Cedar Peak Builders Cedar Peak Construction Unlicensed Excavator American Fork UT

In 2017 my contractor hired Cedar Peak Builders (Also known as Cedar Peak Construction LLC), owned by Gary S. Clark and David L. Petersen, to perform excavation and grading work at our home. They were presented to us as experts in the field of excavation.

After discovering multiple issues with their work and after paying them nearly $40,000 we found out that they were not experts and in fact they were unlicensed contractors (A violation of State law). For their work at our home Cedar Peak Builders was been fined by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing a paltry $250 for being unlicensed (https://dopl.utah.gov/discipline/discp_news_2018-12.pdf).

We believe Cedar Peak Builders owed us a duty to 1) disclose their licensing status - a material fact, and 2) a duty of skill, care, and diligence. We believe they have breached these duties as we understand the circumstances. Cedar Peak Builders did not properly excavate the area (they over excavated the area behind the back doors where our patio area is located).

More importantly, they did not use proper compaction methods to ensure the soil was compacted to avoid settlement. This has already resulted in our back porch footings settling several inches and has required our contractor to jack up the back porch.

During their work they told us that it was impossible to properly estimate dirt haul off and excavation costs. I later discovered through internet searches that experienced excavators state it is not only possible to properly estimate excavated dirt amounts but also to determine bulking and swell factors. In fact, internet sites exist for this purpose.

Cedar Peak Builders charged us over $20,000 (We believe that number is closer to $26,000) for overages they said they could not determine when they estimated the project. Rather than work with us to find an amicable resolution Cedar Peak Builders has hired an attorney to fight us and we now must sue them to recover our funds. Strongly do not recommend Cedar Peaks!

In Utah you do not have to pay unlicensed contractors and if you willingly pay them you can't easily get a refund. We paid them only with the understanding that they were licensed - a material fact that they concealed from us. If we had known they were unlicensed we would have terminated their work and not paid them.