MASTERCRAFT BUILDERGROUP, LLC. CHRIS SHEE, OWNER, CEO Construction issues, Threats, Intimidation, Inaccurate Statements & Accusations St. Johns Florida

This highly unusual exchange between these two individuals was brought to my attention today, and I am only responding to correct the inaccuracies made about myself and my company, or misrepresentations made that could potentially affect my business. 

1. I am Rusty Rhodes, and I do in fact own a company that installs a variety of Building Envelope Systems (WRB's), including the Zip System. I have been in this industry for 17 years now, making us the oldest company in the State of Florida that specializes in these systems. I have been trained and/or Certified at various times by most major manufacturers, inluding DuPont, Typar, Barricade, Dow Building Products and our most recent training was with Huber Engineered Woods, the manufacturer of the Zip System. Dr. Joe Lstiburek, the world's most renowned and respected building scientist, recommends my company, and his review, along with others in the industry, can easily be found on my LinkedIn web page. Please feel free to visit it. 
2. The company that Mr. Shee uses for his zip tape installation is not the only company that Huber recommends for their zip tape installations, if they recommend them at all, and that is blatantly false information.  Huber has directed an enormous amount of work to my company, and we have an excellent relationship with them. Please feel free to call Huber yourelf and ask them who they recommend. 
3. Regarding the exchange in this report, I do not know the party (Mr. O'Neill apparently) who intiially made this report. I have never met them, nor was I "hired" as an inspector by them or anybody else. This is completely false information. 
4. With 17 years in the Building Envelope Field and over 30 years in the Contruction Field, I have never once represented myself to the public, or my extensive customer base, as an "inspector." I do however, get frequent requests from builders who are experiencing moisture intrusion problems, to "inspect" their jobs to help determine the cause of the problems. My years of experience qualify me to perform this service. The allegations that I was hired by the above individual as an inspector are completely false.
5. I did in fact, recently contact Mr. Shee in an effort to try and obtain some of their zip tape business. During that contact, I respectfully pointed out in an email that there were issues with the installation of his zip tape in a particular neighborhood that we could help correct. He had no interest in using our services and that was the end of it, or so I thought, until this report was brought to my attention. 

I would greatly appreciate both parties leaving my name out of any future exchanges or communications, as I had nothing to do with any of the above events, and after witnessing this report, coupled with a few other bizarre and inexplicable communications directed at me, which I am withholding from this public response for the sake of maintaining a minimum level of decorum, I will most certainly not be seeking this builders business ever again. 

Mr. O'Neill,

You caused more trouble in the 30 days we tried to work with you than I've ever been witness to with any other customer.  It's for this reason that I asked both you and your friend, Ms. Connelly, to please find another builder with which to work.  Ms. Connelly tried to create the same confustion and frustration last year which is why you probably hid her from any communications.  I made the right decision by asking you to find someone else to build your home and I stand 100% behind it.

As for your commentary:

1.  Yes, we did make a mistake with the information we provided you initially.  As soon as I found out, I personally reached out to you and told you that I'd not only honored old pricing, but also offered you the opportunity to choose any lot for no premium.

2.  We install our Zip System correctly.  You hired a sham "inspector," Rusty Rhodes, that posted erroneous information about our installation techniques.  What Rusty failed to mention is that he owns a company that installs Zip and has been trying to get our work.  Our trade partner is the only one recommended by Huber for installation of Zip tape.  Since they're the manufacturer of the product, that should say quite a bit about which company is doing the work correctly.

3.  You tried to bring a new Realtor in last minute.  Not only was this Realtor not the procurring cause of any potential sale with you, but they also offer a kick-back of the commission to the customer--which is why you tried to bring them in.  For this reason, I was not going to allow them to be part of the transaction. Instead, I honored the relationship with the first Realtor that got involved on your and Ms. Connelly's behalf.

We've built over 300 homes in Northeast Florida over the past 8 years. We've definitely had some challenging customers from time to time yet we still maintain an impeccable reputation because we build homes of great quality and value and ALWAYS do what is right.  

You are the first customer since starting MasterCraft Builder Group that I've had to ask to find another builder.  This posting and your continued efforts to try to unnecessarily give me and my company a black eye is Exhibit A of why I made the right decision.

Regretfully,

Chris Shee

Founder/CEO

MasterCraft Builder Group