Paul Davis Restoration
Reviews and Complaints

June 28, 2013
CERTIFIED MAIL

Paul Davis Restoration of Pasco County
2512 Success Drive
Odessa, FL 33556

REGULAR MAIL

Richard Dannenmiller, Registered Agent
Paul Davis Restoration of Pasco County
2512 Success Drive
Odessa, FL 33556

RE: Notice of Breach, 2461 Dustin Circle, Spring Hill, FL 34608
To Whom it May Concern:
Please take notice that you are in breach of contract and breach of express and implied warranties for home renovation work performed at the subject property. In particular, your firm has failed to fulfill its contractual obligations to perform and complete home renovations in a safe, timely and professional manner. The quality of the workmanship of work attempted is substandard and unacceptable and in some cases illegal. Furthermore, you have caused loss of enjoyment and substantial damage to the personal property of the homeowner and the tenant, a third party beneficiary, and as a result I have had to spend funds out of pocket to protect my interests.
In particular:
Incomplete Work
1. Grout missing in between pavers
2. Bull nose tiles missing from porch edge
3. Pavers missing from behind fountain
4. Patio drainage system incomplete
5. Painting in porch area incomplete
6. Extensive clean up incomplete, including failure to remove debris
Sub-standard Work
1. Uneven, discolored, damaged pavers
2. Screen doors not reinstalled properly
3. Sand in drainage system
4. Uneven sand between pavers, and sand on top of pavers
Damage to Personal Property
1. Complete destruction of hot tub
2. Torn and falling porch screens
3. Damaged pool vacuum
4. Damaged pool filter
5. Sand, concrete and tile dust built up in pool drain
6. Damaged/missing pool tiles
7. Damaged skimmer basket and cover
8. House plants destroyed
9. Damage to lawn
In addition, I object to the manifest dishonesty of employees and contractors working for your company. These agents of yours have made multiple representations to me and my spouse, they have imposed significant inconvenience on my family, they have been unresponsive to our concerns and I believe they may be taking advantage of my elderly landlord.
You have 48 hours to cure the foregoing breaches and make me whole. If you do not respond, you can expect litigation.
Regards,

Jim G.
CC: Helen N.

State Farm recommended Paul Davis Restoration to restore my home back to where it was per the policy. I should have known something was going to be amiss when Paul Davis did not secure a copy of what my home looked like before it was hit by a car and when they did not save some pieces of my home that could have been reused especially since they were of unique designs. My enclosed porch was badly damaged. I was assured they will search for these items. Paul Davis contractor had to dig to rebuild the foundation-first their contractor got mad at me for not knowing there was a hidden pipe-it turned out to be a dead pipe-WE energies and the water company did come and make markings-how was I supposed to know there was an old pipeline? 2) their equipment damaged the existing gutter (not part of the restoration claim), when I came home on my lunch they were still there and I chit chat with them a bit waiting for them to tell me about the gutter damaged, they did not so I went inside and brought out my iPad that had pictures I took the day before and I showed them yesterday there was no damage now there is and I expressed concern that the hit could have caused some hidden damage to the rubber roof I had just had replace about three months before the accident. They said they would put in a claim and have an engineer come to make sure there was no hidden damage. This was about the end of September, after repeated reminders by December the gutter was not fixed, I had no assurance the roof did not have hidden damage so I called a contractor who came and replaced the gutter and examined the roof to make sure no hidden damage. I let Paul Davis know I was going to do this and was told it was o.k. because the damage was too 'minor' to have a contractor come. 3). One of the new windows had a screen missing. After repeatedly asking them about it they said it was never there, I said yes it was because I helped unload the truck and two days after that they came to put up the windows and all windows had the shrink wrap when they were delivered, the screen was there and I asked their guys about it when I came home and they said it would be replaced. This was about mid-to-late September. January I called the supplier, had them order the screen and I went out of town to pick it up. Paul Davis did not have the professionalism to fix damage they did. 3) my front porch: it looked like it was a layer of brick short of the original height. Paul Davis said the porch was within an inch. I have a picture of a gap between the siding and porch. Paul Davis said that was because the siding was so old, I told them no, the siding was about 5 years old. The gap had the inner wood exposed (wood was in excellent condition). I complained and expressed concern with the coming rain season and snow some mold would develop or water would seep into the house. I had a sheet of siding that was to be used to replace a siding section that was damaged but Paul Davis took it and sloppily filled in the gap. I am expecting it to pop lose any day now. The cement work is tacky and caulking sloppy. 4) the window installation, I had 6 full size windows and two front door peep out windows, two of the windows face the north and four face the east, the two facing north were not even with each other, it was so very, very noticeable, the four facing east are not even but not as noticeable. I complained and they said it was the trimming (by the way the trimming is totally different from the trimming I had originally-again they were to do their best to restore it to the original look and failed without proof they put forth the effort), they evened out the two facing north but the four facing east are still uneven with each other. The guys who put the trimming on were the one used to correct it. Why didn't he notice the uneven leveling, why did I have to ask to have it fixed ? The front door was installed tilted and there was difficulty locking -still is but they came back and got it even/leveled; and the two peep windows were not evenly installed with the door, the left peep window it was higher that the right and the space in between the door and peep window is very noticeable.- -Paul Davis got them even off but the distance between the two window and the door is noticeable off 5) the hard wood floor. I did not immediately notice it when Paul Davis was there, in fact the lead person said complimented how well the floor looked when he left and while I was placing a rug on the floor I thought I found a bunch of dusting I thought but it turned out the wood had uniform gouaches in it, I called Paul Davis and they sent someone from the office to look at it and he expressed concern and later I learned Paul Davis used the wrong equipment to install the wood floor at the edge. Paul Davis offered me $200.00 workmanship credit which I never agreed to.
6) The building supply company Paul Davis used threatened to put a lien on my home because the bill was not paid!
Recently I noticed Paul Davis advertising their services and I felt the overwhelming need to let people know DON'T USE THEM.

