PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A new addition or renovation can be among homeowners’ largest investments.
The I-Team was contacted by a homeowner who said he has faced months of delays, failed inspections and requests for payment ahead of schedule.
We uncovered that the general contractor he hired has a history of similar complaints and is currently under investigation by the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board.
In Focus:
- "They've been telling me they're gonna come fix it."
- Multiple customers face similar issues
- County agency investigates multiple complaints
- Multiple factors blamed for delays
- Contractor promises to finish project in five weeks
- Homeowner resources
Homeowner pays $45,000, but work not completed
“This was supposed to be my man cave,” said Moses Harmon, showing the partially completed addition going up behind his home.
He had hoped to be spending most of his free time there by now.
“On the right side of the room, I was going to pretty much have most of my workout equipment. On the left side of the room, I was going to have my pool table,” Harmon said.
He saved for years from his small landscaping business so he could pay cash.
“It’s the first time I've ever taken a step like this,” Harmon said. “So far, I’m out of about $45,000.”
That’s out of a $50,000 estimate for the project, which has weeks of work remaining before completion.
The contractor is GLK Construction Company, which is owned by licensed general contractor Jeremiah Klotz.
“I signed my contract in October of 2022,” Harmon said.
Under the terms of the contract, the project was estimated to take 8-to-12 weeks.
But all work stopped after a failed building inspection in October.
“They've been telling me they’re gonna come fix it for months and months,” Harmon said.
Multiple customers say they faced similar issues
Moses is among 10 GLK customers we interviewed on camera or by phone with similar complaints.
Warren Bucknam paid GLK construction $40,000 on a $70,000 studio apartment project.
“So I found out a couple of weeks ago that the permit was never approved,” Bucknam said.
The city halted the project.
“Construction began on this permit prior to permit approval or issuance, which is in violation of FBC and Florida Statute,” the city’s deputy building official said in an email to Bucknam.
“So those could potentially have to be ripped out and totally redone,” Bucknam said, pointing to the structure in his backyard.
A stop work order appeared on Darren Kunz’s project in Seminole in mid-January.
“I asked him what was going on. And it took him a couple of days to even answer me,” Kunz said.
GLK failed to get a roof inspection.
“This is for my mother-in-law. She is trying to stay out of the nursing home,” Kunz said.
His contract, signed last February, estimated completion within 12-to-16 weeks.
Those are not the only customers complaining.
The Better Business Bureau gives GLK Construction Company an “F.”
County agency investigates multiple complaints
Michelle Krickovic, director of the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board, says her agency is investigating six complaints, which she describes as a large number for a small contractor.
“The one constant that we have found with this particular contractor as well is that they’re starting work without a permit,” Krickovic said.
Klotz was already fined $552.95 by the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board in August for conducting demo work at a Seminole home without a permit.
We called GLK Construction owner Jermiah Klotz and he agreed to an interview.
Contractor blames multiple factors for delays
“There’s delays that happen in construction,” Klotz said.
In a two-hour interview, Klotz blamed delays on Christmas, a hurricane, slow government permitting, customer changes, and his subcontractors.
“They'll go missing. One day here, gone another six weeks. "
Klotz defends his work at Darren Kunz’s house.
“The permit got approved 5/15,” he said.
Klotz rattled off the days he says his records show he had workers on site.
“We've been out there consistently working this project non-stop,” Klotz said.
The records he quoted showed crews there 12 out of 141 days, about one day in every 12.
As for the demo work Klotz was fined for, Klotz said it was unclear that he needed a permit to do demolition on the site.
“We tried to appease a client. We tried to make them happy,” Klotz said.
“A lot of contractors will convince homeowners to let me just start while we’re waiting for the permit,” Michelle Krickovic said.
Customers’ contracts we saw included 30% deposits.
“I would never engage a contractor who asked for that amount of money upfront,” Krickovic said. “A good starting point would be 10%.”
Customers told us Klotz often asked for payments ahead of schedule.
“It's too much to try to keep all the subcontractors paid, materials flowing. Fronting money the client hasn’t even paid yet,” Klotz said. “You have to try to like lower your risk.”
“A well-financed contractor with a long, successful track record is really not going to ask you to finance his materials or his labor costs,” Krickovic said.
Contractor promises to finish home addition in five weeks
Moses Harmon has paid for 90% of his project, including for insulation and drywall that hasn’t been installed.
We called him from Klotz’s office.
“This is supposed to be an 8-to-12-week project. It’s been 15 months. And were Mr. Walser not sitting in your office, I don’t believe you’d be doing this,” Harmon said.
But he agreed to give Klotz one more chance.
“If you give me the green light today, I could be out there Monday,” Klotz said.
Harmon agreed and said that a crew arrived at his home Monday to begin work correcting issues identified by the inspectors.
Klotz estimates the project will take five more weeks.
“Construction’s a tough business,” Klotz said.
Resources for consumers
If you want to check a contractor’s license, you can go to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation site.
In Pinellas County, you can log onto the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board site. In Pasco County, you can access the Pasco County Contractors Licensing site. In Polk County, you can check out the Polk County Contractor Licensing site. You can also file complaints on those sites.
To check the status of a permit or inspection, you can go to these sites:
- Pinellas County Building Services
- Hillsborough County Building Permits and Records
- St. Petersburg Building and Permitting
- Tampa Construction Services
- Pasco County County Building and Construction
If you have a story you think the I-Team should investigate, email us at adam@abcactionnews.com