Mayadana Construction

We have learned so much after being taken advantage of by this contractor. Some advice: do extensive research before you hire ANY contractor. For example, with this guy, when I checked his license on the state licensing board website, it states that he is exempt from workers comp because he has no employee but this is not true. He employs at least one person such as the foreman Humberto, who is not a sub contractor and carries NO workers comp. Tips for those of you who have already had work done by this contractor: HAVE A PROFESSIONAL RECHECK YOUR HOUSE. The walls and paint may look pretty now but you don't know what lies behind those walls. They cut corners and use inferior products. I wouldn't have known this if I hadn't had a structural engineer inspect the work. There were so many things wrong that he wondered if they paid the city inspector to pass the inspection. Studs weren't properly spaced to support windows appropriately. Electrical wires weren't properly secured. They installed new roofing OVER existing damaged wood and then did not properly seal my roof, leaving it exposed to rodents and weather. They purposefully damaged my rain gutters, then turned around and told me the gutters were damaged and wanted to charge me for new ones! With ANY contractor, you are LEGALLY entitled to a list of all subcontractors, ie for cabinets, windows, etc. This contractor won't give you that list. I had to constantly keep track of every little detail because if I didnt, he would find a way to charge us for something that was already covered in the contract. Examples:
1) Kitchen counter tops: he wanted us to pay for the counter tops when it clearly states in our contract that this is to be covered by him. When we pointed that out, he relented.

2) Fireplace: we specifically ask to move our gas fireplace to a new location. Contract clearly states that he will "frame fire place in its new location per new design" and "run new gas lines for dryer AND FIREPLACE" . Yet, he attempted to coerce us into using an electrical portable unit! After MUCH stress and arguing, he again relented and agreed to run the gas line for the fireplace "at no charge" when this was specifically included in the contract as his responsibility.

3) Whirlpool tub: Even before construction began, we specifically printed out the specs for the tub we wanted in the master bathroom. His daughter, the designer on the project, recognized the tub and even commented that she had a client that used the same tub on a previous project. But when it came time for the tub to be ordered, he told us we couldn't use a whirlpool tub and gave us no explanation other than that it can't be used. Again, we fought on that point and he only relented when we threatened to halt the entire project.

These breach of contracts happened OVER and OVER and OVER. He kept double charging us for things that were already covered in the contract.

4) Payment schedule: he front loaded all of the payments so that he was paid even before the job was completed. An example would be ordering the kitchen cabinets, windows and doors, all of which were included in the contract by the way. We should not have had to pay for these things until they are delivered. According to the Home Improvement Contract, it specifically states that "it is against the law for a direct contractor to collect payment for work not yet completed, or for materials not yet delivered." Yet, we paid and now he's holding it because we fired him.

5) Cutting corners
--Using Douglas fir for external frame on the master bedroom addition instead of the appropriate weather proof fascia board.
--Installing new roof on top of existing wood that was rotten and damaged
--Not securing electric wires appropriately in the rewiring of the house
--Not installing insulation on an exterior wall before putting on the dry wall as part of the kitchen remodel

--We paid him 11K for the electrical re-wiring of our entire house with the understanding that he would pull the city permit for this, which he did not.

6) Under the Statutory Notices, we have the right to a list of your sub-contractors and material suppliers, when they started work and when they delivered goods and materials, to protect ourselves from liens. He refused to deliver this information to us, stating that everything is on hold due to our disagreement

And most importantly:

7) He lied to us. He put our house at risk by allowing his worker's compensation insurance to lapse. We repeatedly asked for proof of coverage and to date, have not received this information.

These are just the FEW things that we have had to deal with. If you hire this contractor, do so at your own risk.