Ability Contractors

Mike B. _{on Yelp}

Jun 19th, 2019

We signed a contract with Ability Contractors in August 2015 for work on our home with an estimated duration of about 3 1/2 months and a completion before Christmas.    The contract involved several tasks that ABILITY was to perform.  The major ones were the following:Addition of a new bathroom Create a walk in closetInstallation of French doors leading into the library and creating a small closetRe-tile downstairs bathroom, replace plumbing and electrical fixtures and sink Replace shower enclosure in upstairs bath, and replace fixtures and toilet.Modify closet in second bedroom to create small walk in closet Construct a cedar wood enclosure on sport court for storage.Various electrical, plumbing, flooring and painting work related to project tasksHOWEVER, there are a number of scope of work items specified in the contract that Ability did not do correctly or were never done at all.On March 10, 2017 we filed a formal complaint with the State Contractors License Board.  (File No. S F 2016012857)  Our major cause for the complaint, and the ONLY ONE WE DEMANDED THAT ABILITY CORRECT, was the fact that the new plumbing installed for the new bath was not done properly and as a result the pipes throughout the house banged loudly 5-6 times every time water was turned on anywhere in the house.    It was annoying beyond belief and in addition, we expected that over time the pipe fittings might fail.   Ability did make two ineffectual attempts to correct the problem by exposing and strapping the most accessible pipes but eventually told us that they were not going to do anything additional and that it was, in effect, our problem. While correction of the plumbing problem is the only issue we demanded Ability pay to have corrected, we have other significant complaints against the company which include:The contractor did not hire qualified painters. We made multiple complaints to the contractor about the "quality" of the painting but to no avail. We finally told Ability to stop painting and instead took over the painting ourselves. We are both in our seventies but are better painters than Ability's crew. Ability told us later in writing  that he "was unable to hire professional painters because of the reputation of the clients."  We were never told what that means.The storage shed was supposed to be constructed out of cedar.  Instead, plywood was used and in a short time, and while Ability was still working here, the plywood warped and discolored and was barely functional.  When we asked that they simply remove it they said they would charge us!!  We had another contractor demolish it and purchased pre-fab sheds. Because it was only supposed to be a three month project, we agreed to his request to NOT place portable toilets for his workers on the sport court even though we were paying for them. BUT the project lasted a year and there was a time when we had to share the only functioning bathroom with the construction crew!!There were many other things in the scope of work that were not done but we let them slide.    Frankly, it got to the point where we just wanted them to be gone!!!!  Most of the house was in total disarray and covered in dust and tarps.    We spent months sleeping on twin beds in the office because the rest of the house was a construction site. It should be noted that we never asked for a modification of the contract amount based on the contract items that Ability did not do (most notably the hiring of qualified painters and the construction of a cedar storage shed), OR that we did ourselves.We finally located and retained a plumber who was able to diagnose and correct the problem (the new shower valves were damaged due to incorrect installation by Ability).    In order to resolve the complaint with the State Board, in September 2017 Ability reimbursed us for those costs. We in turn agreed to not require Ability to complete the contract scope of work items that we paid for but that they did not do, nor to reimburse us for payments we had made for those items.  Ability's website includes the following language:"Scott(the owner) is a problem solver...for you. He knows precisely the most efficient way to achieve the highest-quality product within the agreed upon time frame, and the work is delivered by a staff that is loyal, safe and competent.We pride ourselves on our professional and non-stop service, completing projects on budget, on time and to your satisfaction."That wasn't our experience.