A Colchester County couple say an unfinished home renovation has left them near bankruptcy, while another customer is seeking a refund from the same contractor.
A Colchester County, N.S., couple say they are living in an unfinished and damaged renovation that has pushed them to the edge of bankruptcy, after a major project at their 90-year-old home stalled last fall.
Bert and Naomi Delorey signed a contract in early 2025 with contractor George McInnis after seeking bids through a social media page. According to a contract the couple provided to CBC News, the job was to lift the home, create a basement apartment and add a three-metre extension to the front of the house.
The agreement called for more than $180,000 to be paid in three instalments. The Deloreys estimate McInnis received about $200,000 before problems escalated, work stopped in the fall of 2025 and the couple began months of text exchanges with him over money and a possible resolution.
“I'm almost bankrupt,” Bert Delorey said in an interview with CBC alongside his wife, adding that the situation has affected their mental health and likely delayed his retirement.
Messages provided to CBC show the couple had grown worried by May 2025 as the project faced repeated delays. Work to lift the house continued into September, when texts discussed putting the home back on its foundation. The Deloreys say the building fell, leaving cracked interior walls in almost every room. The house remains slightly off its foundation and is surrounded by a trench partly filled with water.
The couple also say the financial damage continued through the winter, including $30,000 in damage and repairs after water froze in the incomplete basement in December. In earlier messages, McInnis had also raised concern about that possibility.
McInnis declined multiple CBC requests for comment on the allegations and said he was seeking legal advice. In texts to the Deloreys, he attributed cost overruns to unexpected problems with the home, said labour and materials accounted for the $200,000 and repeatedly promised to return thousands of dollars.
The Deloreys are not the only customers raising concerns. After Bert Delorey posted about the dispute on social media, other clients described similar issues. Contracts from four other McInnis clients provided to CBC included clauses requiring customers to request an “appropriate refund” before taking legal action and stating McInnis was not liable for delays or failures caused by circumstances outside his control.
One of those customers, Betty Gibson, said she hired McInnis in March for work on a mobile home in Lake Echo, including levelling the home, renovating a bathroom and replacing a door. Her contract was for $4,500, with half due as a deposit. Gibson said delays began on the first scheduled workday, and she later requested her deposit back.
Gibson said she is still waiting for a $2,250 refund and has filed in small claims court. CBC reported that McInnis did not attend a May 15 hearing.
The Deloreys have filed a police complaint. In a statement to CBC, the Nova Scotia RCMP said no charges have been laid.
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