- Report: #139042
Complaint Review: Tom's Home Improvement - Tom Pellegrin - Houston Texas
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Tom's Home Improvement - Tom Pellegrin
5833 Imogene Houston, 77074 Texas, U.S.A.
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Tom's Home Improvement, Tom Pellegrin, Thomas Joseph Pellegrin breach of home improvement contract Houston Texas
Copy of letter sent to BBB of Houston dated October 4, 2004:
This complaint is a business complaint involving the contracting of home remodeling services in Houston Texas.
According to Tom Pellegrin's own Home Remodeling Contract which was signed by Mr. Pellegrin, my husband and me on November 23, 2003, All claims or disputes between the Contractor and the Owner arising out of or relating to the Contract, or the breach thereof, shall be decided by independent third party arbitration in accordance with the Better Business Bureau unless the parties mutually agree otherwise. Because of chronic problems in facilitating the completion of our home and because we must move into this home by October 31, 2004, I am filing a formal "express complaint" to the BBB.
We hired Tom Pellegrin to re-build our house last November. Over $200,000.00 dollars will be routed through Mr. Pellegrin to pay for almost costs associated with this project. There is an insurance claim associated with the house. There are approximately $30,000.00 in funds to be released to the home owners and Mr. Pellegrin upon completion of the project. Mr. Pellegrin has not been able to provide us with information as to how he plans to finish the house. The only thing that is almost completed is the sheetrocking and painting, except the final coat. Much of the electrical work has been done, but there is still a lot more to do. Some of the built-in cabinets have been started, but that is all.
Mr. Pellegrin is not responding consistently to our many requests to keep us posted as to the status of the project. We have requested this verbally and in emails dated 08/19/04, 08/22/04, 08/30/04, 09/15/04, 09/22/04 (we can provide copies of these emails).
Mr. Pellegrin is not consistently addressing issues relating to correcting work that has already been paid for. Mr. Pellegrin has not responded to some or all of these requests in emails dated 08/30/04, 09/02/04, 09/06/04, 9/28/04 (we can provide copies of these emails).
Because of Mr. Pellegrin's failure to expedite the completion of this project, we are having to pay $3600.00 per month in rent until the house is completed. We now must move out by October 31, 2004. He has quit once and has threatened to quit several times. Although he now says he hasn't quit, he isn't facilitating the day-to-day work required to return to our home by the end of October, which is already many months overdue. I feel our family is in a hostage situation because of Mr. Pellegrin's failure to complete the project in a responsible manner.
Because of Mr. Pellegrin's inability or unwillingness to express either orally or in writing his plans for finishing the house, we are having to pay someone to facilitate the completion of the second floor so it will be ready for move-in. We have two boys 6 and 8 years old that need a decent room to sleep in by October 31. This person charges $75.00/hour, and we will pay her several thousand dollars for her services. She has arranged a tile contractor and a carpenter to finish those areas of work on the second floor. Mr.Pellegrin has approved this, and is adding a percentage on top of the amount the carpenter is charging for a supervisors fee. Keep in mind, the reason these sub-contractors had to be hired in the first place is because Mr. Pellegrin did not have a plan regarding how he was going to finish the house, knowing we had to move-in by Octover 31. However, there is still the downstairs to complete and the pouring of the concrete for the driveways and numerous other things that must be completed by Mr. Pellegrin, including correcting many problems.
We have numerous and serious concerns about Mr. Pellegrin's work in the following areas:
1) Work should proceed in an orderly day-by-day manner to completion per the Home Remodeling Contract signed November 23, 2003.
Mr. Pellegrin has not been seen working out our house since last Tuesday, Sept. 28 around 10:45 AM. On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Pellegrin spoke to Mr. Nance and said he was taking a few days off. The next day, it was the understanding of one of the sub-contractors that Mr. Pellegrin was to pay him for materials, but Mr. Pellegrin was not available.
Our neighbors, including stay-at-home mothers, indicate to us within the past 10 months there have been myriad days when no workers have been at the house. We have observed this as well. Mr. Pellegrin claims he was waiting for selections or materials during this time; however, this house was completely rebuilt including the pouring of the foundation and the addition of new bricks to replace the old. We feel Mr. Pellegrin should not stop the forward progression of the entire project because he is waiting for a bathtub (as only one example).
2) According to the contract, Contractor shall have sole responsibility for and authority to deal with any and all subcontractors. Mr. Pellegrin had to fire his primary subcontractor, Mike, for poor workmanship on the framing of the house and the HardiPlank installation. This was Mr. Pellegrin's idea, not ours. However, Mr. Pellegrin has not been responsible for fixing the problems which Mike did such a poor job on. Obviously, if someone is fired because he has chronically produced poor work, then that work needs to be corrected by a competent person. We feel Mr. Pellegrin is responsible for that. We have copies of numerous emails addressing some of these areas which Mr. Pellegrin has failed to take responsibility for.
Another example of Mr. Pellegrin not being responsible for the sub-contractors concerns the floor tilers. I told the tilers myself I saw problems with the tiling and called Mr. Pellegrin about talking to the tillers before the tile was dry. Apparently, this wasn't done, as now tile needs to be removed and replaced along with the addition of more grout, per his own assessment of the problem. I have asked you when this will be corrected, and you have not given me a response. I told Mr. Pellegrin I did not want this sub-contractor to do the tiling in the bathrooms because of the poor workmanship and communication problems I was having with the owner of the company. I asked Mr. Pellegrin to get other quotes for the tiling yet to be done, and he has failed to do that.
Also, the plumber did a horrendous job including having to relocate both the toilet drain and the shower drain in one bathroom after the foundation was poured. Two extremely large holes in our new foundation had to be drilled-out because of this. The toilet drain is still so close to the wall that one subcontractor said last week he wasn't sure a toilet could fit. Again, this highlights how Mr. Pellegrin is not closely monitoring his sub-contractors, or else this could have been prevented. Again, I requested another quote from a different plumber to finish that work, but he has fulfilled the request.
3) According to the contract, Owner shall provide at Owner's request partial and final release of liens obtained from any and all subcontracted personnel working on the Project. On September 24, 2004 , we made a formal request for Partial and final release of all liens obtained for any and all subcontracted personnel working on the house. To this date, we have received no release of lien information.
4) Mr. Pellegrin is not familiar with the city's building codes (this city does not have "deed restrictions"), which includes everything from knowing the required thickness of the sheetrock to knowing what hours workmen can work. Because of his unfamiliarity with these codes, he has been cited and fined numerous times for code violations. However, he has said we are the ones responsible for paying them.
