A Happy Ending To A Renovation Project That Began With Shoddy Work That Cost $70,000
HALIFAX – Eight years ago, Tanya Sieliakus was a single mother in Bedford facing an overwhelming expense. Much of her house needed extensive work and money was tight. She had to replace the old aluminum siding on her house and, most importantly, her lower deck needed to be replaced.
A casual acquaintance recommended someone who would be willing to do the work under the table, so she could save some money. In retrospect, Sieliakus knows that should have been an immediate red flag.
“My acquaintance said, ‘my buddy will do it under the table for you and you can [do it cheaper],’” recalls Sieliakus.
That turned out not to be the case. The work ended up costing $70,000 and she took out a mortgage to do the renovations.
After the aluminum siding was taken down, according to Sieliakus, the contractor informed her that she had $1600 worth of aluminum if they recycled it. The two agreed to split the money 50/50 if he hauled it away.
That was the last time the single mother claims to have heard from that contractor. She says he never returned a phone call or showed up at her house to finish the work. And after eight years, Sieliakus says she can’t even recall the contractor’s name.
“He took my aluminum siding and never came back again,” said Sieliakus. “He never answered my phone calls ever again.”
Sieliakus says the deck wasn’t completed and she had a friend come over to finish hammering in the nails. Worst of all, says Sieliakus, the deck was supported with patio stones, rather than concrete, and it wasn’t secured properly to her house. Over the past eight years, she noticed the deck was sinking and causing property damage. Looking back, Sieliakus feels she was taken advantage of, since she didn’t know a lot about construction or landscaping at the time.
“As a woman, I’ve been burned…I didn’t know what I was doing; I guess shame on me for not knowing,” said Sieliakus.
“If I can tell anyone out there, especially women, it’s be careful. Get a written quote, get a receipt.”
But there is a happy ending to this story, even though the $70,000 was gone for good.
This summer Sieliakus and her husband decided the shoddy work had to be fixed. While getting new quotes from contractors, one of them, according to Sieliakus, offered to go under the table. But Sieliakus had learned her lesson from last time and declined.
At one point, Sieliakus and her husband considered tearing down the deck and rebuilding it, but the materials would have cost $30,000. But then came along Linney Landscaping, a small company from Hammonds Plains that was recommended by a friend and has great reviews online.
They offered to fix the deck for $3,200, and they were hired to do additional landscaping around the property for $11,000.
Peter Lantagne, project and sales manager for Linney noticed, upon inspection, that the deck wasn’t properly supported.
“I just don’t think a lot of thought was put into what they had done,” said Lantagne. “It should have had a perfect foundation; you’re holding up a structure. I just don’t think a lot was put into it.”
“You could see some visible damage on the siding, just from it twisting and contorting…it was quite noticeable with hers.”
The good news: Lantagne deemed that the wooden deck itself was in good shape, so it would be a waste of money for Sieliakus to completely replace it.
“There’s no rhyme or reason to waste perfectly good materials just to make a dollar,” said Lantagne. “Everyone’s here to make money, but I’m not here to screw people over, that’s for sure.”
“We’re always going to try and exceed their expectations, that’s just how Chuck Linney (the owner) has tried to do things.”
The crew from Linney managed to install concrete supports and jacked up the deck to make it level. According to Sieliakus, when the crew realized that the deck wasn’t secured to the rest of the house, they did that job for her with no extra charge.
“I’m blown away by this company, and they never suggested anything inappropriate like (anything under the table),” said Sieliakus.
“Now my deck is beautiful.”
Sieliakus was so happy with the work, and the money she saved that she gave a long, glowing, review on Facebook. Unlike eight years ago where she felt cheated, Linney treated her with fairness and honesty.
A lot of homeowners have horror stories of hiring a contractor, despite some red flags, and being left to clean up the mess. Lantagne says Linney gets a lot of contracts just from repairing other people’s poor work.
His advice to homeowners is to get as many quotes as possible. He also says to never rush into a renovation; take your time to save up money so you can get what you really want out of it.