Daniel Small Construction

Please avoid this company like the plague, and do not make the same mistakes that we made. We foolishly trusted this man because he claimed to have done some work on the home we presently occupy. He showed wonderful pictures of remodels, how the previous home owners gave him rave reviews, and basically talked up a good game; we were sold. Long-story-short: we gave him a deposit of $2,000 on a $13,000 job. First mistake: no contractor should ask for more than $1,000 to start a job. Mistake #2: his contractor's license elapsed. [At this writing, it has not been renewed since April of 2009]. I contacted the CA state Contractor's Board just to confirm. The consultant went on to say that an official contract cannot legally be drafted unless there exists a valid license. Mistake #3: we signed a lined-paper "agreement" with no security provisions. It was hand-written and unprofessional-looking. Again, I am admitting mistakes for your benefit. He cashed the check, and we only heard from him once. This was to say that there were delays [lost cell phone, eviction from foreclosed-on home, and an ?exploding? drill bit on the machine that made the cabinets, etc.]. I have expected alien abduction at this point. Further, he gave my wife?who made reasonable inquiries--unprofessional attitude and was less than apologetic. [I failed to note that he no longer answered my calls from our main number, so my wife had to call from work to mask the number.]