Jackson Contracting

When we started remodeling our house we found mold, which turned out to be severe. We hired an industrial hygienist to create a plan for remediation. Step one was moving vermiculite 24 inches away from the perimeter of the house, in the attic, so the sheetrock and insulation could safely be removed from the exterior walls and ceiling to expose the mold. My husband spent over 80 hours in the attic to do this, following strict safety protocols. Then it was time for Mat to remove the sheetrock from the exterior walls. He also needed to remove 12 inches of sheetrock from the ceiling adjacent to the exterior walls. We provided Mat with the industrial hygienist's written remediation plan and also went over it in person. We stressed the importance of containing the vermiculite in the attic because it contains asbestos and explained that he needed to remove 12 inches of ceiling sheetrock. Mat said he would need to remove 16 inches in order to expose framing to adhere the sheetrock to when replacing the ceiling after remediation was completed. This made logical sense, so we agreed after discussing it with the industrial hygienist, who had given the go ahead AS LONG AS HE DID NOT REMOVE PAST THE FRAMING. I explained this and Mat said he understood. I checked in with Mat via text while demo was taking place. He said vermiculite was raining down on them like sand from the ceiling. When we visited the house, my husband and I saw that Mat had removed several inches past the framing and spilled vermiculite in every room of the house. When qe asked Mat about it he said we told him to remove 24 inches of ceiling sheetrock, which is not true. He also said he "cleaned up" the mess with his ship vac. We spoke with our industrial hygienist who said Mat had contaminated the living space of the house with asbestos and should be held responsible for professional abatement. He also said Mat had performed illegal asbestos abatement and offered to talk with him about the potential ramifications of his actions. Mat refused to talk with him and maintained that he had done nothing wrong. Because we had paid Mat $5000 for replacement windows and $600 for wood flooring which we had not yet received, we were advised to continue working with Mat so we would eventually get our products. More demo needed to be done. I went to the house and wrote with a permanent marker on the walls, floors, and ceilings exactly where Mat was to remove sheetrock so there would be no confusion. Then I met with him on person at the house to make sure he understood. During conversation at the house we agreed that more demo would likely need to be done later, due to the extent of the mold. This would entail removing certain parts of the interior ceiling sheetrock. But I explained that this needed to wait until AFTER my husband removed the vermiculite from the attic. Because at that time it was pulled away from the exterior perimeter of the house and piled high in the center of the house. Mat said he understood. A few days later we found that Mat had removed a portion of ceiling sheetrock on the interior of the house, in a closet. Loads of vermiculite had fallen down, and Mat swept it into large piles with a broom. I contacted Mat about this and his response was that I told him to remove the ceiling closet. This is not true. I tried, unsuccessfully, to come to some resolution. So we fired him. At this point, Mat is refusing to supply us with his insurance information and he refuses to give us the products we paid him for. He told us to sue him for it. The professional asbestos abatement is estimated to cost at least $38,000. This is a true nightmare.