Reed Masonry & Concrete Brian Clark

Review: This contractor was hired to repair walls, point front of house and install a light fixture in June. The job was supposed to take up to two weeks; he was here approximately 4 months. The house was not pointed correctly, i.e., mortar color and mixture wrong, he missed spots and inadequately filled in between the bricks. We had to hire another contractor at several thousands of dollars to repair what he had done. The walls that were just repaired by him now have cracks in them. There is a large receptacle of debris (bricks, stones,etc.) still sitting on our property. The garage door is marked with mortar and concrete spots. The driveway has cement on it from his work. The light fixture was not installed properly and we had someone else come in to do the job right. We have asked him several times to remove the debris and clean the garage door with no success in having him respond.Desired Settlement: - Haul away the debris that was left behind.- Clean garage door of cement/mortar.- Repair the cracks that are forming in the walls he just "repaired". Redo if necessary.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir or Madam:

This is in response to your letter dated November 8, 2013.

The following is the account of activity from your letter. I have added numbering so that

I may address each item individually.

Customer's Statement of the Problem:

[1] This contractor was hired to repair walls, point front of house and install a light

fixture in June. [2] The job was supposed to take up to two weeks; he was here

approximately 4 months. [3] The house was not pointed correctly, i.e., mortar color and

mixture wrong, he missed spots and inadequately filled in between the bricks. We had to

hire another contractor at several thousands of dollars to repair what he had done. [4]

The walls that were just repaired by him now have cracks in them. [5] There is a large

receptacle of debris (bricks, stones, etc.) still sitting on our property. [6) The garage door

is marked with mortar and concrete spots. The driveway has cement on it from his work.

[7) The light fixture was not installed properly and we had someone else come in to do

the job right. [*5] We have asked him several times to remove the debris and [*6]

clean

the garage door with no success in having him respond.

Desired Settlement:

-

[*5] Haul away the debris that was left behind.

-

[*6] Clean garage door of cement/mortar.

-

[*4] Repair the cracks that are forming in the walls he just “repaired”. Redo if

necessary.

[1] The estimate for the job was prepared on June 27, 2013 and was agreed to on July 6,

2013 by the customer. The contractor started the job the following Monday, July 8, 2013.

[2] Yes, the contractor was there for more than 2 weeks due to weather and other

circumstances, including Mrs. Customer’s request to have things redone, because she

didn't “like” it, even though it wasn’t finished and she didn’t see the “whole picture”.

[3] The contractor pointed the house and we received a downpour of rain causing the

mortar to run from between the bricks. The contractor attempted to remedy the situation

by using muriatic acid to clean up the mortar. The customers would not allow the

contractor to come back to remedy the situation.

The customer told the contractor that they were hiring another contractor to fix this and

requested $1,450 of their money be returned, which the contractor did so by check

number [redacted] drawn on[redacted] account on October 9, 2013. As the contractor was

returning money, written on the check was also the statement “paid in full, no recourse”.

The customer altered the face of the check by scratching out the statement. He also

signed the back of the check and cashed it. I have a copy of the duplicate check written

with the statement on it.

[4] The walls were repaired. Cracks appearing in these walls are hairline cracks, which

happens to concrete, especially living in the northern climate. In addition, the finish

covers these hairline cracks, that is why it was given a half-crescent finish. Therefore, the

contractor will not be returning to “fix” these hairline cracks.

In addition, the contractor repaired the back of the wall as requested by the customer,

which was not part of the contracted amount. The contractor paid for the labor and

materials for this out of his pocket.

[5] The “large receptacle of debris” the customer refers to is a 56 quart (14 gallon)

Rubbermaid container. The container was originally filled with debris from the job and

the lid was on it. Rocks and other debris was placed on top of the original debris and

made the container 2x the weight it was originally. In addition, the container was

“dropped off’ in the parking lot of the contractor’s residence sometime between 5:00pm

and 10:30pm Thursday, November 14, 2013. Since the “large receptacle of debris” has

been dumped in the parking lot of the contractor’s residence, there is no need for the

contractor to return to the customer’s to retrieve it.

[6] The markings on the garage door were there prior to this job; therefore, the contractor

will not be return to clean the garage door.

[7] The contractor purchased a light fixture, which Mrs. Customer decided she didn’t like.

The contractor put the light up until he could get a new fixture to replace the one he

purchased. The customer then hired someone else to put up a new fixture. The customer

requested an additional $75 from the contractor, which the contractor did so by

check drawn on [redacted] account on or around October 30, 2013. Again, as the contractor

was returning money, written on the check was the statement “paid in full, no recourse”.

He also have to cash this check.

If you have any additional questions please contact me.

Consumer

Response: