A-One Construction and Remodel

R W

5 years ago

We hired Gus and A-One Construction/Remodeling 18 month ago to remodel our small bathroom and to repipe our home. After 3 months, Gus abruptly, and without warning, abandoned the remodeling, leaving us with an unfinished bathroom, a shower that didn’t work properly, and plumbing that did not meet state codes. Improper preparation of the walls and ceiling led to massive paint peeling, and our wood deck was damaged when the vanity was moved across it without covering. The shower drain wasn’t correctly vented; the bathroom exhaust fan wasn’t vented to the outside; the drain and water lines under the house weren’t properly assembled, graded, or secured; all of the old galvanized pipe and iron fixtures was not replaced by copper, as per the repiping agreement; and even simple window latches were not properly installed. Four large holes were made in our interior and exterior walls to repair the plumbing. Two months after his abandonment, we received a surprise invoice from Gus which contained several questionable expenses followed by a threat of a mechanics lien from his lawyer. We have won claims through his bond company and CSLB arbitration, which we used to hire new contractors to re-finish the bathroom and to repair the plumbing. During arbitration, Gus asked for reimbursement for the repair of damage he had caused to our home security system that he falsely claimed, under oath, he originally paid for; and he also falsely claimed that his employee performed work that was actually done by our new contractor. (Both of these claims were rejected by the CSLB mediator.) Finally, Gus never paid the money that was awarded to us in binding arbitration. We had to file a second claim for the award amount which his bond company later paid. For several weeks in November and December, 2018, the CSLB posted on their website that Gus’ license had been suspended, “For failure to comply with a bond payout.” We were very disappointed by the extremely negative experience that we had working with Gus both during and after the remodeling. This has been a very stressful and aggravating experience for us and we would definitely not recommend this contractor for any remodeling project.