Mike's Pole Barns LLC

Description of Work: I. Mike Winroth contractor of Mike's Pole Barns, did not follow the plans provided by the owner. II. He did not follow the plans and specifications of the engineer nor was he in compliance with the Uniform Building Code applicable to Latah County. III. He abandoned the project in the middle of our construction to work on and complete other projects. IV. He did not call for timely inspections, causing needless building delays V. He chose to ignore correction notices. VI. He did not finish construction of our barn in a timely manner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. MIKE WINROTH DID NOT FOLLOW THE PLANS PROVIDED BY THE OWNER I provided building plans to Mike's Pole Barns (MPB). My son, Lathen Sonnenberg, and I discussed these plans with Manager Shawn, and supervisor, Willie, answering questions and going over the following important points about the barn construction: A. The five interior rooms on the main floor must each have a smooth troweled concrete floor for ease of cleaning. • MPB slopped concrete on the floor when they poured the curbs • They did not clean it up, leaving the floor difficult to maintain. B. Concrete curbs in the goat loafing area, birthing room and kid room are intended to contain water during the cleaning process. • The cold poured curbs allow water to run under the curbing into the hall. C. I discussed with Shawn and Willie that the curbs are also intended raise the OSB interior sheathing six inches off the floor to keep it from being contaminated with any urine, or feces and keep water and chemicals from wicking up into the wall sheathing when the area is cleaned. • In October I was told by Willie that they would not put any OSB sheathing on the curb walls, even though the plans indicated the sheathing of the interior curb walls. D. On the plans provided, the walls with interior sheathing are indicated by a double line over the curbing and in all the rooms where the interior OSB sheathing is an integral part of the room walls. The walls of the lean-to and the east end of the barn are shown on the plans as a single line showing that only the steel siding was needed and not any interior sheathing. • On October 16, I asked Willie when the walls are going to be faced on the obverse sides. Willy said that Shawn had told him that "what you have is what you are getting," and that the contract "states that the walls would only be faced on one side". • The Contract references the walls, stating in line number 15, "INTERIOR FRAMING PER DRAWING." • Referencing the drawings in the Governing Documents refers the contractor to the Interior Framing Drawing where dual sided sheathed walls is indicated by a double line E. We discussed the loft design and the principles behind it. The hayloft on the second floor is for the storage of 40 tons of hay and straw. • The Latah County Building Inspector, Shane, said that the loft structural plans that MPB supplied to the Latah Planning and Building were inadequate and had to be sent to a structural engineer for design revision. F. We discussed that the hay and straw are to come into the loft through the west 4'x4' exterior hay door, via our hay elevator and are to be pitched down to the goat loafing area from the loft through an opening in the floor into the hay manger. This keeps the other rooms on the first floor free of dust and loose hay. • The floor of the loft is not built to the edge of the barn, in some areas the floor of the loft is four inches from the wall allowing dust and large quantities of hay to fall into the milking room. • The hay, dirt and dust fall through the floor into the milk processing room where the sink is. • Hay falls into the feed storage room. • Cascades into the hall and inside the walls. • Comes into EVERY room on the main floor. II. HE DID NOT FOLLOW THE ENGINEERED PLANS OR THE BUILDING CODE A. Not only did MPB fail to comply with written Engineers plans and specifications they failed to comply with the US Building Code. When queried about this, Inspector Eric told us that the builders get the plans from the department and then never bring a set at the site again. They just build it the way they have always done. He said that then the inspectors have to come in and try to make good on what the builders have done (which he pointed out is not always as the engineer designed it, but rather as the builders have always built it.) Then the department has to get the engineer to make an addendum to the plans. • Numerous times, when I had a question about some aspect of the construction of the barn, I would ask to see their copy of the engineered plans. The workers would