5) Mr. Pellegrin has been asked numerous times both verbally and in writing, to pick-up the trash at the project and keep the home secure (e.g., keep windows closed and locked). This continues to be a problem, especially with the trash. The dates of these emails are 04/13/04, 06/08/04, 07/17/04, 08/11/04, 08/18/04, 08/24/04. Copies of these emails can be furnished.
We have always paid Mr. Pellegrin promptly and he has always accepted money promptly.
We would like to initiate a Complaint Express through the BBB of Houston in hopes of resolving the above issues promptly.
Sincerely,
Homeowners in Houston, TX 77219
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Mr. Pellegrin's letter of October 14, 2004 regarding the above captioned case is not acceptable to me and actually supports my major complaints regarding his work on my home. His response to my October 4, 2004 email to the BBB (which is very similar to the email I sent him on September 24, 2004 which he never responded to) is clearly, one of the most perfect examples of why it has been so difficult, almost impossible, to do business with Mr. Pellegrin.
My observation is supported by the following:
1. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response does he address issue #2 in my original letter to the BBB. This relates to Mr. Pellegrin being responsible for his subcontractors and how he plans to correct numerous mistakes made by the head carpenter which he had to fire (which was Mr. Pellegrin's initiative, not mine). As an example, we have had to pay almost $300.00 to re-install both pull-down stairs to the attic. Many of the doors in the new addition of the house were framed incorrectly, so we had to purchase the more expensive 3 trim around all the doors to cover the errors.
In Mr. Pellegrin's October 14 letter to the BBB, he claims My subcontractors also recognize that she is very difficult because of some of her requests. This comment has absolutely nothing to do with any of the issues I have had with Mr. Pellegrin. However, since he mentioned it, I feel I must address his comment. Firstly, I want a list of these subcontractors whom I have spoken with. I had only one conversation with the plumber within the first few days of him starting the project. He told me that my home design was the best he had ever seen with regards to plumbing. Absolutely no requests or communications have been made with him, despite the numerous problems we have had with the plumbing. I spoke with the tiler on only one occasion, and asked him to make sure the corners of the tiles were level with the floor. As stated in my previous letter, I then called Mr. Pellegrin about talking to the tilers before the tile was dry. Apparently, this wasn't done, as now tile needs to be removed and replaced along with the addition of more grout, per Mr. Pellegrin's own assessment of the problem. The framer that Mr. Pellegrin eventually fired told my husband and I that he was not allowed to talk with us, per Mr. Pellegrin. The painters were done in 2-3 days and we never needed to discuss any change orders with the paint. We did discuss errors the framer had made to which the owner of the painting company said I wish I had met you earlier, you would have had a better house..
The only subcontractor I have ever seen talked to more than once was the electrician. Several of the lights had to be repositioned because they weren't aligned correctly. Some light switches were not put close enough to the corners of the walls, so I asked him to relocate them.
I have two brothers who are master electricians. One has had his own electrical business for over 15 years. Both brothers assured me that any requests I made to the electricians were valid because they followed best practices. They said I was paying premium prices for electrical services so I should get that quality of service. They also asked me why the builder wasn't supervising the electricians close enough to catch these errors quickly before it became costly and time-consuming to correct them. Other examples of electrical work that still needs to be corrected : One of the two electrical outlets for the pair of sconces needs to be repositioned because one is a couple of inches closer to the wall than the other (obviously, sconces need to be symmetrical.) Also, one of the two electrical outlets for the pair of lights over the kitchen sink has to be repositioned because one is a couple of inches closer to the kitchen cabinet than the other (obviously, this pair of lights need to be symmetrical.) This means the new sheetrock will have to be patched and repaired, which is almost always visible to the eye.
If Mr. Pellegrin were doing his job and supervising the subcontractors, I wouldn't have to make any contact with them. The only subcontractors I have seen while Mr. Pellegrin was in the house was the electrician and the carpenter. Usually, only one subcontractor at a time is working without Mr. Pellegrin in sight. Typically, most home builders use several crews at once working on different parts of the house. Otherwise, it takes a very long time to finish a home. Since Mr. Pellegrin is not supervising his subcontractors close enough, I am having to do it to the best of my ability. However, I have never, without an exception, raised my voice in even the slightest to anyone working on the house, ever. I have never had a tone or attitude with anyone and have treated everyone with respect. Mr. Pellegrin has been the only individual on the job site, without exception, that has ever been disrespectful, and that was towards me. He has yelled at me at loudly as possible in front of my husband, Mr. Pellegrin's own workers and additional workers I have had to hire to get the project completed. I have had to excuse myself from the room when it became obvious he couldn't regain his composure.
As far as Mr. Pellegrin's remark all the people on this project have had to endure additional costs because of the stop-start nature of this project: There are only two people enduring these costs long term, and that is Mr. and Mrs. Nance. Apparently, Mr. Pellegrin feels it is unreasonable when I expect best practices to be followed with regards to the construction work and supplies. In my own line of work, I am a professional. I welcome anyone to ask questions, request explanations, even quiz me on my knowledge. I don't disappear or avoid someone just because they may have expectations for me. I am confident in what I do. I know I am following best practices and extremely knowledgeable. My builder and the owners of the subcontracting companies state they are professionals, too. A true professional will not be intimidated by a client expecting best practices for work that is being well paid for.
Mr. Pellegrin wrote in the January 14 email: I know that during the course of construction there will be changes that are necessary as well as wanted. Believe me I am not discouraging changes. According to the signed contract and Mr. Pellegrin's own email, this is our right and something he did not discourage. Mr. Pellegrin's whines he spent probably 4 hours determining concrete elevations and then we decided to use tile instead of concrete floors. But what he didn't mention was that he wasn't knowledgeable of concrete floors. When pressed for details about the concrete, it became obvious that Mr. Pellegrin did not have significant theoretical background knowledge or practical experience in this type of concrete application to make us feel he could do an adequate job on the floor. Mr. Pellegrin's lack of knowledge and experience was why we cancelled the concrete floor and the undermounted tub, as well. By that time, my husband and I were starting to notice many problems associated with the house. We were afraid he wasn't competent in certain areas. What Mr. Pellegrin did not forward to the BBB was my email response to his complaint regarding those 4 hours which was I completely understand about the change order costs. Please add-in your time for researching the stained concrete. Basically, we paid him to be schooled about concrete tiles.
Mr. Pellegrin goes into detail about the bathtub I ordered myself in order to save money. As Mr. Pellegrin says, it was delivered in early July. However, Mr. Pellegrin fails to mention that he did not install the bathtub until mid August, over a month after it was delivered.
2. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response to my letter does he address issue #3 in my original letter to the BBB which relates to my September 24, 2004 request to Mr. Pellegrin for partial and final release of liens for all subcontracted personnel working on the house. About 10 days ago, he did supply to my husband a list of check numbers, check amounts and to whom checks were paid. This was his personal list; not from his bank. There is no evidence these checks were ever paid. Even though a check may be cancelled by a vendor, it means nothing unless there is a release of lien on the property from that vendor. According to the builder's own contract, the builder shall provide at Owner's request partial and final release of liens obtained from any and all subcontracted personnel working on the Project.
On October 29, Mr. Pellegrin gave my husband a single stack of approximately 200 cancelled checks which had been copied. He states these checks were written to vendors for materials and labor on our house. Each check had been cut-out by hand to the size of approximately 1.25 x 3, requiring a magnifying glass to read the checks. One of the reasons Mr. Pellegrin said he could not furnish a lien was because it was so time consuming [to call a vendor and ask for a partial or full lien, I suppose]. However, cutting out 200 checks must have involved a significant amount of time.
According to Texas Property Code 162.007, a contractor is required to maintain an account record for the construction account that provides information ensuring that all deposit and disbursement documentation includes the construction account number or information that provides a direct connection between the documentation and the account. Of the 200 checks we were given, less than twenty (20) had our last name written in the memo section. There is one check payable to Home Depot with two names on it which appear to be Krum(?). Less than 7 had a number which may have been an invoice number or it could have been Mr. Pellegrin's builder number. I couldn't tell. For all the other checks, how does one know whether-or-not that check is to be applied to our account. For example, there are 25 checks payable to Grograns Building Supply; however, only six checks have Nance written on them. It's obvious that Mr. Pellegrin is knowledgeable about how to document checks so they relate to the appropriate client, as he does it with 25% of the checks issued to this Company. Remember, there is only one Construction Trust Account for several clients, so it's easy to get things confused.
3. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response to my letter does he address issue #4 which relates to Mr. Pellegrin being familiar with the City building codes. Since my letter to the BBB, I had to bring to the sub-contractors attention that there needed to be another bottom step to the stairs to meet code. This should not be my responsibility but the contractors; however, following codes continues to be a problem.
4. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response to my letter does he address issue #5 which relates to Mr. Pellegrin being responsible for picking-up the trash at the project. A couple of days before his letter to the BBB, he finally got another dumpster and cleaned up the yard somewhat. Unfortunately, this included discarding the materials we had paid for and were saving to re-build the children's fort. My husband, kids and I spent up to 7 hours finishing the clean-up. There was and still is plastic in the yard, nails, cardboard boxes in the house that needed to be discarded, etc. There is trash on the ground and always cups and wrappers from fast-food establishments. I saw a cockroach in the house last night which is quite unbelievable considering it a brand new home. It was an indication of all the food and drinks that have been brought into the house and not discarded properly. Mr. Pellegrin is responsible for keeping the area clean on a day to day basis. This is a requirement for builders in the West University area. My neighbors continue to complain about it, especially since the home being built adjacent to ours keeps their yard cleaned at all times.
5. In his two page response to my letter, he writes one sentence to address his refusal to answer requests to keep us posted as to the status of the project. The sentence: [The homeowner] has been derogatory to me personally.I have tried to ignore such insults and because of this she feels that I am not communicating.
Again, this is a beautiful example of why it is almost impossible to get anything accomplished with Mr. Pellegrin. 100% of any perceived insults relating to Mr. Pellegrin were in email form and between the people who signed this contract: Mr. Pellegrin, my husband and I. No one else was copied. It is my right, as a US citizen, to write whatever I want to Mr. Pellegrin as he is of legal age, almost 60-years-old, and it was a private communication between adults. I highly recommend anyone ignoring email insults as Mr. Pellegrin said he did; however, he also ignored his responsibility to address issues as they relate to the house. This is demonstrated in numerous unanswered emails not only from me, but my husband; these emails had no trace of insult and are actually quite tolerant and kind considering we are funneling over $200,000.00 thru this man who can't seem to account for his plans for finishing the house. I wonder what Mr. Pellegrin's response is to why he didn't address many of my husbands concerns.
What is definitely not a protected right is slandering others. Mr. Pellegrin said in his response letter that Several [suppliers] have mentioned to me that when they see her come in their place of business that the representatives avoid her because she is a problem to deal with and unreasonable. Again, this has absolutely nothing to do with the complaint or our project. However, since Mr. Pellegrin opened this topic, I'd like to address it. What Mr. Pellegrin doesn't know is that I have been in only one (1) supplier on more than one occasion since this project has started. I have called two suppliers between 2-4 times. It's the year 2004, people find the item they want on the internet, go to a supplier for one time only, and then go home and order on the internet. This saves taxes and shipping. The only supplier I have physically walked into on more than one occasion is Westheimer Supply and Plumbing. I went in their store on 2-3 occasions and worked with BB. Naturally, I called BB after receiving Mr. Pellegrin's response. She said she remembered me. I asked her how many times she recalls seeing me, she says 2-3 times. I asked her was I unreasonable, hard to get along with. She said no, her shop gears to the retail market. She said I knew what I wanted and knew a lot about plumbing. (I had almost all my model numbers on paper; most of what she had to do was enter them into her computer and make a commission off of it.) I asked her how she remembered me so quickly when I mentioned Tom Pellegrin's name. She said it was because recently, Mr. Pellegrin, she and many others were at a trade party. Tom was telling she and others how difficult and unreasonable I was etc., ---and this is putting it diplomatically. Mr. Pellegrin was there, so he knows what he said, too. Mr. Pellegrin used my real name and didn't even try to be discrete, much less professional. Mr. Pellegrin does not have a right to say those things about me to other individuals. Otherwise, it is slander, which is not a constitutional right but an offense. He is free to say anything he wants directly to me, but not to others. Apparently, many of the people I am actually paying a lot of money to have heard Mr. Pellegrin's ramblings about how awful I am and how I am making his life miserable. This is coming from the #1 person who is in charge of rebuilding my house---our most important and most expensive material possession.
Another example of Mr. Pellegrin's inability to be professional concerns a man at the lumbar yard. After telling the man Tom was my builder, we spent about 20 minutes looking at wood together. When I turned to leave, this man said Tom had said I was hard to please, etc, etc, but he then added but you aren't so bad. To which I replied I want you to remember that I didn't say a single negative word about Tom, other than he was my builder. I feel this says a whole lot about my character, as well as Mr. Pellegrin's character. I am prepared to seek legal action if Mr. Pellegrin does not immediately cease slandering me.
