larrydanbuilders.com Mountain Craft Builders Bad workmanship and terible understanding of what owner wants Cleveland GA.
To whom it may concern,
This is to inform you in advance that this builder is a very nice person but when it comes to business, he is terrible. He says he can build you a home in 6 months but then blames it on the weather. He says he takes pride in his work but lets his Subs do as they please and has no control over them, and insists they are doing well even after a mistake is shown to him.
I asked him if he can build more than one home and he said he has family on the job but also neglected to say they really don’t do a thing except watch if they are on the job. You can show him a mistake and he will tell you its not, and if he has to fix it it, that would cost extra and I would have to pay the bill.
When you tell him that a wall seems to be to short in distance and should be out more he says he’s following the print and ignores what I said to him, to find out later the door was hitting the bathroom Bowl and that was another one I had missed and he did too, so he had to turn the Jam around to make the door swing another way and now the floor under the door is not tile anymore.
He painted the outside a color that he picked and including the shingle color he picked and never asked me what color I wanted, and I have never experienced anything like this before in my life. I can go on and on but Im sure you get the picture and hoping you stay away.
I have paid additional money to this man like you wont believe, I warned him about not putting wire and mesh in the driveway and had to pay extra for some steel (very few) and guess what the concrete cracked in a couple of places.
Ill say it again, he is a very nice man but should retire and if he stays in business he should be there and watch his Subs do the work so no one has to go through what I went through. They say nice guys finish last but in my case, Im the one that finished last. stay away!!!!!!!!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
salvatore
Cumming,Georgia,
United States
Some of the BS is written to make it look good
#3Author of original report
Tue, April 30, 2024
I see he never mentioned that I didn't get a chance to pick the color of the roofing material, and the fact that we had to change the door going into the bathroom other wise it would hit the toilet, never buired the gas tank as I wanted and the wrong size.I asked for wire mesh and steel in the drive way and finnaly put some in but NOT enough to stop it from cracking and of course the end started to crack even before we had a chance to live in it. There was so many mistakes I got sick just looking at it every weekend and that was one of the reasons I decided to sell it and yes it was brand new with many mistakes and everytime I show it to him, it was a bother and of course more money to fix it. This is what you call a swindle from this company and owner to keep raising the price because everything was done the cheapest way and he just kept on charging more and more. BTW he told me it would be around 6 months to build BUT it was more like14 months. Im sure this owner is not in the field anymore but the rest of the family is doing exactly what he taught them! That could of been my dream home but because of hunger for money and mistakes, he just failed me and the family!
Jonathan
Cleveland,Georgia,
United States
Response
#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Fri, April 26, 2024
We're sorry to hear that your experience was not what was expected. Someone who we are building a house for mentioned this review a few days ago, and we thought that a response was in order.
If one of us had an experience that happened as described, we would want others to know about it as well, and after 50 years of home building, perhaps we "should retire" as was suggested. Even so, it has been an honor to serve thousands of happy customers throughout the years, including the dozens who have had a great experience since this report was written.
Mr Salvatore, though you never moved in to the home, we are glad to see that you sold it as a new home soon after completion and it appears to have generated a nice profit based on the MLS listing versus the build cost, which we won't disclose. Here's the listing, which is a home that we are proud of: https://www.redfin.com/GA/Cleveland/1267-Deer-Woods-Trl-30528/home/141703514
The new owner is a commercial tenant of ours, and he told us that he's been very happy with the house, so as long as owner is pleased, then we are as well. On the other hand, if the flaws were as numerous and serious as described, hopefully they were reported to the buyer as Georgia law requires disclosure of material facts about properties that are sold, but perhaps they are not so bad after all. The current owner's office is one door away from our office, and he hasn't mentioned any defects to us, and it appears that none were mentioned to him. He also never called us for warranty service, which we honor for a full year after construction is complete.
It appears to us that being a controlling person and not having a supervisor onsite every day throughout the day is at the core of why this report was written. We also believe there's anger over paying for change orders.
For these complaints, we must respectfully agree to disagree.
By law, we cannot "control" a subcontractor. We do not pay them until the job is done right, and years of working with each tradesman demonstrates their competence to do their respective jobs well.
Regarding a constant onsite presence for standalone homes, that is not a service that we offer, as it would drive up the total home cost. Tradesmen are not on site every day, and we check in each weekday on every project when work is either completed or in progress, as well as on weekends.
Our method is to contract with the right people, tell them how and what we want, let them do their jobs well, supervise and clean up the project, check the work after it is complete, and pass building inspections the first time, every time during each phase of construction. The method has worked for 50 years, though we understand that it doesn't meet everyone's expectations. Regarding extra money for change orders, we can build almost anything, but nice features cost money, and it wouldn't be right to expect us to add features that a buyer was unwilling to pay for. Our number is at the top of this complaint. We would be happy to discuss details with anyone who would like. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we respect Mr. Salvatore's right to express his own. We wish each of you nothing but the best, and may God bless you in all the days to come.