Eugene and Robert came but to quote a small fence project. They gave me a list of materials to pay for at the lumber co. And quoted me a very fair labor cost for installing the fence we needed including enclosing under our deck and building 4 gates.
We were ready to begin and Two Mules laid out with string and angle iron posts where the fence would go. We talked about the possibility of accidentally cutting pipes or wires, and we all (mistakenly) decided there shouldn't be anything where we were digging. Unfortunately, as the first hole was being dug, a electric line was hit throwing sparks up out of the hole. They called me to come outside and explained the event. We stopped work and I called Miss Utility.
Later that night I spoke to a friend who is a master electrician who explained that if left unrepaired, the underground wire would soon start causing lots of problems. So I called Dominion VA .
Two Dominion guys came by that afternoon, found the damaged wire and repaired it. Another man from the utility marking co. came by to inspect the markings and investigate the event. He told me that the construction guys are responsible to call Miss Utility so they are covered if a yard is incorrectly marked and something gets damaged in digging.
I told Two Mules what this utility worker told me, but they replied that they NEVER call Miss Utility. That had to be done by the home owner. But, I was told that whoever calls it in has more protection and the homeowner doesn't have to stand over their shoulder throughout the project. I've spoken to several other pro construction guys that have confirmed that the contractor should call Miss Utility and not begin digging until the area is marked.
I contacted 2 Mules to let them know everything was marked and the job could resume. Their reply was they would not do the job anymore, even though they had picked up lumber, laid out the corners with posts and string and started digging the first hole which ended in a exposed wire. I asked them to reconsider since I still needed the job done and had more work in the future. But the day before, they received a bill for $1200 for digging and cutting a line without having Miss Utility mark the lawn first, so I guess they were ticked and blamed me.
I understood his frustration. The fine exceeded his labor for the job. I even offered at one point to pay half the fine - all my family told me I was midtaken to offer that, but Two Mules ignored it anyway.
Overall, I'm sorry we can't do business.i have lots of projects that need to be done and they could have done many of them.
A couple things that gave me pause in our dealings with Two Mules:. 1. Other than the materials list, they would not create a full job description with costs, like a quote.
2. They wrote no contract, so when they got fined for digging into an electric wire, they dumped me for other work - which they seem to have plenty of. 3. Finally, early in our discussions, Eugene explained that their integrity and quality work was carried by word of mouth as their best advertisement. I'm sure generally that is true, but in my case, they left me in a lurch with nowhere to turn. With physical disabilities, I'm limited when it comes to digging 4 ft postholes and setting posts with 60 lb bags of sackret. The week they took over the job was my son's last week with time to dig the holes. This week, his time is more limited.
As I've said, my sense about Two Mules is mostly good. Buy maybe you can manage to get a contract from them so they don't just disappear on you if something happens. read more