The following is an exact copy of the October 6, 2004 email Mr. Pellegrin sent me regarding his plans to finish the house. No other info was sent with the email. The lack of detail and thought is painfully obvious. Again, over $200,000.00 through this company, and this is the only recent plan we have gotten from Tom. No area of work is finished at this time (e.g., electrical; plumbing, tiling, etc.); however, there is no info on any of these areas that he is responsible for. I think only one item has been completed from this entire list. It's now November 2, and he has not communicated with us other than this list, as to how he is to finish the house.
Week of 10/4
refergator cabinet
book cases
utility room door
angle iron for cat walk
shower pan
drawers and pullouts
order cabinet doors
Week of 10/11
complete trim around cabinets
laundry chute
Cat walk
stain cabinets and finish
Week of 10/18
Install cab doors and hardware
install drawers and pull outs
install knobs
And this is a listing of accounting update. Notice the lack of detail. We have asked Mr. Pellegrin to itemize the cost of things so we know what we are paying for, but he hasn't responded to our request.
Item amount remarks
contract fab $ 477.45
correct electric $ 3,000.00 due at completion
correct electric $ 1,259.90 dimmers & Switches
Hicks Plumbing $ 3,150.00 orginal contract balance
paint $ 1,600.00
Jessie $ 1,135.00 labor
jose
granite $ 2,535.00 bathrooms
shoba $ 705.00
cabinet doors $ 1,800.00 estimated
westheimer plumbing $ 1,144.74
cabinet hardware $ 350.00
other cabinet $ 500.00
Texas Air Care $ 491.69 7000 pd 10/8
THI $ 3,345.70
THI Mgt Fee $ 2,296.00
catwalk material $ 1,000.00
dumpster $ 389.70
kitchen granite $ 2,500.00 guestimate
bath tile
One final comment: According to Tom Pellegrin's own Home Remodeling Contract, All claims or disputes between the Contractor and the Owner arising out of or relating to the Contract, or the breach thereof, shall be decided by independent third party arbitration in accordance with the Better Business Bureau unless the parties mutually agree otherwise. Because of chronic problems in facilitating the completion of our home and because we must move into this home by October 31, 2004, What Mr. Pellegrin failed to mention when we signed this contract is that he is not a member of the BBB and, therefore, any third party arbitration involving the BBB is not a possibility. I feel this is a very misleading statement in Mr. Pelegrin's contract.
There is even more examples and problems which I have not discussed, but do not have the time to go into. I will forward supporting documents for this via email. Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
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BBB OF METROPOLITAN HOUSTON
1333 W. Loop South Ste. 1200, Houston, TX 77027
713-868-9500 FAX 713-867-4947 [email protected]
November 10, 2004
RE: #60000374 - Toms Home Improvements
We have reviewed the facts presented by both sides in your above
mentioned case. We are closing your case today. We understand that you were displeased with the companies response to your complaint. We welcome you to pursue your other options at this time. If there is something more you are wanting from the company, you will need to pursue through the court.
You may wish to file in Small Claims Court at 713.755.5137. This is actually the best first step before going to small claims court. This will show that you made an effort to resolve the issues. The company report will be unsatisfactory for the next three years.
Please contact me with any additional questions or concerns.
Regards,
Dispute Resolution Specialist
Greater Houston Better Business Bureau
1333 W. Loop South, Suite 1200
Houston, TX 77027
713.341.6117 Phone
713.867.4947 Fax
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Despite the BBB giving Tom's Home Improvement an unsatisfactory report in November, 2004, the problems just got worse. Below is a copy of an email I sent Tom Pellegrin in March, 2005. Absolutely nothing mentioned in this email has been addressed as of April 15, 2005:
This email serves as a reminder and summary of what we discussed yesterday when you were at the house. As discussed yesterday, by 5 PM on Sunday, March 20, 2005, you are responsible for finishing 100% of:
1. The interior of the house (with exception of the front door). This includes all plumbing including leak tests and replacing the mildewed and wet areas resulting from the Mastertub leaking. This leak went undetected for 2 months because a leak test was not preformed and the overflow drain leaked because you bought the wrong type of drain. As you have been told, since so much of the sheetrock was wet and damaged, I started opening-up the sheetrock to dry it out. As you know, the quicker the sheetrock can be dried, the less damage will occur. It is very disappointing that you could not find time in your weekend to assist in minimizing the damage you were responsible for in the first place. Most of the baseboards already have mold on them, as the Mastertub has been leaking since December, when we returned to the house.
2. The continuation of the porch in a northern direction in an effort to hide the projection of bricks which are present because you did not following the architectural plans. The fact that you want to charge us $1,300.00 for fixing and camouflaging what you messed-up is outrageous.
3. The Hardiplank gaps and cracks as discussed last Fall which are a result of your crew not applying the Hardiplank to specs.
Yesterday, you said [if you say lawyer], I'll start walking. Somehow I managed to suppress my Do you promise? comment, but I definitely inferred from your statement that if we mentioned the lawyer word around you, then you were threatening to leave the job completely. Which would be very easy for you, considering we have paid you upfront for almost all the work you have done. But what is interesting about your comment is that you didn't say anything like OK, I get it; I'll get the work done or Gee, I'm sorry I didn't do the leak test on your bathtub and you have mold in your brand new house which you have just spent $200K on removing, but I'll take care of it. What you did say to me two times was I want to finish this house more than you which makes absolutely no sense because the only person responsible for finishing this house is YOU. So what are you waiting for?!
Yesterday's water disaster was directly related to you not performing as outlined in your own contract. You must supervise your helpers when they are here. Talking to other clients on the phone for almost an hour while standing on the sidewalk is not supervision. I know this because I was the one who had to tell your helpers to take off the outlet covers, instead of spackling over them, as well as telling them to use a drop cloth, only to see them resume painting UNDER the drop cloth which indicates they don't even know what a drop cloth is. Why didn't you notice this first instead of me? I'm the one paying you to do this, remember? There is more paint on our antique kitchen chairs that you need to remove, by the way.
What is your plan to finish this project??!!
=================================
April 15, 2005: Most of our sheetrock/tile/insullation in the downstairs bathroom had to be removed because of the plumbing mistakes which Tom Pellegrin was responsible for overseeing. Sheetrock is also removed in the foyer, hallway and office because of mold relating to this leak.
But the good thing is, once the sheetrock was removed, it became obvious that the steam sauna was put in incorrectly, so certain parts were moved around to correct the problems or else the sauna would not have lasted too many months. Of course, I had to pay someone to fix Mr. Pellegrins mistakes. Also, every single one of our kitchen doors and bookcase doors have warped. These were supposed to be guaranteed not to warp (except for the two largest doors). Again, Tom is ignoring requests to correct this. What is unbelievable is that kitchen cabintry is his area of expertise!
