Chad Renegar

My project is a sitting area off of my main deck. A 10”x10” hexagon which requires a lot of precise angle cuts, and some seating areas. Chad Renegar advertised on the NEXT-DOOR web site that he could do carpentry. He came over to bid the job, and seem enthusiastic, telling me he would do it quickly, start that same day, and charge me $ 500 for the project. I had another bid for $ 600 from a reputable carpenter that had done prior work for me, so this seemed like a slightly better deal, but it was his enthusiasm to start and finish quickly that was the motivating factor to select him. After the bid visit, he left and came back that same day with a pickup truck full of masonry equipment. He only had a tape measure and an old rusty saw and an equally rusty screwdriver. He asked me if I had a drill. When I told him that mine didn't have enough power, he left. He came back later (I think the next day) with friend and who had apparently loaned him a drill, and power hand saw. His typical work plan was to come over in the late afternoon ( 4-5pm) and work on the deck, often for an hour or two and then he would leave either for personal reasons or because of darkness. I suspect he was doing this after his full-time job, which he did not disclose to me. After removing the old deck material, we found some support beams (2x6's) that showed some rot. He wanted to solve the problem by nailing good boards to rotten boards, which of course is never a good idea. I instead insisted that he replace them. I should have fired him at that point. He started to replace the 2x6's and we talked about that fact that that this part of the project was not in the original scope. I told him I recognized that fact and suggested to him that I would pay him another $ 100 to accommodate the delays and extra work. He agreed to that amount. His intermittent work continued, and days would pass before he would show up again. When he did it was often for that last hour of daylight. As the project progressed it was obvious that this project was beyond his limited abilities, and his available tools. He clearly was not able to cut a straight line, nor the consistent angle cuts for the boards going into the hexagon middle of the seating area. He was marking new boards with the old rotten boards, which were not even of the same dimension as the new boards, let alone in good enough condition to use as templates. Furthermore, he cut all the boards first and was trying to piece them together at the end like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Bottom line: - he wasted a lot of premium lumber - the project is a mess and incomplete, - I'm left with $$$ to have someone come in to fix it. I had to finally fire him and ask him to leave the property with the project undone. He insisted that I pay him an additional $420 more than the $400 I had already advanced him, bringing the total cost to $ 820, or 164% more than he bid the project. He actually billed me for some bricks and blocks that I never even asked for in the first place. I had also given him $ 20 for gas money to pick up lumber a few miles away at the local Lowes. I told him that I would pay him the original project cost of $600 ($500 bid, plus $100 agreed to) and he could walk away with no consequences, or I would pay what he asked, and I would share my review of his work, and other consequences. He obviously chose the second offer. I am probably going to sue him in small claims court, and I plan on having my accountant send him a 1099, as I doubt, he will report the amounts I paid him, esp. the cash portion. Do not use this guy for any carpentry work, he has no skills. As far as his masonry skills, I really can't offer an opinion as I didn't use those services but given his performance with the deck, I have to believe that those skills are suspect too.