I will try to be as brief as possible and keep my emotions out of the following nightmare we have been through at the hands of Alessi Construction and Andrew Alessi, but it will be hard to do.
A pipe burst under our slab resulting in 20 ft. Of flooring and concrete having to be ripped up. Our insurance covered the plumbing repairs and subsequent damage so we felt this was the opportune time to invest additional money that we had been saving with the intention to one day update our home. Soon after the plumbing leak was repaired, we hired Alessi Construction in October for a home remodel including kitchen cabinets, counter tops, backsplash,
sheetrock, removing load bearing walls, paint, and floors. My husband and I were to hire our own plumbers and electricians (since the electrical and plumbing needed was minimal) and do all demo with the exception of removing the load bearing walls. We signed a fixed price contract in the amount of $38,900 and gave him an initial $12,500 deposit. Work started a few weeks later because there were "other jobs" ahead of ours.
At the initial signing of the contract we did not receive a copy of the contract or scope of work. Despite our repeated requests to obtain copies, we didn't receive copies of either until December when the job was almost complete. I know now that we should have demanded a copy of the contract and scope at the time of signing, but we were young, naive, and uneducated in the realm of contractors.
The contract specifically stated that Alessi Construction would handle all insurance drafts and they had all the insurance forms and paperwork and were in charge of sending them to the mortgage company and notifying us of when to schedule the progress inspections needed to release each draft. There would be a total of 3 drafts from insurance equaling roughly $20,000 and the remaining money was our own.
The contract also stated that there would be absolutely NO CHANGE ORDERS without written consent by BOTH parties. This was important because as we repeatedly told Alessi, we HAD to stay on budget. Anytime Alessi made a design or material suggestion, our first question was always, " Sounds great, but is it in the budget?"
In the middle of December Alessi said he needed the final insurance draft because he needed more money and that he would not be back to work on our house until he got a check. Up until this point we had given him $30,000, more than enough to have supplied the materials and labor that were currently put into our home. However, his wife who also works for him, was in charge of all the insurance drafts and had neglected to fax the correct paperwork to the mortgage company which delayed the final inspection thus delaying the final check. Regardless, work was not completed and they were not owed the final $3000 until a punch list was completed.
When the check finally arrived, I immediately called Alessi so that we could give it to him and get our house finished. When he came to get the check we asked him when they would be back to finish and he said tomorrow. We also pointed out some cracks and splits in the wood floors he had installed to which he said he'd be back to look at it. I'm embarrassed to say he convinced us to give him the remainder of the contract amount. Yes, I know... BIG MISTAKE! There was no more work done to our house. Items left to be finished were, thresholds, paint, crown, caulk, sheetrock sanding, clean up, and removal of tools, materials, machinery, and scaffolding.
The following month the 1000 sq. Ft. Of flooring he had installed had begun to buckle and crack everywhere. After calling him constantly, leaving messages, and knocking on his door he said he'd come back to look at the floors. On three separate occasions he set up a time to meet at our house and all three times he was a no call/no show. When he finally did come he acknowledged the horrible condition of the flooring and said it must be a manufacture defect with the flooring and he would submit a claim to where he purchased them from. He also had to pry up a few planks to send to the manufacturer which obviously left a whole in the kitchen floor. He stuck a few planks on top and covered it with some foam and tape.
The manufacture sent out a third party flooring inspector to look at the floors and we were told their report of findings would be supplied to Alessi since he was the one who purchased the floors. That was probably the last time we saw Andrew Alessi. He never returned our calls or supplied us with the results of the inspection.
The floors were getting very bad, buckling and cupping everywhere. The jagged and exposed edges even drew blood from my 2 year old's foot. While getting estimates to remove and replace all the floors, we discovered mold growing where the wood had been pried up. Because no moisture readings were done by Alessi as required per manufactures guidelines, whatever methods (if any) to control moisture were not done properly. Mold Air samples confirmed our worst fears. We had MOLD!
Soon after that we noticed that the area where Alessi had removed a load bearing wall and installed a glue lam beam was beginning to sag significantly even cracking the sheet rock around it. It sagged so much that a portion of the ceiling fell after a rainstorm. A personal friend, who is a building inspector came to look at my house because I was terrified that it would cave in at any moment. He advised us to brace it immedietly with 4x4's and not to, "let the kids hang out in this area". We were left no choice but to hire a structural engineer who determined that the beam Alessi had installed was nowhere near large enough to support the weight that it was under and HAD to be corrected.
Our $40,000 renovation had just left us with a house that we could no longer live in. We have very young children and we felt that the threat of mold and a compromised structure were too big of a risk to expose them to. We have since had to move in with my mother in another town and commute to work and school while we scrape funds to repair our home.
We have had to hire structural engineers, environmental engineers, mold remediation teams, and mold clearance testing firms just to name a few. We have had to and are still in the process of buying sheetrock, beams, 1000 sq. Ft. Of flooring, trim, paint, etc. It has been a year and we are still not back in our house. We are out of money.
The damage is more than I can possibly convey and Alessi has taken NO accountability for what he has done. One defense he made to the Louisiana Contractor's board was that we hired our own plumbers and that was the cause of the moisture in the slab. So we hired yet another company to do video of the pipes. No plumbing problems or leaks. Another defense, poor drainage on the outside of the house, so we hired a structural engineer who reported that all drainage is good and drains away from the house just as it should. Yet another defense, the house is poorly insulated so that caused moisture. Wrong again, Alessi. Two months prior to him ever beginning any work on our house we had a ridge vent installed and 2000 sq. Ft. Of blown in insulation put in the attic. More defenses, there were change orders that we owed him for. We NEVER approved or authorized ANY change orders. His excuses are endless.
We found out last week that the subcontractor who installed the counter tops was never paid. He only received an initial deposit. We gave Alessi Construction $38,900 (actually $38,899.30 because my math was off when giving him the last check that I should have held onto until work was complete) and hired our own plumbers and electricians and did all the demo, supplied all the appliances, fixtures, lights, sinks, faucets, insulation and now find out the counter tops aren't paid for either. Where did our money go?
The Louisiana Contractor's board held a hearing for Alessi Construction on February 1 in which they found him guilty but he was only put on probation. Probably because he had his attorney present to represent him whereas we are broke and couldn't afford to have an attorney there. I feel that his license should have been revoked because according to various professional reports he clearly didn't know what he was doing nor does he honor or abide by his own contract. However, I do think it is significant that my husband and I were able to go up against him and his attorney and still get a guilty verdict. There was no way for them to argue with the facts and reports we provided.
This was not Alessi's first time in front of the Contractor's board. He was found guilty and fined in December regarding another issue.
In case you're wondering about the flooring inspectors report, we were able to obtain a copy at the hearing. It was determined that Alessi had failed to do moisture readings prior to install in addition to not rolling the floors after they were put down thus resulting in a denial of the claim.
We trusted this contractor and have been paying for it ever sense. Financially, I don't think we will recover for a long, long time. Even if we attempted to sell our house we would have to disclose mold and structural problems that we had.
Our morale and bank accounts are shrinking by the day. He took our home, our children's college savings, our time, and our security. Be very careful if you ever decide to hire this man. Don't let him get a third victim.
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