S & S Contracting Inc.

September 27, 2009 Construction Companies No comments

Based on quality of work not meeting my expectations, S & S Contracting Inc., (Scott Rygol) in Omaha, NB will not be doing any future work for me, nor would I recommend them to anyone for any work. I contracted with S & S for siding; create a new exterior entry; deck work, and exterior painting.

The siding work and new exterior door were ok. The deck work is where I feel that the quality falls far short of acceptable.

Stairs treads are out of level ¼” in both directions. (When this was pointed out I was told that is because the landing was not level. By my level the landing is level in the direction of the stairs and if it were not, I am not sure why the stringers were not adjusted to be level. There are numerous places where the stringers are split where the treads are attached. The railing on the stairs is not at a consistent height or angle. At the bottom of the stairs one rail is 1-1/2″ lower than the rail on the other side. This is due to one post being cut too short, the cap board for the railing had to be forced down to the top of the post. The posts are not all set plumb.

On the deck rail, the top of the posts are not set to the same elevation so the rail has visible ‘sag’ to it. Not all posts are set plumb. Notches were not properly cut in the posts resulting in gaps where the posts should be in contact with the deck. The joints in the cap rail are not what I consider quality; the boards were not cut to the correct length and/or at the correct angle. This problem with joints extends to the rails between posts as well; I do not feel you should be able to see daylight where two boards are suppose to meet.

Pictures available.

When I expressed my displeasure with the quality I was told brusquely by Scott Rygol that “…I expected too much…, as long as it met code this was perfectly acceptable quality for exterior construction using these materials.” These materials are cedar. They did manage to pass final code inspection by the city, on the third try. I am currently interviewing three contractors to find a professional who will take ownership & pride in their work to demo the stairs and everything above the deck boards and replace it with something that does not make me sick to look at.

The painting would have been ok with a few touchups, including opening three windows and a door to paint edges. I was told early on that there would be a chance to do a walk around and identify those things needing correction. I did not push for this walk around since, quite frankly, after having S & S disrupt my life for 12 weeks (27 April – 17 July) for what Scott Rygol and two other contractors estimated as three to four weeks worth of effort, I was fully ready to be done with them. Even considering additional work that was requested (replace two storm doors, replace an entry door, replace 8 exterior light fixtures, and seal approximately 40′ of joint between the patio and the foundation) and allowing for legitimate weather delays, 12 weeks was excessive. There were many days when no one showed up on site or when only unskilled laborers were on site for a few hours. It was not the concentrated effort I was lead to expect during discussions prior to contracting with S & S. The refrain of “it will all be done next week” soon became laughable and known for what it was, empty words.

On top of all the quality and duration issues, there were also communication issues. At one point I was so disgusted with the breakdown in verbal communications that I wrote Scott Rygol a letter outlining what needed to be done and when it needed to be done. I ask him if he read the letter and he told me he did. He then when off and did not follow the instructions. When I questioned him about it he stated “I don’t believe in letters and don’t read them, we should be able to just talk about it”. Yet he knew what was in the letter; one of many cases where what Mr. Rygol said and what he did left me scratching my head.

Just in case my original point has been forgotten, Scott Rygol, doing business as S & S contracting or affiliated with any other business is not welcome back on my property and I do not recommend him to anyone for any work.