Third Pig Construction

Third Pig was hired to fill my yard, build stone steps to my back door, stone patio (with retaining wall and fire pit). While working on this project I was sold on a fence for my yard. In June I gave Third Pig $8,000 as a deposit on the fence project. I do not hear from Russ again until July 6th, when I get an email looking for $10,000 (he wanted $5,000 for a Civil Engineer. I have a receipt showing a Civil Engineer cost $1,500) more to start the fence project. I said,"no," and don't hear from him again all summer. I sent emails requesting a start date. All summer no supplies were delivered or work done on my house. In late July I sent an email offering him more work, in hopes of getting in touch with him. Within 5 minutes Russ replies he'd be willing to give me a quote. Meanwhile, the loam I paid for (over $5,000) in project one was never spread (which I paid to be done) causing it to become a worthless pile of weeds. Eventually I was given a start date on August 15. I sent Russ an email on August 14th confirming he would be starting. He replies he is busy and I've been put off indefinitely. On August 15th no supplies were at my house, or building permits pulled. Throughout this ordeal Russ has been using my deposit to try and extort additional funds from me. Myself, as well as two other people contacted Russ to return my deposit. They were met with a quick,"no," and a reason why he needed more money if I want my fence to begin. Each person was given a different reason as to why he needed more money (stump grinding, digging a trench, additional fill. Of course if he'd ever been to my house he'd know there were no stumps to grind.). He also told these people, my fence hasn't been ordered, and an attorney was holding my deposit in escrow until an agreement was made. My attorney contacted the law firm Russ said was holding my deposit and they stated, they've never held any money for Russ. Russ knew I was a struggling single mother and he used that to take advantage of me. He thought because I was alone that he could use my deposit to extort as much as he could until I was broke. The worst part, the money was from my mother's retirement because she wanted her granddaughter to have a safe yard.

For quite awhile my wife & I had debated regrading our backyard. Every time it rained our cellar flooded & our yard turned into a pond. We had two different contractors bid out the work but we weren't impressed. We decided to contact Third Pig Construction after visiting with friends who'd hired them to finish their new pool area. It looked great. We called once & received a return call almost immediately. We agreed to meet the next day to discuss the project. The owner himself came out to do the estimate. After assessing the backyard we asked if he had any suggestions for redoing our small, dirt driveway. Russ offered several ideas in different price points & also suggested that we add a small turnaround. Our house is on a main road & we have had a few (minor) accidents over the years backing out. We took his suggestion & I'm so glad we did. We got an estimate, broken down in different ways to accommodate our budget. The price was not the cheapest but very competitive. We decided to regrade, add loam & reseed the backyard. We also went ahead & redid the existing driveway with stone pavers & added a small turnaround. Russ & his crew arrived on the promised date & worked tirelessly until the job was done (about three days) & finished well within the time-frame stated. Amazing! Also, it looks great, better than we had imagined. We now have a level backyard, a dry cellar & an awesome driveway. For once someone showed up on time, finished on time, & billed the quoted price. We couldn't be happier with the job Third Pig did; I was even happy to write out the check. I highly recommend & will use them again!