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Chris and Suzanne purchased a fixer upper with plans to renovate to make it their own. They were thrilled to have found their 'forever home.' They hired contractors to complete the larger projects. Sadly, the negligence of the contractors has caused devastating damage to the home. A structural engineer has warned Chris and Suzanne that their roof may fail, causing it to cave in. He stressed the urgency to have it fixed.
The cost to fix the damage to their their home is nearly $18,000. Unfortunately, after exhausting all options, they are coming in slightly short. If you can help this deserving family, please consider donating. Any amount will help.
Here is their story:
Chris and Suzanne met in 2011 at a BBQ festival. Chris, originally from Australia, was in the United States to play rugby for the sister club of his home rugby club. They spent a month getting to know one another before Chris' temporary visa expired and he had to return home to Australia. Over the next several months, they spoke on the phone daily. Chris moved to the USA and they were married the next year! They now have two small children and reside in Missouri.
Chris and Suzanne purchased their forever home in 2018 . It needed a lot of work. They made a small profit on the sale of their former home so they carefully budgeted a remodel for their new home and set some aside for the kids' college funds.
Their home appraiser highly recommended a contractor so Chris and Suzanne met with them on two separate occasions and eventually signed a detailed contract. They hired them to vault a flat ceiling, rebuild a deck and rebuild a staircase. To stay out of the way and to keep the kids away from the construction, they left town for 10 days while the work was completed.
Throughout that time, the contractor sent progress pictures of the work and it looked like the projects were going very well. Unfortunately, upon arriving home, Chris and Suzanne noticed several issues that had not been included in the progress photos. The drywall was awful, the new stairs were already splitting and made of 2x12's (despite knowing they would be stained instead of covered), the beam above the stairs was less than 6 feet tall, the stairs were not built to code, a new beam that had been placed above the kitchen was causing the ceiling to sag, the deck was not built properly and has to be redone and so much more. At that time, the major structural issues were covered with drywall so Chris and Suzanne were still unaware of them. They gave the contractors several opportunities to do right by their contract but they would not respond.
Soon after, Chris and Suzanne had a county inspector out to inspect an unrelated project. The inspector noticed the work that had been done in the main living area. He called his office and discovered that a permit had never been pulled for any of the work, despite that being clearly stated in their contract with the contractor. The inspector noticed significant safety issues during his inspection and recommended that they hire a structural engineer. They pulled a permit and contacted an engineer that same day. The engineer found that the vaulted ceiling could cave in due to a major lack of support. In his report, he wrote that there is great potential for failure of the roof. The contractors had used inadequate materials and covered it with drywall hoping no one would ever know the difference (and ensuring that an inspector never checked their work). The engineer also discovered that the contractors had shifted weight onto a non-load-bearing wall which is now causing the floor to sink.
Chris and Suzanne also asked the roofing company to assess the new roof and they discovered that it is actively sinking. The new roof had been installed right before this remodel. With every day that passes, their roof becomes less stable and the potential to fail increases.
Upon the sale of their former home, Chris and Suzanne were in a position to set money aside for their children and become debt-free with the exception of their home. This has turned their world upside down and ruined their plans for financial security. They'll also have to scrap all further renovation plans, leaving much of the home unfinished.
They took the contractors to small claims court and won the maximum judgement against them in February 2019. Unfortunately, they have yet to receive a payment.
As a grandparent, I am extremely proud of Chris and Suzanne for being loving parents and providers. Given time, I am confident they could overcome this financial obstacle. Unfortunately, time is something that they don't have in this situation.
If you can spare anything, please consider donating to my very special kids and grandkids. I could also use help spreading the word as I am not active on social media. Thank you!
The cost to fix the damage to their their home is nearly $18,000. Unfortunately, after exhausting all options, they are coming in slightly short. If you can help this deserving family, please consider donating. Any amount will help.
Here is their story:
Chris and Suzanne met in 2011 at a BBQ festival. Chris, originally from Australia, was in the United States to play rugby for the sister club of his home rugby club. They spent a month getting to know one another before Chris' temporary visa expired and he had to return home to Australia. Over the next several months, they spoke on the phone daily. Chris moved to the USA and they were married the next year! They now have two small children and reside in Missouri.
Chris and Suzanne purchased their forever home in 2018 . It needed a lot of work. They made a small profit on the sale of their former home so they carefully budgeted a remodel for their new home and set some aside for the kids' college funds.
Their home appraiser highly recommended a contractor so Chris and Suzanne met with them on two separate occasions and eventually signed a detailed contract. They hired them to vault a flat ceiling, rebuild a deck and rebuild a staircase. To stay out of the way and to keep the kids away from the construction, they left town for 10 days while the work was completed.
Throughout that time, the contractor sent progress pictures of the work and it looked like the projects were going very well. Unfortunately, upon arriving home, Chris and Suzanne noticed several issues that had not been included in the progress photos. The drywall was awful, the new stairs were already splitting and made of 2x12's (despite knowing they would be stained instead of covered), the beam above the stairs was less than 6 feet tall, the stairs were not built to code, a new beam that had been placed above the kitchen was causing the ceiling to sag, the deck was not built properly and has to be redone and so much more. At that time, the major structural issues were covered with drywall so Chris and Suzanne were still unaware of them. They gave the contractors several opportunities to do right by their contract but they would not respond.
Soon after, Chris and Suzanne had a county inspector out to inspect an unrelated project. The inspector noticed the work that had been done in the main living area. He called his office and discovered that a permit had never been pulled for any of the work, despite that being clearly stated in their contract with the contractor. The inspector noticed significant safety issues during his inspection and recommended that they hire a structural engineer. They pulled a permit and contacted an engineer that same day. The engineer found that the vaulted ceiling could cave in due to a major lack of support. In his report, he wrote that there is great potential for failure of the roof. The contractors had used inadequate materials and covered it with drywall hoping no one would ever know the difference (and ensuring that an inspector never checked their work). The engineer also discovered that the contractors had shifted weight onto a non-load-bearing wall which is now causing the floor to sink.
Chris and Suzanne also asked the roofing company to assess the new roof and they discovered that it is actively sinking. The new roof had been installed right before this remodel. With every day that passes, their roof becomes less stable and the potential to fail increases.
Upon the sale of their former home, Chris and Suzanne were in a position to set money aside for their children and become debt-free with the exception of their home. This has turned their world upside down and ruined their plans for financial security. They'll also have to scrap all further renovation plans, leaving much of the home unfinished.
They took the contractors to small claims court and won the maximum judgement against them in February 2019. Unfortunately, they have yet to receive a payment.
As a grandparent, I am extremely proud of Chris and Suzanne for being loving parents and providers. Given time, I am confident they could overcome this financial obstacle. Unfortunately, time is something that they don't have in this situation.
If you can spare anything, please consider donating to my very special kids and grandkids. I could also use help spreading the word as I am not active on social media. Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Suzanne JACKSON
Beneficiary