In 2009 Litton Loan service my mortage holder use dthis compay to replace the roof on my home due to a hurricane.

This compay charge Litton Loan Services 65, 000.00 dollare for 25, 000.00 dollars worth of work. This comapny hired lelgael works to do the work on the roof and the clean up afterwards.

THE PM that was on the project point blank told me how I could defraud the mortage company and when I report this to Litton Loan services. Nothing happen was done.

Paul Davis work was so bad that I had to hire a contractor to fix their MESS! I would not hire this company to fix a doll house or for that matter a dog house.

We had a basement flooding. We removed the carpeting and under padding ourselves then called the insurance company".

Paul Davis Systems is located in Essex Ontario Canada'. Our insurance company referred sent them to us;. The so called project manager appeared friendly and promised everything under the sun, . Told us everything would be back in order in a couple days, then we never saw him again and couldn't reach him by phone?. The next day 5 workers came in and started ripping up flooring in one other room, cutting out drywall and damaging things tossing them about. No water damage was found behind the drywall, they left the baseboard lying on the floor. They brought in several fans and dehumidifiers to circulate the air and dry the floor. Actually for the size of the room, they used too many fans. They spent less than three hours and left. Then only two people came back a couple days later to pretend there monitors found moisture, of course it was the wall where the plumbing exsist. So they didn't come back again till a couple more days past, this time everything was dry, but of course they wanted to say the water affected even more. Getting caught in an absolute lie... they took there fans and dehumidifiers out. We contacted our insurance company about them. The insurance companies should really look into the companies they recommend cause it seems they are out to scam the homeowners insurance. 

Paul Davis Restoration was recommended to us by our homeowners insurance company State Farm Insurance. Sometime in early October 2010 is when this all started and it went on until December 31st. Our insurance claim was for a flooded basement in which we had approximately four inches of water. We were asked by Paul Davis Restoration to sign a work authorization to allow them (Paul Davis Restoration) to begin the work.

The first part of the job was to remove the asbestos floor covering. The first day of the asbestos removal we got a visit from the State of Connecticut Health Department for a random inspection of the contractor. THANK GOD FOR THAT! As soon as the state inspector stepped into the basement he found numerous serious health violations and was ready to shut down the job and issue citations. These violations had put my family in grave danger of breathing in asbestos and having it circulate through out our home.

Some of the violations included removing asbestos without having any water setup on the jobsite for dust control, NO plastic was put up to seal off the area and protect the rest of the home from asbestos dust. I distinctly heard a chisel for about 10 straight minutes before the state inspector had arrived. The State of Connecticut Health inspector had asked the worker point blank if he had in fact removed any asbestos with a chisel before the necessary preparations were properly in place (a serious violation). The asbestos removal worker looked the state inspector in the eye and told him that he had not been removing any asbestos tiles with a chisel. I am a witness that he had, in fact, been doing just that. Also, there were loose crumbs of material on the chisel next to the very area in question. They also, without asking or even informing us smashed out our basement window out so they could ventilate the space. We work from home and are there all day, it is not as if they have to call us and wait to get a call back.

When they had finally finished the job they just left without even cleaning the broken glass out of the driveway or replacing the broken window or even mentioning it at all. We were left with an unsecured broken window and not to mention the cold air was rushing in. We made several calls to them that day and finally someone showed up at 9:30 PM to put a piece of flimsy plastic over the hole, not to fix the window or to even sweep up the broken glass that was just left in the driveway. That happened in mid November. After calling and complaining for a few more weeks regarding being stuck with just a piece of plastic over the window, on Christmas Eve someone finally came out to take the window to repair it in a shop and they then secured it with a piece of plywood. At that point we were told that it would take approximately one week for us to have our window back. So far it has been 3 weeks and no call or update or window. We still have a boarded up window on our home, why.

