G6 Excavating

From the beginning, our project start date got delayed over and over again by Joel Garza. We spoke with him the end of June and he stated that the soonest he could start on our project was 9 July because he was working on another project. We were fine with a 9 July start date. Then as 9 July approached, he said he had to delay the project and couldn't start until 16 July because he was trying to finish another project; then we agreed on a 23 July start date, but that slipped because Joel stated that he needed to take a few days to catch up on his business and take his daughter to a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, 24 July, so we finally agreed on 25 July as the start date and signed the contract. On Wednesday morning, 25 July, we called Joel to make sure we were still good to go. He said he was waiting for the funds we transferred ($1500 up front fee for materials costs) to clear his account (the funds were pending) but that he was going to send his crew to start removing the weeds from the yards that day. We had purchased sod separately from a sod company and asked for the sod to be delivered to the units on 25 July since Joel said they would be ready to lay the sod that day and we even wrote in the contract that we were having the sod delivered on 25 July per Joel's request. Due to a supplier delay, the sod was not delivered until the morning of 26 July. We thought the work was being done at the units and on Friday, 27 July, we called Joel to see how things were moving along. He said that neither he nor his crew had been able to start the project because he was with his daughter in the hospital. We understood that he had to be with his daughter in the hospital, but he could have had his crew working on the project while he was tending to his daughter. We were on day 3 of the project which he hadn't yet started and he didn't even bother to give us a courtesy call to let us know that he hadn't been able to start. When we asked him why his crew was not working on the project he stated that he gave his crew some time off while he was tending to his daughter. He stated that he wanted to be present when his crew was working on the project. According to the contract we signed, it states that "Homeowner agrees that Garza's Handyman Services, Contractor, is not responsible for delays in completion of the work due to weather, strikes, war, shortage, or delay in getting materials from suppliers or any other cause beyond Garza's Handyman Services, Contractor, control. Time is of the essence." There didn't appear to be any of the reasons listed in the contract for delay in working our project. Again, we understood that Joel needed to be with his daughter, but he does have employees that should have been able to work on the project while he was away. When we expressed our concern about the sod we had delivered to the units that was just sitting in the front yards on pallets, Joel told us that it was supposed to rain that day and the next, so the grass should stay wet. According to everything we've read regarding new sod, it should be installed immediately and not sit on pallets for more than a day or two if it is not in a shaded area. We found it hard to believe that Joel's crew could not work on the project while he was away tending to his daughter. As long as the crew knows what needs to be done, they should know how to proceed without Joel being physically with them, one would think? Because of delay after delay, and because the sod had already been sitting out in the sun for a few days, the sod started to turn yellowish/brownish and the project was done in the wrong order. The sod was laid on Saturday, 28 July, and then the concrete slabs were prepped (framed) on Monday, 30 July, then finally the concrete slabs were completed on Thursday, 2 Aug. Because the concrete slabs were done AFTER the sod was laid, the crew hauled wheel barrels and other tools across the freshly laid (yet already yellow-ish/brownish) sod. They made a mess and left concrete spilled on parts of the new sod throughout the yards. Concrete also splattered onto the walls and A/C units and none of it was cleaned up. When one of the tenants confronted Joel about the concrete that spilled onto the sod, he told our tenant that the concrete would eventually disappear into the sod and would not be visible after a couple of months. Why didn't Joel and his crew just clean up their mess? I forgot to mention that we live overseas, so we could not be present during the project. Because of this, Joel told us that he would send us pictures in stages as he completed the work. We never got the pictures as the work was being done; he emailed us all the pictures all at once at the END of the project when he told us the work was completed and that he would like payment asap. We told Joel that we would be in town in one week and asked if he would meet with us prior to accepting payment until we could see the work completed in person. There were communication issues in the date we set to meet, and when we asked if he would accept a one week delayed payment until we saw the completed project in person, he threatened us with a lien on our property, legal fees, etc. The threat of putting a lien on our four-plex for one week of delayed payment is absurd, especially after having delayed our project week after week and then again several days after the contract was signed and dates were set firm. Please see the following link for pictures of the work performed: http://s1048.photobucket.com/albums/s374/ourphotos15/Finished_Landscape/