Cabral Carpentry & Painting

I hired Cabral Carpentry to replace my bathtub and repair my ceiling. In order to start the job, the owner Donna Cabral charged me a 57% deposit (which exceeds the 1/3 maximum deposit permitted under M.G.L. 142AS 2(a)(6)). Throughout the process Donna made demands for additional payments in further violation of M.G.L. 142A S 2(a)(6). This includes a demand for $500 additional when she falsely claimed to have just learned my tub was a jacuzzi tub and not a garden tub. She made a third demand for $2,500 (the entire balance of the increased quote) before completion of the work. In total I have made payments totaling $4,500 all of which represent a violation of the Regulation of Home Improvement Contractors; and the job is still incomplete. Donna failed to provide a written contract in violation of M.G.L. 142A § 2(a). I later found out Donna also failed to pull a permit which is not in compliance with local applicable building codes. In addition to the violations outlined above, I have been left without a working bathtub or shower for over 6 weeks.

Donna made several crucial mistakes throughout the process beyond the violations listed above. She failed to meet deadlines time and time again and pushed what should have been a 4 day job into 4+ weeks (for reasons unrelated to COVID-19). Despite my confirming the dimensions with her in writing several times, she thought a 72 inch bathtub would fit into a 70 inch opening, which is physically impossible. She did not inform me during the booking process any tile would need to be removed and did not budget for a tiler. She had no problem ripping off my tile, but when it came time to replace the tile, she demanded an additional payment of $1,500.

Fortunately I did not proceed with the additional service she suggested, because the tub was not ready for tile or even weight bearing as advised by multiple licensed professionals. She did not secure the tub using mortar as she said she would, instead she used a "Custom Installation" which was basically small pieces of cheap wood under one end of the tub. She did not use an electrician when installing the jacuzzi which resulted in a copper that was not ground and also a live wire that was left exposed, both of which could result in serious injury or even death from electrocution. The sill of the tub (where you put all your weight on getting in and out of the tub) did not have support, there was a large gap between the knee wall and the tub so it was essentially just floating there. The base of the tub (which hosts the plumbing / drainage and where you stand directly under the shower head) also did not have any support. There is still a large hole in my wall along with large rips on my ceiling from her crew, despite charging me $500 extra to fix the ceiling. When I made Donna aware of these issues, she told me to take it up with one of her subcontractors, but I asserted that I hired her and would like her to rectify this. At that point she stopped replying to me and I had to hire a lawyer to send a 30 Day Demand letter to get her attention. She finally replied, but did not offer a reasonable solution to make it right.

Donna knew I was in a vulnerable position and took advantage of me. She took on a relatively straight forward project that was clearly over her head. She misrepresented herself and her abilities and put me in an awful position. Cabral Carpentry's work is atrocious and their business practices are illegal. I would not recommend Cabral Carpentry & Painting to anyone.