Home sweet homewreck: This is the worst reno story you will ever hear - best toothbrush in the world

Jim pandareo's phone popped out after 6: 00 in the morning. m. on Aug. 1, 2012.
Before his death, he sent the last message to his wife Alison.
"Love you forever," it says . ".
Then there is nothing.
Jim slowly spent the day before writing and drinking.
From his habitat in point L.
At a bar in the east end of Toronto, he knocked on his laptop.
He took a sip of beer and a couple of "liquid cocaine", a mixture of Jagger Meister and goldschrager schnabp.
At about 3, Jim arrived at the bar, bar and beer shop. m.
"He looks normal," said Len Grammenopoulos, the owner of the bar.
He ate some food.
He joked.
Sometime after midnight, he sent his mother an email with seven letters in it.
About 2: 30. m.
He paid the bill. maybe $60, $70. He high-
He went out with Len.
Len said, "I remember him saying, 'I am gone '.
"That's it. ”Jim was gone.
Three years before Jim walked out of the bar, he was a different person.
He just got married.
He opened a bar with Alison.
The two plan to form a family soon.
Then they bought a house and everything broke down.
Within weeks of moving in, they said, their new floor was deducted.
Their pipes are frozen.
The ceiling cracked.
They also say their foundation is starting to change.
One day, just a few months after they signed the mortgage, they were so concerned about the condition of the House that they caught their cat, packed their car and fled --
For fear that their walls will fall
When Jim went missing, the two had left their home for two and a half years.
They were separated, broke and stuck in a long and expensive lawsuit.
In his letter to his lawyer, Jim tried to sum up the impact of all this on him.
"I don't want to see the end of all this, I hope to survive," he wrote . ".
But what happened to Jim and Alison?
At least the version they said in interviews and court documents.
Represents something other than the worst case where the decoration went wrong.
Because according to them, it's not even their renovation that caused the problem.
It's the one next door.
Jim and Allison look at the photos alone and don't look like a game.
She was blonde, sunny and always smiling.
None of these things.
In fact, he gave his finger to the camera in many photos.
When the two first met
In a bar in Denver called Gabby's, a colleague
This is a thing of love at first sight.
A few months after the first kiss, they lived together.
Soon after, they held a small ceremony at the Town Hall.
Later, they held a party in Gabby, Jim bought the party, and the two managed it together.
Alison knew she wanted a baby. Jim did, too.
But before starting a family, he wanted to make sure they had a home that could grow.
"It took us more than a year to look for a house," Jim wrote to the lawyer . ".
Jim's mother helped the real estate agent.
They watched more than 100 houses together.
A property, in-and-
A 15-
A few minutes walk north of Denver looks promising.
This is not perfect.
It's small and old and needs work. It was semi-
Also connected to the home next door by an ordinary wall.
"I 've heard horror stories about this kind of thing," Alison said . ".
Pantaleos still likes the place and the local schools.
So they decided to do it.
They offered an offer of $340,000.
"We got it and we were excited, I mean absolutely excited," Alison said . ".
"This is really one of the happiest moments of our marriage.
"Pantaleos plans to move into their new home at 29 Dunkirk Road. , on Oct. 31, 2009.
In the previous weeks, they arranged a list of positive renovations.
They put granite countertops and limestone floors in a new kitchen.
They laid new cherry wood floors elsewhere, added pot lights and painted the interior.
His friend, Chris Edwards, said Jim liked the floor in particular.
"It stands out for whatever reason.
"With all this happening, the next door is also being renovated.
That summer, the semi-trailer of Pantaleos has been sold.
The new owner Jonathan Wood and his wife Gillian Owen are in the process of decorating.
"I think it will actually be good," Alison said . ".
"If they upgrade their house, I think, this in turn will make the value of my house go up.
"This is not the result.
On August 2009, shortly before the signing of the mortgage loan by pantareos, a city inspector appeared to inspect the 31 Dunkirk next to them.
