C B D CONSTRUCTION

There was a water leak from upstairs, 7 pieces of kitchen cabinets were removed. Mr. Esper was working in my neighbor's unit. I had a hard time finding the matching white color cabinet and my neighbor recommended to talk to Mr. Esper. The cabinetry company he does business with had similar white cabinets as the existing cabinets. I hired Ronald Eli Esper, " Larry", the owner of C B D construction to install 7 pieces of new kitchen cabinets with skin,light guard and a drawer box. We signed the contract on 10/21/2022, for $1,950. On 12/2/2022, he asked me to sign another contract for $3,022, saying he did not include the labor and material for the skin and light rail. The very first day he came to my unit, I told him about the skin and light rail. He didn't even remember we already signed a contract. We agreed on doing the work for $2,671. When I asked him when he could start, he said he was busy and he didn't know when. I said," If you can't start by next Monday, I would like a refund." He said he would start on Monday which was 11/21/2022. However, since that day, he would come one day every week or two. It's Feb.27 2023 today, it's not finished yet. He claims he has 50 year experience as a contractor, but he is very incompetent and clumsy.
He and his son installed 7 new cabinets. He said there was a problem. The 7th cabinet didn't line up with the existing 8th cabinet, and it's protruding. He said it was because of the wall not being straight, and he needed to tear down the wall behind the cabinet. When his crew came a week later, he said Mr. Esper didn't do it right, and he didn't need to tear down the wall. His crew took all 7 cabinets down and reinstalled them. Then I found out the door size of the new cabinets is 1/2" bigger than the existing cabinets, and I can't open two adjacent doors at the same time. When they are about 30 degrees open, they get stuck and can't open. Mr. Esper says, " I don't know. You asked me to order the cabinets. Just open one door at a time. I can't help it."He put the bottom panel of one cabinet upside down when he assembled. The plywood is showing instead of white color. They put a white panel over it. He made holes for door knob too big, he had to reorder the door, he told the crew to pull out the electrical cord for the under the cabinet light in the wrong spot through the skin, they had to remove the skin and replace 2nd time. Now they didn't put the skin straight and high enough, the connectors and wires of the line lightings are visible from outside. They need to replace the skin the third time. They broke a couple of the backsplash tiles and replaced them. They are not aligned with the existing tiles, and are protruding. They put the skin on the cabinet over the sink with 1/4"gap. It is supposed to be a three day job, it's still not done after 7 visits in 3 months. He sends his workers to other job sites when the weather is good, he sends them to my unit on rainy days and his worker says he doesn't work on a rainy day. He talks nicely, but he is deceitful and untrustworthy. Why didn't I let him go? He got paid $2,000 already before he even started work in my unit. Not because I wanted but he would not return the deposit of the canceled work saying he would use that money for cabinet installation. I signed a contract with him to demolish the drywall of the kitchen ceiling and put a new drywall. The total cost was $4,800, he asked for $2,000 for a deposit. He brought a drywall person he uses to assess and I thought the drywall person was going to do the job. Mr. Esper insisted his crew would do the work. The previous contractor's crew did it three times and couldn't do it right. I wanted someone who does drywall all the time does the job. That's why I cancelled. Kitchen cabinet installation is something a handyman could do, I thought by the next time they come, they would finish it. He says over and over that he regrets he said he would do my kitchen. So do I. He proudly says he didn't run away and answers my phone call or texts. I think he doesn't fit to work as a contractor.