-Handy Dynamic and its owner, Nancy Morgan were recommended to me via the Tucker Town Talk Facebook group (TTT). Before first contacting Handy Dynamic on January 15, 2021, I did some due diligence, called and met with several contractors. Handy Dynamics was not the cheapest nor the most expensive quote I received. I also learned that Handy Dynamics had mostly good reviews but also a handful of very concerning bad reviews. I also spoke to one TTT group member that had recommend Nancy and she offered glorious reviews. This first member I spoke to said that Juan and his team were excellent. I spoke to a second TTT group member after the work on my pergola had already started. This member had not recommended Handy Dynamic but she approached me privately to find out which of the recommended companies I had decided to go with for the building of my pergola. We got to talking and the member said that they had used Handy Dynamic on another project at their house and their experiences were similar to what I was experiencing at the time. This second TTT member said that Handy Dynamic had her deposit money, 50% of the total cost, for three months before they started the work and that the member was very nervous about not getting the money back if anything happened. This TTT member also mentioned that Nancy was not very responsive and hard to get a hold of and that it was a nightmare to get the work started.
-I was going to write a review and wanted to wait until the work was completed but I have lost all trust and confidence in Handy Dynamic so I am reviewing my experiences dealing with Handy Dynamic as of today, May 23, 2021. I would like to give some specific examples of what I have experienced these last few weeks because I have had enough of the unacceptable treatment, work, and behavior I have experienced.
-Nancy is rude and disrespectful. She addresses me with contempt and in a condescending manner. There have several instances ranging from her contemptuous looks and behavior to walking away in the middle of a conversation. We were discussing an overhang that we had talked about before, nothing new. In the middle of the conversation Nancy turned around, raised her hand up in the air and said that she “could not, could not” walked away and left leaving me standing there, issues unresolved and wondering what had just happened. I did not hear from her for a couple of days.
-Nancy is unreliable, she told me in writing that the work would take 3/4 days and it has been four weeks since the project started and the work is not finished. She shows up unannounced and all too often she does not show up to appointment she or her assistant have set up. She neither calls or messages to let me know that she is running late or not coming at all. She has no respect for my time and schedule.
-It seems according to Nancy that I am always to blame for things going wrong. She blames me for rushing the job although I first contacted her about the project on January 15, 2021. Nancy is not reliable, she and her crew showed up on April 27 and worked a full day, the following two days they only work for 3-4 hours each day. Then they disappeared for days.
-I must also commend on the work of Nancy’s crew, they show up on time and work diligently. It seems Juan is the font of knowledge judging by the 2 or 3 times he has been at my site and by comments made by others who have used Handy Dynamic. I was left with a very hard working Tier 2 crew of workers without supervision, there is no shame in not knowing what you don’t know. After the frame and roof were completed, I noticed that screws meant to secure the metal roof to the wood frame were screwed into nothing, missing the wood totally. On the side of the wall of the house there were panels the width of the chimney that were floating and screws visible. A little storm would have turned those metal sheets of roofing material into projectiles. I am not sure what type of wood Handy Dynamic used on my pergola but it split as the screws were driven in. The columns are already splitting the screws were put in correctly and the holes filled with silicone. The split wood was “fixed” with a nails.
-Part of the scope of the job was to build a cubby to hide trash bins in. It was built but not level by a long shot.
-Then there is the issue of the door, one of the guys built a custom door out of cedar — it is a thing of beauty. However, once installed, the side of the door not attached to the fence sags to the floor. Mind you, my fence and deck are older and I recognize that they are no longer level. I mention to Nancy that the door is dragging and she keeps repeating that the door is level while I try to explain that yes, the door is level but it needs to work and open more than 45*. But to her, the door being level is the extent of her commitment to that stage of the project. She and the crew have tried to find a workaround to the door issue but nothing final has come up yet.
-Since I see that Nancy has disputed some of the facts or another reviewer’s claims calling them “half truths," I am including a timeline extracted from my text messages with her to show exactly what I have had to deal with. I have photos that I will upload if possible and documentation for all of my claims.
January 15, 2021 - first contact by phone followed up with a text.
January 18, 2021 - still not on her calendar, “she forgot.”
February 24, 2021 - I let Nancy I need to reduce scope and let Nancy know my budget. She stated that “we can do something for that and get it done so can do more later easily.”
February 28, 2021 - suggests we go with asphalt roof.
March 2, 2021 - I let her know that I am not sure whether my older deck will hold the weight of asphalt shingles, plywood, and the felt. I request a face to face meeting so Nancy can walk me through her vision. She offers March 3rd at 11:30
March 17, 2021 - message asking for my estimate after the face to face meeting and revised scope.
March 18, 2021 - I am informed it will be 8 weeks before work can start. Pay 50% downpayment in the amount of $8,267.50.
