Here's the short version:
We signed a $130k proposal with Atlantis Paving & Grading in March. After additional consideration, we decided to cancel before work began, fully expecting to lose our deposit. Instead of handling this professionally, Ryan Rittenhouse became aggressive and had his attorney send us a demand letter for $30,000 in "idle equipment and labor", despite no evidence of costs and his crew working nearby at the same time. The claim was eventually dropped, but only after weeks of stress, a CSLB complaint, and thousands in legal fees. I would not recommend Atlantis.
Additional details (for those who want the full story):
Working with Ryan Rittenhouse from Atlantis Paving & Grading turned into a super stressful experience for my family.
In March, we signed a $130k proposal with Atlantis to redo our driveway. We were told the project would begin in 6-8 weeks, and at the 8-week mark Ryan called to say there were supply chain delays. We then settled on a June 30 start date. During that time, after getting additional input and looking more closely at the numbers, we became concerned about moving forward. In early June, I called Ryan to let him know we would be canceling the project.
After this, the tone of our interactions changed. Ryan became aggressive on the phone and said we owed $5,000 for his time. Since this was not in the proposal, I explained that we were prepared to forfeit only the deposit we had already paid.
A couple of weeks later, we received a letter from his attorney demanding $30,000 for "idle equipment and labor." No evidence of actual costs was provided, and we observed his crew working on another project on our road during the time originally reserved for us.
This demand letter caused significant stress for my wife and me. We had to hire a lawyer and file a CSLB complaint. After weeks of back and forth, his claim was dropped. While we are relieved the matter ended there, it cost us thousands in legal fees and created a tremendous amount of anxiety.
I wish this could have been resolved amicably, but that wasn't our experience. Based on what we went through, I would not recommend Atlantis for paving or grading work. read more