Jason Hensel

VERY early on, Jason said he did not want to do one of the projects, digging a ditch, said I would be 'better off' hiring someone else as his specialty was carpentry. He provided a ONE day estimate to install vinyl seamless gutters on my home. He provided an estimate of TWO days to build two stalls in my barn, and to build a lean to shelter for my horses. He gave an estimate of ONE day for the brush clearing on the property. He provided a ONE day estimate for the remaining odd jobs I had - a french drain, installing a dryer vent, a door sweep, weedeating, and some chainsaw work. I asked again if he felt he could do it all in the 5 days, and if not, to let me know so we could adjust projects. He stated he could do it all in the 5 days. He kept insisting that it would take three days to replace sheetrock on ONE wall of my bathroom, an estimate that I still struggle with. H***, I can do it in three days! He is supposed to be a professional. He stated several times that he had a friend who could come help him and that I would have to pay that person the same amount as I was paying Jason. I refused. My ad on Craigslist specified ONE person only. First day, he spent a LOT of time unloading his tools into my barn. It was almost 1pm when he finally was able to start work. He began by stating that he really preferred to do carpentry work and that he did not want to do the french drain and the ditch digging, and advised me to locate someone else for that work. We went to the barn to compile a materials list for the stalls and the shelter, my two priority projects. He seemed to have some trouble grasping what I wanted to do with the stalls, so I drove him to a friend's place so he could see those stalls. We compiled a materials list for the stalls, and started one for the shelter. He suggested that I consider a different way of building the shelter and I explained that I only had enough money to do it one way, and that if it became too spendy, I would simply purchase a ready-made shelter instead. I also said if the stalls became too expensive or complicated, I would purchase portable stalls instead. We finally got two materials lists together and I headed to the store to get sheetrock for the bathroom and new wire for the barn, while he started in on moving two electrical outlets in the barn. He had stated that I needed to pick up new wire as the current wiring was touching metal siding in the barn, and gave me an estimate of a couple hours to do the stapling up of the wire and to replace a motion light. FIVE hours later, it still was not completed. It took another couple hours the next day, and an additional hour the 3rd day, and its still not completed! He also told me he would need to redo the facia on the front of the house,as it needed to be replaced before gutters were hung. I agreed, and he told me it would take ONE hour to remove the facia and 'a little bit longer' to replace it. TWO hours spent removing it, and at least TWO more to replace it. We had discussed an additional project, removing and reinstalling my sunroom ceiling, and he decided he wanted to start in on that before starting the gutters. He said it would only take an hour or so to remove the plywood ceiling and that we could reuse the wood, and it would only take a few hours to redo it. So, for a half day labor and some new trim, the ceiling could be replaced. He began work on that Sat morning, and FIVE hours later, had finally finished removing the ceiling. It later took him another FIVE hours to cut and install FIVE peices of plywood on that same ceiling!!! It is only half done, even now. Turns out we could not reuse the ceiling wood as they were cut on an angle. He should have realized that when he removed the first piece. So I had to purchase all new plywood. It took FAR too long to get this project even half done! His estimate to complete the last FOUR peices of plywood was another 4-5 hours, and that didnt even include the trim or the sides!!! Sat afternoon he started on the gutters, did one section in about an hour and I was very pleased. I left the house for THREE hours and when I returned, NOT much had been done - only about half the distance of the first section he had put up. I was not pleased. He finished the front section at dark, and I had to make an additional trip back to the store for MORE gutter material. 12 hours and not much accomplished. Sunday I asked him to finish the barn electrical first, then the gutters as there was a storm coming in. He chose to start in on the sunroom instead. FINALLY he began the gutters on the back side of the house, and was able to complete another short section in a little over an hour. He found another rotted area of facia and replaced it. He did NOT do it correctly, as there is a pushed up area in the shingles at that spot, and the vinyl underpinning of the eaves is pushed up in that area. When he went to the barn to work on the electric, it started shorting out in the electric box in my house. Nothing additional had been added, he had simply tacked up the new wire onto wood and I didnt understand why all of a sudden the garage door opener did not work, the fuse was shutting off in the house, and it took him TWO hours to fix it. He did not cover three of the outlet boxes in the barn, and even now they are not covered. We wasted an hour discussing his underestimating of these projects, and I expressed that I was concerned with the lack of progress and the amount of money I had spent on these projects, with none of them close to completion. His response was that sometimes things take longer, and I said its his job to know that, not mine. Monday morning I asked him how much longer it was going to take to finish JUST the ceiling on the sunroom, and he said another 4-5 hours and I said no. He asked me what I wanted him to do instead, and I said nothing, I am done. He packed up his tools, did NOT clean up his work areas, and presented me with his bill for $466. So....I paid $466 to have about 2/3 of my house guttered, the barn 'rewired', and the sunroom torn apart. One gutter leaks, there is a pushed up area in the shingles and a pushed up area in the eaves that was not there before he started, the barn electric is not finished and I have NO idea if its done correctly, my sunroom ceiling is in peices, I have sheetrock in the hallway, gutter material in the barn and against the house, plywood in the barn, a pile of lumber and plywood with many nails in it laying in the back yard, nails in the flower beds in the front yard, and NONE of my projects completed. Would I hire him again? NO. Would I recommend him? No. I believe he either underestimated intentionally, or underestimated due to inexperience. Regardless, I paid the price. I now have to hire someone else to finish the sunroom ceiling, check the wiring in the barn, and finish the gutters.