Mac10 Construction

BUYER BEWARE: Our experience was pretty bad - basically, one of those classic stories that makes you afraid to use contractors. We are currently facing liens against our house from subcontractors who were not paid (even though we paid Mac10 - money was not given to the subs). Phase 1: The installation of the attic access hole and attic insulation went very well. All work was completed in a timely manner, and was of acceptable quality. Phase 2: The removal of the chimney was also timely, with Mac10 removing all of the bricks and materials from the job site. The job was completed with minimal damage to the walls in the middle of the house. Overall, we were very happy with the chimney removal process. The only negative feedback was the amount of dust and soot in our house. Nothing was done to close doors or install a plastic barrier to keep dust to a minimum - we literally had a thick layer of dust and chimney soot on everything in the house. Not to worry - we took this in stride, and cleaned the entire house. Phase 3: Total collapse. This phase was/is a total nightmare. It started when our oil burning furnace was removed during record cold temperatures in Portland (week of 12 degree weather in mid-December, 2009). We were fine with this assuming that our new gas furnace was going to be installed and we would have heat within a couple days. However, after a couple days of our contractor being on vacation, we were told that our new furnace was "delayed." As the temps in our house dipped into the thirties, we grew increasingly uncomfortable and also worried about our pipes freezing. So we contacted the heating/furnace company directly, only to find out that the reason our furnace was delayed was because the down payment from Mac10 to the heating/furnace company had not gone through (keep in mind that we paid the 50% down payment to Mac10 with a cashiers check that had already cleared the bank). Mac10 explained that this was due to a mis-communication over the credit card number that Mac10 gave to the heating sub-contractor. After a week of a FREEZING cold house, Mac10 returned from vacation to hand deliver a personal check for the down payment to the heating subcontractor. That allowed the heating subcontractor to go ahead and install our new furnace. On the same day that the new furnace was finally installed, we received a call from the heating subcontractor stating that Mac10's personal check had bounced, and that they would be placing a lien on our property. The same week the furnace work was being finished up, our roof was being torn off and a new roof was installed. Concerned about Mac10's ability to manage finances, I talked to the roofing subcontractor, and low-and-behold they had not received any down payment from Mac10 (even though we had paid Mac10). Deja-Vu with the roof. To make a long story shorter, Mac10 has since informed us that they have no money due to circumstances surrounding the bad economy. The money we paid for the down payments is gone. We are facing liens on our property from the heating and roofing sub contractors, and Mac10 has asked us to directly pay the subcontractors the down payment amount (that we have already paid Mac10) and the remaining balance with the promise that Mac10 will pay us back for the down payment amount. We realize that will never happen, and have filed a complaint to the CCB to pull from Mac10's bond. After talking with the CCB, it turns out that two additional complaints against Mac10 have cropped up in the past two weeks, and that we are now third in line for the bond money. We're not sure that we will ever see our down payment money back from Mac10. I realize that bad things can happen to good companies, and I feel bad for the contractor and his family ? they are obviously in a desperate situation. However, we were lied to and are out thousands of dollars. Please, please, please be aware and be informed when choosing a contractor.