Tucker Construction

Dean Tucker, dba, Tucker Construction, came to our home and quoted us $2,500 to remodel an existing bathroom in our home, located in Liverpool, NY 13090. He said he would need $2,000 down, to cover the cost of materials and labor to get the job started and that the duration of the project would be one week. As Dean had completed a previous job, to our satisfaction, we did not balk at the deposit. Work was scheduled to begin on May 4th, 2012. On May 3rd, I called Dean to ask him what time he would be coming over to start the project. He said he was going to have to start our project the following week. He came (with his ?helper?, Joe), on May 14th, and removed the existing fixtures and drywall from the bathroom. He placed the fixtures where he thought they would work the best, so that I could see and approve the layout. I spoke to him that evening and he said that he would need an additional $100 to cover the increased cost of the vanity/sink fixture. I told him that I would speak to (Dwight), my boyfriend, when he got home, but that it should not be a problem. I left him a note, telling him that the $100 was OK and that the layout looked good. When I got home from work, Dean had not been to our house to work. I called him and got his voice mail and left him a message. I did not hear from him the next day either and texted him and left him another voice mail message. We were concerned that something might have happened to him. He called me and told me that his truck had broken down and his helper had not picked him up for work that day. He came later that week and was waiting when I got home from work. He said he had gotten in a fight with is helper and that he had left him there with no vehicle and no phone. He did not have all of the parts that he needed to proceed with the job, so he had just been sitting and waiting. He said he would definitely be back tomorrow and that he would get up early and borrow his wife's car to come to the job. I let him use my phone to make arrangements to have his truck towed and repaired and to call his wife for a ride home. He did not show up the next day. I spoke to him after this and expressed that we really, really needed this to be done before our move in date of June 1st. He assured me that it would be done the following week. We did not hear from or see him for two more days and then his wife texted me on May 22nd and said that he was sick with a cold and respiratory infection and would not be in to work. She said he would be in the following day. He did not show up or call. He came to work, with his wife on the 24th. They arrived at 10:20am and were gone when I got home at 3:00pm. He told me at that time that he would work through the weekend and have the job done by Monday. He called me on Saturday, May 26th and told me that he forgot that he had a family barbeque and he would not be in today. He said he would push his other job out a few days and have ours done by Wednesday. He did not show up on Sunday. I sent him a text and later called him. He said he was still in bed and was not going to make it in to work. He then told me he needed more money for supplies. He said he had to spend the money that we gave him to repair his truck and that he was broke and had no money to buy the duct work, door and trim that he still needed to complete the job. On Tuesday, May 29th, Dean came to work and Dwight came over and gave him $200 cash. He left the job by 1:30pm that day and did not contact us again until June 1st. It is worth noting that every day, throughout this ordeal, I had to get up early so that everyone could use the only working bathroom and get ready for school. I also had to lock up my poor dogs, for no reason, on the days that Dean no call/no showed. The work that he did complete was substandard. He laid new drywall, over old, and obscured crown molding along one wall. The plumbing that was installed was riddled with leaks, the shower base was not level. There was no backer board on the shower and he used regular drywall around the shower, with no moisture barrier. He contacted us because he wanted all of his tools back. We told him that we wanted $500 back or we would file a lein on his tools so we could sell them. We also wanted the receipts for the supplies that he purchased. He came and was very hostile. He was swearing and refused to take the construction debris (drywall, wood, etc).