Complaint Review: TD Construction - Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Tom Doran is the lowest kind of contractor out there. When you hear horror stories on TV and from friends about homeowners getting ripped off by home improvement contractors who take payment, make promises never to be heard of again, think Tom Doran and TD Construction. He is a one man show who I originally overpaid to do a small preliminary job painting kitchen cabinets. He did a decent enough job that I hired him again, this time to install an outdoor cellar door which leads down to a basement man door. As part of the signed contract dated April 2nd, 2012 that I have in my possession which includes Tom Doran's signature, the agreement also called for waterproofing several glass block windows, reattaching ductwork in the basement and reattaching a rain gutter. All told I paid Tom Doran $1100 up front which in retrospect was the most foolish and stupid thing I have ever done with a so-called home improvement "professional".

It took over 2 months for him to reattach the gutter. He did not tie it back in to the drain pipe so the water literally pours out onto the concrete next to the foundation, creating more water problems which my exterminator later told me encouraged ants which I had to pay $297 to take care of.

As for the bulk of the work and the most important part of the job, the doors. It is now July 23rd 2012 and the cellar door looks like it was built by 12 year olds attempting to build a fort in the woods. He promised to waterproof it with a rubber membrane. That never happened. Either he is too incompetent or he intentionally used the cheapest material possible (most likely the case) because he didn't even use wolmanized lumber. As a result, this 1" x 6" and plywood pile of garbage allows water in like a sieve into my cellar steps and under the man door that has not even been touch. The boards have already warped, there is not safety chain to keep it from opening and falling onto a small child or pet and the boards have already begun to warp and crack after being exposed to the weather for weeks.

Tom Doran refuses to answer my phone calls, refuses to respond to text messages and email and even hung up on me last night when someone else answered the phone and he realized it was me. Tom Doran is the lowest of the low who literally stole $1100 from me, effectively taking food out of my family's mouths. After reading the report from his first victim on here, I have no trouble believing that account. His work is a disgrace, his carpentry skills are literally non-existent and the few times he did get back to me in the three and a half months after he took my money, he was constantly coming up with excuses including but not limited to a supposed death in the family, a robbery at that relatives house during the funeral (yeah right), his truck breaking down on multiple occasions, his cell phone not working because he was on vacation and my favorite, being rained out on days when there was no rain.

Run, don't walk, away from this thieving contractor. What Tom Doran has done to people including me is criminal and truly gives all home improvement contractors a bad name.

I anticipate his worthless rebuttal as saying something along of the lines of "false accusations" but I have the pictures, the agreement and the exterminator's bill to prove it.