Extreme Remodeling

     
      I hired Anthony Bergman to do a major remodeling job on a 1942 house that I had purchased.  I did not check Angie's List until after I had hired him, and unfortunately, my experiences were very similar to another review on Angie's List.  
       The Bergmans (Anthony works with his wife, Angela) were working at my house for the first week, and they were very agreeable and accommodating.  The second week, I asked for a change for the flooring in the bathroom from a linoleum to ceramic tile.  After that, everything changed.  Anthony became very angry, refused to talk to me, wouldn't look me in the eye, and generally, wanted to let me know how displeased he was with my request to change the type of tile going into the bathroom.  He had charged me $3790.00 (labor only, I bought all materials) to build the bathroom.  (It is not a large bathroom, about an 8' by 7' area was tiled.)  When he presented me with the final bill, he added on $2700.00 (again, labor only) as the cost to put down the ceramic tile.  (He also removed the linoleum tiles, which took about an hour to remove).
      I felt it was extreme to charge that much for labor to put down ceramic tile.  Things that we had talked about as part of the estimate for the job now, all of a sudden, were "extras".  I got a written quotation for the kitchen remodeling but never received one for the bathroom, so I had no documentation to back up our original discussion for the estimate.  As things went from bad to worse, it became an untenable situation having the Bergman's in my house.  The simplest things would set him off.  He discovered mortar he had purchased was dried out and he became visibly upset, rather than let the situation roll off his back.  He had to leave the house for five minutes while an air quality test was being done and he, again, was incredulous at having an interruption,  even though he had just spent 30 minutes outside having a cigarette break.
       Within a weeks time, the bathroom ceramic tile which I had paid the $2700 for, began to crack around the grout lines.  I discovered that he had used plywood for a subfloor instead of cement board.  Not only was the grout cracking, but the ceramic tiles were also beginning to crack.  I have since had two other flooring contractors give me estimates to fix the floors and the highest amount estimated, including labor and materials (Bergman's charges did not include materials) has been $800.00.
  
     
      After the bill of an additional $2700 was given to me, which I had no idea was coming, and the difficulty of dealing with Anthony's volatile personality, I told him he was fired and that he could go ahead and take his things and leave.  He followed me outside and throughout the house loudly exclaiming his displeasure at being released from the job.  When we were outside, I asked him to come inside because I had a contractor outside that was hearing everything he was yelling, as well as my neighbors.  Once inside, there was another worker who heard and observed all that he was saying, so I had several witnesses to the progression of events.
     
        Anthony left with my receipts for materials that needed to be picked up at Menards as well as my house key.  When I asked him to return my items, he informed me that he "does not respond to demands" and refused to return my paperwork or key.  He also took with him all of the leftover paint I had purchased for my home and materials I will need to repair the substandard workmanship in both bathrooms.  
      
     
        I should also mention that he and his wife also laid ceramic tile in a very small first floor bathroom.  I have had several contractors look at the tile and they were all incredulous of the bad quality of the work.  The normal spacing on the tiles was 5cm.  Anthony chose to spread out the spacing  between the twelve inch sheets of ceramic tile to over a 1/4" - 1/3" rather than make a template and cut the tiles to fit the space.  He then randomly placed smaller pieces of tile in the middle of some kind of adhesive, all without regard to uniformity or spacing.  The effect of the tiling was horrible.  I had to have the tile installed by Friday evening because I had a bathroom resurfacing contractor coming at 8:00 am on Monday morning.  Anthony and his wife left Friday night leaving grout all over the lower tiles and big blobs of grout along the edges and in the corners.  I spent several hours over the weekend scraping out the blobs and trying to clean the grout off the wall tiles so that I could have my tub resurfaced on Monday.  I had told Anthony that the tiles were going to have to be redone, but he expected me to pay for all the materials as well as additional labor to replace the mess of a tiling job.
    
       I live in an area where building material waste may not be put out with the trash at the curb, it must be delivered to the dump.  In a final act of vindictiveness, Anthony removed all of the building waste from his truck and loaded it into my garage and around the front of my house.  I had to pay another contractor to remove this trash and clean up after Bergman.
 
     
        For very small jobs, Anthony would probably provide sufficient expertise to complete the job in a timely and professional manner.  ( Do not take that statement as a recommendation.  I hesitate to wish his unprofessional manner on anyone, regardless of project size. )  Anything longer than that, he becomes overwhelmed and "tired" (his words, not mine).  He is very easily angered, dislikes immensely being given any kind of direction and prefers to make his own decisions without regard to what the homeowner wishes to have done.  One should never question him about anything, because he will argue non-stop.  I am an older widow ( in my 60's) and I was concerned about my safety around him in view of how easily he could become agitated or angered.  The fact that he refused to return my door key is very disconcerting and I have had to have all my locks rekeyed.  This is yet another expense caused by Bergman's unprofessional behavior.
 
 
        Anthony took a lot from me, both monetarily and emotionally, and I believe I made the right decision to release him from the remodeling position at my home.  I do not recommend that anyone book him for future remodeling jobs that would last longer than a few days.  His temper gets the best of him, especially when he is overwhelmed with the vastness of a remodeling project.
        In closing, I would like to add one last thing.  If you try to physically locate Anthony, he doesn't exist.  The address on his facebook page is either outdated or fictitious and there are no addresses on his invoices or estimates  He had told me that he and his wife had purchased a new home, but when I searched the tax records for all counties in this area, there is no record of him or his wife..  If you try to call his cell phone number, he simply won't answer.