Pamela V. Brown
Write Path, an L.L.C.
Kauai Business Report June 2004
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Pamela V. Brown Write Path, an L.L.C. |
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Kauai Business Report June 2004 |
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Building Frustration: Owners Find Construction Projects Complex, Challenging By Pamela V. Brown KAPAA - Three long years after ordering its old parish hall demolished to make way for the new building, the Kapaa Seventh Day Adventist Church congregation will finally move into its new quarters this summer across the street from the Kapaa post office. The bumpy road to completion is a prime and visible - highway frontage - example of how the best laid plans on a construction project don't always guarantee easy success. Progress on the 5,000 square foot new parish hall, fellowship hall and classrooms began well enough, but ground to a halt about a year ago when building code violations and construction defects were alleged against the original general contractor. Shortly thereafter the contractor was asked to leave the job and church directors were left with a mess on their hands. Meanwhile the 180-member congregation became a mobile church, holding services wherever possible. "We've been like in the Old Testament: Israelites wandering around in the desert for 40 years," said Dean Sacramed, church elder and construction project manager. Other churches accommodated his flock generously, Sacramed said. "The Mormons helped us and mostly we have alternated between All Saints Church and First Hawaiian Church. It was a wonderful surprise how people of faith just forget their own particular religious beliefs and try to help others." What was a less-than-wonderful surprise was finding out that even though the church directors had done their due diligence in having architectural plans drawn up for the buildings and doing background checks on potential contractors before making a final choice, they still were left with a thorny situation to correct. By the time the job was stopped, they had paid out nearly $500,000 and still needed more funds to pay a contractor to make repairs and complete the buildings. Fortunately for church officials, they had insisted that the original contractor procure a performance bond from Hale Kauai, which became a $300,000 smart decision when the building materials house paid the church to have a new contractor complete the job, per standard bond terms. But even with replacement funds, it proved difficult to find a new contractor willing to take on the sticky job of fixing structural errors in half-built concrete buildings and bringing the project into alignment with building codes and plan specifications. "No contractor would like to pick up the mess," said Pastor Vic Arreola, who arrived on Kauai after progress on the job had already been stopped. "We asked a bunch of the 'famous' contractors on the island," but no one was willing or able to help. AN ANGEL Enter Curtis Law, owner of Curtis E. Law, Inc., a longtime Kauai general contractor who had been a subcontractor on the job originally, and who drove past the ghost town of a construction site frequently. "Curtis was wondering 'Now who is going to help this church?' " said Sacramed. "He stepped up to the plate and said 'If you guys need help . . .' " "Curtis is an angel to us," Arreola said, noting that he is so confident that construction will be completed soon, he has scheduled the inauguration of the new building for August 21. Despite the frustrations, church officials are quick to express understanding and forgiveness for the original contractor, observing that "basically he just ran into some problems," said Sacramed. "(We) tried not to dwell on such things that happened and try not to put blame on others," Sacramed said. "The church kind of feels sorry for him. When we see him, we try to tell him 'Hi.' " Sacramed said property owners should do as much research as possible before hiring a contractor. And even though that's what church officials did the first time around, he still recommends the same course of action. "You as a homeowner have to do your homework and do a background check," he said. "Talk to people and look at the work that the contractor has done. You can go back as far as you want." Once you reach a comfort level with the contractor and establish a good rapport, then sign a contract - get it in writing, he said. "In the end the contract is a safety net for any individual, but the contract is only as good as the contractor," he said. VERBAL AGREEMENTS OPEN FOR MISUNDERSTANDING The church's experiences underscore the difficulty and complexity of construction projects. And when construction details are left to verbal agreements, conflicts and substantial differences of opinion can ensue. Lawai homeowner Avi Zadok said it's been three years since work on his home in Lawai began and it's not yet completed. He leveled accusations of dishonesty against the contractor and accused him of misrepresenting things and taking unfair advantage in the contract. "A lot of people are really hurting because of the (construction) boom because the contractors - not all of them - are taking advantage of the seniors and people who don't know what's going on," Zadok said. "It's just crazy. It's just the Wild Wild West over here." A senior himself, Zadok said he came to Kauai with plans to build a house with his nest egg. He said the project has been one frustration after another, he's had to deal with subcontractors directly instead of having the general contractor handle those negotiations and that the project has dragged on much longer than he expected. Yet the general contractor, Albert Shiira, who has been building homes on Kauai for 30 years, said many of the problems stem from him trying to help Zadok get the house he wanted for substantially less money than market value. "I bid on the project then he came around and tells me he doesn't have enough money," Shiira said. "We had like a gentlemen's agreement to both put up the house," an agreement that was made on a handshake, Shiira said. According to Shiira, part of the agreement was that Shiira would do extra work that was outside the scope of the contract with Zadok's help, but would do so on his own time frame, between his other contracting jobs. "We had a gentlemen's agreement that we don't have any date of completion," Shiira said. "He saved a lot of money by doing it this way but now he wants to bill me for his time." When Zadok wanted to save money on subcontractors' work, Shiira advised him to contact the subs directly. "I said don't go through me. I'm just going to mark it up so you can deal with them directly." The project is clearly a source of frustration for both men - it might be a long time before either one enters a verbal contract again. And Zadok definitely won't venture into construction any time soon. "No way, I wouldn't build again. This is it," Zadok said. "It is pretty stressful. You lose the trust and belief in what people tell you. I used to trust people a lot more than I am trusting people now." Both parties now have lawyers involved. Shiira said the house is 95% done and he will certainly see it to completion. "I understand his frustration and I've tried to work with him as much as I can," Shiira said. "Right now, he's not trying." TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY The Shiira/Zadok conflict illustrates the challenge that regulatory agencies have when receiving and investigating complaints against contractors. "It's tricky because there are two sides of the story, sometimes very different and some inflammatory stories," said JoAnn Uchida, complaints and enforcement officer for the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. She said part of her office's job is to determine where in between the two sides the truth lies in order to reach a resolution. She said often problems stem from homeowners not really understanding the complexity of construction projects. "Learning about contracting is a whole different ball of wax," she said. During fiscal year 2002-2003, her office received only about 20 construction-related complaints from Kauai - about 10% of the statewide total - primarily about unlicensed activity, i.e. people doing construction work that legally requires a contractors license without holding that license. Uchida said that her office sees complaints that run the gamut - from the wrong color of paint being applied to a house to the egregious: a job abandoned by a contractor. Dean Sacramed at the Seventh Day Adventist Church is glad all his church's construction problems are behind them. "We're very excited now because it's coming to an end already," he said. "The congregation is very ecstatic about it. We can't wait to go home." |
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Contact Information: Pamela V. Brown (808) 651-3533 cell (808) 821-1027 fax |
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