On March 22, 2016 we signed a contract with Richard Welch of Welch Masonry to fix our cellar/basement on an old farmhouse that we own outside of Lincoln. Per the contract, the work was to begin on April 30th and be completed by May 15th. Before work could begin we agreed to clear all the dirt around the house to expose the foundation for scratch coat and get them water access for which we had to have our well raised. So while waiting for him to begin work we spent about $1000 completing those two tasks ahead of construction. Both were completed before April 30th as we had promised. When we hadn't heard from Richard Welch by the first week of May we called to check when work would begin. He informed us that the rain had put him behind schedule and assured us he hadn't forgot about us and work would begin soon. In the meantime with all the rain and our entire foundation completely exposed our basement took on a lot of water requiring daily trips to the farm to check on things as no one lives there currently. As the first week of May passed we called Mr. Welch several times with no return phone call. Finally on May 17th, two days after work was to be completed, we received a check for our deposit and a letter stating he was sorry and he could not complete the work as he did not realize how much work it would be and his guys refuse to do it. He also stated in order to do this job he would have to charge double what he originally quoted as he would need more equipment. We called to discuss this with Mr. Welch and our phone calls have not been returned. So now we have $1000 invested in this process, a fully exposed basement taking on water like crazy each time it rains, and no one working on our basement! We are at a complete stand still with our renovation as nothing else can be done until the basement is fixed. We have had to start the process of getting bids all over again hoping to find an affordable contractor that won't ditch out. I guess Mr. Welch thinks it's ok to screw the little guys. read more