American Home Improvement

Description of Work: This fellow, a neighbor of 8 years, a boyscout troop leader, comes across as a very friendly fellow, but I found him to be incompetent, dishonest, and totally unwilling to take responsibility for his failures or to return money I paid him for services he did not complete and materials he did not supply. Patrick asked for 8,000 as half the downpayment on remodeling my basement into an efficiciency. I asked him to put a clause in the contract stating that completion date of the project and a penalty if the work was not done in time, which he did: he stated the work (installing an efficiency apt. with small kitchen) would be done by 12/25/2011; he gave himself 2.5 months to complete the project. Even 2 weeks after the completion date, he had done no more than tear the wall down and put numerous holes in the drywall to check electrical wiring, and put up studs (though they were loose, not even nailed in). In fact, during the last 4 days he was in my employment, he visited the job site once, demolishing half a layer of concrete where a window was to be (one of the many things I paid thousands of dollars to have repaired after he left). There were no walls, no flooring, no eletrical work, no cabinetry, nothing--all he had done was break open numerous holes in the drywall (leave them there for weeks--a hazard for my pets), put up a frame (that was not the right height), and demolish a wall. He refused to pay the penalty fund he had put in the contract (100 per day the job went past its due date). He work was poor (he used unfinished wood for the framing, though unfinished wood is never supposed to be in direct contact with concrete). He left the job site filthy and left a pile of boards, with the nails not flattened, in my yard. Though he led me to believe he was a licensed contractor, he is not. I reported him and he is being sued by the state for the second time for contracting without a license. In the contract he also stated that all work would meet county codes--but he also told me I could have a stove in the basement, which he knew was against code. So, when he filled out the paperwork for the county, he stated there would be no kitchen. He refused to let me see the papers. It took me weeks to get the papers from the licensing office and then I learned that without my consent, he planned to violate the code without my knowledge, putting me at odds with the law. Patrick is very sneaky--he has been sued multiple times in Albemarle General District Court for Warrant in Debt (I am the latest one to sue him), but since his wife has their marital assets (such as the house), and he is self-employed, he is confident that he won't have to pay me (he absolutely refused to even negotiate with me in court at our initial hearing). The last individual who tried to collect her money by garnishing his pay was, according to my reading of the court record, unsuccessful, because there was no money in his personal account.

Description of Work: Patrick was supposed to re-tile the shower areas of 2 bathrooms and put a new shower door in 1 bathroom. He was to install new faucets in both baths. See below to see the actual services performed.