King Contracting

First, to set the record straight, we were not hired by Mr. Grondin to perform any remodeling work as he states. We were hired to develop designs for 2 separate room additions; a master suite on one end of the house and a laundry/pool bath on the other side. We were also hired to design a kitchen remodel, all of this at his home in St. Petersburg, Fl. He lived out-of-state during the time frame of our involvement.

One of the most difficult phases of a remodel is in the development and design phase. Typically, a home owner has a vision of what they would like to have done and the contractor knows what has to happen for the vision to become a reality. Often times, the vision and reality clash, meaning changes must be made to accommodate both the home owner’s desires, the existing conditions along with code and engineering requirements. This requires a lot of time, going back and forth with changes, sometimes minor, then some major. Of course, during a project like this, which spanned some 13 months, it is quite normal for a home owner to change their mind about layouts, change their priority, etc. With 3 projects being juggled, the changes, discussions and issues tripled. Mr. Grondin lived out-of-state and communication ran hot/cold although he indicated that this would be a slow process for him and not to expect any quick decisions.

Whenever he was in town, we would meet to review the latest changes and of course, as I often do, I suggested putting down tape where walls and cabinets might go and leave in place for a week or two so they could see how it will feel and flow.

Our Design Agreement is a very simple document; it has been widely used for dozens of clients over 4 years. It is a proven process that keeps the upfront design costs low until such time as we have enough information to develop job costs from the designs. The Design Agreement clearly states, as it does on every single agreement we have ever engaged in, that the initial design and development work does NOT include plans for permitting nor does it bind the owner to hire us. I think any design professional and/or other self-respecting contractor would agree that $2200.00 for 3 separate projects, two being room additions, spanning 13 months is more than a bargain. (ever since this project, I now put time limits on these agreements)

Mr. Grondin never expressed any concerns with our designs. I think we both were exasperated with the time-line. At some point in December 2014 or January 2015, Mr. Grondin called to let me know he had new plans, and asked me if we would like to quote. I indicated that we would like to but that we were booked solid for the foreseeable future and I reluctantly declined. I certainly wanted the job to make up for the huge amount of time we had invested over 13 months, after all we are not in the business of selling plans. The words, “Design-Build” are in our logo for a reason! It is not in my nature to decline work but I think taking on work when there is no capacity is unfair to a client and would certainly be grounds for a legitimate complaint.

Although we are certainly concerned with Mr. Grondin’s comments and respect his opinion, we are very surprised and stunned to see his comments, especially some 9 months later. Nevertheless, we have since evaluated our design process to ensure that we are meeting our client’s needs during this critical phase of a remodel.

King Contracting is an honorable business and is widely respected in the community not only for its remodeling work but its community involvement. In addition, since 2012, King Contracting has won numerous awards for remodeling accomplishments throughout Pinellas County, FL including two 1st place awards in the Southeast Region of the U.S.