We have not heard from Mr. Pellegrin for awhile. He still insists that we pay him $1,300.00 to cover his brick mistake along the porch.
JEN
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
This complaint is a business complaint involving the contracting of home remodeling services in Houston Texas.
According to Tom Pellegrin's own Home Remodeling Contract which was signed by Mr. Pellegrin, my husband and me on November 23, 2003, All claims or disputes between the Contractor and the Owner arising out of or relating to the Contract, or the breach thereof, shall be decided by independent third party arbitration in accordance with the Better Business Bureau unless the parties mutually agree otherwise. Because of chronic problems in facilitating the completion of our home and because we must move into this home by October 31, 2004, I am filing a formal "express complaint" to the BBB.
We hired Tom Pellegrin to re-build our house last November. Over $200,000.00 dollars will be routed through Mr. Pellegrin to pay for almost costs associated with this project. There is an insurance claim associated with the house. There are approximately $30,000.00 in funds to be released to the home owners and Mr. Pellegrin upon completion of the project. Mr. Pellegrin has not been able to provide us with information as to how he plans to finish the house. The only thing that is almost completed is the sheetrocking and painting, except the final coat. Much of the electrical work has been done, but there is still a lot more to do. Some of the built-in cabinets have been started, but that is all.
Mr. Pellegrin is not responding consistently to our many requests to keep us posted as to the status of the project. We have requested this verbally and in emails dated 08/19/04, 08/22/04, 08/30/04, 09/15/04, 09/22/04 (we can provide copies of these emails).
Mr. Pellegrin is not consistently addressing issues relating to correcting work that has already been paid for. Mr. Pellegrin has not responded to some or all of these requests in emails dated 08/30/04, 09/02/04, 09/06/04, 9/28/04 (we can provide copies of these emails).
Because of Mr. Pellegrin's failure to expedite the completion of this project, we are having to pay $3600.00 per month in rent until the house is completed. We now must move out by October 31, 2004. He has quit once and has threatened to quit several times. Although he now says he hasn't quit, he isn't facilitating the day-to-day work required to return to our home by the end of October, which is already many months overdue. I feel our family is in a hostage situation because of Mr. Pellegrin's failure to complete the project in a responsible manner.
Because of Mr. Pellegrin's inability or unwillingness to express either orally or in writing his plans for finishing the house, we are having to pay someone to facilitate the completion of the second floor so it will be ready for move-in. We have two boys 6 and 8 years old that need a decent room to sleep in by October 31. This person charges $75.00/hour, and we will pay her several thousand dollars for her services. She has arranged a tile contractor and a carpenter to finish those areas of work on the second floor. Mr.Pellegrin has approved this, and is adding a percentage on top of the amount the carpenter is charging for a supervisors fee. Keep in mind, the reason these sub-contractors had to be hired in the first place is because Mr. Pellegrin did not have a plan regarding how he was going to finish the house, knowing we had to move-in by Octover 31. However, there is still the downstairs to complete and the pouring of the concrete for the driveways and numerous other things that must be completed by Mr. Pellegrin, including correcting many problems.
We have numerous and serious concerns about Mr. Pellegrin's work in the following areas:
1) Work should proceed in an orderly day-by-day manner to completion per the Home Remodeling Contract signed November 23, 2003.
Mr. Pellegrin has not been seen working out our house since last Tuesday, Sept. 28 around 10:45 AM. On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Pellegrin spoke to Mr. Nance and said he was taking a few days off. The next day, it was the understanding of one of the sub-contractors that Mr. Pellegrin was to pay him for materials, but Mr. Pellegrin was not available.
Our neighbors, including stay-at-home mothers, indicate to us within the past 10 months there have been myriad days when no workers have been at the house. We have observed this as well. Mr. Pellegrin claims he was waiting for selections or materials during this time; however, this house was completely rebuilt including the pouring of the foundation and the addition of new bricks to replace the old. We feel Mr. Pellegrin should not stop the forward progression of the entire project because he is waiting for a bathtub (as only one example).
2) According to the contract, Contractor shall have sole responsibility for and authority to deal with any and all subcontractors. Mr. Pellegrin had to fire his primary subcontractor, Mike, for poor workmanship on the framing of the house and the HardiPlank installation. This was Mr. Pellegrin's idea, not ours. However, Mr. Pellegrin has not been responsible for fixing the problems which Mike did such a poor job on. Obviously, if someone is fired because he has chronically produced poor work, then that work needs to be corrected by a competent person. We feel Mr. Pellegrin is responsible for that. We have copies of numerous emails addressing some of these areas which Mr. Pellegrin has failed to take responsibility for.
Another example of Mr. Pellegrin not being responsible for the sub-contractors concerns the floor tilers. I told the tilers myself I saw problems with the tiling and called Mr. Pellegrin about talking to the tillers before the tile was dry. Apparently, this wasn't done, as now tile needs to be removed and replaced along with the addition of more grout, per his own assessment of the problem. I have asked you when this will be corrected, and you have not given me a response. I told Mr. Pellegrin I did not want this sub-contractor to do the tiling in the bathrooms because of the poor workmanship and communication problems I was having with the owner of the company. I asked Mr. Pellegrin to get other quotes for the tiling yet to be done, and he has failed to do that.
Also, the plumber did a horrendous job including having to relocate both the toilet drain and the shower drain in one bathroom after the foundation was poured. Two extremely large holes in our new foundation had to be drilled-out because of this. The toilet drain is still so close to the wall that one subcontractor said last week he wasn't sure a toilet could fit. Again, this highlights how Mr. Pellegrin is not closely monitoring his sub-contractors, or else this could have been prevented. Again, I requested another quote from a different plumber to finish that work, but he has fulfilled the request.
3) According to the contract, Owner shall provide at Owner's request partial and final release of liens obtained from any and all subcontracted personnel working on the Project. On September 24, 2004 , we made a formal request for Partial and final release of all liens obtained for any and all subcontracted personnel working on the house. To this date, we have received no release of lien information.
4) Mr. Pellegrin is not familiar with the city's building codes (this city does not have "deed restrictions"), which includes everything from knowing the required thickness of the sheetrock to knowing what hours workmen can work. Because of his unfamiliarity with these codes, he has been cited and fined numerous times for code violations. However, he has said we are the ones responsible for paying them.
5) Mr. Pellegrin has been asked numerous times both verbally and in writing, to pick-up the trash at the project and keep the home secure (e.g., keep windows closed and locked). This continues to be a problem, especially with the trash. The dates of these emails are 04/13/04, 06/08/04, 07/17/04, 08/11/04, 08/18/04, 08/24/04. Copies of these emails can be furnished.