According to city records, inspectors found a lot of trouble on the construction site.
Inspectors order contractors to work in Ironwood Construction Co. , Ltd.
, "Stop working now" and keep the service of the structural engineer to solve the problem.
However, the order was eventually canceled and work on the House continued in the fall.
In early October, Alison said they had called their own contractor.
He told them that he was worried about the work next door.
"The site is not safe," Alison remembers him . ".
I don't think this guy knows what he's doing.
He called again a few days later.
You have to look at the basement, he said.
"Basically, they have removed some of the foundation walls," Alison said . ".
"I can see the neighbors.
Of course I can pass a cup of coffee.
From there on, things are like snowballs, according to Alison.
As she described, it seems that their base is beginning to change.
She remembered that their new French door suddenly got stuck.
The top edge of the friction with the frame.
There are other questions, she said.
"I remember Jimmy pulling me over one day and showing me the cracks in the ceiling and the walls ,"Edwards. On Oct.
On 2009, patareos brought a home inspector to assess the damage.
He detailed some of the issues in his report.
But there's nothing to convince Alison and Jim that they can't live there safely.
So they moved in as scheduled.
But the issue of Dunkirk's 31st continues, Alison said. In mid-
Alison and Jim sat in the living room on November, and she said they heard music coming from the next door.
Alison said the workers made a "baseball-sized" hole in the wall.
Another night, when they heard a "th, th, th" from the workplace, they were lying in bed.
As they walked outside, they found the gate of Dunkirk No. 31 fluttering in the wind.
There is only one unguarded pit inside.
"They did not take any measures to protect it," Alison said . ".
When November became December, pantareos said the situation was getting worse: propane smoke from the construction site next door penetrated into their homes several times;
The cracks on the floor intensified;
The stairs began to separate from the walls. On Jan.
2010, in the first cold wave of the season, the pipes of pantaleos were frozen, and Allison believes that this is the direct result of the next-door excavation.
But all this is a prelude. It was bad.
But it's more of a hassle for Jim and Alison than a life --changer. Then, on Jan.
2010, they say, things get worse.
Alison was visiting her mother out of town when Jim called.
"He would say, 'You won't believe it, they took the house down, 'she recalls. '.
"I said to myself, 'No, no, no.
Not so bad.
So she got on the bus and drove back to Toronto.
"When I was driving to the streets, I thought my face had just fallen," she said . ".
She said that the top half of the 31 Dunkirk had been completely torn off, leaving his home from the second floor and exposed to elements.
It did not stop there. On Monday, Jan.
Jim and Alison were lying in bed when they heard a series of crashes coming next door.
They looked outside and said they saw workers taking down what was left of Dunkirk on the 31st.
It was finished by that night.
The rest is just a deep pit.
Alison says there is no fence to protect it and nothing to isolate or support half of the building in pantaros.
Alison said that during the demolition process, workers tore a hole in the roof of pantaros without the support of 31 Dunkirk, and their house began to move east.
Four days later, Alison and Jim called a structural engineer to check because of concerns about stability at home.
He checked the house and turned left. m.
Fifteen minutes later, he called Alison from the road.
According to Alison, his message is: "You have to go out. It’s not safe.
Alison said the wind blew up if conditions were right and he told her that their house might collapse.
(Engineer Rob Stiemer declined to comment on the article.
But in a written report, he confirmed that he suggested that the couple "seek alternative living arrangements ".
Alison and Jim should have gone to work that night.
Instead, they are busy with shifts.
They took what they could from the house and ran away.
"I have a Welsh Bible and it's already 100 in my house, so I caught it.
I got some jewelry.
"We took a few changed clothes and a toothbrush, and then we got on the bus," Allison said . ".
They sat in the Honda Civic on the street with three cats.
Jim lit a cigarette.
"He looked at me and said, 'Well, it's a little f-
Ed, "said Alison.
