I've been posting various issues on this site about my construction but this one takes the cake.

The GC was informed by my independent inspector about things not done to code (insulation flipped backwards which is fire hazard, as well as copper pipes touching steel straps) . He lied about having fixed it since he knew I wouldn't personally be crawling under the house to check and neither would the city inspector. I paid him the last payment, stupidly. he said he'd credit me $300 for the unfinished things like missed caulking etc.

I had to have the independent inspector check what was going on with the bumpy floor which suddenly got worse.... and she found all this stuff still not to code under the house. He left termite attracting wood on concrete form under the house as well. He didn't level the floors so that was causing the bumpiness.

Not only that but the plumbing was problematic and we found leaks under tub enclosure and under sinks a day to a week later, kitchen faucet and shower fixtures not working properly (they were ok a week prior), giant cracks along top row of tile in the bathroom, etc. Window guys came and said that some were not installed right so wouldn't open without hitting the wall. Electrical issues where lights are acting weird, turning on very low level when adjacent room lights are on, or buzzing. AC didn't work, roof leaked within first month... we fixed these two ourselves.

Places not painted or caulked already cost me $1200 to fix. many more things too, like unfinished fireplace, stairs messed up, etc. which I was gonna pay out of pocket to fix because he is so incompetent. There's no way I would let him finish it.

when I asked him to come fix what he can and make good on the warranty and code, he then threatened me with a new made up $40,000 invoice of completely bogus stuff that he was supposed to have covered, and said that he would only come fix it if I paid him this money.

I think the only option I have is to sue him at this point. I've been more than forgiving and patient and it's taken over 2 years to build this house. I don't even know if it's safe.

The city inspector didn't even inspect the crap he had left undone that were not to code. they don't really do a thorough inspection but signed off on everything except landscaping.

After I told him I'll be talking to my lawyer, he did offer to have one of his friends come fix something this weekend. But now I don't even trust him to work on anything since he already lied about having fixed the insulation and piping and didn't even tell us we need to remove the termite causing wood forms. I think basically that everything he does will eventually turn bad, like his plumbing job that lasted a week.

Hope I'm not obligated to use him to fix under warranty. I think I can also claim his 1 year warranty in CA but not sure if I should talk to lawyer first since I don't have his warranty info.

I can't believe he would try and bully us for 40k, but he did that before as well where he tried to charge us for phantom square footage in potential second story space.

what can I do to warn people about this guy without getting sued myself? he shouldn't be trying to change the charge after the fact, telling lies about things that aren't to code, and bullying us into accepting the house as is! trying to make bogus charges! I've already paid everything he requested when he needed extra money and this extra charge is all coming out way after final payment.

I'm not sure he has any money anyway. I really just want warn others and make sure he knows that what he did was completely unprofessional and downright wrong. I'm also annoyed that the city doesn't do a thorough inspection after I pay them $300/visit.

Ideally I would like to get back my final 10% but I don't think that is possible. I need to inspect the house, fix the foundation and leveling, fix the stairs, fix plumbing and electrical, reframe the windows that won't open. I think in all will be about 30-40k. I know he'll try to countersue me for that amount for stupid things like labor for installing closet doors (which he messed up), labor for installing fireplace (which he left half finished), labor for installing tile (he said he'd cover), fixing things that he messed up himself (which he billed as change order just now). it's really appalling because he told us this was all included but now changes his tune.

I could tell that he was an idiot from the number of mistakes he made but never did I think he was going to be a horrible human being as well. ugh.

Anyway.... still learning my lesson.