The next incident to report occurred in early November as Paul Davis Restoration was removing items from the basement in preparation for the asbestos removal. In moving some items near our furnace the workers must have broken something on the furnace and tried to fix it. Because after the workers had left that day we noticed the house was cold. We continued to turn up the thermostat but it was to no avail. After a while I went down to the basement to check out the furnace. I found that someone had turned off the burner switch on the side of the furnace. I then turned it back on. After a while I noticed we were no warmer. I checked the furnace again a little more closely only to find that 3 manual zone valves were closed, why. I then opened the valves and we got heat but only to one half of the house. Paul Davis Restoration then called their plumber who came out and found there was also one more additional (a fourth) manual valve which was in the closed position, for some reason. That still did not fix the problem. The Paul Davis Restoration plumber then changed around some wires on the furnace went upstairs to the thermostat and played around with some more wires then told us that we needed to have a completely new wiring job done. That is impossible as the furnace had been working perfectly fine before Paul Davis Restoration touched it. As a matter of (recorded) fact, every year before we turn on our furnace for the season we have the Gas Company come out to fully inspect the furnace and all working parts, zones, etc. to ensure everything is working properly. Our inspection was done two weeks before and there were no problems. Paul Davis Restoration broke my furnace and still has not fixed it like they said they would! To this day I have to cycle the furnace on and off by using the burner switch at the top of the stairs.

Another incident occurred when the professional moving crew from Paul Davis Restoration (the same ones that broke the furnace) moved approximately $800 worth of latex paint to the freezing temperatures outside in a storage POD. Wouldnt a professional moving crew know what they are moving and/or check these things? Not only that, they actually left without giving me the key to the locked storage POD. Not only that, when I discovered all of my new paint was now outside in freezing temperatures I called to inform them what they had done and asked for the key, and I asked again and again and again for weeks for that key. WHY? After two months they finally got around to giving me the key but then it was much too late to save my property. The approximately $800 worth of paint was destroyed by the many freeze and thaw cycles that it had been put through. There is more regarding this incident which I will explain later.

A few incidents also happened with the electrician. Again, we work from home and are home all day it is not like they have to track us down to ask a question. For some unknown reason and again without asking or even informing us, the electricians took it upon themselves to just move two of our ceiling lights. These lights were on the ceiling in the center of the room. Why would someone just choose to relocate these lights to 18 inches away from the wall and without even asking us. Not only that they cut several large wholes in our ceilings and of course just left them. Not only that but they eliminated some switches and outlets without asking i.e. in 2 places where we had four light switches they replaced them with only one switch, why? They also removed a ceiling light and did not let us know about it or replace it, it just disappeared. In another area they chose to just eliminate our ceiling light completely and replace it with a plug, a plug in the ceiling, who would put a plug in the ceiling? All of these lights were working fine why did they even touch them?

Paul Davis Restoration then started to work on the sheetrock in early December. The workmanship was extremely amateur to say the least. For example the sheets of drywall are supposed to be butted up tight together (check any how to or youtube video). Every single joint, from end to end, had enough space between them to put your whole hand through. The tape job resembled more of a stucco job rather than a thin coat of compound. Not to mention it took 2 of their professional sheet rockers more than two weeks to hang just 20 sheets of drywall and that does not include any taping. Again, the small amount of taping that was done looked more like a stucco job than drywall taping. Not very professional at all if you ask me.

I then decided that I did not want Paul Davis Restoration on the job any longer and that is when Tom the owner showed up. He agreed that all of the damage to our property was his companies fault and that he would fix it (to this day, I am still waiting). He asked me for a second chance to get it right. I explained to him the proper way to install and cut drywall and he reluctantly agreed. He then left the job and the crew resumed using a saw to cut the sheetrock instead of a sharp razor knife. I have Never seen anyone especially professional sheet rockers make long cuts on sheetrock using a saw, that is improper. The proper way is to use a sheetrock knife one of which was not even on the jobsite! Not only that, in several places they used 3 and 4 pieces of drywall, pieced together like a puzzle, where there should have been only be one sheet installed. Also, all of the holes for the switches and outlets were cut way over sized and the plate covers will never cover those holes. Also, we were told that we would have the green drywall in our bathroom as required by building code and we did not. I then decided again that Paul Davis Restoration was not experienced enough to work in my home. Tom the owner showed up at the job once again. He did not see anything wrong with the sheetrock or taping job but asked for a third chance and said that he would send a new crew over. When the new crew came to look at the job the day before they were to start, I went over all of the workmanship issues again with them and the owner and they were still reluctant to admit any workmanship issues. Not only that but the owner Tom had informed me that sanding between each coat of taping compound was essential. Even the instructions on the bucket of compound will tell you that sanding is done only at the end and should be very minimal at that.

