Stone Retains

He was incredible. He has over forty years of experience. Even though he put in extra work. he stuck with his original bid. The chimney looks great.

I hired Tom Tyson to build a patio made of slate in my backyard.  The original agreement (a not to exceed amount) was $4,260.00 and it was supposed to be completed by 10/07/2011.  It took him much longer to build the patio than he had agreed to.  The agreement was for less than a month but it took him an entire two months because he only worked on it part time.  Some days he did not show up at all, and when he did show up he only worked three or four hours (according to my neighbors who watched the job while I was at work).  In the beginning I told Tom Tyson that there was a deer problem here and he needed to be careful to keep the gate closed when he left.  He said he understood and would make sure to close it. 

During the course of the project, Tom Tyson repeatedly left the gate to the yard open even though I told him several times that there was a serious deer problem and that I was worried about my garden and fruit trees being exposed.  The deer did come in and damage some of my yard, garden and fruit trees because of his in-attention to closing the gate.  At one point, he left the gate open twice in one day.  He also left the water running several times from the hose he was using.  He consistently left the job site messy and repeatedly left his power cord plugged in and spread down the stair case from the deck creating a tripping hazard. 

Even though the agreement was to use large pieces of slate, Tom Tyson used mostly small pieces and no large pieces at all.  It is very disappointing.  I didn't bring up this subject because he was so difficult to work with and it was too late to change things. 

He wasn't making much progress and on 10/14/2011, one week after the due date, I asked him how much longer it would be.  He wouldn't commit to another date, but said it would be soon.  On 10/18/2011, Tom Tyson called me and asked for $350 more for the rock that he claimed to have under estimated and he said that Willamette Grey Stone had shorted him and overcharged him.  I told Tom Tyson we had a not to exceed amount agreement and that there would be no more money.  I also told him that his disagreement with Willamette Grey Stone was between him and them, not me.  He got mad, yelled at me, and hung up on me.  I waited a few minutes, then called him back.  I told him not to hang up on me and I am issuing a stop work order until this is resolved. 

He called the next day and left a message on my recording saying he had talked to Willamette Grey Stone, and they had agreed that they over charged him and shorted him and that they would work it out with him.  I called him back and said he could continue work conditionally on:

1. We agree on a new completion date of 11/8/2011
2. The price is not negotiable and stays at $4260.00
3. He is required to behave professionally, no yelling or hanging up on me, and follow the rules (ie. close the gate).
4. He is responsible for paying the suppliers in the end and I get a signed release stating that.
5. He had to clean up the messes where he had dumped spent mortar and rock chips in my bios wale and other various messes.

He agreed to the terms and I let him go back on my property to finish the job.

On 10/21/2011, Tom Tyson worked for about 4 hours, then left.  He knew I was working from home that day and after he left I went out to look at what he had done.  I opened the gate and it fell off and as I went to grab it so it wouldn't crash to the ground, I strained my back.  Tom Tyson later admitted that he had knocked the gate off of one of the two hinges.  He didn't fix it though, he just stuck rock under the corners and tied it shut.  He didn't tell me even though he knew I was working at home and he didn't leave me a note warning me about the hazard.  The gate is heavy and is a five foot wide by seven foot tall metal gate. 

On 11/2/2011, Tom Tyson called me and said he was done and wanted to get paid.  I said I will inspect it when I get home and we can make an agreed upon time/date to exchange his pay for my release paper.  I inspected the job that evening when I got home from work, and it was not finished.  He shortened the patio even though there was plenty of rock available on site.  He also only finished the edge trimming of the rock on about 1/3 of the edges.  The rest of the edges are ragged and unfinished.  He took all of the rock, sand, and cement with him.  The quality of the mortar job was very poor.  There are many voids and gaps between the rocks.  He didn't place a complete bed of mortar underneath the last section of the patio, it is just patch work.  The surface is not level, as several places puddle when it rains. 

I told Tom Tyson I had had enough of him.  We agreed that he would bring back the rock, sand, and cement then I would get the project finished on my own.  With a friend as a witness, I paid Tom Tyson the full amount for a very poorly done job.  He signed the release and left. 

I have built several houses with contractors and done numerous projects with contractors over the past 30 years and Tom Tyson is by far the worst contractor I have ever dealt with.  Now I need to hire someone else to clean up this mess and get the job done right.