The $30,000 for 3 months of her life that she will never get back was all I needed to know. After you start throwing around punitive damage type stuff, it's pretty hard to argue you're benevolence.

Well now there's even more information about these guys on the internet, even if the arbitrator has them take the yelp review down. Maybe they should have quit while they were ahead.

When you call in the lawyers, everyone loses, except the lawyers, bad move on Amini's part. The Craftsmen Guild has all 4 and 5 star reviews, why draw attention to the only negative review.

Most of us living grew up on lead based paint, mercury fillings, toxic fumes etc. There is never going to be a germ or toxic free zone at this point. That is why the regulators have established "safe limits" of the various chemicals in the soil and water. Broom clean does not mean soil contamination removal. If she is that concerned about it she should have hired an enviornmentalist to clean it up before beginning construction.
I wonder if she dines in restaurants or uses a cell phone?

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Another Money grabbing scheme.

Which one is the worst? Lead-based paint, mercury fillings, toxic fumes, or cell-tower radiation?

I think the homeowner is stretching the facts to serve her interests.

Note that the lead consultant she hired prefaces their statement with "It is LCD's opinion...", while the lead consultant for the contractor cites that lead levels in the soil do not exceed regulatory limits that would require action.

Anyone can have an opinion, but adherence to regulatory limits is the determining factor in establishing liability.

Furthermore, the burden of proof is on the homeowner to show that the lead level in the soil came from the construction debris, and not from existing contamination before construction started. In a pre 1930's home, there is ample opportunity for lead contamination to occur before this construction project started. To prove her case, she would have needed to test the soil before construction, which doesn't appear to have happened.

Also, her reliance to the clause in the contract of a "broom clean" condition is standard boiler plate language on all construction contracts and is not intended to cover hazardous material levels. If this was a specific concern of hers, then she should have added specific language in the contract to cover it.

Finally, it's never a good idea to mix a major renovation project with other life changing events, like the birth of a child. Construction projects nearly always run over schedule, and/or over budget for a variety of reasons (Owner changes, weather, material delivery, etc...)

@Hardin- it seems there was lead testing performed before the project began, see below:

"He also pointed to a 2008 lead assessment conducted for the property which found similar amounts of lead in the soil before the project began."

Looks like the homeowners have buyers regret - they should have bought new construction instead.

Good catch, I missed that. It would seem the homeowner has little to stand on, at least in mediation.

That makes the negative Yelp entry a cheap shot. Being unhappy about the results is one thing, but if the contractor performed to the contract requirements, its dishonest to misrepresent their performance in Yelp simply because you are unhappy.

To put it plainly, I think the contractor may have failed to manage the clients expectations, but succeeded in complying with the contract.

My disappointment with Craftsmen's Guild extends beyond the lead issue. The lead situation was not my only complaint; it was one of many. My yelp review mentioned some of the others.

Lori - Our contract also stated that "All of the construction debris shall be removed by Contractor". I'm not aware of any lead in the soil that needed cleaning up before Craftsmen's Guild's construction, and the heating ducts that contained lead dust were installed by Craftsmen's Guild. Based on my previous experiences with contractors, I expected much less debris to be left behind.

Hardin - I agree with your sentiment that mixing renovation and the birth of a child isn't a good idea; ironically, that was a major factor in hiring Craftsmen's Guild. We had been fixing up our house bit by bit when we discovered that I was pregnant. After my first conversation with Mike Amini (Craftsmen's Guild's architect), I was under the impression that they would complete the remodel very close to my son's birth. This was a big factor in my decision to hire Craftsmen's Guild. I did not expect construction to be wrapping up when my son was 4 months old.

DCS & Hardin - What worried me wasn't the average lead concentration; it was the bite-size pieces of lead paint where my toddler plays. I tried to clean up the debris myself but after hours picking out bits of tile and paint chips from the soil I felt futile. I asked Craftsmen's Guild for help but they curtly declined. I spent hours on the phone trying to figure out what to do, and ultimately hired a lead assessor on the recommendation of the California Department of Public Health, and followed the assessor's recommendations. I did my best.

I do not believe I misrepresented the situation, and I have offered to revise my review, but Craftsmen's Guild has offered no specific re-wordings other than complete removal of the review.

The following comment has been moved from a duplicate thread, which is now closed:

Wow, the behavior of the contractor is disgusting. Offering to pay $5000 to take down a bad review is really demonstrative of their guilt, not to mention that there's irrefutable evidence of the presence of lead. There is nothing worse than a business who mucks up a job, THEN bullies the customer with threats and extortions and lawsuits.
by Monica Mar 1, 2011 at 5:54 pm

wow. i wonder how many other customers they managed to keep quiet through lawsuits?