Luke McElderry Construction

WARNING: Please avoid contracting with Luke McElderry Construction, since the owner (Luke McElderry) has become a drunk and a thief.

On 9/26/2017 Luke McElderry and I signed a contract for a garage/carport project, and I provided a check for $10600.00 to start the project.

On the first day of work (9/29/2017), Luke McElderry showed up at my property completely intoxicated. He parked his car improperly, and proceeded to work on demolition of the old garage per contract. During this work, he stumbled and almost fell off the garage roof, and he started to demolish a load-bearing wall (as he communicated to me previously when sober). In short, Luke McElderry was completely incapable of performing his services in a legal and workmanlike manner. Eventually one of Luke McElderry's coworkers offered to drive him home.

In the following week, I offered to continue the contract if Luke McElderry would agree to show up sober at my property. Not only did Luke McElderry fail to show up at my property for work, but his infrequent communications indicated a continuation of his intoxication. Luke McElderry's car remained parked on my street during the entire week. Out of frustration due to the lack of communication or work, I sent a certified letter to Luke McElderry, terminating our contract per its requirements on his work. After several attempts at communication, eventually on 10/19/2017 Luke McElderry acquiesced to the contract termination.

After the contract termination, Luke McElderry Construction owes me a refund of $9974.57, subtracting costs for materials and labor on the first-and-only day of work. This refund is associated with the business of Luke McElderry Construction, and was never allocated to Luke's McElderry's personal use. Nevertheless, Luke McElderry indicated that he did not have the funds for the refund, meaning that he spent the funds on personal use. After several attempts at communication, I eventually contracted with a law firm, and a formal letter was sent from the law firm on 11/13/2017, demanding that Luke McElderry remit $9974.57 to me in 30 days. That time has expired at the time of this review, so I assume that the money is effectively stolen, and that I may need to pursue a court case to obtain it.

If I receive the refund from Luke McElderry Construction, I will update this review to remove the accusation that Luke McElderry is a thief.

From what I can tell from past reviews and other history, at one point Luke McElderry Construction performed quality professional work. I assume that I happened to catch Luke McElderry on a downward spiral in his life. Nevertheless, at this moment in time, I consider Luke McElderry to be a drunk and a thief, and I strongly advise against using him as a contractor.