmanship is yeoman-like at best. The main reason I would not recommend this business is that the owner is completely unprofessional, confrontational and unable to discuss his own work product in a mature professional manner.