Chris Dunn Creative Ironwerks Do not hire Chris Dunn for you metal work! Minneapolis MN - Minnesota

If you are in the process of evaluating sub-contractors for ornamental metal work and were thinking of hiring Chris Dunn, please continue reading.

 We have had a terrible and exasperating experience with Chris Dunn, aka Creative Ironwerks.  We hired him to make metal railings for our new home’s catwalk, staircase, elliptical staircase and railing, and two exterior railings.  We interviewed multiple metal fabricators and after careful consideration of price, project timing, and previous work we decided to move forward with Creative Ironwerks.  Before proceeding with the work, Chris had us sign a contract.  Hindsight being 20/20, we never should have signed his contract.  He basically wrote in the contract many different ways for him to get out of his own contract, and that is exactly what he did. 

Because of the scope and nature of our project we decided to purchase all of the necessary metal for the entire project and had it delivered to his shop.  He completed less than half of the project and will not return the unused metal.  We speculate that he has used the metal intended for our project on other projects he is working on.  Throughout what little he did install, Chris Dunn neglected to follow building code and left several gaps much larger than allowed in the railings (4” diameter sphere cannot pass through), one section was installed crooked, two sections don’t line up, and another was installed at a height of 28”, far below code.  While installing, he ruined custom walnut newel posts and the reclaimed elm flooring was left with several severe scratches and errant screw holes.

 We have called and emailed him multiple times to have him finish what he started, each time we hear a different excuse as to why he won’t be able to hold up his end of the contract.  He has refused to make the necessary repairs and has no intention of working on additional phases of our project.  He is unprofessional; cancelled appointments several times, arrived late when he did show up, tried to alter our design elements of the project without talking to us, and completely missed our completion date.  At 11 months past our move-in date, he has yet to finish.  To add insult to injury, he has the nerve to post pictures of the interior of our home on his website without our permission.  If only we had done a background check to see that someone else has a financial judgment against him prior to hiring him.  Keep your money and your sanity and hire a reputable metal worker.

Lessons learned and mistakes we made in the role of General Contractor on our project:

• Make sure to retain 10-20% of each invoice until the work is completed to your satisfaction.
• Control materials you buy
• Sign a contract that will allow both parties to acceptable remediation