Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/29/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Very unethical work and lack of follow up with regards to a significant safety issue regarding their design and oversight of work.I contracted ***** and **** to provide a structural design to remove a large wall in my 1905 home. My home started making very unusual sounds and I could notice large cracks beginning to form in the walls. The floor began to sink in both the upstairs of the house as well as the main floor where the structural **** resides. Upon this I hired a third party structural review. Not only had the floor on the main level sagged more than 2.5", and exterior wall had begun to bow outward which is visible to the eye from outside the home. The investigation also pointed out that the structural beam and post supporting the main portion of the house was not tied into any of the structure in the basement to transfer the load. **** seemed responsive to working on a fix. They sent out an actual PE structural engineer to review the install and provide a design. ***** continued to work with me on getting someone contracted to conduct the repairs and then just disappeared. Following multiple attempts to contact *****, as well as their office have resulted in no returned call or any other form of response. Other than a bill. I continue to receive a $200 bill for the structural design that was completed in early 2024 to which I have never seen a document.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/03/2025

  Thank you for reaching out regarding your concerns. We understand how frustrating and difficult this situation must be for you, and we sincerely regret that your project has not been completed as expected.
  As the architect for your project, our role was to provide you with permitted drawings to guide construction. However, the execution of that constructionincluding adherence to structural requirementsfalls under the responsibility of the builder. Unfortunately, as we discussed when you reached out over a year after your contractor abandoned the job, architects do not have control over the construction process once the project is in the builders hands.
  In situations like this, it is crucial that homeowners have a clear contract with their builder, verify insurance coverage, and implement structured payment controls to protect against incomplete work. Without these safeguards, it becomes challenging to hold a builder accountable for unfulfilled obligations.
  We did everything within our scope to assist, including providing the permitted drawings, supporting the inspection by the structural engineer, and offering guidance to help stabilize the substandard work left by your builder. However, the fundamental issue remains that the original builder did not complete the required structural work. Given this, pursuing legal action against the builder may be the most effective course of action.
  While we empathize with the difficulties this has caused, we want to clarify that neither our firm nor the structural engineer is responsible for the contractors failure to complete the project. We remain available to answer any further questions regarding our role in your project.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/04/2025

   
  Complaint: 22872308
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I have documentation that ****, ****** specifically, was contacted immediately after the structural movement was observed.  This is all documented, including me reaching out to my realtor at the time, to try to resolve the issue.  

  I had a third party Structural firm review the installation and determine the findings.  ****** was committed to help and spoke with me about redoing the supporting post so it ties into the existing structure.  This recommendation came from their structural engineer who provided stamped IFC drawings for the repair.  

  It was interesting while having a conversation with the Zaga provided structural engineer who stated that ***, an ex-associate of ****, had never reached out to him regarding the initial design and that they had no business issuing IFC drawings.  Zaga, throughout the wall removal and construction had *** here overseeing the installation onsite, submitting all IFC drawings to local building authorities.  This also included a field fit process as the original design for the wall removal had the post landing on zero structural support on the lower levels.  

  ****** and **** randomly quit contacting me at all.  No discussion other than that they were working to find a contractor to pour a pad in my basement for the post to tie into (as it lands on no structure at this point.

  This has been ongoing and the lack of regard for safety around my family's home nor willingness to continue support resolution resulting from their extremely inadequate design and construction oversight.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********** *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/11/2025

  At this point Zaga is accepting no responsibility.  A complete opposite of last April.  I want the structure to be repaired per *** drawings.  I also want the significant floor issues created by this lack of execution to be fixed.  I will send the *** drawings that I have just seen for the first time.  
  

  It is simply a miracle that the main floor hasnt collapsed at this point.  The significant amount of movement is visible from the exterior of the house.  
  

  I had a third party review and they are willing to provide their recommendation at a significant price.  If **** continues down this path I will look for **** to pay for third party repair design and execution due to their negligence.

   *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/19/2025

  I hired Zaga design group.  ***** is the owner.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/20/2025

  We responded to the client on 2/1/2025 and explained that the scope of an architect is not the same as the contractor. The design was completed and sent but his contractor did not execute the approved city plans. We have attached a copy of this correspondence.