Then he grabbed her hand and said, "We already have each other, and that's all we need. ”And they left.
They didn't know at the time, but they would never live together again. Mr.
Stiemer came back at least four times over the next two years to map what he said was damage progress.
In the preliminary report issued on January.
2010, he listed a catalogue of questions supported by photographic evidence.
The floor and walls were cracked.
The light came in from the basement.
According to his report, the house looks visually inclined to open-air places next door.
He wrote that the house was "unstable" due to demolition work on the 31st of Dunkirk ".
In a later report
Stiemer wrote that the owner of Dunkirk No. 31 did not have a permit when the house was demolished.
In addition, he wrote that they had never conducted a "pre-condition assessment or drill" to find out what would happen to 29 Dunkirk when 31 Dunkirk fell down.
But according to Alison, he is a city inspector.
Stiemer reports that Pantaleos is actually their problem.
He said that it is their responsibility to repair the damage if their home is unstable and if they do not fix it in time, he will issue an order for them to comply.
"He's too scary, too cold, too ruthless," Alison said . ".
"My house is going to collapse!
"Due to ongoing litigation, the City of Toronto will not comment on the story.
But in a statement of defense filed on November.
2010, the city stated that their inspectors had come to 31 Dunkirk at least nine times between April 2009 and February 2010.
The city claimed that he had observed twice the work carried out without a permit
Including demolition
The contractor was ordered to shut down twice.
Anyway, in early February Alison and Jim felt they had to do something to make sure they were at home.
Their insurance company threatened to cancel the insurance if they could not prove it was safe.
If this happens, Alison is worried that they will also lose their mortgage. So on Feb.
18. a Mr was designed.
Stiemer, they had contractors install a series of huge wooden beams that were mounted diagonally from the floor to the ceiling inside the house.
Their insurance is set to expire at 9: 00 in the evening. m.
That night, according to Alison.
"I'm on the phone with my adjuster," she said . ".
"I'm taking pictures and saying, 'Whatever you do, please don't kill my insurance. ’”It worked.
The company did not cancel their policy.
The bank also kept their mortgage.
But the pantaleus family felt that they could not stay.
When they first ran away, Jim and Alison went to live with Alison's cousin who lived nearby.
They thought they would stay there for a few days, a week or two at most.
But weeks soon became months. The cross-Braces are still there.
Jim and Alison are not far from moving home. And so, on Aug.
19,2010, they filed a lawsuit in the Ontario High Court against the owner of 31 Dunkirk and Simon Maas, an engineer employed by Ironwood construction company, Stephen Haman, and the City of Toronto.
They asked for $2.
Loss of 8 million
The lawsuit is still being delayed today.
None of Pantaleos's allegations were confirmed and the other parties to the proceedings did not agree to speak for the matter.
But they all filed a defense statement.
In fact, they both denied any liability for damages suffered by Pantaleos, while explicitly denying that Pantaleos had suffered any damage in the first place.
One argument shared by the defendants is that pantalios does not have to move out when they move out, and in any case they can move back faster after the demolition.
Alison denied it.
She said they moved out because a professional engineer told them they stayed outside because their home was so damaged.
Mr. homeowner. Wood and Ms.
Owen also claimed that Pantaleos did not properly assess the condition of their home prior to purchase and did not properly maintain once purchased.
However, Alison said they had a house inspection before buying a house and the inspector did not find a major structural problem with the property.
At the same time, cross-litigation was filed by the defendant.
Claim each other.
Mr. engineer.
For example, Hamann claimed that Ironwood did not follow his advice on "supporting and supporting" the house.
He also wrote that in the absence of his "knowledge" and "advice, the Ironwood removed the roof of the House and the second floor.
"The homeowner also claims that Ironwood has full control over all the work on site and Ironwood is solely responsible for hiring and supervising subcontractors. Mr.
