Innovative Construction

”We tried to support a local businessman. Sad to get ripped off for our veteran’s benefits.” With recommendations from several respected friends we chose Justin and Brittany Jennings, doing business as Innovative Construction, LLC. While processing the loan paperwork we developed a project list with Justin and a bid for each. He selected projects he said he was expert at or certified in. We liked Justin because he was local, well known, and very personable. His suggestions made a lot of sense and we urged him to bid on the high side of things since we would not have extra money after paying the loan on our 40+ year old home. He emphasized his love of family. We did not realize that he would sacrifice ours for his welfare. When we closed the loan on September 11 he estimated that he could finish all our projects (roof, bathroom, building, electrical) in six weeks. Since the projects were large and understanding the challenges of construction, we doubled that time limit and all signed a contract to finish by December 31. Problems started soon after that when we realized that he did not communicate well. It was weeks before he appeared to lay out the groundwork for the building and then he was not present when a sub-contractor did the earthwork. He sent his wife on a rainy Sunday to take pictures of the result. His “workforce” was his two brothers-in-law who were obviously over their head with most of the tasks assigned them, although he showed up late, disappeared early and his supervision seemed to consist mostly of calling them various profane names. Out of over 100+ possible work days (good weather days that weren’t Sundays or holidays) Justin only put in appearances for 31. Usually he was here minutes or a couple of hours, never before 9:30 a.m. and generally absent after 3:00 p.m. The brothers never knew the plan for the next day, what task they might work on, or when they would return as they left. Our yard was covered in construction trash and debris and the grass ruined as they ran water hoses for hours cleaning their tools or a tile saw. We tried to work with Justin to develop a calendar and ensure he was obtaining the right materials. We asked time and again for receipts and accountability of the large advances we’d made so he could obtain materials. He would abruptly leave the worksite so it became difficult to speak with him about these issues. He was often surly and curt when he was present, alluding to problems affluent people, our tax status, and refusing to share details about the construction. We tried text messages, phone calls, visits to his business office (also his house) and finally resorted to letters to try to communicate with him. Generally he only answered questions about when he would be back to work (not the week of) but avoided any answer about accountability even though the contract he signed said he’d need to provide receipts. The work done in bathroom was obviously substandard but Justin avoided talking to us about it. We finally pinned him down in a meeting in December, days before the deadline where he admitted as such but still could not provide a plan to correct the work. He was facile with excuses – ‘the excavators are all rented this week’ ‘that’s the vanity we were sold’ ‘that guy should know better’ ‘it will look better when it’s done’ – but was difficult to pin to any specific course or action. He removed our roof (shingles and some sheathing) in the middle of December. Weeks later with Justin avoiding us, I went to Whitt Building Supply who were supposed to supply the roof. They would not share information about the roof with me although they understood I was the customer. I deduced that Justin had not actually ordered the roof. The components were finally delivered on January 16, dumped unceremoniously in the yard with Justin fleeing immediately after. He installed some parts in January but blamed Whitt for not sending enough material. Months later and it is still not complete. As it turns out, it is not installed properly where it is, missing closures and who-knows-what-else. Because of this the house and ceilings were damaged during the hail storm on January 9. Justin refused to provide insurance information, saying he would address the ceilings, still not done. I will let the pictures speak about the quality of work done but a short listing of issues includes wrong concrete pad size for the metal building, now eroding away underneath it. There is no easy access to the building, without a driveway or step to enter the knee-high door. We’re not sure if it’s Perks Metalwork issue or Justin’s assembly but the building is now leaking on two sides. Components of the building and electricity, paid for, were never installed. In a seeming malicious act Justin had his brother-in-law tear out the poorly installed shower and dump it in our front yard, where the debris remains to this day. Trash, construction materials, used ear plugs, fast food wrappers are left strewn over the yard, mixed in with the paint, chemicals, and blobs of concrete they’ve left everywhere. I pick them up as I can but it will require a significant effort and some cost to haul them away and dump it, as Justin was already paid to do. To summarize, Innovative Construction has taken $40,000 from us, not delivered a single project they contracted for, damaged our house, and repeatedly lied to us. They’ve broken the contract to provide receipts leaving us in the lurch with the Veterans Land Board. We are not the only ones this has happened to. At least one other person was the victim of Justin and Brittany’s schemes – see their review on Google. It appears they’v broken the law to establish a trustee account for the construction funds and not use our money for other purposes or projects. The Coryell Sheriff’s Office and City Attorney are sorting through that now. In the meantime, caveat emptor – the only thing innovative about Innovative Construction, LLC, is their ability to separate one from your money and sanity.