I hired Ron Morgan of D&R Masonry and Concrete to finish some 3/4 divider walls in my office with glass block. He said no problem, it would be a quick job (4-5) days, and that cleanliness was important to him. He said he offered a 1 or 2 year warranty (I can't remember which, and I don't really care for reasons you'll see) on all of his work. Well I thought this sounded good, and since I am operating a business, cleanliness was important to me too. I can't have my clientele being covered in mortar dust when they come into my office.
Well, day 1 was great. He came and worked all day. Although his screaming at his wife the whole time was disconcerting. But, he is a construction worker, I thought. At the end of the day, about 9pm, I could see progress being made, and I was thrilled. But it was kind of dirty, and the driveway was a mess. Day 2 came around, more of the same. I told Ron that the cement mix that he had cleaned out of our driveway the day before (about 50 pounds worth) by spraying it with hose, and letting it puddle up on the sidewalk, had become a liability. Someone had slipped on it (wet cement mix is slick), and lulckily had not reported it. He sprayed the cement mix into the grass.
Day 3, a Thursday. Ron finished working late. It was a total mess in the office and the driveway. Despite assurances that he would bring dropcloths for the furniture, he had only brought one, and only on day 3. He and his wife hurridly slopped up some of the dust that had collected on the floor and left. When I came to inspect progress after they had left, it looked like a disaster site.
There was puddles of water all over my hardwood floors where they had apparently pushed a dripping wet mop around the floor. There was concrete spattered everywhere (including in rooms they had no business in). Closer inspection of the glass block revealed uneven joints, voids in the mortar, uneven wall-faces, and entire sections of wall that (2 days later) were wobbly and in danger of falling. Outside was even worse. I ended up with over 200 pounds of wasted cement mix that needed to dry and then be shoveled up and carted to the dump.in addition he left boxes strewn about the driveway (which proceeded to disintegrate in the rain).
Ron never returned to the job site, except in the early morning hours to collect his cement mixer from the driveway. He did not pick up any of the trash in the driveway, despite knowing how angry I was about the mess. He attempted to keep $350 for "special order" glass block, although he never delivered these blocks. Only after being called by the local Police Department did he return the money for that.
He made up excuses about why he could do the job, although one night I was told he didn't have time to talk to me about it because he was going to a Packer's game. I didn't hear from him until the following week. Sure, he'd return to finish that week. He never came. My attorney sent him notice that he had one week. He never came, and never called. Finally, three weeks after he was supposed to be done he writes me an email saying he will be there the next day to finish. I told him forget it, I'd had enough.
His mess and shoddy work left my business a shambles for my Grand Opening, and made my business look like a joke. The mess pissed off my neighbors, and some of my clients. If you would like to have someone do all that for you, then hire D&R Masonry and Concrete out of Oakfield/Fond du Lac, WI.
0 comments