Palmer Brothers Painting Contractors

Review: Palmer Bros. was hired to remove old exterior siding and old deck (aka balcony) railings and install new siding and new railings. During this removal and installation process damage was done to my deck. The deck is also a roof. Because of this dual nature of the deck/roof a 2 piece membrane is on top of the concrete deck to prevent water damage to the condo unit below. To date the unit below mine has not suffered any water damage. This is because the outer membrane on my deck has done its job for the last 22 years.

The outer membrane is akin to a rubbery skin like material. If this outer layer is damaged then rain will eventually seep through to the unit below. If this happens mold, mildew, spores and fungus will overtime grow into the unit below. This condition will seriously impact the health of the occupants of that condo unit.

During the process of removing and installing the siding and railings the deck floor was to be covered with plywood by Palmer Bros. to prevent any damage to the outer membrane.

On 9/24/13 I noticed that an area of membrane just outside my sliding door had been both gashed and gouged. I immediately contacted the on-site-foreman. He inspected the damaged area and then reviewed all of his photos of the deck. He took these photos PRIOR to beginning the work on my deck area. Together , we reviewed his photos. He did not have any photos showing any damage to my deck floor. He then, however. stated that he remembered this damaged area.

On 10/04/13 I met with the foreman, his supervisor and the condo's property manager . When I pointed out the damage to the membrane the foreman he immediately stated that he had a picture of this damage and that I was mistaken when I said that he had no pictures of any deck membrane damage.

On the afternoon of 10/02/13 I noticed new damage to the deck membrane near the new railings. The new railings were just installed a few hours earlier. When I pointed out this new damage at the 10/04 meeting the foreman immediately stated that he also had a picture of that area.

At this point I decided not to identify any additional damage to my deck membrane because the foreman would then say that he also had a picture of that area.

It must be noted that the foreman DID NOT show any pictures to me on 10/04/13. However, he did have his camera out on 10/04 and I believe he was taking pictures of my deck while his supervisor was engaging me in conversation.

Any photos of damage to the deck membrane that the foreman now has in his possession were obviously taken by him AFTER I informed of the damage on 9/24/13. The foreman had access to my at any time during the removal and installation process. I believe that what he did was change the date in his camera and then come on to my deck and take photos of the damage.

At that point on 10/04 I showed everyone what caused the damage. I showed them the nails, screws etc. that I found on my deck over the course of days since 9/24. On many of these days NO plywood was place on the deck floor for protection. Thus the workers would accidently step on the nails etc. and therefore damage the deck membrane. As a result of this, in addition to the above described damages, the outer membrane has some very small hairline fractures. As I stated earlier if I had identified these to the foreman on 10/04 his response would have been that he also had pictures of these damaged areas.

I sent 13 photos to Palmer Bros. on 10/15/13. These photos show the damaged areas, the nails etc. that I found on my deck, photos of the deck PARTIALLY covered with plywood, and photos of the workers on the deck WITHOUT ANY plywood protection.Desired Settlement: My deck's outer membrane was damaged by Palmer Bros. because it was NOT properly protected by Palmer Bros. during the removal and installation process. Accordingly, the old outer membrane must be removed and a new outer membrane must be installed. Because the deck is a ROOF the work must be performed by a roofing company.