Jim Ferraro And Son

These men were recommended to me by a gentleman who did an excellent job installing ceramic tile in the majority of our house during this remodeling period. Because of the quality of the tile layer's work, we took his recommendation and called Mr. Ferraro and his son for a bid on other work we needed to do. The ceiling in the bedroom and the dedicated electrical line. Mr. Ferraro said he had experience and could do both jobs. After he finished the ceiling looked worse than before. We had the job rated by a professional remodeling service, and they said it was a poor job and extra coats of plaster should have been applied. Mr. Ferraro and his son did not paint the repaired ceiling as expected. The major complaint I have with these men is the electrical work. A certified electrician said the conduit for the dedicated line should have been run through the crawl space (easy access from bedroom) or along the roof line through the eaves. Mr. Ferraro ran an electric line from the outside, on the side of the house circuit box over the roof. The following things were noted by the electrician: 1. The conduit was outside exposed to the weather, and Mr. Ferraro did not use waterproof connectors. 2. The pipe was above roof level and looked ridiculous. To support the pipe, Mr. Ferraro used a piece of firewood from our backyard. So we had this exposed pipe and a hunk of firewood in view on our roof. 3. Mr. Ferraro apparently did not know enough about electrical work to know all microwaves take a 110 line. He installed a 220 line and said he would not use one of the wires when I brought him the specs from the microwave I was going to purchase. The electrician said the job would not pass inspection with a 220 line with an exposed unused wire. 4. In order to allow for the proper amount of space between the stove and the microwave, Mr. Ferraro said he would raise my kitchen cabinets (since only a stove exhaust fan was there before the middle cupboards were longer than most.) He raised the cabinets, tore up the walls, and didn't attach the exhaust piping for the microwave. The electrician said that standards are that there must be 24" of clearance. Mr. Ferraro with tearing up the kitchen wall only provided 16" clearance. Mr. Ferraro charged me $500 for the job on the microwave. Because he said he was low on cash, and needed to buy parts for the electrical work, I foolishly paid him $950 for both jobs. We had no experience to know if he did a good job on the ceiling repair, and the neighbors told me that the electrical line should not go across the roof. That's when we called in a professional. The electrician said that Mr. Ferraro did not have more than $80 in materials invested in the job. The electrician also said the work he did was dangerous and we could have a fire if we let him finish. We fired Mr. Ferraro, and hired the electrician to do the job right. He removed Mr. Ferraro's mess and installed the line properly for $350. When I tried to contact Mr. Ferraro to tell him about the electrician's work and the evaluation the ceiling repair, the only information he gave me was his phone number. I tried using his phone number to see if he would refund part of my money. The phone service told me I must use a valid number. He must have changed his phone number, and we have decided to call this a lesson learned. I worry about others who might hire this contractor. He states that he worked for years for a construction company and is now working on his own with his son. He claims he can build a house from the ground up, but his actual work (as documented above) does not support his claim. I post this report to warn others about hiring him to do work on their house. To them I say, "You'll be sorry....