Stone & Vine LLC

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 7, 2015/11/05) */ First of all we did not cause a bigger problem but we found oneThe customer painted the picture with a broad brush and omitted some key detailsThere were actually boulders the biggest boulder was about the size of a refrigerator on it's side and the other were about the size of a lawn chairWhen we excavated and found these boulders only inches behind the original wall we informed the customer and the customer didn't seem surprised but claimed she had no idea they were thereWe gave her the benefit of the doubtHowever, the gravel backfill from the original wall we demolished ran right up to the front faces of the boulder meaning they were probably exposed when the first contractor she hired built the first wall or at least the first contractor surely found them when he excavatedThe boulders were no doubt the reason why the first contractor butted the original wall up to the siding instead of the foundationHe had to move it as far out from the boulders as possible in order to back fill with at least some gravelThe most important detail that the customer has omitted is that her two AC units were located right above the bouldersIn other words the biggest boulder was holding up all the earth underneath her AC unitsWe couldn't fully remove all of the boulders without a costly temporary move of the AC units and we couldn't simply bring the wall out forward from the boulders because there was a window and siding directly in front and the agreement was to butt the blocks up against the foundationHer side yard dropped about 6-7ft over a 10-15ft run down to the backyardSo the back half of her basement wall was above ground, sided, had a window and walkout doorThe solution we proposed was to remove the smaller boulders and chisel back the face of the biggest boulder leaving the AC units undisturbedCustomer agreed to the additional work, price, and use of heavy equipment so we rented a mini excavator big enough to do the job with rock hammer and bucket and we did the workWe didn't ask for any money and covered the costs out of pocket in good faithWe even placed one of the excavated boulders in one of her landscape beds and regraded around it at customer's request; no additional chargeThat was the only time we used heavy equipment and the only heavy equipment we usedThe rest was all done the hard way with shovels and wheel barrows including the movement of all materials into and out of her yardBefore we brought in the excavator and started digging we located sprinkler heads in the areas we were moving through with customer's help and those heads were subsequently avoidedThe customer couldn't provide a drawing of the system or any specific knowledge of the locations of linesWe ended up hitting a line when we dug out around the boulders with the excavatorThe system was turned off because we had anticipated we might hit a line somewhere since we're digging from the property line to the foundationWe had previously discussed it with customer who was well aware of the riskAll precautions were taken on our partWithout knowing beforehand exactly where it was it was pretty unavoidable and these things happen and are easy to repairWe usually repair them ourselves and test the system ourselves at no additional cost to the customerHowever, the line we hit needed to be relocated anyway because it ran right through where the new wall was to be constructedWe informed the client of all this and she said she has a sprinkler guy and would rather have him out to move itWe met with him on site to go over in detail where the line could be rerouted so as to not be in the wayHe seemed to understand but apparently didn't because the next day we arrived to find he did almost the opposite of what we asked and the line still needed to go about a foot deeper and 4ft over to be out of the waySo we called him back again, met with him on site again, and this time we even dug the trenches our selves to make certain he got it rightNone of the costs involved were billed to the client by us although client had her own agreement with the sprinkler guy for whatever he may have charged her forAgain it was her sprinkler guy and she contracted the sprinkler work independently of usDuring all of this neither the client nor the sprinkler tech mentioned any other damages to or concerns about the sprinkler system so the customer's claim that she had to have it fixed times is preposterousI only know of the sprinkler guy having to show up twice for the same thingAfter the sprinkler guy got the line relocated correctly we proceeded with construction and finished the wallWe did have to notch the siding to fit the first block up against the foundation in order to backfill the wall with enough material between the back of the block and front face of the biggest boulder as instructed by the city inspector and master plan for the blockWe were about an inch short and couldn't chisel anymore off the boulder for fear that the AC unit would come tumbling downWe cut it as close as we couldAlso, the customer had told me at least twice that she was going to have the bottom two sections of siding removedOften times they cover up the ugly concrete foundation wall of a walk out basement with siding and those pieces are sometimes removed permanently by customers if the elevation around there low hanging siding raisesI assumed that's what she meantShe didn't say I'm going to have them removed and replaced or anything of that nature just simply that she was going to have them removedBoth of my employees heard and thought the same thingSo we figured since she's removing it rather than lose a day on other solutions we would just notch itWe DID NOT cut an inch hole in itThat is an exaggerationWe only needed ONE inchNonetheless, upon the client's dissatisfaction while pointing out and explaining why we notched the siding, I apologized several times, told her it can easily be fixed and that I would take care of itThe siding was replaced within a few days to customer's satisfaction and of course at no chargeIn all, the thing that hurts the most is the last line of her complaint; that we left her worse off than she was beforeI vehemently disagree! Whoever put in the first wall built it out of inch block, no geogrid, no filtration fabric around the backfill, minimal gravel, and no drainHe didn't butt the blocks up to the foundation correctlyThe bottom blocks were up against the siding and in several places there were holes where snakes were nestingWe excavated all the snake nests (they were everywhere) and sealed everything up tightWe built a structurally correct wall with a proper block, fabric wrapped backfill, proper drain, and thumbs up from the cityWe cleaned up after ourselves, repaired any disturbed turf with topsoil, good seed, and strawWe absorbed a lot of the extra costs and funded the expense out of pocket along the way in good faithThe new wall butts against the foundation NOT the siding as agreed and there are no places for snakes to goHer AC units are secureWe saved her the greater expense of moving her AC unitsThere were a few bumps in the road but they were due to existing conditions beyond our knowledge or controlBut we stayed with it and made good on our agreement and promisesWe did the right thing the whole way through

