Midwest Builders

Description of Work: We hired this man named Howard N. Abbott III. He gave us an estimate on how much both of our porches would cost to be rebuilt, which was about $6,100. When he began construction on the front porch, he decided to up the price of the back porch from $2500 to $3600. After he worked on some of the front porch, he began working on the back porch. The front porch wasn't completely finished and he was beginning to tear down the back porch. He was violently pulling it off back and forth, making cracks appear on our kitchen walls. I told him to stop, but he refused and continued doing it. After he got it off, he came inside to see the damages. He said that he is going to fix the damages. As the months gone by, he began to skip more and more days of work until he never came back. We called him up and he made an excuse about his truck being broke down. The estimated time both the porches were to be finished was the Fall of 2009, but it has still need of work to be done to it and damages are still not repaired. The front pillars are the only things holding up both the porches, nothing in the back is holding it up. The wood is splitting and warping from the weather. Gaps left exposed to rain and snow coming onto the porch. Junk scattered all over the yard. Instead of having a tin roof like we asked, he put on a fiberglass roof, and its not even secured on there! Instead of using cork screws, he used nails that already rusted out. The materials he said that he uses were the best, but seeing that the porches are already a disaster. We had a contractor look at the house and told him about the 6 foot hole that he dug out and pour cement in just for the underneath of the supports. He told us that he was suppose to dig a 3 foot hole and that we were lucky enough that our basement walls didn't collapse. We found out a few months beforehand that he doesn't have any Better Business Bureau contractor license and possibility no business insurance. We have contacted the B.B.B to take care of the issue and wasn't able to contact him at all. It was not until April that he contacted us on a different cell phone numbers that he talked about coming back, but overall, he never did and made even more excuses. We have contacted the attorney general of this matter too. We are currently hiring a lawyer and an insurance adjuster to go after him in a small claims court for money fraud, damages, not having a contractor license, etc. What is interesting is that he never gave us receipts to what he has bought, created a design sketch from Menard's, and gave out very little information of where he lives. He is white male, age 32 or 33. He drives a white pickup truck. He looks almost like that Joe the Plumber guy. He states that he lives in Richland, Iowa, but he actually lives elsewhere. He makes excuses of why he wasn't there. If you have hired him, immediately report him to the B.B.B, your attorney general, and insurance adjuster.