SAS Contracting

I furished all materials for the job. He arrived on time and completed the work in just 2 days. Looks GREAT

I found this contractor through the local Houston area Green Sheet. He was advertising building construction in his ad. I called him on the phone and he was able to give me a “turnkey” price on the construction of these buildings after I explained to him in detail what they were to be used for. The next day, I drove to the contractor’s office and he showed me a few “shed” samples of his work, but he strongly proclaimed that my buildings would be built like houses (NOT sheds), and would be able to withstand hurricane force winds up to a category four storm. I told him this was necessary because of the valuable equipment I would be storing in them, and that they had to be insured. He said he has built many houses and that he just couldn’t afford to have samples of the kind of buildings I was inquiring about to be on display. In our contract, several important factors were mentioned for the contractor to follow, including obtaining all permits required by city ordinance. They were also to be sheet rocked and insulated and be supplied with electricity. The contractor was very well aware of these requirements. After signing the contract a few days later and giving the contractor ½ of the fees for his work ($7,600), I ordered two loads of crushed concrete to be delivered to my home. One load was to be used for the foundation work, while the other was to repair my driveway after the work was done (due to the damage that would be caused during the construction). This cost me $630.00. I noticed that as building materials began to arrive on my property, 99 percent of the lumber (including that to be installed on the outside in the elements) was untreated! I thought at first that there would be more materials coming, but as the contractor began to install the foundation, I noticed that all but the front and rear beams were untreated. All floor joists and the flooring itself (a particle type material) was untreated, as was the trim that he planned on using. I mentioned this to the contractor, and he said because I didn’t “specify” that I wanted treated lumber, then I didn’t get it. He also claimed that the flooring was a common type that would work fine. I later found out in the weeks coming (through an engineer I hired) that this material was ONLY to be used inside a building (such as for the top floor of an apartment building) where the material would not be exposed to the outdoor moisture. Before the roof was installed, it rained for a few days and the flooring got saturated. Needless to say, the floor panels began to warp badly where they joined from the rain. The contractor said this was “normal” and that they would sand the floor down flat later on. I believed that because I signed a contract and didn’t specify the use of treated lumber that I was out of luck and would be forced to paint the underside of the buildings and all other outdoor surfaces to protect the wood from rotting. Over the next few weeks, I began to notice as the two buildings were being constructed that they looked an awful lot like SHEDS! At one point, one of the workers hired by the contractor came up to me and said he and his crew had been fired by the contractor after only one week of work. He said it was because he had been arguing with the contractor about how poorly he had been ordered to construct the buildings. Because of the arguments, he was fired. The employee then showed me several serious flaws in the buildings that would prevent them from passing any inspection or code. First, there was no vapor barrier installed, something that I did not know about or was necessary. He also showed me how one wall was bowing outward, and that not a single nail in the project was galvanized (the outside nails were already rusting!). The roof joists were also starting to bend downward from the weight of the roof. There was no required windstorm strapping or tie downs on the floor joists (something that should have been done long before the roof was put up). In addition, the worker told me that my “contractor” was actually a POWERWASHER, not a full-time building contractor!! This of course worried me greatly. I called the city to inquire if the contractor had ever applied for the permits. They said that because he claimed the buildings were valued at less than $2,000 each (a blatant lie), then no permits were required. I advised the permit clerk that the buildings were actually valued at $7,600 each and she told me that the contractor had to file for the permits (which ALSO included windstorm certification). That evening, I called the contractor and asked him if he had ever filed for the permits. He said no because it would slow down the job too much. He said if I waited until he completed the job, that they would pass any inspection. This immediately alarmed me and I knew I was being conned. A couple of days later, the city inspector arrived to inspect the work, but the contractor (though advised by the city clerk of the appointment ahead of time) failed to show up. The inspector told me that the work done so far was extremely shoddy and would not come close to passing any inspection. He recommended I contact an engineer, which I did the following day. The engineer came out a few days later and the contractor showed up, albeit an hour late. The engineer pointed out many major deficiencies, with the foundation being the main problem. He said the crushed concrete would not work, and that concrete and rebar pads would be required. The floor would need to be replaced, the shingles were improperly installed, a vapor barrier would be needed, and panels between the wall studs and hardiplank had to be installed. Wrong nails were used on the hardiplank too. The contractor said he could finish fixing the foundation in two days. He tried to make me pay for that and other repairs, but I refused. Ten days later, the work was not completed. The engineer wrote up a report indicating that the roof, walls and foundation all failed. The city inspector then ordered the buildings demolished!! Throughout this ordeal, the contractor has lied to me many times, failed to show up to work as promised (MANY times) and to date has refused to refund my money. He has also threatened to have me arrested for “theft.” The contractor’s own insurance company (who faxed his insurance policy to the city) said he was only supposed to be doing power washing as part of his coverage – NOT construction work!! There are FAR more details (more than 14 pages of text) not listed here. I would be happy to email a full detailed report to anyone interested. Peter Gennedy of SAS Contracting in Pearland, TX is NOT to be trusted! You will regret it forever if you attempt to hire him. I now will have to sue him in court to get my money back.