Rescued Projects Case Studies

The Cavalry called to repair Abbotsford Retaining Wall Project

THE ISSUE: Three prior contractors, money missing, and a huge mess to clean up… and nothing was yet installed.

We received a phone call to quote a retaining wall in the area. At the time, we were unable to see the site for a two week period due to a heavy schedule. The owner agreed that if they could not find someone to see the job, they would call back and book a site meeting within a couple of days. Nine months later we got a call back to see the project. In that time, the owners had hired three different contractors.

The first contractor quoted the job very cheaply (unfairly and impossibly low), and pressured for and obtained a SUBSTANTIAL deposit (without a contract) to take advantage of the low price right away, before they got busier. He was never heard from thereafter. This happens all the time to very nice and good people, by con men and crooked contractors. They were told exactly what they needed to hear to trust and believe in the wrong person.

The second contractor was simply a helpful individual with a lot of work to do, who promised they’d be able to help as soon as they had a break in their schedule. 6 months later, they were still unavailable and eventually declined the project. No contract and no money were exchanged.

The third contractor was the only one to do any work relating to the retaining wall, but with a HUGELY NEGATIVE result. The tight access to the site required climbing a 20-foot tall slope at almost a 2:1 (30-degree) angle, passing the corner of the house and into the rear yard. He didn’t make it… and HIT THE HOUSE in what we counted to be 17 different spots, including massive impacts to two corners of the roof, heaving and breaking the roof, soffet, fascia, and gutters… and he kept going…

The Fix: Stage 1

We removed almost 50 loads of clay, mud, debris from the site to complete the excavation and clean up the site of the house. Then we installed 300 tonnes of gravel to support the cut slopes while we waited for permits and engineering (both required for this job, but never talked about with the owners by the other contractors).

The Fix: Stage 2

Once engineering and permits were issued, we completed the work to the plans we drew up using a combination of crane trucks, small equipment, and a gravel blower truck to quickly move tens of tonnes of gravel and 1800 blocks to the work area… going up and down the slope with machines for the entire job was impossible.

The Result

A stable, attractive series of walls and stairs, but at a final cost over three times the original quote. One third of the cost was avoidable, and the real value of the work was about double the original quote.

Project Case Studies

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