Contractor That Abandoned Blast Victims Now Under Investigation

The Contractors State License Board is investigating a contractor for possible violations after the company mysteriously withdrew from rebuilding several homes that were damaged by the Sept. 9 pipeline explosion.

Castro Valley-based Vanderbuilt Construction, which was rebuilding fives homes in the Crestmoor neighborhood, is now facing two violations for allegedly abandoning the construction projects without legal cause and asking for a down payment of more than 10 percent of the cost of a project from at least one homeowner.

Only a small number of contractors in the state are allowed to ask for down payments that exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the cost of a construction project.

"It's usually an immediate red flag if something like that is happening," said Venus Stromberg, spokeswoman for the state license board.

The residents who were working with Vanderbuilt have been fuming since learning through an email from the company that it was stopping all operations.

That email was followed by rumors that the . A PG&E spokesman said that Vanderbuilt has indeed gone out of business, and the company's website, www.vanderbuilt.net, is no longer active. Representatives from the company haven't responded to multiple calls to confirm the closure.

PG&E, which initially recommended Vanderbuilt to residents to make emergency repairs on their homes immediately after the fire, is now working with the families to find another contractor to finish the rebuilding work.

"Our goal is to get them back on track and into their homes as quickly as possible," said PG&E spokesman Brian Swanson.