We have always paid Mr. Pellegrin promptly and he has always accepted money promptly.
We would like to initiate a Complaint Express through the BBB of Houston in hopes of resolving the above issues promptly.
Sincerely,
Homeowners in Houston, TX 77219
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Mr. Pellegrin's letter of October 14, 2004 regarding the above captioned case is not acceptable to me and actually supports my major complaints regarding his work on my home. His response to my October 4, 2004 email to the BBB (which is very similar to the email I sent him on September 24, 2004 which he never responded to) is clearly, one of the most perfect examples of why it has been so difficult, almost impossible, to do business with Mr. Pellegrin.
My observation is supported by the following:
1. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response does he address issue #2 in my original letter to the BBB. This relates to Mr. Pellegrin being responsible for his subcontractors and how he plans to correct numerous mistakes made by the head carpenter which he had to fire (which was Mr. Pellegrin's initiative, not mine). As an example, we have had to pay almost $300.00 to re-install both pull-down stairs to the attic. Many of the doors in the new addition of the house were framed incorrectly, so we had to purchase the more expensive 3 trim around all the doors to cover the errors.
In Mr. Pellegrin's October 14 letter to the BBB, he claims My subcontractors also recognize that she is very difficult because of some of her requests. This comment has absolutely nothing to do with any of the issues I have had with Mr. Pellegrin. However, since he mentioned it, I feel I must address his comment. Firstly, I want a list of these subcontractors whom I have spoken with. I had only one conversation with the plumber within the first few days of him starting the project. He told me that my home design was the best he had ever seen with regards to plumbing. Absolutely no requests or communications have been made with him, despite the numerous problems we have had with the plumbing. I spoke with the tiler on only one occasion, and asked him to make sure the corners of the tiles were level with the floor. As stated in my previous letter, I then called Mr. Pellegrin about talking to the tilers before the tile was dry. Apparently, this wasn't done, as now tile needs to be removed and replaced along with the addition of more grout, per Mr. Pellegrin's own assessment of the problem. The framer that Mr. Pellegrin eventually fired told my husband and I that he was not allowed to talk with us, per Mr. Pellegrin. The painters were done in 2-3 days and we never needed to discuss any change orders with the paint. We did discuss errors the framer had made to which the owner of the painting company said I wish I had met you earlier, you would have had a better house..
The only subcontractor I have ever seen talked to more than once was the electrician. Several of the lights had to be repositioned because they weren't aligned correctly. Some light switches were not put close enough to the corners of the walls, so I asked him to relocate them.
I have two brothers who are master electricians. One has had his own electrical business for over 15 years. Both brothers assured me that any requests I made to the electricians were valid because they followed best practices. They said I was paying premium prices for electrical services so I should get that quality of service. They also asked me why the builder wasn't supervising the electricians close enough to catch these errors quickly before it became costly and time-consuming to correct them. Other examples of electrical work that still needs to be corrected : One of the two electrical outlets for the pair of sconces needs to be repositioned because one is a couple of inches closer to the wall than the other (obviously, sconces need to be symmetrical.) Also, one of the two electrical outlets for the pair of lights over the kitchen sink has to be repositioned because one is a couple of inches closer to the kitchen cabinet than the other (obviously, this pair of lights need to be symmetrical.) This means the new sheetrock will have to be patched and repaired, which is almost always visible to the eye.
If Mr. Pellegrin were doing his job and supervising the subcontractors, I wouldn't have to make any contact with them. The only subcontractors I have seen while Mr. Pellegrin was in the house was the electrician and the carpenter. Usually, only one subcontractor at a time is working without Mr. Pellegrin in sight. Typically, most home builders use several crews at once working on different parts of the house. Otherwise, it takes a very long time to finish a home. Since Mr. Pellegrin is not supervising his subcontractors close enough, I am having to do it to the best of my ability. However, I have never, without an exception, raised my voice in even the slightest to anyone working on the house, ever. I have never had a tone or attitude with anyone and have treated everyone with respect. Mr. Pellegrin has been the only individual on the job site, without exception, that has ever been disrespectful, and that was towards me. He has yelled at me at loudly as possible in front of my husband, Mr. Pellegrin's own workers and additional workers I have had to hire to get the project completed. I have had to excuse myself from the room when it became obvious he couldn't regain his composure.
As far as Mr. Pellegrin's remark all the people on this project have had to endure additional costs because of the stop-start nature of this project: There are only two people enduring these costs long term, and that is Mr. and Mrs. Nance. Apparently, Mr. Pellegrin feels it is unreasonable when I expect best practices to be followed with regards to the construction work and supplies. In my own line of work, I am a professional. I welcome anyone to ask questions, request explanations, even quiz me on my knowledge. I don't disappear or avoid someone just because they may have expectations for me. I am confident in what I do. I know I am following best practices and extremely knowledgeable. My builder and the owners of the subcontracting companies state they are professionals, too. A true professional will not be intimidated by a client expecting best practices for work that is being well paid for.
Mr. Pellegrin wrote in the January 14 email: I know that during the course of construction there will be changes that are necessary as well as wanted. Believe me I am not discouraging changes. According to the signed contract and Mr. Pellegrin's own email, this is our right and something he did not discourage. Mr. Pellegrin's whines he spent probably 4 hours determining concrete elevations and then we decided to use tile instead of concrete floors. But what he didn't mention was that he wasn't knowledgeable of concrete floors. When pressed for details about the concrete, it became obvious that Mr. Pellegrin did not have significant theoretical background knowledge or practical experience in this type of concrete application to make us feel he could do an adequate job on the floor. Mr. Pellegrin's lack of knowledge and experience was why we cancelled the concrete floor and the undermounted tub, as well. By that time, my husband and I were starting to notice many problems associated with the house. We were afraid he wasn't competent in certain areas. What Mr. Pellegrin did not forward to the BBB was my email response to his complaint regarding those 4 hours which was I completely understand about the change order costs. Please add-in your time for researching the stained concrete. Basically, we paid him to be schooled about concrete tiles.
Mr. Pellegrin goes into detail about the bathtub I ordered myself in order to save money. As Mr. Pellegrin says, it was delivered in early July. However, Mr. Pellegrin fails to mention that he did not install the bathtub until mid August, over a month after it was delivered.
2. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response to my letter does he address issue #3 in my original letter to the BBB which relates to my September 24, 2004 request to Mr. Pellegrin for partial and final release of liens for all subcontracted personnel working on the house. About 10 days ago, he did supply to my husband a list of check numbers, check amounts and to whom checks were paid. This was his personal list; not from his bank. There is no evidence these checks were ever paid. Even though a check may be cancelled by a vendor, it means nothing unless there is a release of lien on the property from that vendor. According to the builder's own contract, the builder shall provide at Owner's request partial and final release of liens obtained from any and all subcontracted personnel working on the Project.
