BETTENCOURT CONSTRUCTION LLC

I signed a contract on April 12, 2010, which provided for completion of my kitchen remodel in 30 days. Nine months later I still did not have a usable kitchen. It was June 3rd before a sample cabinet door was shown to me. It was inappropriate for the style of my home and I asked to see something else Over the next month I was shown only 4 more doors, but when I would select one I was told it was ?over the budget. In July they e-mailed me a brochure from a company out-of-town, and I selected a door which was finally ?in the budget?, but the cabinets were not shipped and installed until October. The installation was very sloppy. Cabinets were installed in the wrong place and had to be removed and reinstalled, there were problems with most of the doors and drawers, and the pantry was installed so close to a window that the door could not be fully opened. The pantry and cabinet over the refrigerator had to be taken down and moved over. The contractor did not supervise or inspect the work while his men were here. My front door was left unlocked and the back door wide open, my refrigerator was moved and left unplugged, the floor was scratched, metal items were placed on my glass top stove without putting anything over it to protect it, they lost the key to my home and sent one of their employees, not a locksmith, to make another key, and loose trash was piled in my front yard and left for several weeks. I felt I was being put in the position of having to supervise the job. When I saw a problem or had a concern,my contact person was Janet, the contractor?s wife, not the contractor. When I called her with a problem I had to tell her the problem, she relayed my question or concern to the contractor, who sometimes was right there, he would tell her what to tell me, and she would then tell me what he said. Sometimes when I talked to her there was so much noise from screaming children in the background that it was hard to hear her. Meetings were canceled because they could not get a babysitter or suddenly remembered having to be somewhere with the children. On August 31st they told me where to go to select the granite for the countertop. I went there on September 3rd and selected the granite. On November 24th, Thanksgiving day, I still had no countertop, sink or faucet, my stove, dishwasher and icemaker were not hooked up and I had to cook dinner for guests using a microwave and toaster oven in another room and wash dishes in the bathroom, and there was no lighting in the kitchen. I asked if I would have a kitchen by Christmas, and Janet said ?absolutely?. The granite people came to my home with the granite the end of November and said the contractor was supposed to meet them with the check to pay for the balance due. Neither the contractor nor Janet showed up. I got Janet on the phone, and she spoke to them, after which they left without delivering or installing the granite, as it had not been paid for and apparently the contractor was not going to pay for it at that time. On December 3rd the granite was finally installed, and I was given the name of the tile store where I should select my tile. On December 4th Janet and I went to the store together and I was shown several tiles which both Janet and the tile company stated were ?in the budget?. Three weeks later there was still no tile, I was so upset and frustrated that I asked my son to hep me with this project. He requested a meeting with both the contractor and his wife present. At this meeting, on December 22nd , Mr. Bettencourt was very rude and advised us that they would not install the tile unless I paid the draw that was not due until after the Electrical and Building Final Inspections were made, because they did not have the money to buy the tile. Janet said the tile I selected was ?over the budget?. I reminded her that she went with me to select the tile and had agreed that the tile was ?in the budget?. I had made all the previous draws the very same day requested and had already paid 95% of the total due, and in view of their work ethic, the problems with this project, and the fact that I had been without a kitchen for nine months, I was extremely upset and felt it was in my best interest to keep to the terms of the contract. Christmas day I was still without a usable kitchen and had guests for dinner, again using a microwave and toaster oven and washing dishes in the bathroom. It became apparent they had no intention of complying with the terms of the Contract. I had to pay $108.00 to get a permit and become my own contractor, but it was well worth it. I hired another contractor who sent their plumber out in three days to do the necessary plumbing so that I would have a usable kitchen while waiting for the tile for the backsplash, and shortly thereafter they installed my backsplash. Adjustments had to be made to install the tile, because Bettencourt's men had cut the drywall too short and there was a large gap between the drywall and the countertop and there was also a large lump in the drywall where the seams met. I am still finding problems with Bettencourt?s work. They removed a good a/c vent cover in my kitchen and replaced it with a cheap one. When we tried to change it we found it was not screwed into the wall as should have been done, but they placed it over the opening and caulked around it to hold it on, because they had cut the hole in the drywall too large and there was nothing to attach the cover to. On one textured wall they plastered over a portion of it and did not texture it. Also, several times I requested Releases of lien and Contractors Affidavits through the last day they worked on my property, which the contract calls for, but I never received them.