Benny Crook

Mr. Crook worked for me as a handyman in 2011 and in August of 2011, I hired him
to build a one-car garage and to screen in a porch. As a handyman, he had always
showed up when he said he would and completed everything he did satisfactorily.
I had come to trust him.

Regarding the garage: Several professionals,
including a building inspector I hired to give me a written report, told me the
concrete slab the garage rests on should have been partially sunken in the
ground and that it might crack if I put my car in it. Almost a year passed
before I dared make the attempt last week. The cement ramp is so steep that my
car scraped on the underside and I backed the car out after entering only
partially. Now that I know I can?t get my car in, regardless of the stability of
the foundation, I am hiring someone to build a new ramp.

When the garage
was ?finished,? in September ?11, after I had just handed him the last half of
my payment, Mr. Crook said I might want to call him and have him put gutters on
the roof. I hadn?t thought of gutters, figuring the garage had been completed
thoroughly, and later hired someone to install gutters and cleats to keep chunks
of ice/snow from falling. He had said he would add support under the two back
doors, which are 6? above the ground, to hold up metal plates that stick out
over the foundation, and that wasn?t done. The electricity for the garage had
been hooked up to my dishwasher in the house, and I had to hire an electrician
to put in a new circuit breaker. Also, Mr. Crook had told me that in N.C., I
wasn?t required to consult with the building department, but I later found out
this wasn?t true--for any construction including electricity, the building has
to be inspected and follow approved codes. (As a new arrival to NC, I hadn?t
known this.) He was supposed to install the 2 solar lights I purchased, but
never did this either.

When the garage was built, the foundation of the
garage slid out when the cement was poured and one side of my garage sticks out
beyond the foundation. The OSB on the garage interior moved when the foundation
slid and molding had to be added to cover the gaps along the ceiling. (Mr. Crook
did point these things out to me and covered the cost of the moldings himself.)
I paid Mr. Crook $16,200 for a garage that currently can only function as a
shed.

Regarding the porch: I hired an electrician make on outlet on the
porch, which Mr. Crook had said he would do. The steps leading to the porch,
which Mr. Crook originally built, had to be rebuilt: the treads were of
different sizes; there was only 1 stringer for the 6? treads and it was cracked;
posts supporting the handrails were loose. I paid Mr. Crook $2,200 for work done
on the porch. Since I am not including the dimensions of the porch or details on
what was done, it no doubt is impossible for you to tell whether the price was
reasonable.

I just spoke with Mr. Crook on the phone, hoping he would
agree to cover the cost of a new ramp, but he hung up on me before I could talk
to him about this. He warned me not to make this post, saying he had spoken with
his attorney and he told me I would regret it. Then he hung up while I was
speaking.