CELTIC MASONRY

The day went very smoothly for me as the team handled the whole job with very little need for me to be around.

He did an excellent job and would certainly recommend him.

I started with a hardscape plan from a landscape designer, but Paul, with Celtic Masonry has the skill to design. He was able to modify the plan on-the-fly as issues with the terrain called for a different approach and when I decided to change some of the original design. Paul is able to create an artistic rendering of the project, so you can see ideas before they are implemented. Celtic Masonry is wonderful to work with, from the ease of interaction with Frank, Paul and their crew, to their willingness to do what is needed to make sure the job is done right.

MAJOR COMPLAINT

AFTER BEING PAID 75%, THEY WALKED OFF THE JOB RATHER THAN FIX THEIR MISTAKES!!!

1: Celtic failed to GRADE PROPERTY BEFORE INSTALLING HARDSCAPE according to plan;

2: They never surveyed the property to place grading markers or stake out walls or project elements. Instead they were measuring off a previously incorrectly completed part of the plan, and since they got off track early, they got more and more off-track as they proceeded.

3: Failed Project Management (poor communication between Frank Dolaher & Paul Nelson, and their communication with me)

4. See photos for specific examples.

FROM HIRED TO QUITTING:

I thought I had done everything I could do to select the right contractor: Celtic Masonry WAS (past tense) on the Preferred Contractor list at Charles Luck Stone where I purchased the stone, they had a great rating / no complaints with Better Business Bureau (Celtic?s web site MISREPRESENTS them as ?BBB Accredited? -- THEY ARE NOT!) and had a great rating with my gal-pal Angie! So I was utterly stupefied when Frank Dolaher and Paul Nelson WALKED OFF THE JOB AFTER BEING PAID 75% of the job ($60,000 of the $80,000 contracts).

On June 28th, precisely 2 weeks after agreeing to be paid the remaining 25% for each phase as it was completed, they insisted they be paid immediately or they couldn?t continue working. I pointed out that neither of the projects was completed. Paul?s claim was that they couldn?t make payroll if they didn?t get money from me immediately (this is a commonly-used tactic to guilt homeowners). 

In response, their errors were again pointed out to them, specifically how they had failed to grade properly, by about 1 to 2 feet, and had failed to follow the plans/abide by their quotes in multiple areas. All along their response was, "Don't Worry, We'll Make It Right!" It seemed to finally dawn on them that they would have to do a good portion of the work over again.

On June 29th they failed to show up?***(more details below)

SOUTH CAROLINA LAW

They were offered an opportunity to correct their mistakes according to South Carolina?s 30-day ?Right to Cure.? Though their lawyer contacted my lawyer confirming receipt of the complaint and compensation request, no response has followed.

DETAILS

• Celtic ignored both aesthetic and functionally crucial elements of the York County Approved Plans that I provided (of the 8 pages, only 2 laminated sheets were kept/used on-site);
• Disrespectful toward me personally (when I asked Paul why he wasn?t following the approved drainage plans he told me the plans were overkill, not necessary, I was being too picky and that York County would never find out ? I have since found out a lot of things he apparently was counting on ME never finding out ? instead of fixing mistakes they just covered them up, literally); 
• Disrespectful of my time (would ask for a meeting with me on-the-spot, then would be frustrated when I wasn?t available);
• Very, very little on-site management (weren?t interested in doing it right the first time, instead their mantra was, ?we?ll fix it, we?ll make it right?); 
• Tried to have ?Come to Reality? meetings twice, they seemed to get it at the time and committed to following the plans as quoted, but soon reverted back to just doing things their way; 
• They never got their heads into the project, never familiarized themselves with the plans. 
• Sloppy work (crew left trash and demolition debris all over the work site and in my driveway); they clearly didn?t take pride in their work.
• Disrespectful of their crew; Ronny and the crew for the most part were very hard-working (though they threw trash and construction debris into my neighbor?s ravine and stacked timbers and debris around trees that were to be protected; they had to be reminded multiple times to protect trees and monitor silt-fences, according to plan), but the crew grew frustrated as well when they had to re-do work 2 and 3 times.

***DETAILS SURROUNDING WALK-OFF

Because of the number of mistakes made by not following the plan or listening to my wishes, I had already decided Celtic Masonry wouldn?t be continuing to work on the remainder of the phases, but because I DID want them to complete the work that had already been started, I tried to come up with a way to work with them. I had my personal project manager give them a very clear priority list that would enable me to give them some money and hopefully finish what was started (I didn?t know then how far off it was).

On June 28 they were given a list of 6 items to complete so at least one of the projects could be considered complete; they completed one of them (?#5. Correct gutter - drainage attachments to pvc with gutter connectors per plan as quoted?).

