HAWTHORNE RIDGE BUILDERS

Description of Work: We contracted for a new home with this builder, Hawthorne Ridge Builders, Jack Roller. On July 30th we locked him out of our house, because the project had become such a mess and Jack couldn't seem to get it under control. The "set" of the house was done by Amwood Custom Homes on May 18th 2010. They build exterior and interior rough framing etc and deliver to site. Amwood did an excellent job of setting the house, and we are very satisfied with them and that part of the construction. Jack Roller however, was lost from day 1. He advertises "Custom" home building, but he is not capable of custom building. We provided him with a complete list including model numbers of materials & features we wanted in our home. He ordered the wrong windows, wrong exterior doors, wrong interior doors, wrong sun tunnels, wrong siding, wrong plumbing system etc. We didn't get concrete work which was included in our contract. We didn't get siding on side exposed wall which was in our contract. We didn't get the water heater that was specified in our contract. His carpentry skills are minimal & crude. We had to tear out cabinets in 3 rooms and install them correctly. (Additional out of pocket expense to us) Our screen porch is so poorly constructed that it will have to be torn out and replaced. He is not a licensed plumber, but he did much of the plumbing, which we now know is illegal. He either wasn't present for drywall installation or isn't able to read blue prints. We had to call drywall people back to do work that was missed, which resulted in construction delays. Jack didn't notice the problem until we pointed it out. Jack was not capable of organizing subcontractor work in a timely effective manner. Example: Had excavator come to site to rough grade on a day when /had 6 trucks at the site. etc. Excavator had to leave and this resulted in an extra charge, which we ended paying out of pocket. The plumbing was a total disaster. Example: Jack tried to tell us there "was sand in the lines" when we complained of no water pressure. Turns out the whole house filter was installed backwards! We had to get the State plumbing inspector to inspect plumbing, and much of it had to be replaced. Our contract with Jack Roller was $198,000 and change. He tried to upcharge us for items which were to be included in our contract some of which were H20 heater and softener, . On his 3rd draw he gave himself an amount of money (about $2400.00) which he called "additional options". There were no additional options provided by this builder. The amount of money he gave himself on that draw should have gone to the excavator, who he did not pay. We weren't aware of the bill until much later after we literally had to lock this buffoon out of our house. At one point Jack sent us a notice of intent to file lien for $20,000.00! We had to hire an Attorney, and when pressed to explain the amount he had no explanation & could not validate one penny of that claim. To date we have spent almost $30,000 fixing his mistakes. The toll it took on us emotionally has no dollar amount. This synopsis is just that...a brief description. Horrible experience. We have built 7 homes and this was the smallest and this was the biggest fiasco we have ever witnessed.