K & R MODERNIZATION

We were approached by Christian Brother's Remodeling (now K & R Modernization) in Granbury, Texas via a flyer in our door. We checked out the company as best we could, and contacted them. We were interested in tearing out windows, a door, rebuilding a bar area, cabinet sanding/restaining, paneling and trim work - in short, a very large job. The contact person, Royce Caswell Sr., and his wife, Kim, (thus K & R) had a reasonable price, and could start remodeling work on our home immediately. They asked for 50% down - as they were new in town and had family employed by them, also citing they were strong Christians and would do fair, honest work. This was their mantra. Knowing we were also Christians and active in our church, they continued to play the "spiritual" card, even going so far as to say that God would never let them do dishonest work. They were friendly and personable. We agreed to the downpayment. Work did begin immediately. However, after about 25% of the work was done, they began to show up late, miss days, and do shoddy and slow work. It took approximately 3 weeks to sand even one portion of our kitchen cabinets - some days working only a few hours each day. We confronted them, only to have them say they had been working on our items at their home (sanding cabinet doors), or were busy gathering supplies and materials. Boldly, they approached us for an advance - we declined explaining that we were not seeing the quality and timely work that they promised. Our own family finally decided to do some of the work just to get it done, such as pulling up the wood laminate floors, sanding cabinets, removal of granite cabinet tops, etc., because other contractors such as the floor tile and kitchen counter top people were waiting on the progress to get started on their part of the project. The timelines were getting out of control. They seemed to pick up the pace for working and we began to think everything would be fine, so they approached us a second time for an advance, stating that they had family members who had been working, and they needed to be able to pay them, and to buy additional materials for our project. We agreed (and are now kicking ourselves), and paid them an additional amount, because they reminded us they had 10 children. As we feared, we never saw them again. This company, previously known as Christian Brothers Remodeing, left us with an unfinished, torn out door and window area, unfinished and partially sanded kitchen cabinets and living room shelving, unfinished and partially hung paneling in one room, missing crown moldings, and a huge mess everywhere. They had taken our cabinet doors to their "place" to work on them after hours, and refused to bring them back to us. We had to drive to their home to retrieve them, only to have them threaten us with a trespassing charge! They attempted to return materials to various vendors that had been paid with OUR funds to receive cash back for themselves. They were successful in some stores, but we stopped them in others. They took materials and tools from our personal garage, in addition to stealing money by running away after being paid but before finishing much work. We were forced to immediately change the locks on our doors at home, get a security system, and contact the BBB and the local authorities. As part of their "spiritual talk", they convinced us that they were part of a non-profit children's organization (we saw a website and literature) and that their mission was to connect families with children in need to donors of funds or supplies. Early on, we donated a glasstop table, a rolltop desk, a printer, wood laminate flooring, and other items to the cause. They returned with stories of happy families and children who we had supposedly helped. While retrieving our cabinet doors after they quit us and stole our money, we found most of these items decorating their own home. Beware - this family changes the name of their company quickly and easily to continue to gain access to unsuspecting victims - especially in high-end neighborhoods. Be sure to get their names upon checking them out: Royce and Kim Caswell, originally from Mississippi and other areas. We are unaware of the previous location, prior to Granbury, that this company existed. They were currently, as of April, in Granbury, Texas. We are in possession of contracts, cancelloed checks, and pictures of unfinished work as our proof. UPDATE: Upon REHIRING companies to come in and finish what we already paid for but did not receive from K & R (formerly Christian Brothers), we have found that the paneling put up in our dining room was cut too short and had to be "pieced" at the top before the crown molding could be replaced. We found damaged areas on the paneling that could have been replaced or fixed properly. We found that the crown molding they purchased with our funds was the wrong kind, but it had been cut, so we could not return it. When we began to stain our wood areas, we found "burned" places in the wood that now do not stain pretty or naturally. We have had to repay someone to put up cement board in the kitchen for a future backsplash. We have had to repay someone to build the entire new bar area. We have had to repay someone to come in and do all the fixing and touch up work that was left undone or done poorly.