Hired for an extensive addition (1200ft2 addition to a 1000 ft2 existing home). Addition includes a new kitchen and upstairs master suite. Foundation crew (unrelated) finished March. Ol' Crafters start framing Apr. 2001. After month on job, behind schedule. Only James and his partner Wayne on the job the whole time (verbally promised at least a five man crew). Show up at 10 in the morning and leave 3 in afternoon is a typical work day for these guys. Month two, Jim is hospitalized with asthma. No work gets done because he refuses to sub contract to someone that knows what they're doing. Wayne is completly incompetent... Cannot wipe own ass without asking Jim how. Month 3, still framing new addition.
First light that these guys are really no good. Jim is given money to order roof trusses. I do not see trusses until next month. He keeps giving excuses why they have not been delivered. I call truss manufacturer and find he never placed order. Caught in first lie... He is spending material money on other things. Roof trusses finally get put on beginning month 4.
Month 4 they remove half of existing roof. They leave for the weekend and Sunday night it rains 8 inches. 50 yr. Oak floors in the livingroom are ruined. Total cost to my insurance $10000. Seems the place was not tarped worth a damn. Thanks Ol' Crafters!
Month 5 sees the last of the framing (still no framing inspection) except the stairs... Yes the stairs were not originally framed in. Ol Crafter's bright idea was to frame in 2x12 ceiling joists and later cut joists to add in the stairs later. I would have fired these idiots a long time ago but I was so worried about getting dried in.
Month six, roof gets put on and siding is subcontracted out and done in three days. Still no stairs. This is the time of the big blow up.
Jim tells me he needs $3500 to pay the siding contractor up front before the contractor will start. I write the check to Jim. Days later just before the siding contractor is finished Jim is asking me for $5000 for the sheetrock contractor. Keep in mind that we have not passed one inspection. No framing, electrical, plumbing or mechanical..."How are we going to put up sheetrock when no f&ing inspections have been completed?", I cheerfully ask Ol' Crafters. "Well we need to get into they're routine", I'm told. So, this is where the screaming started and lasted a good hour. I find out later from the siding contractor that day that they have not been paid a dime. I end up feeling so bad that I pay them out of my pocket.
At this point, I am threatening Ol' Crafters with a lawsuit. We agree that we will mutually break the existing contract if Jim pays me back the $3500 for the siding contractor whom he never paid.
My lawyer draws up the paperwork. Jim gives me 700 in cash and a $500 check. The check bounces (surprise!) but he Moneygrams me the $500 a few days later. My lawyer draws up a $2300 note secured by Jim's 97' pickup. The note is to be due the 12211. Jim has defaulted. He says that the check is in the mail. Yeah, I've heard that one before. Thanks Ol Crafters! We are currently after the truck that was put up as collateral.
In the meantime, I have hired a competent contractor. So far, it has cost me about $10000 to just fix the work performed by Ol' Crafters (mostly framing) to pass inspection.
I have taken the time to write this to save someone else the headache and heartache involved with this vulture.
Beware of james (jim) shelby and wayne mcshan and ol' crafters!!!
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