On Sept 1, 2008 we hired Ken Wong and his company TH Renovation based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as a general contractor to renovate our rental property at #422 W45th Avenue, Vancouver, BC. We met with him previously and he represented himself as a qualified, experienced general contractor. He said he would have no problem doing the renovation work requested after having walked through the house to put together an estimate.
When we hired him that day, we expressed our concern that every possible measure be taken to make the renovation job structurally strong and durable. He said it would be no problem. We also expressed our need to have the renovation job done by mid October, 2008 because we needed to have the property rented to assist with the mortgage payments. Again he said it would be no problem.
We decided to go ahead and hire Ken Wong based on what he told us that day, the positive write-up I had read previously about him in the Georgia Strait Newspaper on May 2007, and the positive pictures we saw on his website. We contemplated having various renovations done, but ultimately decided on the following items at the following prices:
1) Completely gutting and building 2 new washrooms on the main floor and upstairs. $13000. Plus another $250 added later to repair a leak from upstairs bathroom.
2) Installing an entirely new 3rd washroom downstairs. $10 000. Plus another $3100 added later for a new drainage line through the basement floor.
3) Clearing some bushes and small trees from the front and back yard. $300. Plus another $400 added later for some extra trees.
4) Removing carpet from the bedrooms and placing baseboards in those rooms. $400.
5) Removing a drainage post in the basement and relocating the plumbing inside it. Roughing-in plumbing for a potential kitchen in the basement. $2500.
6) Roughing-in plumbing for a potential washroom upstairs. $1500.
7) Repairing leak in kitchen sink $70.
8) Fixing a light. $30.
After it was all said and done, we ended up paying Ken Wong $30 350, which was just less than the total quoted above because we paid for the tiles and vanities separately and they were originally included in the quote. Ken did the renovation job quickly. We gave him the keys on Sept 5th and by Sept 11th he had demolished the old washrooms and hung the drywall for the new washrooms.
At first we were pleased with how fast the job was being done, but issue after issue surfaced that made us progressively more concerned and displeased. First we have to express just how irritated we were that certain issues had to be addressed at all because that they reflected low standards of work. We also felt that a conscientious contractor would have planned appropriately to avoid them.
Then we were even more upset by how Ken handled each issue and left us with compromises that were clearly not what we agreed to or paid for. When important issues were raised, they were either ignored or met with the response that they could not be fixed properly or our expectations were unreasonable. All along, we only expected what we were promised, proper structurally-sound washrooms! Even when things were fixed, the end result was simply cheap or compromised.
By the time Ken was finished in October, we were well aware that we received a poor quality job and he had no intention of delivering the quality he had promised. As long as his work at least met basic building standards, we still felt we had no grounds and no intention to bring any legal action against him. We would just move on so we would not have to see or hear from him again.
There were windows directly in the bath tub/showers that were there previously and were already showing water damage. They were still an unresolved issue, but we decided to bring in someone else to fix it because we'd mentioned it to Ken on more than one occasion and he completely ignored the issue.By this point, we didn't trust him to do anything properly anyway.
For us the final straw came when we hired another contractor to replace the regular windows with sealed-off glass-block windows that could withstand the direct water from the shower. He removed some of the tiles around the existing window and informed us that Ken's job did not meet even the most basic building standards, the materials were not what he had told us he used, and there were health and safety concerns about his work. So the next step was to verify this, we'd brought in 2 other experienced, licensed contractors to verify these claims, which they did.
All 3 contractors had decades of experience. They all agreed that the job needed to be redone because leaving it in place risked further damage to the house. They also agreed that leaving it unfixed would pose potential health and safety issues to occupants of the house, so we had no choice but to redo it. We received estimates from all 3 contractors and all quoted about the same price to fix the issues to meet basic accepted standards.
On Feb 8, 2009, I contacted Ken via email to give him an opportunity to settle this. I sent him all the photo evidence to support our claims and the contact information to talk to the other contractors who had assessed the site. I asked him for $7000 to cover the cost of repairing the bath areas of all 3 washrooms to meet acceptable building standards. I asked 3 separate times and stated all 3 times that if he reimbursed us for this cost, we would consider all matters closed because we really didn't want to deal with him ever again.
All 3 times he ignored the offer and refused to give me a straight answer. In truth, $7000 did not even cover the cost of repairing the washrooms. We had already paid $1800 to fix the one bathroom window. The only alternative we offered was to settle this in court and allow a judge to decide what was fair. Ken offered to meet me at the job site to discuss what the problems were and fix these issues himself, but by now we found that to be completely unacceptable. We felt it was ridiculous for him to make the offer now that he walked away from the job and his mess had been discovered by someone else.By now we had already spent several days dealing with the situation he had created and he was just wasting more of our time by offering to review issues that had already been raised with him several times before.
1) Throughout the entire process, Ken relied on the fact that we weren't knowledgeable in construction to feed us false or misleading information. He was in a position of greater knowledge and there was no one available to disprove him. When we questioned why he did not move the main floor bathroom toilet to a proper location, his response was that the existing plumbing prevented him. So the toilet remained directly in the path of the door preventing it from even opening fully. Ken's remedy to the problem was to open the door into the hallway so it could avoid hitting the toilet, an obvious hazard to everyone else.
When we questioned why a drainage pipe in the basement was not properly relocated as we had paid him for, his response was again that the existing plumbing prevented him from doing this. Instead, he created a ledge on the basement ceiling that several people have since hit their head on. So now we had 2 new hazards created by Ken and the original problems that we paid for remained unfixed.
During the job, even other tradesmen questioned why these issues were not fixed properly. Ken's response was to insist he was justified in doing it this way and say they had no right to question him because they were not licensed plumbers. Since Ken has finished the job, however, every contractor who has assessed these areas has agreed that we paid him more than enough money to fix these issues properly and he had the ideal opportunity to do so because the plumbing was exposed from above and below during his renovation job.
2) Ken demonstrated unacceptably low standards. Obvious issues were acceptable to him that were not acceptable to any other contractors or tradesmen. His quality of work was so poor that the 3 other contractors mentioned previously walked away shaking their heads. Even the simplest things such as hanging the mirrors and fixtures had to be addressed because many of them were left obviously crooked. One of the contractors who assessed his work said, He either didn't know how to fix things properly or didn't care. He just chose whatever method required the minimum materials and minimum effort so he could pocket the money and go.
The examples already mentioned are only some of the contentious issues, but there are several others. The windows directly in the bath areas have been singled out as a structural problem by everyone who has seen them, but Ken completely ignored the issue even when asked directly to address them. The bath areas in all 3 bathrooms have needed to be rebuild right down to the studs within months of Ken's work. The water valves on 2 of the toilets could not even be turned because they were so close to the ground, yet Ken considered this a properly finished job and walked away from it.
When we first mentioned this, he resolved it sawing off the handle on 1 toilet valve and leaving a sawed-off valve with sharp edges. The other toilet valve was simply ignored. When we asked again that they be fixed, he responded by insisting the job was done and we were now being unreasonable. Only after a full-blown shouting argument did he return to fix this issue and he did so with the cheapest parts possible.
The basement toilet vent exits the house only a few feet above the ground and has also been an issue to every other contractor who has seen it. It is venting gas at waist height for all to smell. It exits the house through a crudely-made hole with nothing to seal off the large space made around it. We are told that the plumbing job in the basement drainage stack and the bathroom sinks has compromises that clearly impede proper drainage. The main floor and upstairs toilets already are unreliable when flushed and still need to be addressed.
3) Ken did not take responsibility for any issue that arose. During the job, he repeatedly denied responsibility for issues that everyone else has agreed he should be responsible for. Instead he suggested that are expectations were unreasonable, we were holding him responsible for issues that were not his responsibility, and he was doing us a favor by even addressing these things. Again I cannot express how infuriating and disappointing it is to see someone walk away from a job that is clearly incomplete or improper and tell you the job is done.
To even have to request the most basic things be corrected is just exhausting. A pipe from the upstairs washroom had been leaking into the kitchen cupboard below it. Moisture was evident outside the cupboard and mould inside it. Ken did not feel he had any responsibility to repair this leak while building the new washroom. He did not even notice it and repeatedly said he could not be held responsible for any plumbing. We ultimately paid his tradesman an extra $250 to repair this leak.
