SCS CONTRACTING GROUP

RUN, DO NOT WALK, TO ANOTHER CONTRACTOR!!! The construction ran over the agreed upon timeframe, with at least one stop work order delay. When the work was finally completed everything looked nice, but that was about it. In the intervening years I have had nothing but problems due to the poor quality of SCS's work. I am currently converting the inlaw suite to a separate unit, with a certificate of occupancy, which has revealed exactly how shoddy the work performed by SCS is: 1. Despite our contract requiring SCS to pull permits, no permits were ever pulled. 2. SCS never installed any insulation/sound proofing between the upstairs and downstairs units. 3. The basement apartment ceiling and recessed lighting were not fire-rated and all needed to be removed and replaced. 4. Water pipes were installed against concrete block, with no insulation. The first winter the pipes froze and flooded the basement apartment. 5. Instead of running new circuits for the inlaw suite, SCS just tied into existing circuits. They left numerous junction boxes open and just dry walled over them with no access panels. Therefore, I am having to rewire the entire basement. 6. Instead of greenboard, SCS used regular drywall in the bathroom and laundry closet, allowing the growth of mold. 7. The laundry closet has no insulation in the walls. 8. The retaining wall for the exterior stairs was constructed with the wrong size cinderblocks. 9. The front entrance to the basement unit is not wide enough. The existing door will have to be removed, the opening enlarged, and a new door installed. 10. New windows were installed on wood that is rotted. 11. Sewer gases enter the apartment through the floor drain because SCS did not install P traps as required. So far, I am well over $30,000 into making the necessary corrections/repairs. PLEASE, DO NOT USE SCS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

Work appeared to be substandard. Withheld final payment for inspection by qualified professional. Sieber put a lien on my property, sued me & I counter sued. Case went to DC Superior Court then to arbitration by court appointed licensed architect. Arbiter ruled "1. I have found that the work performed by Plaintiff in some areas is not consistent with the parties contract, applicable codes, and standard of care of a DC Home Improvement Contractor. 2. The cost necessary to complete/repair the work to bring it into conformity with the parties contract, applicable codes, and the standard of care of a DC Home Improvement Contractor is $15,000." Ruling was enrolled as judgment against Sieber by the Court. Sieber eventually paid, but as of today has refused to remove lien.

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Although it took a couple months for the plans and permits to be obtained, the actual work was finished in less than ten days. The crew even worked on a Saturday to finish the job ahead of schedule. There was a slight leak during the first heavy rain of November, but I called them and they came and installed additional flashing the next day.

Problems started from the beginning. The engineering work went the best, but that was contracted out to a 3rd party who stayed on top of the workers. The basement bathroom was redone twice. Drywall wasn't lined up, they didn't use greenboard drywall, tile was inconsistent colorwise and not cut, but broken in order to fit, they installed the wrong door (from another job), floor tile was misaligned (it had a distinctive pattern), floor was dirty and tile, both wall and floor, was chipped before they even finished. Since the final contract was contingent on us being happy with the bathroom, we cancelled the final contract with the company. We even gave them two opportunities to fix the problems in the bathroom and each time the workmanship was shoddy and not worthy of any standards. We demanded our money back the company agreed to pay it, along with interest and late fees. They are behind on the payments, owe significant late fees and have started threatening me with a lawsuit.

Details are tedious. The contractor never showed up and did not return calls until I threatened to sue and go to police with fraud complaint. Note, if you have trouble locating the principal (Stephen Sieber), try his clothing store EN Worldwide. That was the only place I could get in touch with anyone.

All demolition was quick. Rough in for both baths were completed. The guest bath & French doors were partially completed. At that point in time, the contractor abandoned the job & never returned after many calls leaving me with a barely livable house. What ensued was a nightmare. SCS put my house into jeopardy by compromising 7 joists & by not installing an 8-foot steel lentil over the French doors. A window was not replaced & left open to the winter environment. There were a myriad of serious code violations. My kitchen & apartment flooded after many pleas to cover the house & clear drains were ignored. Invalid permits caused the local inspector to issue a stop work order. SCS never intended to get inspections, which are required by law. All of the work that was done by SCS had to be destroyed & redone at great cost to me. Neighbors have come to my home stating identical problems with SCS. Be wary of this company. I?ve lost $90,000.

Absolutely terrible on all counts. Avoid!

Awful - run away quickly. SCS basically takes your money and runs without delivery what they promise. We had to pay other contractors to fix the mistakes SCS made. They cut a support beam during the duct work installation. They created a fire hazard because the workman hammered a nail into the electrical cable of the heat pump system. They did not put the heat pump system in the breaker box - they simply wired it directly into our electrical meter. They created 4 major roof leaks and now we have to replace our entire roof. They damaged faucets, etc while trying to install them and incorrectly installed our wood floors. The list goes on. The crew does not know what they are doing and evidently has not real experience building and construction.