ComplaintsforMBSquared Construction

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Multiple delays: one delay was due to **** taking on another job during our project and it took longer than he expected. It took 4 months from our deposit being made to the project starting. Told 6-8 weeks for our basement and 1-2 weeks for flooring in the rest of our house. Took over 6 months to complete the small basement. Problems: sink installed in the wrong place, a hole in the wall to the crawl space without a door, a towel rack not anchored or secure, a busted pipe and wet insulation due to holes in house not being sealed during plumbing, a leaking sink due to a defect never communicated, buckling and uneven flooring, sloppy tiling/grout and monetary loss.Dishonest: over $9,000 in a flooring deposit for the rest of the house given. Due to dissatisfaction with basement, we chose to find another contractor for the flooring. **** spent our deposit. It took 5 months to gather the funds. Because of delay, the cost went up to do the rest of the house by $5k. We had chosen basement floor before project started. Told multiple times flooring would start and it didn't. Flooring we chose ended up discontinued. Instead of telling us, he picked out flooring he felt was similar and installed it. I noticed it was wrong and found out it was $3/sq ft cheaper than what we chose and paid for. He then pressured us into choosing one that was in stock so he could install quickly which still didnt happen. It then had to be ripped up because the ground wasn't leveled prior so there were huge pockets (still an issue). **** had 1 contractor doing the work but he was the project manager and he was onsite maybe 5 times the entire time. His contractor was loud, on the phone with friends for hours, swearing, leaving food and piles of spit out sunflower seeds. He would tell ************* was here when he never came. **** wouldn't know because he was never here. We have had issues throughout the project such as hot water not being left off, emergency water shut off being dry walled over, etc.

• Initial Complaint

  05/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  MB Squared Construction was hired to remodel a bathroom with new tile and hardware, replace the toilet and install shower doors, but breached its contractual agreement for services commenced on 2/22/22, resulting in damages incurred to our bathroom. Contractor requested full payment minus $290 on February 25, 2022, after which our contractual agreement seemed to no longer be a priority, resulting in a failure to remedy the issues with the tile, grout, and caulk in the shower, and the shower and tub hardware identified through text correspondence beginning on 2/27/22. When 2 attempted efforts to remove the grout haze failed, said Contractor sent out a tile colleague on March 18th to assess the tile work. This colleague agreed that grout haze remained on the tile and required removal. He also acknowledged that the first layer of grout had yellowed, and that a second layer of grout was needed once cleaned to fill in the large gaps and cracks. On a follow-up call March 21, 2022, MBSquared agreed to 4 action items (cleaning, re-grouting, removing caulk and resealing) stating that he wanted us to be happy with the job. Contractor agreed to correct the issues identified knowing there was a deadline of April 19th (the day the shower doors were installed). We trusted that he would make things right and prioritize our project. Despite his promises, and our contractual agreement, the contractor continued to stall, putting the least amount of time and effort into rectifying the action items, and only working on what he felt needed to be corrected despite us continually pointing out what needed to be resolved each time he came out to work. The contractor put us in an unwanted, difficult situation of having to finish the work ourselves, which could have been completed 8 weeks earlier had we simply turned it over to another contractor. MBSquared did not want to compensate us for someone else's work, and we trusted he would complete things to our satisfaction.

  Business response

  05/14/2022

  ********************* was initially happy with the project and paid me in full. She was responsible for purchasing all the final finish products ie. grout, caulk, tile etc. I gave her a list of trusted products that I use on a regular basis, she picked whatever was easily available. She calls me back a couple days later and says that there are a few issues that she wants me to look at, which was grout haze. I warranty my work, so I agree to go over. I work on the grout haze, and she says she is not happy. She said If i refund her $290 she will work on the haze at her own leisure. I said ill make it right, and continue working, she purchased a grout haze remover and indicated this is the product that she wants to use. She complains about the caulking, saying she doesn't like it, even after I said that is not what needs to be used, need to use grout caulk. Now she says she wants $1500 dollars refund, because of the work she had to do. I worked 6-8 hrs. extra to try to make her happy, and she keeps complaining and eventually told me they would finish up the cleaning, if I would refund her $250 dollars. I have text messages to back all this up. I told her I would clean grout haze, I didn't to remove caulk because I didn't want to use it in the first place, and she would do the re-sealing. I have completed 40+ showers and this one is no different, there was some grout haze, I removed 90%, i removed the caulking (under duress), and did some re-grouting. ********************* indicated that they have completed multiple projects on their home, that is why I used the products she purchased. 

