Slayton Blubaugh Construction

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• By Tz

  August 30, 2016

  Build House

  $290,000

  300 days

  He should not be recommended! Twelve years ago Jim built our custom home and we had difficulty with almost every phase of construction. We thought that we were finished dealing with the problems until a few days ago when I discovered dry rot in our roof! Our 30-year roof now has to be roofed again after the rotten plywood and rafters are replaced. We do not have tall trees, a shaded or a mossy roof.

  Our house had to be fumigated twice because of wood boring beetle infested lumber, which Jim was forewarned about before the lumber was used in the house (the beetles ate through our flooring and bored holes in our walls). The house was twice sided and painted due to an improperly installed siding. The paint was also supposed to last approximately 25 years and the house needs to be repainted now at a cost of $4500.

  Our crawlspace flooded to the floor joists and our heating duct was destroyed after rains and a sudden drop in temperature to sub 20 degrees. We were without our furnace for several weeks before he agreed to a repair. The cause was an inoperative low point drain in which Jim later didn't repair properly and the house continued to flood. It drained upgrade even though he used a laser level for the grade of the drain. I tried to tell him about the problem before he back-filled the repair but he would not listen and he refused to repair the landscaping after the repair. I later paid out of pocket to make the repair correctly, which included new landscaping for the second time and there has not been an issue since.

  The damaged heating duct was improperly repaired and we had to pay out of pocket to have it completely reinstalled with new ducts. The ducts were undersized, some reused and routed incorrectly. As a result, the house was not being heated efficiently and restrictions were causing damage to our furnace. Before the heating contractor that Jim hired repaired the heating duct, the heating duct contractor explained to me that Jim would not allow him to complete the install in the manner suggested/recommended. Even though, he voiced disagreement to Jim with the method he was being told by Jim to use. I offered to pay the difference for the job to be completed properly as suggested by the heating contractor and Jim would not allow it. He would only allow the bare minimum to be performed.

  The furnace went out in the middle of winter during freezing temperatures while we were away on vacation. This was due to construction debris left within the furnace and heating duct. We also dealt with defective carpet pad and damaged moldings and paint from the carpet pad replacement.

  The plumbers installed damaged (fissured) plumbing fixtures (tubs) and the water pipes were installed in the attic against my wishes, which froze every year until I added additional insulation. There is also insufficient water pressure due to undersized pipes, which I also addressed at the time of the install. I was told not to worry and that the water pressure would be fine. There were too many other problems to list.
  
  I became tired of dealing with Jim and his substandard work. Some repairs did not rectify the problems that they were supposed to address. At times additional damage was done to our home as repairs were attempted. Eventually, I began making repairs myself at my own expense. There is a reason that contractors are not trusted and we did not hire the cheapest. Over the last several years I have spent much time and money correcting damages due to his incompetence. And no he was not sufficiently cooperative with rectifying the problems. Most repairs were mandated. In most instances, he was extremely difficult to work with. We were forced to go directly to his insurance for compensation and the Oregon Contractors Board. When you build a home you should only have to do it once... No thanks to you Jim, we are out thousands more!

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