ally Benson \u2014 August 13, 2015
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\nWhat a mess.<\/p>\n

When retired police officer Richard Coates hired a landscape company to renovate his southern California back yard, he was careful to verify the company\u2019s licensing as well as its portfolio. He accompanied the owner on a tour of previous job sites and was impressed with the quality of work. Everything appeared to be legit. This was not just two guys and a pickup; it was an established company, with the current owner having taken over for his father. \u201cHe was a really nice guy,\u201d Coates adds. It all looked good.<\/p>\n

That is, until work began.<\/p>\n

When the original demolition crew was dismissed, the pool hadn\u2019t been drained.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\nRenovation interrupted<\/h3>\n

Having lived in his home for about 20 years, Coates had decided it was time for a backyard update. The pool needed to be repaired and its concrete deck was cracked; the patio cover hosted dry rot and termites, and it was time for a new entertainment center and outdoor kitchen. \u201cWe were really going to do it up right,\u201d Coates says.<\/p>\n

Coates visited the website Houzz.com and reviewed a number of offerings before he selected his favorite. \u201cThe work that he had done was pretty much exactly what we were looking for,\u201d Coates explains. \u201cHe was a local guy, he did great work. So we met with him, and he seemed like just the super nicest guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI checked his license on the Internet,\u201d he continues. \u201cHe said he\u2019d come over with some plans and a contract. Now, I don\u2019t know a whole lot about contracts or what a contractor can or cannot do, or what they require or what they don\u2019t require. But we signed the contract and he asked for an initial down payment of $6,000. Subsequently, I found out that he can\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, none of this sounds unusual. Homeowners searching for professionals can turn to myriad sources, including the Web, and this particular client did exactly what so many do. In fact, he was careful to go further than many laypeople do \u2013 he\u2019d done some construction work back in the day, so he was familiar with licensing and with many of the technical aspects of demolition.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Before \u2013 The old pool needed updating and repair; following a rocky start, the new water feature is a highlight of the property for the homeowners, their friends and family.<\/strong>Photos courtesy of Snyder & Associates<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe guy seemed really squared away,\u201d Coates claims. \u201cMaybe a little later on in the project I thought, this is getting a little out of control. But we started demo the next day, everything seemed to go okay, and I met that benchmark payment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next step was installing drainage lines, and here\u2019s where the project began to go downhill \u2013 fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI noticed that these guys didn\u2019t even have a set of plans,\u201d Coates explains. \u201cIt was just a little piece of paper with some rough drawings. I knew a little bit about how you have to shoot elevations, and you have to have a set of plumb lines. So they start putting in the drains, and I can see right away that it\u2019s completely wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Coates stopped the workers, phoned the contractor and told him that he or his project supervisor needed to make a site visit. \u201cSo he came out one day and started them off again, kind of got things going in the right direction, but three days later, I get a knock on my front door and it\u2019s the demo guy. And he says, \u2018Hey, I haven\u2019t been paid.\u2019 And by this time, I\u2019ve given the contractor close to $30,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nExcuse after excuse<\/h3>\n

Despite the on-time receipt of \u201cbenchmark\u201d payments, the contractor simply wasn\u2019t doing the job \u2013 and he wasn\u2019t paying his subcontractors. Coates says he assured the demo worker that he\u2019d get paid \u2013 \u201cit\u2019s only fair, because he did the work\u201d \u2013 and then he tried to track down the contractor, who avoided calls, emails and text messages. After repeated attempts, they connect. \u201cI tell him the demo man was over here, and he says you haven\u2019t paid him. So [the contractor] says, \u2018Oh, well, one of my other clients, they were supposed to give me a check, but they were out of town; don\u2019t worry about it\u2019 \u2026 blah, blah, blah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should it be the homeowner\u2019s responsibility to follow up? \u201cI did think that was a little unusual, but I\u2019m still thinking this guy\u2019s okay,\u201d Coates admits. A successful contractor is a busy contractor, after all. Then: \u201cI tell him that his guys are over here working and they don\u2019t even have a set of plans. How do you expect them to build something without any plans? And he says, \u2018Well, I\u2019m trying to set up some forms \u2026 and my designer, he just had a baby \u2026 \u2018 and this guy\u2019s got an excuse for everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo then they start putting in the forms, and he takes another payment,\u201d Coates continues. \u201cBy now he\u2019s got about $38,000, $40,00 from me, and all I\u2019ve got is a torn up back yard. I\u2019m watching them from inside the house and they do the whole thing wrong. Completely, totally wrong from what my design was going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once again, the contractor is called. He assures Coates the project supervisor will arrive. The next day, workers show up, and there\u2019s no supervisor. Coates says he asked them, \u201cHey, where\u2019s Fernando? And they say, \u2018Oh, he couldn\u2019t come today.\u2019 So I said fine, pick up all your tools and get off the job; you\u2019re done here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another call to the contractor, who, not surprisingly, doesn\u2019t respond. \u201cSo I start digging a little deeper,\u201d Coates says, \u201cand I find when I check his license, it had been suspended the day before he came over to my house to sign and contract and take my money. I mean, the day before. He lost it because he lost his workers\u2019 comp and he didn\u2019t have his bond.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019m thinking,\u201d he adds, \u201cI\u2019m really screwed, because this guy\u2019s got about $40,000 of mine. I had checked his license before [we met], but in the interim, that quickly, he\u2019d lost his license. And all the while I\u2019m saying to him, \u2018Now listen, I don\u2019t want my money going to pay some other jobs.\u2019 And he\u2019s saying, \u2018Oh, no, no, I\u2019ve got an account that\u2019s dedicated to your job, don\u2019t worry about any of that.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

