James P Hood Construction Company, LLC

Do not hire James P Hood Construction Company LLC, (who also goes by a variety of other business names - see photo from the BBB website) for any management (GC) related projects! He also operates under the following names:

Complete Bathroom Remodeling
Complete Bathroom Remodeling, LLC
Complete Bathroom Remodeling LLC
Licensed Handyman, LLC
Tiny Home Contractor

Just a few reasons: A) JPH didn't tighten any of the nuts for the bolts connecting the sole plates to the concrete foundation (which, incidentally, even the framing inspector missed, but thankfully I, the homeowner, found before the drywall went up - they were literally loose enough to spin by hand). B) JPH spliced boards along one side of a structural ridge beam rather than using full length boards, which, had the inspector not caught this mistake, could have resulted in the roof sagging or even collapsing. C), D), E), F) - more of the same shoddy workmanship.

But the kicker is that JPH told me his main sub, Ty, misappropriated $5K of our funds (after which, JPH continued to work with him) but that he (James) would "take care of it". Two months later, different story. Ty also took down the security tape and parked his truck on my neighbor's 4 day old concrete pad, then told my neighbor that the concrete contractor she hired had told him he could. She was rightfully upset and asked the concrete contractor, who said he hadn't told Ty he could park there. I was only told about this after the fact, from James, who continues to work with Ty. Despite my attempt to smooth things over with my neighbor, she is still upset with me over this incident.

Also, JPH no longer agrees that he owes us money for allowances he listed in the contract that he would purchase which, in order to get better pricing for higher quality items, my wife and I paid for with separate funds. For example, JPH allowed $1,000 for stock kitchen cabinets from Home Depot and a Formica countertop. Way low, even for a kitchenette, but we knew that when we signed the contract. We bought better cabinets and a stone countertop with separate funds, having been told by James that he would reimburse us the $1,000 he was paid for that allowance. (I asked him early in the project if we should be getting reimbursed along the way. He said it was more typical to do so at the end of the project.) Now, nearing the end of the project? Different story. Same for a long list of other allowances. All told, on an initial contracted amount just over $100K, JPH has been paid $83K and by my rough calculations owes us over $30K in reimbursements for allowances he didn't pay for and labor he/his subs didn't provide, to say nothing of the additional costs associated with repairing JPH's shoddy workmanship.

I met with James and a mediator from SCORE recently, during which, James had the temerity to use this line of reasoning (paraphrased): "There are thousands of contractors in Colorado Springs and you chose me, someone who had only built one house before..." In other words, I should have realized that he wasn't experienced/competent to manage our projects before hiring him! Let that reasoning sink in. Then compare it with what his website says - it shows the same photo of a home that his ad on CraigsList did, and says that JPH has been building semi-custom homes and remodeling existing homes since 2003. If I could leave a zero star review, I would. As a first step to recovering lost funds, I have submitted a complaint to the BBB, which should be visible on their website soon.

Finally, James effectively admitted that the initial $103K number was not thought through; that he simply wanted the work and hadn't put pencil to paper sufficiently.

All this to say, there are thousands of contractors in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Don't choose James P Hood Construction Company.