HOMEOWNER SERVICES OF AMERICA

The builder advertised himself as a Certified Aging in Place Specialist, which is why we hired him. What was promised and what was delivered were not the same thing; my parents had a very different understanding of what they were purchasing than what the builder supplied. Once the down payment had been made, the builder set to, basically dismissing my parents' concerns with what they saw being done to their house. The workmanship on the stairway was crude; not to the professional standard the builder claimed to uphold. The wood used in the stairway could only be characterized as "rough"; it had large knots and holes in it. It also appeared to have been green, improperly cured, and improperly stored (it still had ice on it when it was installed in the house). When the wood dried it warped and split, causing a main post to twist, the railing trim to pull away from the ceiling, and the stairway steps to crack. Plastic tread runners added to each step to prevent slipping on the bare wood were improperly installed. Each was secured with only four nails; two at the leading edge of the tread and two on the top of the tread near the adjacent riser. No adhesives were applied. On a number of steps, the runner material buckled between the nails very shortly after installation. Further, the leading edge of all the runners were trimmed approximately three quarters of an inch below the edge of the lumber, resulting (especially when loose and buckled) in a serious tripping hazard. In the process of building the stairway, the crew managed to damage the wall and ceiling of the stairwell, which they left as is. Although my parents and some of my siblings questioned the quality of his work, rather than being apologetic and making right his promises, the builder became increasingly defensive and belligerent as the weeks went by. He very clearly wanted to be done with the work in their home so he could move on to other jobs. He took a special dislike to my elderly mother and directed his caustic and dismissive remarks toward her. Although my parents were not happy with the work on the stairway, the builder eventually considered his work on it done. He and his crew completed the rest of the work in the bathroom and the doorway entrances with a grade of C+/B-. The crew, by the way, was always polite and did what their boss said to do because they had to; we have no complaints against them. Some time passed and then we ran into the builder at a county-wide event for senior citizens. We confronted him about the poor quality of his workmanship and materials. Although clearly angry, he said he's make good on his work. When he came back to the house to do this, however, he consented to do only a little of what we asked, and then to only do it out of "the goodness of his heart." The entire experience left my parents demoralized. Asserting themselves is difficult for them, and their generation is loath to contradict or question someone in a position of authority. Speaking up about the inferior work was exceedingly stressful in and of itself; living with it they are reminded that they misplaced their trust in someone who was "certified" and who, supposedly, desired to work on their behalf.