Year-long construction delays frustrate Louisburg woman

"I've got tons of plants, and I have a couple of cats that love the sun," she said. "I thought that would be perfect for them."

A year later, the area – from the inside and the outside – is nothing like what she dreamed.

"My yard is like a demolition area," she said.

Based upon co-workers' recommendations, Parson hired Eric Heid, owner of ECH Contracting in Rocky Mount.

"If I knew what I know now, I would never have hired him," she said.

At the start, she said, everything seemed fine.

Then, Parsons noticed the ceiling did not look like it was going to be a cathedral ceiling as she says they agreed on.

"(Heid) told me he could come in and cut out the beams and stuff and make it cathedral," Parsons said. "Well, according to another contractor, code does not allow you to do that."

The room's floor was also not level. It was a few inches higher than the rest of the house's floors, which could cause problems when it rains.

An unfinished roof also caused problems when it rained.

"Water was coming in," Parsons said. "This whole carpet (was wet)."

When the sun room still wasn't finished eight months after Heid started, she said, she threatened to call Five on Your Side.

"He actually came out and did some work, but then after that, he didn't do anything else," Parsons said.

She's paid him more than $19,000 of approximately $22,700 for the entire job.

Heid told Five on Your Side that until Parsons pays him the remaining $3,500 "she owes," he won't return.

"I need the capital to start the work," he said. "When she pays, I'll finish."

The Better Business Bureau has rated ECH Contracting with a D-.

Parsons said she figures she will have to hire someone else to finish the room.

"It's heartbreaking to look out here," she said, standing in the unfinished sun room. "I sit in the house and look out here. This is all I see."

Heid said last week he would clean the construction debris out of Parson's back yard if she would call him. When she did, she says, it took him five days to call her back. He said he plans to clean up her yard on Saturday.