Back to the $800 worth of paint which was destroyed. Paul Davis Restoration after arguing with me for days had agreed, once again, that it was their fault and they would replace it. I have the voicemail to prove it. But when it came time to actually write the check I was told that the only way they would reimburse me for the property that they had damaged was to have them finish the job, period.

That is when I contacted the State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. I was informed that Paul Davis Restoration was in violation of Connecticut Consumer Protection laws for not providing me with a written estimate and a legally binding contract. I contacted Paul Davis Restoration for just that and I was informed that the cost of the job was none of my business and they would not be giving me any estimates written or otherwise. With regards to the legal contract that I had requested I was told that the work authorization I had signed was the legal contract required by the state and that is all they will be giving me. They informed me, and with an attitude that this was business as usual for them and they have given me as much as they give all of their customers. Clearly a violation! I was also berated by Paul Davis Restoration management for having conversations with my own insurance company and informing them all about the experience I had been having with Paul Davis Restoration. Why?

Think twice about hiring this company. The owners are about as unethical as they get. They routinely break the labor law by having employee's work overtime, and then not pay them for their time. If they treat their employees like this what makes you think they would treat a homeowner or business owner any differently?
THEY WON'T! All they care about is the bottom dollar.

My experience with the Houston franchise has been horrible. I signed an agreement for about $20K worth of remodeling in my house and was told it would take two-three weeks to complete. That was technically in November of 09. It is now April 2, 2010 and they still are not finished. Actually, I agreed to let them start Jan 1, because their contractor told me "the workers tend to disappear around the holidays". They had a very nice salesperson that worked with me meticulously in the beginning to get everything signed, but their actual contractor that was assigned to my job has failed to come close to the 2-3 week estimate. I have shown my paperwork to two other contractors and both said "two weeks...max." The contractor seems like a nice guy but for whatever reason he is incapable of getting his guys here more than about six hours a week. They also spilt wood stain on my bathroom tiles and since they couldn't clean it, replaced it with "similar" tile. They also left a water faucet on in my bathroom under my new sink and it leaked all over the floor and went under the wall into my bedroom and soaked the carpet in about 1/3 of the room. The entire ordeal has been a nightmare. I honestly have to say they have all been very nice and apologetic but it doesn't make up for the incompetence. I'm not sure what type of qualification PDR requires to be a franchisee, but in my case it does not appear to be sufficient. They were not the least expensive bid I got to do my remodel. I chose them because the original sales guy was so professional that I assumed the rest of the job would be also...not so. I assumed a slightly higher price meant higher quality or better service. Instead I got the same poor service I was hoping to avoid at a higher price. For anyone that is considering using PDR, don't make the same mistake I did and assume they are a good reputable company just because your insurance company recommends them. I notice their Vaules statement doesn't include anything quality of work or honesty.

We had a house burn down in the last half of 2009. Paul Davis told our insurance people that they could build the hosue in four months. We live in Alaska. Construction season is over in late October in my area. We got the insurance check at the end of November. PD gave us house plans for a a house worth almost twice the amound of what we could afford and charged us for the blueprints. (Where we live, you don't buy a half a million dollar house. Our neighbors are trashy.) We were still in shock, gave them the cash but we didn't go with them when I realized that they don't build homes that are not palatial.

Up here, they have a decent reputation, but anyone who goes with them needs to let them know in writing that they want to see IDEAS first, see what they have on file, the work they do. When you are in shock, everything sounds OK, everyone seems comforting.

Right now we are fighting insurance because Paul Davis said it would only take four months to build the house. Anyone who lives in South Central Alaska knows that you can't build anything in that amount of time-- you ask for a permit, you wait. You call to remind the office that you need the permit. You wait, you call, you get the permit, you build, you ask for an inspection, they lose your paperwork. You call, they must have lost your paper work, you be nice in spite of being mad, maybe bake the office brownies :-) and get back on to the list. They come out, there is a problem (often genuine) so your bulder fixes it. You go back and ask for them to inspect. They get out, if it passes, you get to apply for another permit. Then you go on like this. . . now we are trying to explain to insurance why their estimate was wrong.

The thing is, right after a momumental loss like this, you may be sick (suffering from damage from the fire) or your family may be sick, you have so much happening, and it is easy to misunderstand and put your faith in people who want to act like your house burning down was the equivalent of winning the lottery. Your life has been turned upside down and you won't be looking up complaints on builders or restorers.