KJ Construction

The contractor was supposed to build us a livestock shelter with four separate 10'x10' areas and gates. He said that he would provide heated water troughs. He wanted to be paid for the materials and some of the labor up front. On July 13, 2024, we gave him a cashier's check for $18,000. $16,000 for the materials and $2,000 for the labor. But he wrote the contract for a 12'x24' shelter, with electric, water trough, hot heater, and "restructure" ground for drainage. On July 17 when I realized that a 12'x24' would not contain the four 10'x10' bays, I texted him. He texted me back that there must have been a miscommunication and that the change was no big deal. He then texted me that there would be a "small difference in price" "for the size of gates and panels". By Aug. 15 no materials had been delivered and no one had come to mark the utilities despite him telling me that he had gotten a permit and that someone would come. On Thursday, Aug. 22 he texted me that he was going to go rent the auger (In his final invoice he charged us $1950 for the Skidster and auger rental saying that he had rented it on a weekend at my request. He never came to work on our property on a weekend.) By Aug. 23 all he had done was place stakes in the ground I texted him to remind him that we had sheep arriving on the 31st. He had requested that we move our livestock out of the area where he was working. The livestock had exhausted the grass in the other field between July 13 and August 26, so I needed to move them back and I texted him about that. By Aug. 28 he had placed the poles in the ground and poured sack concrete around them. He had not done any work on grading the building site as he said he would in the contract. On Aug. 28 I texted him pictures of my goat's twins, the primary reason I was having the shelter built was to have a dry place to separate my goats and their babies. He texted me back acknowledging that the project completion date was Aug. 31. He was asking for more money. We suspected that he had not used our money for the materials and that he would continue to ask for more money. On Sept. 2 I texted him asking that he deliver the materials to our property and provide invoices showing where the materials were purchased, when, and for how much. I also asked him to cease work on our property so we could pursue other options. He delivered materials worth approximately $4,000. including electrical wiring for indoor use only (not suitable for a livestock shed) there were no gates and no troughs (heated or otherwise). He did not provide us with invoices for the purchase of the materials, instead he sent us a handwritten invoice saying that we owed him an additional $4,391.74 and threatened to put a lien on our house if we did not pay. The contractor either does not keep the business records necessary to calculate his taxes or he doesn't want us to know when and for how much he purchased the materials. He has been deceptive and is intimidating. We want no further contact with him. He stated at the time we signed the contract that he was bonded.