They took a shot at another one (?#6. Remove pile of dirt and move drain on hardscape seat wall; when wall is exposed we can go over where the drain will go?) but got it wrong again:

• didn?t remove pile of dirt that was up against the wall where the drain comes out ? apparently they thought it would be a good thing to have a pile of dirt under a wood deck so it would wash onto the hardscape;
• moved drain without consulting me or my project manager so it is still in a bad place; 
• dug out trenches and attached a heavy piece of pvc to existing gutter, starting to pull the gutter away from the house ? have no idea why this was done as this was not part of either of the current phases or quotes. 

Then they tried to address #3 on the list:

?#3. Final grade entire walkway area from medallion/decking area through columns through new drainage area; if middle wall is the correct height, there should be a 2 foot or so area along the wall that is closer to 6" below wall height; then the vast majority of the flat area should only be 6" above the top of the wall, with the area closest to the wall another foot on top of that...?

As they began to move the dirt to achieve the correct grade, they discovered that the grade they had been working with was indeed substantially above where it should have been and that, as Frank said, they had to ?move a helluva lot of dirt?, exposing the foundations of the columns and topmost retaining wall.

On June 29th, the next day, I received an email from Paul again claiming I didn't understand his request and insisting on payment, in part: ?I have already left for vacation and may have spotty coverage tomorrow (no access to e-mail). Frank's not an e-mail guy, so would you please give him a call (704)907-XXXX in the a.m. to let him know what you decide.?

I guess he thought I was his secretary!

Since I had indeed emailed Frank before, I emailed him my response. Noone from Celtic showed up the next day, or subsequent days. Apparently Frank does do email, and/or Paul did indeed have access to email: When they didn't show up, I gave them a deadline to have their equipment off my property within a few days, and Frank complied without contact.

CORRECTIONS NEEDED TO WORK

Overpaid to Celtic according to quotes provided (work paid for that they didn't do):   $7319 
3 Areas of Correction: Total cost to demo and replace per plan:         $46598
Total for material corrections:       $53917

The photos that follow show the areas that need correction. I am also posting additional facts at www.celticcomplaint.com

<

The wall is beautiful and Frank and Pacel are amazing to work with.  We have known them and have loved their work for us for almost 10 years now.

Great. Showed up on time. Responsive to changes. Good workers. Professional Project Management and on-site supervision. Slight problem with brick wall construction, but we found the error early, and they graciously rebuilt that section. Did a good job protecting lawn and cleaning up after job was done.

Concrete paver walkway installed was excellent. Initial resetting of flagstone walkway was unsatisfactory. Additional flagstone required consisted of small leftover pieces. Walkway was redone with additional new flagstone provided by Celtic. I originally requested a 18 inch flagstone edging to corner of house where all the utilities are. Intent is to put 4 ft high fencing in front of edging to hide utilities and provide access to them if necessary. I ended up with a wall. This had to be redone. Because the area slopes slightly nothing was done to provide for drop off where the ground sloped away from house. Flagstones were not butted together. 2 in to 3 in separation between flagstones. Celtic used dirt to fill in between flagstones. Work done unsatisfactory. I had to latter install metal edging and use pea gravel between flagstones to prevent erosion.

I searched the list for contractors and called Celtic Masonry. I setup and appointment for the next day. Frank was on time as arranged. We waked the job and I told Frank what I wanted. Frank said no problem. I had a free quote the next day. The quote was in line with other quotes that I had obtained. I contacted Frank and told him to proceed with the project. We arranged a schedule. They were on time. Frank waked the project with me a second time with his craftsman. We all agreed on work to be performed and the project was stared that day.The work was performed as agreed. Frank was on sight each day and kept me abreast of progress. Work was completed with no problems. Celtic Masonry did an excellent job on time at a very good price. I would recommend them to anyone.

We decided not to go with them. The gentleman who came out was very nice. I saw some of their work on the website, it was really good. However, it just happened to be a little bit over our price range.

Celtic was incredible to work with during this project. They are skilled craftsman with exceptional client service. Our project was extensive and required coordination between the masons, landscapers and a landscape architect in addition to a couple of designers. The project couldn't have run smoother and Celtic was a huge reason for the success. Paul and Frank are very creative and helped develop a pattern and shape for our wall and patio that was perfect for the shape of our yard. They were able to coordinate their work with the others involved and really did an outstanding job keeping the project moving as scheduled. The stone work is incredible. Paul, Frank and the entire Celtic crew were extremely professional with exceptional attention to detail and unbelievably great client service. They were flexible and able to adapt to changes in plan extremely well. We have small children and the entire crew was great around the kids. We'd hire them again in a second.

After searching for almost 6 months to find the right company to build our outdoor entertaining area, I found Celtic Masonry. I am here on Angie's List, because they are top notch. I have had experience with several major projects and I can honestly say that this was the best service I have ever received. There are not too many companies that are willing to give customer service and stand behind their work. Celtic Masonry does. The creativity of the project was exceptional and turned out, surprisingly, like the actual drawing. It is a true blend of creativity and execution.

They showed up on time, curteous, and attentive to detail. They are people you would want to have work on your home. There work is pristine.