Small claims suit - maybe?

[JCricket]

Hey folks,
I have recently done a ton of work on my house. One of the projects was to tear out a section of old fencing and replace it with a 3ft man gate and an 8 foot "vehicle" gate. The contactor has screwed things up from the word go. He set posts wrong so that it is impossible to get both gates, he put them too close together. His workmanship is probably the worst I have ever seen on any kind of job. I told him I wasn't happy and that a few things needed done. His immediate response was pay up, or I'll put a lien on your house and just eat my losses. I have never been to court on a small claims or any other issue. Does anyone here have an idea of the procedures? I imagine it is different from state to state.

Here are a few issues just to name a few. He set one of the post 10" deep into concrete, not the 24" of the industry standard. When he set the post, he dumped the powdered concrete into the hole and added water, no mixing or anything. After 30 hours the post fell over and the powdered concrete that was not curred came out of the whole. I re-dug the hole and set the post appropriate - he told I had no ideas what I was talking about and that I was lying. If I felt it needed fixed than I had to do it. The gate drags so badly that is nearly impossible to open. The list is so long I am not going to write more, rather I'll post a few pics,

Frustrated as heck over here.