repeatedly tell me they did not have a single set of the plans on site. • I asked Rod and Troy how they could build the barn without the plans. They said the had been building pole barns for years. • I would then have to go back to the house and bring out my set of plans for them. B. The Engineer specified notched timbers must be used to seat the trusses • Scab blocks were used instead of notched timbers, requiring engineer's revision addendum. C. ALL fasteners affixed to pressure treated wood must be hot dipped galvanized zinc fasteners; these are still not corrected • MPB did NOT USE hot dipped zinc framing nails to attach girts, roof trusses, or structural roof cross bracing to the preserved wood timbers • MPB did NOT USE hot dipped zinc steel bolts to attach preserved wood timber sections to preserved wood timbers. D. No headers were installed over any of the windows and one door. E. The footings for the lean-to are not at the same grade that the footings for the main barn are. • Footings have not been inspected nor corrected. III. MPB ABANDONED OUR CONSTRUCTION FOR SEVEN WEEKS TO WORK ON AND COMPLETE OTHER PROJECTS A. August 28, I called MPB to ascertain why the crew had not been working on our barn for seven weeks. The secretary told me that Shawn said the crew would not be back to work on our job until they were done with "the big job" after the final inspection was completed. She said Shawn did not know when they would be back on our job. B. George finally came back to work by himself on August 31. He revealed that when MPB left our job on July 17, 2012 the crew was pulled from our job to work on a 100'x120' barn located in Pataha, Washington, a small, unincorporated town in Garfield County, Washington. He said that there was a lot of money involved in that barn. C. August 31, 2012 George said that MPB would have the final building inspection at the job in Pataha on September 4 and will be out of there, then. D. George told us that the MPB crew were also doing a barn in Deary while gone from our job. E. George related that part of the crew was also doing electric work on Mike Winroth's calf barn during the same period. IV. MPB DID NOT CALL FOR TIMELY INSPECTIONS, CAUSING NEEDLESS BUILDING DELAYS AND MULTIPLE CORRECTION NOTICES A. MPB did not call for FOOTING FORMS AND REBAR INSPECTIONS before pouring the concrete inside the barn • MPB had to dig down beside the footings on the south side of the barn to prove that the poured concrete was the right depth. • Latah County inspector, Eric stated in his correction notice that the: 1. Northeast footings must be replaced with frost depth footings 30 inch minimum with #4 rebar, formed vertically, square plumb and true. • It was not the right depth or width or length. MPB had to dig up and remove all the north wall footings and put in footing forms, rebar and pour new concrete. 2. Deepen the center footings into undisturbed native soil. 3. Remove all form plywood from inside of the south wall footings. • MPB had to dig up and remove all wooden forms which they had buried and said they were going to leave under the poured-concrete floor. 4. Continue footing to the end of the northwest wall. B. MPB did not call for the FRAMING INSPECTION in a timely manner. • MPB covered all the framing details of girt to timber fasteners by sheathing the girts with steel exterior siding before calling for an inspection • According to the final correction notice, ALL girt to preserved wood timber fasteners will have to be exposed and inspected. C. MPB has still not called for a FOOTING INSPECTION on the lean to of the barn. • Lean to footings are still not to proper grade • Neither inspector Shane nor Eric have yet performed that inspection. • South east footing has a half inch crack in it from the outside to the timber. D. MPB did not call for an ELECTRICAL INSPECTION until I called the electrician and asked for it. • Latah County Electrical inspector, Tim Ducommon, said that the exposed wiring in the goat lounging area must be behind the sheathing on the inside of wall or it must be in conduit. • Neither has been done. V. HE CHOSE TO IGNORE CORRECTION NOTICES A. Steel framing nails are still in place where galvanized fasteners should be. B. To date the window beside the south door of the lean to has not been changed to tempered glass VI. MPB DID NOT FINISH CONSTRUCTION OF OUR BARN IN A TIMELY MANNER A. We signed the contract with Mike's Pole Barns on May 3, 2012. As of December 5, it is still not completed. B. According to four other builders, this project should have been a six to eight week construction project from start to finish.

Description of Work: We had a brand new shop built.