Maas, who is an ironwood construction and Ironwood contracting and construction, claims that the work of Ironwood has been inspected and reviewed by Mr. Hamann, Mr. Wood and Ms.
Irving and Toronto.
He and the company also denied that the structural integrity of the Pantaleo family suffered any damage due to the work done at Dunkirk 31.
But Pantaleos is not the only case.
Maas and Ironwood.
According to court records, company documents and city documents, company or Mr.
Maas, operating as a company, has or is currently involved in at least three other proceedings related to the work of the company and has become the subject of a number of municipal investigations, among other things, poor workmanship.
At the same time, according to an email within the city, on 2012, when municipal inspectors found out that the company had been dissolved in the province, they were preparing the charges against Ironwood.
According to a lawsuit, on 2013,
Maas failed to complete a major reconstruction of their home and was ordered to repay more than $160,000 for the two former clients.
In another complaint, which was filed with the city, a Toronto couple described unfinished or poorly done work that was several months beyond the contract completion date. After Mr.
Maas declined the interview at counsel's suggestion and sent him a detailed email outlining the allegations and other charges.
In response, his lawyer, Julian Porter, said in a letter that with respect to the issue of Alison and Jim pandareo, the parties "have no right to make a statement" as "the proceedings have not yet ended ". ” Neither Mr.
Maas and his lawyer answered questions about the municipal investigation or other proceedings.
In his statement defending various proceedings
Maas has always insisted that he should not be named in person.
The work was always done by Ironwood, not by himself, he said.
After Butin, the provincial government canceled the Ironwood registration certificate because, despite repeated warnings, the company failed to submit the so-called "Notice of change ".
Back in 2010, when Alison and Jim were still living in her cousin's house and still trying to run their restaurant, they knew nothing about it all.
Alison said they made their home a glorious storage unit.
And the two of them went to see it every day.
But over time, their pressure and uncertainty.
One night in spring, Jim appeared in tears at his neighbor's door.
He said that there were some animals in his family, and the raccoon climbed in from the broken basement and ran around.
"You can see that it's taking him down," Kelly entyal Le said . ".
"He said to me, 'I can't protect my home, my wife, my family.
"What should I do ? " Jim also has other issues that are not directly related to the house.
He suffers from chronic pain and may have something to do with a serious car accident he had years ago.
He's taking painkillers-
Sometimes mixed with alcohol.
"But he has been doing it since he was an adult," said his friend Brad Burgess . ".
"And he can still work.
He runs a company and he gets himself where he can buy a house.
But after the House, Sir.
Burgess said, "he's notfunctional.
About six months after moving out, Alison broke up with Jim.
"All things are under too much pressure," she said . ".
They never got divorced legally, and for a year after that, they have been working in Gabby's.
But eventually Alison left there too and found a job at a restaurant on the street.
After a short delay, return to their property and start construction again at Dunkirk 31.
New House, March 2012-
Hardwood floors and bright white interiors-
It was sold for $519,000, more than double his price. Wood and Ms.
Owen paid for the property in 2009.
Two months later, the Pantaleo home
Now supported by the new building next door-sold as well.
It costs just under $358,000, $32,000 less than Jim and Alison bought and renovated it three years ago.
Even before that, Jim's finances were a mess.
For years, he has been paying mortgages at 29 Dunkirk, paying rent for independent apartments, trying to keep restaurants in operation, and handling lawyer bills, etc.
For a while, Jim borrowed money from his family to make a living.
But in the end he couldn't handle much.
"He's just losing money," he said . "Edwards.
In the end, what he did was sell his restaurant.
In a letter to his lawyer, Jim said he wanted to keep the house, "so that we can escape with minimal dignity.
"But it doesn't work.
Without Gabby, Jim became more untethered.
"I knew it would hurt him to lose the bar," he said . "Grammenopoulos.
"Man, that's his business.
He is very good at this.
