A stroll through the St. Andrews waterfront has Ken Washburn sailing back in time, to when he’d spend summer days on the Passamaquoddy Bay with his grandfather, and evenings marked with a bonfire and lobster boil.
Those core childhood memories made the decision to relocate to St. Andrews from Fredericton an easy one, with plans to turn his grandparent’s old two-car garage into a retirement home for himself and his wife, Trudy Gallagher.
But their dream of seaside living has turned into a year-long nightmare, they said, with their hoped-for retirement home now a mess of unfinished work under a layer of construction dust.
The couple said they have handed over $250,000 to their contractor, Justin Dale Stewart, and while some work was done, they believe that only about $50,000 worth of work and supplies are accounted for.
“And then you’re caught because you’ve paid so much money and you’re stuck and you have a house that’s not livable,” Gallagher said.
Stewart owns St. Stephen-based Stewart’s Property Solutions and is embroiled in a number of disputes with former clients.
Gallagher and Washburn have found support speaking with other families in a similar situation. (Allyson McCormack/CBC)
CBC News requested an interview with Stewart. He declined the request, but in a written response disputed allegations against him.
In Washburn and Gallagher’s case, he said previously concealed structural issues were uncovered during construction, and that the couple requested additional work beyond the original scope.
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