Master Design

Wes Dixon ..Poor communication and unprofessional . Still There are unaddressed repairs that were promised. I have a bad door hinge and a dent in the island skin.. There are missing drawers that were due and discrepancies in billing.. Please dont just ask any question, GET IT IN WRITING. Wes makes lots of promises and just gives cheap talk. NEVER ASSUME ITS INCLUDED OR COVERED... I have the contract and complaint under review with the Attorney General.. Be aware

My wife and I (“we”) got bids from several potential contractors, and they all said the project would take a couple weeks. We signed the contract with Master Design (“MD”) in November 2017, and work was to begin 7 weeks later, in early January. The contract specified a completion date that was 9 weeks after the start date, although we were assured that this is just a standard contract allowance for extraordinary and unforeseen events. In the end, there were no unforeseen problems with the construction site, but nevertheless the first day that the new shower was usable by us was ten weeks after the contractual start date, 11 days after the contractual completion date. We made the mistake of accepting the company’s assurances that this was a standard industry contract. Only after signing did we note that the contract did not mention obtaining building permits and that any contract dispute must be addressed by arbitration in a court in Blair County, 100 miles away, where Master Design’s parent or headquarters is located. When we asked MD about building permits, MD assured us that none were required. When we called our municipal building department to confirm this, we were told that yes, indeed, permits were required. We (not MD) submitted the application for the permit, paid the fee, and the permit was issued on the contractual start date. MD’s sole employee on our job was the carpenter who did all the demolition, drywall, and tiling. Because of issues at MD, actual work did not begin until 4 days after the contractual start date. On that day, the carpenter worked a few hours then left for the day by 12:15. That pattern was repeated on many days throughout the next two months. Throughout the project, the carpenter assured us that he would be here at a specified time, but not once did he arrive here at the time he promised. We do not know if MD originally (in the absence of the inspections required by building permits) expected him to do all of the electrical and plumbing also. But in any case, because we had a building permit, licensed electricians and plumbers, and inspections were required. Nearly 2 months after signing the contract and nearly 2 weeks after the contractual start date, MD began interviewing plumbers at our house for this project. Three prospective plumbers visited our house and the one finally selected by MD began work three weeks after the contractual start date, and a full week after the “two-week” expected completion date. On the plumber’s first day, MD called us to say that the plumber would need to receive his initial payment that day, but that MD could not get a check from its home office that fast. Therefore, MD asked us to pay the plumber directly and deduct that payment from future amounts due MD. Anxious to avoid any further delays, we agreed, and we directly paid the plumber his initial payment that day (for plumbing “rough-in”), and his final payment 2 weeks later, when the finish plumbing was done. Subsequently, when a potential issue arose involving the plumbing, MD denied all responsibility for the plumbing, saying that since we had selected the plumber (we hadn’t), and that because we had paid the plumber directly, all issues with the plumbing were our responsibility, not MD’s. (The potential issue quickly turned out to be no problem.) The carpenter’s attention to detail was uneven. He did a good job cutting tile for the floors and shower to fit well. However, he mistakenly used two different colors of grout in the shower, and he left globs of hardened grout in our basement utility tub, the garage floor, and door handles. The contract called for “upgraded” exhaust fans in both bathrooms. The electrician merely replaced the existing fans with same-rated fans. Despite our written complaint, and withholding of $300 from the final payment for the upgraded fans, MD never installed the required upgraded fans. We ourselves, finally in July, installed an upgraded fan in the MBR. Our new shower has one stationary glass door and one sliding glass door. The installation instructions state, in bold print, that these doors are very heavy (each weighs 70 pounds), and that 2 installers are required for proper installation. Because the carpenter could not carry them alone, we (the husband) helped him carry the doors upstairs to the MBR, we then alerted MD that another man was needed to help with the installation the next day. MD ignored that, and the husband spent a full day helping the carpenter measure, lift, and install these very heavy doors. In the end, we like the shower and the heated floor, and the fan that we installed. And we enjoyed working with MD’s design consultant. But due to the excessive delays, the poorly worded contract, the incorrect two colors of grout in the shower, and MD’s disreputable handling of the potential plumbing issue, we cannot recommend MD.