On October 29, Mr. Pellegrin gave my husband a single stack of approximately 200 cancelled checks which had been copied. He states these checks were written to vendors for materials and labor on our house. Each check had been cut-out by hand to the size of approximately 1.25 x 3, requiring a magnifying glass to read the checks. One of the reasons Mr. Pellegrin said he could not furnish a lien was because it was so time consuming [to call a vendor and ask for a partial or full lien, I suppose]. However, cutting out 200 checks must have involved a significant amount of time.
According to Texas Property Code 162.007, a contractor is required to maintain an account record for the construction account that provides information ensuring that all deposit and disbursement documentation includes the construction account number or information that provides a direct connection between the documentation and the account. Of the 200 checks we were given, less than twenty (20) had our last name written in the memo section. There is one check payable to Home Depot with two names on it which appear to be Krum(?). Less than 7 had a number which may have been an invoice number or it could have been Mr. Pellegrin's builder number. I couldn't tell. For all the other checks, how does one know whether-or-not that check is to be applied to our account. For example, there are 25 checks payable to Grograns Building Supply; however, only six checks have Nance written on them. It's obvious that Mr. Pellegrin is knowledgeable about how to document checks so they relate to the appropriate client, as he does it with 25% of the checks issued to this Company. Remember, there is only one Construction Trust Account for several clients, so it's easy to get things confused.
3. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response to my letter does he address issue #4 which relates to Mr. Pellegrin being familiar with the City building codes. Since my letter to the BBB, I had to bring to the sub-contractors attention that there needed to be another bottom step to the stairs to meet code. This should not be my responsibility but the contractors; however, following codes continues to be a problem.
4. Absolutely nowhere in his two page response to my letter does he address issue #5 which relates to Mr. Pellegrin being responsible for picking-up the trash at the project. A couple of days before his letter to the BBB, he finally got another dumpster and cleaned up the yard somewhat. Unfortunately, this included discarding the materials we had paid for and were saving to re-build the children's fort. My husband, kids and I spent up to 7 hours finishing the clean-up. There was and still is plastic in the yard, nails, cardboard boxes in the house that needed to be discarded, etc. There is trash on the ground and always cups and wrappers from fast-food establishments. I saw a cockroach in the house last night which is quite unbelievable considering it a brand new home. It was an indication of all the food and drinks that have been brought into the house and not discarded properly. Mr. Pellegrin is responsible for keeping the area clean on a day to day basis. This is a requirement for builders in the West University area. My neighbors continue to complain about it, especially since the home being built adjacent to ours keeps their yard cleaned at all times.
5. In his two page response to my letter, he writes one sentence to address his refusal to answer requests to keep us posted as to the status of the project. The sentence: [The homeowner] has been derogatory to me personally.I have tried to ignore such insults and because of this she feels that I am not communicating.
Again, this is a beautiful example of why it is almost impossible to get anything accomplished with Mr. Pellegrin. 100% of any perceived insults relating to Mr. Pellegrin were in email form and between the people who signed this contract: Mr. Pellegrin, my husband and I. No one else was copied. It is my right, as a US citizen, to write whatever I want to Mr. Pellegrin as he is of legal age, almost 60-years-old, and it was a private communication between adults. I highly recommend anyone ignoring email insults as Mr. Pellegrin said he did; however, he also ignored his responsibility to address issues as they relate to the house. This is demonstrated in numerous unanswered emails not only from me, but my husband; these emails had no trace of insult and are actually quite tolerant and kind considering we are funneling over $200,000.00 thru this man who can't seem to account for his plans for finishing the house. I wonder what Mr. Pellegrin's response is to why he didn't address many of my husbands concerns.
What is definitely not a protected right is slandering others. Mr. Pellegrin said in his response letter that Several [suppliers] have mentioned to me that when they see her come in their place of business that the representatives avoid her because she is a problem to deal with and unreasonable. Again, this has absolutely nothing to do with the complaint or our project. However, since Mr. Pellegrin opened this topic, I'd like to address it. What Mr. Pellegrin doesn't know is that I have been in only one (1) supplier on more than one occasion since this project has started. I have called two suppliers between 2-4 times. It's the year 2004, people find the item they want on the internet, go to a supplier for one time only, and then go home and order on the internet. This saves taxes and shipping. The only supplier I have physically walked into on more than one occasion is Westheimer Supply and Plumbing. I went in their store on 2-3 occasions and worked with BB. Naturally, I called BB after receiving Mr. Pellegrin's response. She said she remembered me. I asked her how many times she recalls seeing me, she says 2-3 times. I asked her was I unreasonable, hard to get along with. She said no, her shop gears to the retail market. She said I knew what I wanted and knew a lot about plumbing. (I had almost all my model numbers on paper; most of what she had to do was enter them into her computer and make a commission off of it.) I asked her how she remembered me so quickly when I mentioned Tom Pellegrin's name. She said it was because recently, Mr. Pellegrin, she and many others were at a trade party. Tom was telling she and others how difficult and unreasonable I was etc., ---and this is putting it diplomatically. Mr. Pellegrin was there, so he knows what he said, too. Mr. Pellegrin used my real name and didn't even try to be discrete, much less professional. Mr. Pellegrin does not have a right to say those things about me to other individuals. Otherwise, it is slander, which is not a constitutional right but an offense. He is free to say anything he wants directly to me, but not to others. Apparently, many of the people I am actually paying a lot of money to have heard Mr. Pellegrin's ramblings about how awful I am and how I am making his life miserable. This is coming from the #1 person who is in charge of rebuilding my house---our most important and most expensive material possession.
Another example of Mr. Pellegrin's inability to be professional concerns a man at the lumbar yard. After telling the man Tom was my builder, we spent about 20 minutes looking at wood together. When I turned to leave, this man said Tom had said I was hard to please, etc, etc, but he then added but you aren't so bad. To which I replied I want you to remember that I didn't say a single negative word about Tom, other than he was my builder. I feel this says a whole lot about my character, as well as Mr. Pellegrin's character. I am prepared to seek legal action if Mr. Pellegrin does not immediately cease slandering me.
The following is an exact copy of the October 6, 2004 email Mr. Pellegrin sent me regarding his plans to finish the house. No other info was sent with the email. The lack of detail and thought is painfully obvious. Again, over $200,000.00 through this company, and this is the only recent plan we have gotten from Tom. No area of work is finished at this time (e.g., electrical; plumbing, tiling, etc.); however, there is no info on any of these areas that he is responsible for. I think only one item has been completed from this entire list. It's now November 2, and he has not communicated with us other than this list, as to how he is to finish the house.
