Carnova Contractors LLP

Starting in April, Carroll and his crew initially worked on replacing front porch & steps, masonry work, drainage, tree removal, and kitchen tiling. Much of the work was done by his "crew" and often Carroll was not on site. Consequently, work was done wrong or poorly, or not at all. The only thing done right was the one project Carroll did himself, which was the kitchen tiling. Carroll wanted to work on parts of each project simultaneously to "keep his guys busy," but after the first few weeks, he was never there to supervise them. One of his men damaged the new ceiling under our porch; it was never repaired and we received no compensation. The sidewalk demo was half-done, completed by my husband and son. The hookup of our sump pump to the drainage system resulted in an extra hole in our brick wall in the wrong spot. Trenches for drainage were insufficient; all the work had to be redone. A trench was left in the front yard with no progress at all on the retaining wall. The porch floor was installed, but not stained, and no finishing work was done. No landing or steps were constructed. No materials were purchased for the patio, landing or wall, though we provided over $5000 for this purpose. After returning from a week away in late May and finding no work had been done at all in my absence, and finding my deposit for materials had been spent, I negotiated with Carroll for certain pieces to be completed within a 2-week time period. He came one day, and did not return. At the end of the two weeks, I negotiated more time and a new deadline. If my money was gone, I at least wanted some work completed, at least get front steps put in (code violation). When Carroll failed to show again, I called and told him he owed me $5,600 and I did not want him on the property again. We spent another $8000 to redo the shoddy work and finish the critical projects. In July, I contacted the State Division of Consumer Affairs to lodge a complaint. In August, the Consumer Agent mediated a repayment plan negotiation in which I had to settle for $3,400, and got Carroll's check for $600. Carroll made one additional payment of $800 in October. In June 2009, the Agent reported Carroll claimed he did not have work and would not be able to make any more payments. I still have temporary front steps.