  Customer response

  05/16/2022

   
  Complaint: 17140610
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  We are not tile professionals. We can, however, read and follow manufacturers directions and solicit help from professionals in the industry. This is why we hired ******************. What we counted on was his knowledge and experience to complete our shower remodel in a timely manner; not put his ego in front of him, inevitably leaving us in the position of having to remedy and complete the shower tiling ourselves. ****************** was paid on February 25th, 2022, not because we were initially happy with the project but because he demanded payment. He did not complete the contracted work at the end of the day, acknowledging there were difficulties with the grout application, and chose to let the grout dry on the tile. He informed us that he would return the following Tuesday to buff the tiles and do the final cleaning. We, in good faith, trusted he would return as promised to complete the project. After having read the manufacturers directions ourselves, it became evident that the grout cured and bonded to the new tile and removal would be an extremely difficult task. We also noted large gaps and cracks in the grout joints and a poor quality in the caulk application and wanted these corrected.  We immediately reached out to him with our concerns on February 27th. This is when it started becoming increasingly apparent that ****************** lacked the experience, skill set and knowledge to work with the materials provided, and he was unwilling to admit that his errors in judgement had, in fact, caused damages to the tile resulting in his 6-8 hours extra to try and make her happy.  We were never provided a list of trusted products ****************** uses. His only requests were that we provide a pre-mixed grout and unsanded caulk, and he did not want to work with a dark colored grout.  We even suggested verbally and through text messages that he provide the grout and include it in the bathroom quote.  Considerable time was spent at ********** discussing product options with 2 specialists and their lead contractor, selecting the best products to use given the type of tiles selected.  These products were purchased and presented to ****************** for his use.  Unfortunately, we learned too late that ****************** did not read nor follow the manufacturer's directions on any of the product that was provided to him.  He told us that he assumed the materials used could be applied in the same manner as what he has previously used.  We cannot be held responsible for his inability, inflexibility, and unwillingness to properly read and follow manufacturers directions. Furthermore,we learned that ****************** used a buffing wheel to remove hardened grout,which is not standard industry practice according to **********.  This resulted in him removing the sealer product, yellowing the white grout, and damaging the tile. A subsequent removal effort (March 10th ) included the use of vinegar and bleach, which we informed him, according to the products labeling and **********, would not work.He disregarded our request to stop using vinegar, and instead, use the product recommended by the manufacturer. It was 4 weeks later through phone, text, and a 3rd party contractor that ****************** provided, that he agreed to correct 4 action items and finish the shower remodel according to his estimate.This additional time was not done under duress, but under his contractual obligations to provide us with a completed shower remodel. We had given ***************** 8 weeks to correct our 4 concerns and complete the shower, including providing additional and unbudgeted material. ****************** continued to not prioritize our concerns, did not show up on days as promised, had little to no communication or follow-up for days, and delivered minimal effort to correct the action items.  It was very clear that ****************** was putting in just enough effort to say he did the work in hopes that we would be accepting of the outcome. Ultimately ****************** was unable to meet our agreed upon deadline of April 19th to complete the work and our shower remains incomplete.
  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Leif and *****************************

  Business response

  06/07/2022

  Leif and I talked yesterday.  We are going to accept the cleaning.  But we are struggling with the grouting.  We are not sure you understand what we are asking for, but we can clearly see this is out of your comfort zone.  Instead of you saying something from the beginning, you continue to work at things, compounding the issues.  So we are not going to have you do any more grouting.  Since it is too late for us to hire someone to finish this, it has become our responsibility to finish this weekend.  For that, we are asking for a reasonable refund for our time since you haven't completed the job.  $250, which includes the products I bought yesterday and a day's worth of our time.  You said you wanted us to be happy with your work.  But this has been anything but that for the past 2 months since we paid you.  
  

  This is from ******, she asked me not to come back and for $250 which I was happy to refund for their time/effort.

  Customer response

  06/09/2022

   
  Complaint: 17140610
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  It is rather untimely that ****************** is now starting to go back through and read his text messages, some 10 plus weeks later.  The text response ****************** is referring to was sent at 8:19 a.m. on April 14, 2022.  ****************** knew that our shower doors were being installed on April 19, 2022, and that he needed to complete all of the remaining work by the 14th of that week.  ****************** was on another job at the time, and was not prioritizing our completion of the bathroom, nor did he make more than an hour's effort that week to come out to work on the bathroom.  He was sent a very specific text on 4/13/22 stating that he did not remove all of the caulk, nor did he regrout the entire 3 walls with a second layer of grout.  This whole re-grouting was per our 4 action items continually discussed, and also mentioned by his colleague as needing to be done when ***** visited on March 20, 2022.  When ****************** did not attempt to begin re-grouting on April 13th (again being asked what is the plan for regrouting, and him stating "I don't have a plan") and only half removed some caulk.  We had made the decision the next day to send a text stating we would accept the grout hazing removal.  We also stated in that same message, "We are not sure that you understand what we are asking for, but we can clearly see this is out of your comfort zone.  Instead of you saying something from the beginning, you continue to work at things, compounding the issues.  So we are not going to have you do any more grouting".

  The initial $250 offer is no longer valid and ****************** received 2 additional offers to settle, with a last offer of $1500.

  It took nearly 4 weeks for ****************** to respond to this last BBB complaint, exhibiting once again, his continued lack of prioritization for our concerns, his repeated no-show on days as promised, his little to no communication or follow-up for days, and him delivering minimal effort to correct the action items.  It is very clear that ****************** was putting in just enough effort to say he did the work in hopes that we would be accepting of the outcome. Ultimately ****************** was unable to meet our agreed upon deadline of April 19th to complete the work and our shower remains incomplete.
  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

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