Champion Construction And Remodeling

Richard O'Connor is the owner and provided a reasonable quote for the work that was requested. He explained what approach he was going to employ and stated that this might change depending on what might be uncovered i.e. rotted material (since there was water damage) The price of material (as wood prices were extremely volatile) He provided a written estimate and contract. He also requested that I obtain the required work permit. The work was professional and of high quality materials (as I requested). Since I was one of several clients he could only estimate when he could be finished. some delays occurred due to the lack of available materials, weather, and one other unforeseen circumstance but he always kept me informed. I was very satisfied with his work

Champion Construction Issues Richard O’Connor (Owner, Champion Construction) was a Marine and I am a 71 year old Disabled Marine Viet Nam vet. I thought I could surely trust a brother Marine, so we hired him w/out getting at least two other quotes. I normally would not think of doing that. I should have seen the red flag when he would not give me an up front dollar quote and time frame estimate or a written contract. He kept saying I only charge $25.00 an hour. But what he meant was $25.00 per hour per man and he had 3 men ( $75.00 an hour). I should have seen that all he wanted to do was milk the $25.00 per hour x 3 men for as long as he could (July thru November our house was in a shambles because they only came part-time and not full time like we thought.). We initially hired Rich O’Connor and his crew to : 1. Remodel 2 bathrooms (Tile the floors and shower walls, electric, vent fans, plumbing etc.) and paint them 2. Install some cabinets in our kitchen & paint the walls 3. Paint our living room and hallway 4. Install gutter guards on the house and garage. 5. Install a whole house water filter 6. Pour a concrete patio We wanted the work to be done ASAP, but safely and up to code but things did not turn out that way. I got a building permit (and still have it) from our Village of Beach Park and put it on our window where it could be seen as instructed by the Village. Rich and his crew were upset that I got the permit saying it would just cause problems – Oh Oh Red Flags start to go up - but he was a friend and a brother Marine so I trusted him and went forward but did post the permit. 1. He would never give me a quote or completion date (verbal or written) on the various phases of the project, all he kept telling us was I only charge $25.00 an hour. 2. We found out that they were working on our house between other projects; that is why they would not give us a completion date. They were constantly late; one time they did not come until 3 PM. 3. They took 5 months of part time work to finish 4. $120 in cash went missing out of my wife’s bathroom drawer at end of project – It was there one day and gone the next. We confronted Rich about it and he denied that his crew took it. There were only 5 people and one dog in the house the day before and the day the $ went missing; my wife, the three of them, our dog and I. If they didn’t take it and my wife and I did not take it – then the obvious culprit is our dog. We did not file a police report because he said he was going to talk to his men about it but he never got back to us. It would be the right thing to do for them to return that $120.00 also. 5. They used and destroyed my wife’s clothes buckets and brushes while cleaning their tools. We had to ask them to replace them, they should have done so on their own. 6. Ruined one of my wife’s brand new brooms sweeping up construction stuff. Why didn’t they have their own cleaning supplies to clean up with ?? 7. Damaged the surface of our basement sink by cleaning their tools in them. 8. Charged us $25.00 an hour x 3 men to clean up and carry their tools out to the truck. How do I know ?? I started keeping track of their actual work start and stop work time. Had we known that they were secretly charging us to clean up and carry their tools out to the car and back in again the next day. Why in the world would anyone in their right mind pay for cleanup and tool carry out and in. For $25.00 an hour X 3 men – we will clean up after you leave and NO – we are not paying you $25.00 an hour x 3 men to carry your tools out to your truck. We only pay for time actually worked. They never told us up front that is how they charge. Their unprofessional work violated Beach Park building code and caused us unnecessary rework expenses as outlined below and potential health issues relating to fire and mold. 1. Vents for both bathrooms fans needed to be vented thru the roof instead of just being laid on to the attic floor on top of the insulation to prevent buildup of debris and mold – CODE VIOLATION and health hazard 2. Two (2) 1900 junction boxes in the attic needed to have covers – instead of being left open with exposed live wires and lying on top of the attic insulation. – CODE VIOLATION and possible fire hazard 3. Replace BX and Romex, not allowed to have more than a 6 foot run – CODE VIOLATION and possible fire hazard (They also did another BX run of more than 6 ft. in the basement from a wall light switch to an overhead receptacle. 4. GFCI outlets and shower lights incorrectly wired in both bathrooms – CODE VIOLATION and possible fire hazard There is much more but I am running out of room and I do have all of the documents and photos. I would never hire these guys again. He even has 1 of his employees , Simon Riley rating him a 5 on Facebook - what kind of company does that. Had to take him to court to even get a partial settlement but am still out thousands of dollars. Be careful if you hire them