American Group Construction

Project was to install bathroom and finish attic space on second floor of my home. Contract was signed on June 22nd, 2021 and work started on June 24th. I have since paid the owner, Juan Amaya, 92% of the total payment in cash (that I have signed receipts for) who is now refusing to finish the job. Juan is an unethical businessman and a fraud. Everything was going well until I was finding more and more issues with the quality of work that was being done. The pictures of previous jobs that were provided by the owner's daughter as a reference before I signed the contract were not a good representation of the level of work that was given to me. The tiles in the bathroom are crooked, the grout work is sloppy and messy, the new walls are uneven, etc. Sometimes the workers wouldn't show up due to binge drinking the previous night and upon return, they would try to rush parts of the job making many costly mistakes. Bottom line is I paid Juan to do good work like I saw in the pictures and he was not delivering on it. On Wednesday morning, July 21st I let Juan know that I was not happy with how the bathroom was turning out and other concerns that I had and he became very defensive. I said I wouldn't accept anything less than a tear down of the bathroom because I had already consulted several contractors who confirmed it was an abysmal tiling job and it had to be completely redone because the newly installed walls behind the tile are not level or plumb. Juan became angry and started taking pictures of everything and getting ready to leave. Juan knew that the job wasn't good so before he left, he asked "Do you want me to refund you for the bathroom?" And I said "Yes, refund the money for the bathroom so I can hire a contractor and get it done correctly." Juan is now refusing to return to my property to finish the job or refund any money. Aside from the bathroom, there is a lot more work that needs to be done with the attic space, patching a hole that they accidentally punched through my bathroom ceiling downstairs, they also have to address issues with the hardwood floor that was installed, finish painting rooms, fixing dents and holes in the wall that they created, installing lights, light switches, installing shelves in the closet... the list goes on... All of this is outlined in the signed contract which Juan chose to willingly violate. Below are the issues with the bathroom. See pictures for reference: -The back wall is bowing over the shower curb area and other walls. -Small, uneven slivers of tile in all corners without wrapping, increasing in size downward indicative of poor layout/foresight & lack of care to ensure "plumb" (straight up and down) installation. -Grout flooding into corners/lippage issues. -Small rips on wall to floor transition askew, out of plane w/ uneven spacing. -Floor to wall transition not caulked. All changes of plane must be caulked. -Grout spillage on most tiles indicative of lippage/plane/flatness issues or overall poor installation of grout -Appearance of arching in overall layout - tile does not appear to be straight -Quarter round/bullnose trim edges not mitered at a 45º angle -Uneven grout joint at top of niche/crooked tiles Inside corners on plane grouted instead of caulked -Grout overflowing into corners of tiles/out of plane, lippage issues -Walls / shampoo holder / niche is completely uneven -No waterproofing or topical waterproofing over the cement board in the shower area. Now I have an unfinished bathroom, attic space and I'm out thousands of dollars. A good contractor would never cut corners to save a buck; they put too much value on their reputation and make it their highest priority to make sure the client is satisfied now and in the long run. Juan Amaya and American Group Construction fit all the criteria of a bad and dishonest contractor... They use unskilled workers, you pay for amenities that never get installed, the work is terrible and then they disappear altogether. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of Juan Amaya and American Group Construction. THEY ARE A SCAM. DO NOT HIRE THEM!!!