Week of 10/4
refergator cabinet
book cases
utility room door
angle iron for cat walk
shower pan
drawers and pullouts
order cabinet doors
Week of 10/11
complete trim around cabinets
laundry chute
Cat walk
stain cabinets and finish
Week of 10/18
Install cab doors and hardware
install drawers and pull outs
install knobs
And this is a listing of accounting update. Notice the lack of detail. We have asked Mr. Pellegrin to itemize the cost of things so we know what we are paying for, but he hasn't responded to our request.
Item amount remarks
contract fab $ 477.45
correct electric $ 3,000.00 due at completion
correct electric $ 1,259.90 dimmers & Switches
Hicks Plumbing $ 3,150.00 orginal contract balance
paint $ 1,600.00
Jessie $ 1,135.00 labor
jose
granite $ 2,535.00 bathrooms
shoba $ 705.00
cabinet doors $ 1,800.00 estimated
westheimer plumbing $ 1,144.74
cabinet hardware $ 350.00
other cabinet $ 500.00
Texas Air Care $ 491.69 7000 pd 10/8
THI $ 3,345.70
THI Mgt Fee $ 2,296.00
catwalk material $ 1,000.00
dumpster $ 389.70
kitchen granite $ 2,500.00 guestimate
bath tile
One final comment: According to Tom Pellegrin's own Home Remodeling Contract, All claims or disputes between the Contractor and the Owner arising out of or relating to the Contract, or the breach thereof, shall be decided by independent third party arbitration in accordance with the Better Business Bureau unless the parties mutually agree otherwise. Because of chronic problems in facilitating the completion of our home and because we must move into this home by October 31, 2004, What Mr. Pellegrin failed to mention when we signed this contract is that he is not a member of the BBB and, therefore, any third party arbitration involving the BBB is not a possibility. I feel this is a very misleading statement in Mr. Pelegrin's contract.
There is even more examples and problems which I have not discussed, but do not have the time to go into. I will forward supporting documents for this via email. Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
-----------------------------
BBB OF METROPOLITAN HOUSTON
1333 W. Loop South Ste. 1200, Houston, TX 77027
713-868-9500 FAX 713-867-4947 [email protected]
November 10, 2004
RE: #60000374 - Toms Home Improvements
We have reviewed the facts presented by both sides in your above
mentioned case. We are closing your case today. We understand that you were displeased with the companies response to your complaint. We welcome you to pursue your other options at this time. If there is something more you are wanting from the company, you will need to pursue through the court.
You may wish to file in Small Claims Court at 713.755.5137. This is actually the best first step before going to small claims court. This will show that you made an effort to resolve the issues. The company report will be unsatisfactory for the next three years.
Please contact me with any additional questions or concerns.
Regards,
Dispute Resolution Specialist
Greater Houston Better Business Bureau
1333 W. Loop South, Suite 1200
Houston, TX 77027
713.341.6117 Phone
713.867.4947 Fax
----------------------------
Despite the BBB giving Tom's Home Improvement an unsatisfactory report in November, 2004, the problems just got worse. Below is a copy of an email I sent Tom Pellegrin in March, 2005. Absolutely nothing mentioned in this email has been addressed as of April 15, 2005:
This email serves as a reminder and summary of what we discussed yesterday when you were at the house. As discussed yesterday, by 5 PM on Sunday, March 20, 2005, you are responsible for finishing 100% of:
1. The interior of the house (with exception of the front door). This includes all plumbing including leak tests and replacing the mildewed and wet areas resulting from the Mastertub leaking. This leak went undetected for 2 months because a leak test was not preformed and the overflow drain leaked because you bought the wrong type of drain. As you have been told, since so much of the sheetrock was wet and damaged, I started opening-up the sheetrock to dry it out. As you know, the quicker the sheetrock can be dried, the less damage will occur. It is very disappointing that you could not find time in your weekend to assist in minimizing the damage you were responsible for in the first place. Most of the baseboards already have mold on them, as the Mastertub has been leaking since December, when we returned to the house.
2. The continuation of the porch in a northern direction in an effort to hide the projection of bricks which are present because you did not following the architectural plans. The fact that you want to charge us $1,300.00 for fixing and camouflaging what you messed-up is outrageous.
3. The Hardiplank gaps and cracks as discussed last Fall which are a result of your crew not applying the Hardiplank to specs.
Yesterday, you said [if you say lawyer], I'll start walking. Somehow I managed to suppress my Do you promise? comment, but I definitely inferred from your statement that if we mentioned the lawyer word around you, then you were threatening to leave the job completely. Which would be very easy for you, considering we have paid you upfront for almost all the work you have done. But what is interesting about your comment is that you didn't say anything like OK, I get it; I'll get the work done or Gee, I'm sorry I didn't do the leak test on your bathtub and you have mold in your brand new house which you have just spent $200K on removing, but I'll take care of it. What you did say to me two times was I want to finish this house more than you which makes absolutely no sense because the only person responsible for finishing this house is YOU. So what are you waiting for?!
Yesterday's water disaster was directly related to you not performing as outlined in your own contract. You must supervise your helpers when they are here. Talking to other clients on the phone for almost an hour while standing on the sidewalk is not supervision. I know this because I was the one who had to tell your helpers to take off the outlet covers, instead of spackling over them, as well as telling them to use a drop cloth, only to see them resume painting UNDER the drop cloth which indicates they don't even know what a drop cloth is. Why didn't you notice this first instead of me? I'm the one paying you to do this, remember? There is more paint on our antique kitchen chairs that you need to remove, by the way.
What is your plan to finish this project??!!
=================================
April 15, 2005: Most of our sheetrock/tile/insullation in the downstairs bathroom had to be removed because of the plumbing mistakes which Tom Pellegrin was responsible for overseeing. Sheetrock is also removed in the foyer, hallway and office because of mold relating to this leak.
But the good thing is, once the sheetrock was removed, it became obvious that the steam sauna was put in incorrectly, so certain parts were moved around to correct the problems or else the sauna would not have lasted too many months. Of course, I had to pay someone to fix Mr. Pellegrins mistakes. Also, every single one of our kitchen doors and bookcase doors have warped. These were supposed to be guaranteed not to warp (except for the two largest doors). Again, Tom is ignoring requests to correct this. What is unbelievable is that kitchen cabintry is his area of expertise!
We have not heard from Mr. Pellegrin for awhile. He still insists that we pay him $1,300.00 to cover his brick mistake along the porch.
JEN
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