\nCalling for reinforcement<\/h3>\n

Beyond frustration, out tens of thousands of dollars and left with scorched-earth property, Coates decided to switch gears. Through word of mouth he was referred to Kerry Snyder, who \u201cwas more than helpful,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cI ran the story by him and he said there\u2019s so many things that [the contractor] did that were not legal, and here\u2019s some court cases that you can present to him so that you can show him you\u2019ve done your homework, and that you know that what he did was not right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kerry Snyder says this isn\u2019t all that unusual. Snyder, who with his partner owns Snyder & Associates in Orange, California, says that he\u2019s a \u201cregistered landscape architect who\u2019s gone over to the dark side.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A permanent, covered entertainment center, featuring a fireplace and large-screen TV, anchors the new backyard retreat.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Coates\u2019 project is a good example of why Snyder calls it the \u201cdark side: Because we\u2019re constantly getting calls from clients like this,\u201d who need to be rescued from a bad situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has happened more than once, where we enter a project and what we see has happened is that demolition has been rushed into,\u201d Snyder says. \u201cOn this particular case, demo had been done, they\u2019d already started some excavation for drain lines, so we\u2019d already heard that drains were going in with negative flow. But more so, the moment he told us, well, one of the subcontractors \u2013 the builder\u2019s subcontractor \u2013 was knocking on the door asking for money, we knew exactly where this was heading. And the other thing was, this particular contractor, we already knew from a couple other project sites that he was having problems. This is not the first job this contractor was doing this to: He\u2019s robbing Peter to pay Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snyder first consulted with Coates to help him out of the dilemma, providing Coates with information about licensing. \u201cI know the laws,\u201d he explains, \u201cI know the articles; I gave him the [information] to show the individual. It\u2019s not just for the homeowner to say, \u2018I\u2019m going to sue you,\u2019 but here\u2019s proof of what\u2019s going to happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In California, Snyder says, an unlicensed contractor who knowingly takes money on the job site can be accused of committing fraud, because he knows he\u2019s not licensed to perform the work. More to the point, an unlicensed contractor wouldn\u2019t be able to pull permits legally \u2013 and this contractor\u2019s license had been suspended by the state.<\/p>\n

Coates arranged to meet with the contractor, who arrived at the job site with more excuses. He didn\u2019t have the plans because they were still at the printers \u2026 he was going through a divorce \u2026<\/p>\n

Enough, Coates told him. Armed with Snyder\u2019s information and the implied threat of legal action, Coates negotiated a settlement. First, he says, \u201cI told him you make sure you pay the demo guy, and then you\u2019re going to give me back every penny.\u201d Surprisingly \u2013 despite a series of excuses and delays, including an arranged meeting at the bank, where the contractor showed up with $24,000 in cash \u2013 Coates recovered his initial investment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A new outdoor kitchen features stone veneer and polished, poured-in-place concrete countertops.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\nWait \u2026 what about the project?<\/h3>\n

With the dismissal of the original contractor, Coates hired Snyder & Associates to complete the job. The design\/build contract was similar to the original \u2013 minus, of course, the illegalities \u2013 entailing a pool remodel, hardscape throughout the yard, a new deck and covered entertainment area, outdoor kitchen and plantings. \u201cAnything that had to do with the outdoors, we did on this,\u201d Snyder says.<\/p>\n

Despite the initial demolition work, there was a bit more to be done. Snyder\u2019s crew had to remove the few drain lines that were installed incorrectly, and then real work began in early spring. The pool was relined and new, poured-in-place coping was installed; grading was altered to allow for a spillway; concrete pavers were set. A new outdoor kitchen was created with block wall and stone veneer, plus poured-in-place, polished concrete countertops. The covered patio structure features a fireplace and large-screen TV.<\/p>\n

Coates\u2019 dream back yard \u2013 the one that began as a nightmare \u2013 now provides exactly what he\u2019d hoped for. He admits that he might have been a little too trusting of the first contractor, but how many homeowners would know what they\u2019re getting into? He has some remarkably patient words for contractors, and for homeowners looking for professionals.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I think I would have done, when [the original contractor] was taking me around to show me his work, I never talked to the people he worked for. I should have said, take me to a couple of places that you\u2019re currently working on. And I should have spoken with the owners there,\u201d Coates offers. But a word-of-mouth recommendation, he says, saved the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think word-of-mouth advertising is so much more effective than any other way,\u201d he explains. \u201cI mean, if somebody is able to say, I have this guy, and he is really great, I think that works so much better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that I found with Kerry that I didn\u2019t find with the first guy,\u201d he continues, \u201cis that communication between the contractor and the client. I don\u2019t think I ever made a call, or a text, or an email that wasn\u2019t answered. He talked to me right then, or within an hour I had a response from him. To me, that is really, really important, as a client. Even if it\u2019s just a simple little silly thing, if you have that communication and that degree of cooperation between the client and the contractor, I think it just goes miles.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ally Benson \u2014 August 13, 2015 What a mess. When retired police officer Richard Coates hired a landscape company to renovate his southern California back yard, he was careful to verify the company\u2019s licensing as well as its portfolio. He accompanied the owner on a tour of previous job sites and was impressed with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[118,119,16,120],"class_list":["post-689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nursery","tag-contractors","tag-design-build","tag-landscape","tag-renovation"],"yoast_head":"\n