DODDER CONSTRUCTION

Description of Work: Accepted offer of home energy audit through LivingSocial. First appointment with a Dustin Hollingshead on 6/21/2011. He went into the attic and into the crawl space. He first did something with my thermostat in the hallway (the AC was not on at that time). While in the garage he proceeded to drill holes in the vent pipes of my furnace and water heater (both natural gas). When I objected he proceeded anyway saying he would "put a screw in the hole" to stop air leaking or ?, I never received a specific answer. He stuck a long metal probe into each hole and watched a dial on a hand-held instrument. He turned the water heater dial to cause the heater to heat fast. After all this he gave me a story about my heat/AC ducts being improperly installed, and that my insulation was "not up against the floor," but made no other comments about any other problem under the house, as he wanted "my partner" with an "IR Camera" to come for further evaluation. The second guy, Jason Guinn, came on 6/27/2011 at 2 p.m. He also went into the attic for maybe a minute, then into the crawl space for about two minutes. When he came out of the crawl space he began aiming a hand-held device toward walls and windows claiming the "red" showed "heat" and where I was "missing insulation" (device did not show a temperature). He claimed the "Knee wall" facing east in a dormer-type skylight had no insulation, and that the existing insulation, both in the attic and crawl spaces, were inadequate. Then he flashed a couple photos at me, taken with a cell phone camera, from "the crawl space" showing insulation pulled down from around a heat/AC duct. He would not let me hold his phone with the photos so I could look at it more closely. He would just flash about three different views then put the phone-camera into his pocket. (He did that twice the second time when I asked to see the photos.) Then.... he began his real pitch. He prepared a "Construction Agreement Between Owner and Contractor" of all the things my home required for insulation including a major reworking of the heat/AC ducts. When all done it was $4,209 with "coupons applied." This was to include: "second supply duct vent to master bedroom, $275, Additional floor insulation, $1545, Supply & return duct sealing, $309, align duct system for better airflow, $175, air seal crawl space penetrations, $358, air seal 6 canned lights, $294, add attic insulation to R-49, $556, and insulate & air seal knee walls, $697." He, Jason, sat at my dining table and tried every known sale closing tactic I've ever been taught. He did not want to take no, or I'll think about it for an answer. By then it was after 5:30 p.m. (he arrived at 2 p.m.). When I could finally get him out of here and look at the details, as well as deliberate what had transpired with the two guys I was really irritated. Both of these guys had represented themselves as being "partners" as ownership of Eco Homes. Now comes the truth: first, if the insulation was "falling down" as claimed by the quickly flashed photos, why didn't the first guy even mention it? Then, evening when the first guy was here my hands were nearly scalded because the water heater thermostat had not been returned to where it had been before Dustin changed it. It was at maximum temperature! I was becoming increasingly skeptical, then a couple days after Jason had been here my AC would not even turn on (the weather had not been hot yet so I was not using the AC, it had not been touched after Jason was here until that late afternoon). My system is regularly maintained by a reputable HVAC company so I knew there should be nothing wrong with it. When the temperature indoors reached 80 degrees, I called the number I had for Eco Homes and reached a "Todd" who was in McCall and not willing to repair the damage Eco Homes caused. I finally convinced him he had better get one of their repair people here and fast! Around 11 p.m. someone from another company came then claimed it was "the batteries" in the thermostat that failed. Well, my regular company had recently been here. They check EVERYTHING and there had been no "low battery" warning on the thermostat. One of the two guys, either Dustin or Jason, did something to cause an overload which blew out the batteries. Nothing else could have happened. And Eco Homes will get that bill because they caused the problem. Becoming highly suspicious of the "flashed" photos I was shown, I had a neutral third party come to inspect my home for heating and AC problems and need for "environmental" changes. They knew nothing of the circumstances with Eco Homes. First, the "knee walls" are ALL INSULATED! There is NO INSULATION FALLING in the crawl space, and it is tight up against the floor. There is NOTHING wrong with my heat/AC ducts -- nothing. They are properly installed and sealed. There is insulation around the "Canned lights." Idaho Power is "suggesting" increasing attic insulation to R-38 NOT R-49! The insulation under my floors is "more than adequate" according to the independent evaluator (fourth time I've been told that). I was tired of Eco Homes calling me with more pressure to sign their contract, so when he asked what he (Justin) should do with the paperwork he had the last time he called, I simply said "the shredder would be a good place for it." I, fortunately, have had no further sales pitches from them. Thankfully, I don't sign things like this immediately and saw through their SCAM!!!!!!!! By the way, Eco Homes does not come up when searching in Angie's List. It comes up as Dodder Construction on State Street. That phone number is "no longer in service." Now I know why.

Description of Work: SPOILER: This company is the parent of Eco Home Solutions. Two phase whole house remodel. Electric, plumbing and HVAC updates.

Description of Work: Major remodel of great room and kitchen areas including custom cabinets, built-in seating & an amazing wine closet.