March 29, 2021 - informed Nancy that I have guests for two weeks in May around the scheduled start time. Then again in June my daughter and grandkids are coming up to stay with me. I requested that if the work cannot be finished by early May, I would like a refund since I would not be able to give my attention to the project until July which would make my deposit an interest free loan for almost 3 months. Then in late summer we could pick up the job again and start construction.
March 30, 3021 - message Nancy, no reply.
April 1, 2021 - message Nancy said she thought we had talked on March 30th, which according to my phone log, we had not. Nancy also said that the project would take 3/4 days
April 2, 2021 - I message Nancy trying to keep everyone happy and having the project done by the time my family arrives. I suggest just putting sun sails instead of a pergola with a roof.
April 23, 2021 - On April 2nd I was given a start date of April 26 so I message Nancy to confirm on Friday, April 23rd. No reply.
April 24, 2021 - Message Nancy to confirm Monday, April 26 start. Nancy informs me that because of rain they lost a day and will start Tuesday, April 27th. Nancy issues a statement that really concerned me and to me it meant that she wanted to back out of the contract. She said: “I am really concerned that I have not done a good job of managing your expectations for how a project will go. This worries me that we won’t be able to make you happy regardless of the final product. Are you sure you want to go forward? Do you want to meet about this tomorrow?” I told her that I just needed the project started and agreed to meet with her the following day. After Nancy suggests we meet face to face the following day she tells me she has three appointments already and to “let her see what time I can be there.” So then I suggest she and I meet Tuesday morning as the crew arrives, to which she says that “I will try to get up and moving the the AM to come see you>’
April 26, 2021 at 3:12 - without getting a confirmation on whether we would meet April 26 or 27, Nancy sends a message in the afternoon that she is on her way and should arrive in 30 minutes. Out of the blue, no confirmation. I could not meet her since I had to take the dog to the vet for boosters so she could go to day care during the week of construction.
April 29, 2021 - a delivery of cedar wood is made at 11:44 and the crew leaves with no work as to when they would return. I message Nancy to ask when the guys would continue the work she had promised would be done in 3/4 days. Nancy says that they would return Friday, April 30th to finish the roof and possibly the gate.
April 30, 2021 at 2:49 - no one has shown up to work so I message Nancy and she now says (at 5:45) that they will come tomorrow, May 1st after lunch. She then asks “Were you told they were coming to do the door today (April 30th)? I don’t show it on the schedule anywhere.” I told Nancy to scroll up and see where she herself had told me that. I ask to kept informed when the guys are coming to work otherwise my schedule is totally dependent on them and waiting for them to show up. To which Nancy replied: “I cannot give you an exact timeline when it will be completed. This is 100% custom build and predicting the actual build time is impossible. We just have to schedule work and keep doing it until we are done.” So she scheduled me for a visit on May 1st after lunch.
May 1, 2021 - I send a screen grab of the text message where Nancy herself told me the entire project would be completed in 3/4 days. She replied that the metal that we ordered never came in. We lost 2 days sourcing the new roofing. What would you like me to do for you?” Mind you, while she was placing the order for the metal roof I overheard her mumble to someone else that “this is what happens when you leave things for the last minute.” It turns out they had to drive quite a ways away to pick up the roofing material. Once the roofing material was delivered to my house, it sat on my deck for two days before I had to contact her and ask when they were coming to continue the work. During that same conversation, Nancy said: “I am sorry that you are unhappy with me and our effort. The current scheduling for today and a day next week will complete all except the painting which cannot be done until the wood is fully dried.”
May 2, 2021 at 2:27 - I messaged Nancy to catch up on what she had planned for the board around the deck but she had left. At 5:31 she replies “Give me a minute and I’d like to go over what’s left.”
May 4, 2021 - haven’t heard from Nancy since May 2nd when she asked for a minute to get back to me. I texted her what I saw as still unfinished or needing attention due to shoddy workmanship. Below is an excerpt from my text to Nancy.
“Good morning, Nancy. I wanted to go over a few things with you this morning. But I will explain Here and we can discuss later.
On the backyard side of the roof there are two screws that were not screwed into the wood so that sheet of roofing is loose on that side.
To the left of that there are two screws that went through the metal and most of the wood and they are hanging out through the wood.
On the side of the roof facing the house, there are two pieces of wood (that run parallel to the wall) that have cracked and compromised the support.
Then the pieces of roofing on the chimney are floating. The screws do not reach the wood and you can see the gap. One of the guys noticed this and shook the center pole and the entire roof shook.
All of these things compromise the stability of the structure and will need to be addressed. I am attaching photos.”
At 12:18 Nancy messages that she is on her way, her morning was spent on two emergencies her crew had to attend to.
May 4, 2021 - I let Nancy know when to expect the door hardware I ordered.
May 14, 2021- let Nancy know, via Veronica, that the hardware had arrived.
May 21, 2021 - Nancy said she and Juan would come by after 1:00 pm to figure out the sagging door. She never showed up and never called or texted to let me know she was not keeping the appointment.
May 23, 2021 at 1:49 - have not hear anything from Nancy about her no show on Friday.
1 review 