In the spring of 2012, Jim lived with his parents in Makham.
"He's just a shell of the past," he said . "Burgess.
"He looks terrible.
He sounds terrible.
He actually did nothing.
"But things improved in the early summer of that year.
Jim is talking to Alison again.
They even dated several times.
One night in July, they had dinner in Danforth.
They talked about the house, but for the first time in a while they talked about other things.
After that, they stood outside and kissed.
"This is the right date," Alison said . ".
"A suitable, amazing date.
A few days later, Jim sent Alison a statement of the impact of their lawsuit.
This is a cruel reading.
With original and painful details, it tells what the House has done to his life.
But at the time, Alison thought it was a good sign for Jim to come out of the haze, perhaps the evidence.
It turns out to be the opposite.
Jim is not getting better.
He's saying goodbye. Just after 8 a. m. on Aug.
Alison's phone rang 2012.
The time she received the call was strange;
Everyone knows she works at night.
The name on the show, however, is even more strange: Jim's mom, Kelly pantalio.
"I haven't spoken to her for two years," Alison said . ".
"She burst into tears.
At about 12: 30 The night before, Jim sent her mother seven letters for her to distribute.
They were suicide notes, actually.
At that time, no one knew where Jim was.
He did not go home.
He does not answer the phone.
"I was just beginning to say, 'We will find him.
We will find him . "
When she hung up, she saw a text message from Jim "Love you forever.
It came in at 6 in the morning. m.
Allison spent that day and the next day trying to find him.
She walked around with the photo and asked if the person she saw had seen him.
She even tried Jilly's, a run-down strip club in the neighborhood with an apartment upstairs.
That night, Jim used a credit card at another bar in Danforth.
Alison continued to search the next day.
Alison and Jim's family have been texting him all along.
"We sent him pictures of the cat and said 'Daddy, please come home, '" she said '. ".
At 3: 55 a. m. on August 2. m.
She sent him a text saying, "I'm wearing your sweater and it makes me feel like you're safe.
Later that day, she was with Jim's parents in Markham.
But she said, "I just have this useless feeling.
So she got on the bus and went back to Toronto.
A few minutes later, Jim's cousin called and said, "Alli, please turn around . "
"Please come back.
"A jogger found Jim's body at Riverdale Park, a long green strip that embraced both sides of Don River in central Toronto.
He was wounded by a deadly bullet.
He left another note next to him.
They found 10 cigarette butts and a pack of empty bags in his clothes.
"He's a smoker, but he hates the idea of littering," Alison said . "
"So even though he was about to do what he was going to do, he still threw them out and left the garbage there.
Jim pandareo was 43 years old when he died.
He was buried on August.
2012, at the Holy Cross Cemetery in northern Toronto.
He had problems in his life. Lots of them.
He smoked too much.
He drank too much.
He was injured many times in his body. But he got by.
That's what his friends and family said.
He had a good time, at least before the House.
Earlier this year, Alison tried to change her legal claims to include Jim's death. She failed.
After all, it's hard to say that anything "causes" one person to commit suicide.
But for Jim's family and friends, at least, it is clear that the House plays a role in Jim's death.
"I think this is the trigger," he said . "Burgess.
In August 2, 2012, it began a spiral that consumed his marriage and business and ended with a pistol in the park.
As for Alison, she lives in a small house now.
The bedroom apartment is only a few subway stations away from the home she and Jim once owned.
The proceedings are continuing.
There was a delay when Jim died.
They have to change all the documents.
Before it all started, before the wedding, the house and everything that followed, she actually knew the couple who had 31 Dunkirk.
They used to eat at Gabby every Wednesday night.
Not long ago, she and her daughter saw one of them at Starbucks.
Alison is 35 years old now.
She doesn't know when she has children or whether she will have children.
"I didn't say anything because of what you were going to say," she said . ".
"But look at her with her daughter . . . . . . It's not fair.
This is unfair.