When the drainage pipe started leaking in the basement, again, he claimed he was not responsible even though there was no leak prior to his altering the pipe and renovating the washroom directly above it. Again when the toilet valves and toilet location were raised as issues, he did not feel it was his responsibility to fix the existing plumbing configuration. When the windows were mentioned as structural problems, he did not feel this was part of rebuilding the washrooms.
4) Ken has been completely untrustworthy. Right from the beginning, he said he would do everything he could to build us structurally sound washrooms. We also reiterated how important this was to us during the job and he assured us it was being done. We have since discovered that Ken's entire job from start to finish has been negligent. Not one single thing could be found that was done to acceptable standards and the finished job had no chance of holding up.
Abundant rot in the framing was completely ignored, framing instability was ignored, problems with existing/missing insulation were ignored, plumbing was unsecured, no vapor barriers were used anywhere, regular drywall with no moisture resistance was used behind all shower tiles, mastic tile adhesive with no moisture resistance was used to secure all shower tiles, windows located directly in the shower areas were ignored, etc.
The list goes on and is detailed and illustrated in the photos. The negligence uncovered in the basement washroom was even more astounding. Drywall was not even replaced in parts of the bath, existing drywall in the room and an electric outlet was simply tiled over. An electric outlet was found directly beneath the tile and was already moist because it was not neutralized properly. It actually sparked when a contractor subsequently moved it. I could not even think of a greater safety hazard to someone taking a shower in that bathtub.
During the job, I asked Ken specifically what materials were being used to make the baths water-resistant and he told me he used a proper material called green board. This was just the most obvious lie that I happened to save in an email. It is truly pathetic that even if Ken had used green board behind the shower tiles, the rest of his job was so incompetently done that it still would have needed to be redone.
After these issues had been verified by the other contractors, I informed Ken and he responded by still suggesting that his job is acceptable and open to debate. More lies. With our last correspondence, Ken realized that we were now well informed as we had talked to 3 experienced contractors and an independently licensed plumber. He could no longer misinform us, so he followed with one final desperate response that he had been deceived by his tradesman, who told him the proper materials were used.
Perhaps Ken had forgotten that I had walked through the job site with him to verify that the drywall had been hung prior to paying him the third payment of $18 100 on Sept 18, 2008. I only wish I had been more astute then and recognized that the materials used did not meet any acceptable standards. So his final response to us was yet another lie to try to convince us that he was not a con man, just hopelessly negligent. In order to miss all the issues we uncovered, he would have had to been absent from the job from start to finish. The obvious questions is this; Why would anyone allow him to come back to fix problems he ignored, covered up, or created himself.
In March 2009, we went ahead and hired a contractor to redo much of Ken's work. We could not wait for a resolution because we needed to have the place rented to support the mortgage payments and the place could not be rented unless these issues were first addressed. We have collected all our saved email correspondences word-for-word in their entirety and taken pictures of the renovation job at various stages to support our claims. Below we have listed the work we have redone and will have to redo.
1) We paid Ken $23 250 to build the 3 washrooms. During that process, we assisted by purchasing and delivering the vanities, fixtures, and lights to the site. We hired an independent painter who painted the rooms. Since Ken has left, we've had to completely redo all 3 bath areas to meet accepted standards at a cost of $10 356.52. We have been told by a contractor and licensed plumber that it will cost $3000-5000 to properly resolve the plumbing issues and repair the washrooms afterwards. So even if we recover the cost of redoing these issues properly, Ken still walks away with at least $8000 of this money for what's left, which is tiling the floor, drywalling only parts of the rooms, and installing the lights.
2) We paid Ken $3100 to install a new drainage line for the basement washroom and $700 to remove some trees and shrubs. At a later date, we hired a drainage specialist to fix our entire building envelope. During that process, he discovered that the section of Ken's drainage line outside the house had no slope for water to drain. We ended up paying him close to $1000 to replace this section of pipe and remove a large tree stump that Ken had left behind. Even if we recover this $1000, Ken still walks away with $2800 for what's left of the substandard job he did.
