An Perth Road Village, Ont., couple is in shock, after what they are calling, a renovation gone wrong.
Maggie and Bill Hollingsworth had to make several changes to their home after Maggie broke her hip and her husband, Bill, had a stroke, which placed both of them in wheelchairs.
The couple says they were unable to afford the renovation costs on their own to make their home wheelchair accessible, so they applied for a grant through March of Dimes Canada and Kingston Frontenac Renovations program.
Maggie says Bill was paralyzed after his stroke and at times was unable to move, so she applied to March of Dimes for an accessible bathroom to be built on the main floor of her home.
Hollingsworth, who also has Multiple-Sclerosis, says she received $15,000 from March of Dimes and $10,000 from Kingston Frontenac Renovates program and then she hired Bergs Elevating Repairs and General Services to do the renovation; something she says was a huge mistake.
“The problems started with the ramp — they put in an aluminum one in the middle of my driveway then they replace it with a wooden one, then they came into the bathroom and they cut a hole in the ceiling above the door and then tried to correct it with a piece of moulding, before moving onto the shower,” said Hollingsworth.
According to Hollingsworth, the previous washroom had several steps that went down into the room where the sink, toilet and shower were. She went on to say after the renovation was done, to make the washroom larger with an open concept shower, the steps were removed, but the contractor did not level the floor, causing the water from the shower to miss the drain and run into the house hallway.
March of Dimes told Global News that, “grants can be adjusted to accommodate unexpected circumstances, such as timeline extensions so that the necessary work can be finished.
Disputes between applicants and contractors are not resolved by the program or modc.”
Kingston Frontenac Renovates program is aware of the situation and said, “The city will contact the resident to discuss and determine solutions to this problem.”
Bill and Maggie say Scott Forbes, the owner of Bergs Elevating Repairs and General Services has not come back to fix any issues since December of last year.
Global News spoke to Forbes over the phone. He and his office and they have chosen to not comment on the renovation due to what they say is an infringement of confidentiality and that they need permission from the funding organizations.
March of Dimes says since contractors operate as independent businesses, they do not require permission to address their own service or practices.
As for the Hollingsworths, they say the water running into the hallway will need to be fixed before the inspector will pass the renovation.