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/11/05) */
First of all we did not cause a bigger problem but we found one. The customer painted the picture with a broad brush and omitted some key details. There were actually 3 boulders the biggest boulder was about the size of a refrigerator on it's...

side and the other 2 were about the size of a lawn chair. When we excavated and found these 3 boulders only inches behind the original wall we informed the customer and the customer didn't seem surprised but claimed she had no idea they were there. We gave her the benefit of the doubt. However, the gravel backfill from the original wall we demolished ran right up to the front faces of the boulder meaning they were probably exposed when the first contractor she hired built the first wall or at least the first contractor surely found them when he excavated. The boulders were no doubt the reason why the first contractor butted the original wall up to the siding instead of the foundation. He had to move it as far out from the boulders as possible in order to back fill with at least some gravel. The most important detail that the customer has omitted is that her two AC units were located right above the boulders. In other words the biggest boulder was holding up all the earth underneath her AC units. We couldn't fully remove all of the boulders without a costly temporary move of the AC units and we couldn't simply bring the wall out forward from the boulders because there was a window and siding directly in front and the agreement was to butt the blocks up against the foundation. Her side yard dropped about 6-7ft over a 10-15ft run down to the backyard. So the back half of her basement wall was above ground, sided, had a window and walkout door. The solution we proposed was to remove the smaller boulders and chisel back the face of the biggest boulder leaving the AC units undisturbed. Customer agreed to the additional work, price, and use of heavy equipment so we rented a mini excavator big enough to do the job with rock hammer and bucket and we did the work. We didn't ask for any money and covered the costs out of pocket in good faith. We even placed one of the excavated boulders in one of her landscape beds and regraded around it at customer's request; no additional charge. That was the only time we used heavy equipment and the only heavy equipment we used. The rest was all done the hard way with shovels and wheel barrows including the movement of all materials into and out of her yard. Before we brought in the excavator and started digging we located sprinkler heads in the areas we were moving through with customer's help and those heads were subsequently avoided. The customer couldn't provide a drawing of the system or any specific knowledge of the locations of lines. We ended up hitting a line when we dug out around the boulders with the excavator. The system was turned off because we had anticipated we might hit a line somewhere since we're digging from the property line to the foundation. We had previously discussed it with customer who was well aware of the risk. All precautions were taken on our part. Without knowing beforehand exactly where it was it was pretty unavoidable and these things happen and are easy to repair. We usually repair them ourselves and test the system ourselves at no additional cost to the customer. However, the line we hit needed to be relocated anyway because it ran right through where the new wall was to be constructed. We informed the client of all this and she said she has a sprinkler guy and would rather have him out to move it. We met with him on site to go over in detail where the line could be rerouted so as to not be in the way. He seemed to understand but apparently didn't because the next day we arrived to find he did almost the opposite of what we asked and the line still needed to go about a foot deeper and 4ft over to be out of the way. So we called him back again, met with him on site again, and this time we even dug the trenches our selves to make certain he got it right. None of the costs involved were billed to the client by us although client had her own agreement with the sprinkler guy for whatever he may have charged her for. Again it was her sprinkler guy and she contracted the sprinkler work independently of us. During all of this neither the client nor the sprinkler tech mentioned any other damages to or concerns about the sprinkler system so the customer's claim that she had to have it fixed 6 times is preposterous. I only know of the sprinkler guy having to show up twice for the same thing. After the sprinkler guy got the line relocated correctly we proceeded with construction and finished the wall. We did have to notch the siding to fit the first block up against the foundation in order to backfill the wall with enough material between the back of the block and front face of the biggest boulder as instructed by the city inspector and master plan for the block. We were about an inch short and couldn't chisel anymore off the boulder for fear that the AC unit would come tumbling down. We cut it as close as we could. Also, the customer had told me at least twice that she was going to have the bottom two sections of siding removed. Often times they cover up the ugly concrete foundation wall of a walk out basement with siding and those pieces are sometimes removed permanently by customers if the elevation around there low hanging siding raises. I assumed that's what she meant. She didn't say I'm going to have them removed and replaced or anything of that nature just simply that she was going to have them removed. Both of my employees heard and thought the same thing. So we figured since she's removing it rather than lose a day on other solutions we would just notch it. We DID NOT cut an 8 inch hole in it. That is an exaggeration. We only needed ONE inch. Nonetheless, upon the client's dissatisfaction while pointing out and explaining why we notched the siding, I apologized several times, told her it can easily be fixed and that I would take care of it. The siding was replaced within a few days to customer's satisfaction and of course at no charge. In all, the thing that hurts the most is the last line of her complaint; that we left her worse off than she was before. I vehemently disagree! Whoever put in the first wall built it out of 4 inch block, no geogrid, no filtration fabric around the backfill, minimal gravel, and no drain. He didn't butt the blocks up to the foundation correctly. The bottom blocks were up against the siding and in several places there were holes where snakes were nesting. We excavated all the snake nests (they were everywhere) and sealed everything up tight. We built a structurally correct wall with a proper block, fabric wrapped backfill, proper drain, and thumbs up from the city. We cleaned up after ourselves, repaired any disturbed turf with topsoil, good seed, and straw. We absorbed a lot of the extra costs and funded the expense out of pocket along the way in good faith. The new wall butts against the foundation NOT the siding as agreed and there are no places for snakes to go. Her AC units are secure. We saved her the greater expense of moving her AC units. There were a few bumps in the road but they were due to existing conditions beyond our knowledge or control. But we stayed with it and made good on our agreement and promises. We did the right thing the whole way through.