3) The ordeal of having to verify the problems Ken left behind and redo the work has also cost us 2 months of lost rental income and several days taken off work. I cannot begin to describe the anger, frustration, and exhaustion that my wife and I have experienced dealing with Ken Wong and the mess he left behind.
If you go to Ken's website at THrenovation and look at the photos, or if you read the article in the Georgia Strait, it hardly seems possible that the same guy was responsible for this job. The photos on his website look stellar and were partly responsible for convincing us to hire him. I will freely admit to my naivety in this ordeal that allowed me to be taken advantage of. My wife and I learned several basic lessons from this experience that we hope other people will take to heart so they're less likely to be ripped off by con men like Ken Wong.
1) You cannot trust photos alone when judging a contractor's work. They simply don't tell you if proper materials were used or proper construction principles were followed. In our case, not one thing was done correctly. What was done was just a faade that had no chance of holding up. The photos also don't tell you the consistency of a person's work. In this Ken's case, his website may show renovations done properly for a few jobs, which may have even been for homes he owned at the time. They don't, however, show the crap he gets away with on his other jobs.
2) You cannot trust favorable write-ups in publications like the Georgia Strait. Listen folks, this may seem obvious now, but it was a hard lesson for us to learn. The Georgia Strait may be a newspaper, but it's not exactly a trade journal and it does not necessarily investigate all the subjects of its articles. It can be fooled by con men just like you or I.
3) You must, must, must contact a number of references to verify a contractor's integrity and quality of work. This seems so obvious now, but I cannot stress this enough. If you have no prior history with the person, this step cannot be skipped. Get references for recent work and older work to see how it's held up over time. If they say they cannot provide proper references, move on and find someone else. There is just no substitute for someone with integrity because someone who is intent on cutting corners and ripping you off will be able to do it. There is just no way you can watch over a contractor through the entire job and there is no reason you should have to. There are so many slick talking contractors and tradesmen out there and guess what, the shadiest ones talk the biggest game.
4) You should know something about the job and how it should be done. My wife and I knew very little about construction when we hired Ken and this made it even easier to rip us off. It is just too easy to take advantage of someone with little knowledge. I know it's a hassle to have to do a little leg work yourself to find out about proper construction steps and materials, but the work is worth it to protect yourself. If we had known these things before, we could have spotted all these problems early on and simply fired Ken. Better yet, we could have simply asked him before we even hired him what steps he intended to take to fix the washrooms and what materials he intended to use at each step. We could have avoided hiring him in the first place.
5) Get the details in writing. A proper estimate should be as detailed as possible, outlining each step and material used. If it's not on a written estimate, don't take for granted that it will be done. Some contractors will be deliberately vague and leave you very little in writing so they can't be held to anything.
6) Ask for photos at each step of demolition and construction to verify what's being done. You simply can't watch over someone all the time and you shouldn't have to. This may be the best you can do to ensure that what someone says is actually what they do. Again, if someone refuses to do these things, you can decide whether you trust them or not based on their other references or credentials.
7) Make sure the contractor and tradesmen are properly qualified. This may seem obvious, but my wife and I realize now that neither Ken nor his trades may be licensed or have any formal training for the work they are doing. And his so called company TH Renovation may not even be registered. These are things that need to be determined BEFOREHAND. You need to know the contractors & tradesmen experience, training, and licensing.
My wife and I went through this nightmare at a time when she was in her third trimester of pregnancy. This was truly the last thing we needed to be dealing with and caused us an unbelievable amount of stress and grief. I am writing this article now to warn the world of Ken Wong because I just don't believe he should be able to continue fleecing other people the same way. I also want to give people the simplest advice to avoid other rip-off contractors and con-men tradesmen like Ken.
I know it was our own stupidity and naivety that allowed us to be taken advantage of, but I feel that people can take these steps to avoid being ripped-off. I welcome anyone who has any questions for me regarding this experience. I also welcome Ken to dispute anything I'm saying. Once again, I would love to show people pictures of his work, so if anyone is interested, I am happy to forward these.
J ****
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
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