Jonathan Villani

Was referred to me by a potential contractor whom I didn't wind up using. I assumed he was a licensed architect, but later research showed that he is not, at least not in the state of New York where he does business. He was late with almost every deadline except for when I was supposed to make out his checks, and unduly prolonged the remodeling process. When we went over final drawings, I requested that he bump out the kitchen another 2 feet in order to accommodate everything I needed. He sent revised elevations to me with revised interior dimensions, and he submitted some documentation to the Town Board (I have no idea what he submitted) soon after, but did not submit any construction drawings, which the Town then requested in order to issue the permit. It took him 3 months to submit the construction drawings, which did not reflect the revisions we had discussed almost 3 months before! While he had made revisions in the elevations, he had not made the changes in the all-important construction drawings. The Board approved them neverthless, and 4 months later, which was plenty of time for him to review and discover the mistakes, construction began. The foundation was almost complete when the contractor I hired discovered that the drawings were flawed, and that the foundation was off by 2 feet. The interior dimensions were also off -- by 7 inches. As a result I had to pay $1,300 in foundation re-work costs, which he would not reimburse, even though it was his mistake. After the work was complete, my contractor had to prod him through the actual dimensions and construction specs in order for him to submit as-built documentation. He cost me time, money and was not a licensed architect.