Workers arrived withOUT the proper tools, direction and materials on a regular basis. My restoration was often put on a back burner for days, with workers being sent to other job sites.The security of my home was compromised when the house keys that were given to the general contractor with explicit instructions that only he and the subcontractor would have them. When I left for 5 days as they needed us out of the house for work I asked who was going to lock up. One of the workers said he had the keys, but didn't know how to work the lock. When I returned after 5 days, there was a lock box with my keys in it. I questioned 2 workers who both had the correct combination. So much for security. I removed they keys and found the need to remain on-sire for the remainder of the re-do, as they were constantly doing things wrong.
The hole in the roof was not repaired properly and could be seen as such from the bottom when it was pointed out by myself. There was supposed to be an under layment of roofing material, but after examining the hole from below before they "fixed it from below" it did not appear to have an under laying material, nor was it repaired from the top, just torch down roofing.
Walls that were supposed to be plaster were started with sheet rock. I discovered this after returning from my 5 day exile. When told this was wrong, he said plaster was not code and materials weren't available. I confronted him on this, cited code and where the materials were available. He then started the job with out sheet rock. Poor job of plastering throughout with the wrong plaster being used in several areas, not matching the existing plaster.
Flooring - Un-finished hardwood floors. They started the installation without any vapor barrier. so the first 5 boards by the length of the living does not have a vapor barrier. When I contacted both the contractor and the subcontractor, the contractor said to have it removed and start over. The subcontractor said it would damage the flooring and that he would use a vapor barrier after that. At first the contractor Eloy Molina insisted that the floors only needed to be lightly hand sanded with a sheet rock sanding block and that the special $100 per gal.coating only called for 1 coat of finish and that he wasn't going to fill cracks and imperfections. He said this was how Lumber Liquadaters recommended the finish. When I called them (LL) they said that was "crazy" and that all unfinished floors needed at least 2 coats after filling the cracks/imperfections, and they should be sanded with standup rotary sanders before sealing with light sanding between coats of finish.Eloy Molina said he called them again and they said to use a hand palm sander. I called them again and they still said to use a rotary sander with maybe a palm sander for the edges and to cleanup bubbles and other sealer imperfections after the first coat. I found the $100 per gal. finish readily available at retail stores for less than $50 with the manufacturer recommending a minimum of 2 coats of sealer. More lies. The floors did not received adequate sanding filling of cracks or 2 coats of finish. Less than 2 gal of finish were used that would normally cover 800 ft sq. with one coat. I had over 900 ft. sq.. that ned at least 2 coats. They should have used close to 5 gal. I contacted several installers of flooring who said it was done wrong. Another lie by the contractor.
The replacement awning was terrible. Again I had to point out that they used the wrong materials, that it needed some sort of flashing, seam caulking and something about the bad joints and no siding or front edge.
They did not finish the house, but said they were done, even after I pointed out in several emails areas what needed to be remedied. There was not an inspection of all of the final work by the contractor or subcontractor, to go over the work or address my concerns. There was minimal cleanup. They did not have any respect for my house. A granite cutting board was stood on and broken. A Propane bar-B-Que was damaged as the awning was torn down and not replaced for about a month.The toilet was broken. The dumpster that I was told was for my use, was used by the general contractor, Kegan Stephens for waste from his other jobs, not allowing me full use of what I paid for. They didn't bother to cleaup after tearing down the awning or replacing it, as I was forced to pick up metal shards, stucco, nails and screws. When they redid the awning, they cut the propanel on my lawn, welding with a wire feed in the same area. I was told it would be over sheet rock so it wouldn't leave a mess. Again I had to cleanup, so the area could be used by my family without injury. The stucco repair was almost non-existent after the old awning tear out.
They is nothing about the remodel that I was happy about. From the roof, to breaking the toilet, to the improper floor and molding installation, bad plastering, caulking, painting and cleanup. Even the transition strip for the wood floor one of the last things done in the "final 4 hrs do it all goodby, we're done" is coming off and doesn't cover the area needed.
There is no way that I would recommend Eloy Molina and Rodeo construction of Albuquerque, NM for anything, as well as the general contractor Kegan Stephens of STOP restoration services. Their work was done poorly, on the cheap and not finished. They offered almost no daily supervision, did not have a foreman to provide some continuity of communication and work, back burnered my projects so other jobs could be secured and provided me with a level of stress that no one should have to go through. If I hadn't insisted on being present, it would have been worse.
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