Huge Mistake Hiring This Supposed Contractor
Last year (2010) I applied for an RRAP Homeowners Grant and my application got accepted.
I made the unfortunate mistake of selecting and hiring Gary Levis of JNL Reno and Repair for the work.
He was contracted to do the following:
- Gut and replace all of the ceilings in the kitchen, hallway, small bedroom and bathroom with ceiling panel. (all cracked within a week)
- Replace the hotwater tank (contracted out and is fine)
- Install eavestroughs around entire home, including carport. (one area is leaking - pointed it out to worker, but nothing was done)
- Update the interior and exterior electrical to bring it up to minimum requirements (JNL changed approximately 38 lightswitches and outlets at the outrageous sum of $4600...it should have cost no more than $800 at an extreme rate)
I had a major roof leak the year before and did hire a roofer to replace all of the leaking roof vents. The leaks did cause major damage to the ceilings in the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom.
When I spoke to Gary Levis, he said it would be no problem to replace the existing ceiling panel with new ceiling panel. Once the grant was accepted, he decided to install sheets of thin drywall. I told him I was very worried about having drywall installed because of the structure of my home. The whole place shakes everytime the washing machine is on the spin cycle and I worried about cracks. He said he installed drywall in many mobile homes without any issues and really pushed the idea of having drywall ceilings instead of ceiling panel. He also said ceiling panel was difficult, if not impossible to get anymore due to aesbestos. The woman who works at CHMC said he had to replace the existing panel with new panel...not drywall. I expressed this to him.
So what does he do? He installed drywall. Within a week of the job being completed, major cracks started showing up all throughout the ceilings he installed. He had his workers come in THREE times to repair the cracks. Each time, the ceilings looked worse and worse. Now I was not only left with cracks in the ceilings, but also huge humps where too much drywall mud was applied and grooved joints where the worker over sanded. I have a mix of cracks and bubbles and humps from one end of the kitchen to the other.
Here are the photos I took:
And the hallway with humps and grooved joints
And the bedroom with drywall mud smeared 2 to 5 inches down the wall from the ceilings, all the way around the room
Hall leading into bathroom with grooved oversanded seams showing through
After three attempts to repair the cracks...which by the way, each worker promised would resolve the cracking issue...NOT!...Gary finally agreed to remove all of the cracked drywall and install ceiling panel. He said this in front of a neighbour who I had asked to come over as a witness to our discussion in finding a solution to fix this major issue. Gary promised to remove the damage drywall and replace it with ceiling panel. He said it would be done by the end of that week. He didn't call or show up by Friday, so I again called him and left a message asking WHEN this work would take place. He called back and sounded happy, excited and told me he found the perfect product to install on my ceilings. He said it was even white and didn't need to be painted. He also promised that he would have three workers come in to tear down the cracked and damaged drywall and have them install it in a day.
I was happy that this issue would finally be taken care of and I would be able to put my home back in order. Tues he shows up with a load of grooved wall panel in the back of a trailer he was hauling. I thought...nah...there's no way he is planning on using that stuff. I waited for him to get out of his truck and when he did, I asked to see the panel he was going to install and he pointed to the trailer. It was at that point that I lost my cool and turned into truckdriver mouth. I said...There is NO WAY in Hell that you are going to fn install that fun shit on my ceilings! It's not ceiling panel FFS!!!! It's fn grooved wall panel! How in the world would you think I would agree to this?
He started to whine about how difficult it was to find ceiling panel as the old stuff was discontinued due to aesbestos...I pointed to the ceiling tiles I had in the livingroom and he said Aesbestos too! I reiterated that there was no way I was going to allow him to install grooved WALL PANEL on MY CEILINGS...and he slunk out of here.
I was sooooo pissed...I drove my car to work swearing to myself all the way there! I got in and started researching ceiling panel...I called numerous businesses and finally was given information where ceiling tiles could be purchased here in BC. I emailed Gary with a link to that product and where to purchase it. I also gave him two days to respond before I make the next move. He didn't so I filed a complaint with the BBB. After a lot of back and forth...I am now in the process of filing papers for arbitration. I am also writng honest reviews and filing complaints online about JNL Reno and Repair. In addition, I spoke to a lawyer and was given good advice which I am following.
As a consumer, I feel justified in warning potential consumers about my experiences with JNL Reno and Repair...Be warned!
Gary Levis - owner of JNL Reno and Repair, located in Port Coquitlam, BC - Does shoddy workmanship and has no problem creating lies to try to cover up his wrong doings!!!!!
