Ace Quality Home Improvements

Answer to complaint ***Filed Friday 7-26-19 I don’t like calling anyone a liar but the statements made are not true and are un-warranted. It is upsetting to me and it is defamation of my character which is very important to me personally and in my business dealings. My company has been in business 23 years. As you know Revdex.com I don’t get complaints. In 23 years I believe this is the 2nd one. The first one was over 20 yrs ago. I have completed major home improvement projects for this woman since 2002.. She has also called me numerous times to look at something to do with her home and just give her an expert opinion. I have always liked and respected her. She takes good care of her home and is very prideful of it. She is s single gal that is very independent. She is an avid do it yourself er. If she has to hire out she is very much hands on to the point sometimes of getting in the way. Every time I have gone to her house she is always in a scruff with somebody. I am not saying that’s bad she just doesn’t let anybody walk over her. She is very organized and lives herLife routinely. I appreciate and respect that of her. She is also a very nice person until she thinks your out to get her. Being a contractor that has done major home improvements on Her home I have seen the tiger before. What happens is a homeowner has formulated an assumption on what they’ve heard, seen, or been told by other contractors, family and friends, the internet etc. then they see or hear something that varies from their assumption, questions arise. If they fail to seek answers to those questions then doubt starts to fester when that happens homeowners start nit picking everything you did or didnt do, they start thinking your hiding something or your ripping them off. I know hI’ve been dealing with homeowners forty some yrs. I have told her the sprinklers have nothing to do with a leaking main. just like a leaking toilet or leaking faucet has nothing to do with the main. Even a branch line supplied by the main, if it was leaking that too would be an additioncal charge. All Supply fixtures have a shut off valve. Your toilet your faucets, your washer, your water heater your hose bibs your dishwasher even your sprinklers do too. I wasn’t hired to fix a leaking toilet or a leaking faucet or a leaking refrigerator line. .I wasn’t hired to fix a sprinkler valve either. I was hired to replace a leaking main line. Three individual plumbers came out. She told all three that the city told her she has a leak in the main. All ran a test to see if The main was leaking. Since they tested it prior to giving her the bid they all new it wasnt the main that was leaking. They are plumbers after all. Yet they all told her the main needed to be replaced, it was leaking. Her lowest bid was 5700.meridian plumbing. Her highest bid,I won’t mention who it was 9900.00. The water company told her the leak was on her side of the main. She mistakenly told the plumbers, the water company said my main was leaking. It could very well be. But the water company doesn’t test for. That. (The water company Comes out and test to see if their meter valve is leaking. If it’s not then the leak is on your side of the main and your responsible to repair it. When it’s repaired it needs to be called in so they can check it. )With her being a single gal living alone. Telling the plumbers and my self that the water company said I need to repair my leaking main. That set the perfect opportunity take advantage of her. (Scam her)When she called me, well I know this lady I also know that replacing the main can be very expensive and it is. In her case it was less than 20ft of main to replace and no obstructions to dig it out. She told me that she had several bids from plumbers and they all told her there was a leak in the main. I asked her if any of them actually tested it? She said yes they all did, one even went into the crawl space. I didn’t ask her what their bids were cause I already knew it would be expensive. I wasn’t going to do the job for free but I didn’t want it to be a hardship for her either. I looked closely at the job. I didn’t see any signs of the lawn being wet but I did see that is was pretty wet in the flower bed by the house. I told her the leak is more than likely right here. I could dig down and locate the leak and fix it and save you a bunch of Money. She said they recommended to get rid of the galvanized pipe and put poly in. Yes if it’s affordable,now would be a good time to do that. I said ok you pay for the materials and the rental for a ditch witch to dig the trench. I’ll do the labor for 1500.00. MateriaIs and rental shouldn’t be more than 300.00. It will probably only take one day to complete. She said I have the cash for that right now and asked how much I needed to get started. I told her give me 500.00 down and balance on completion. I’ll give you the materials and rental receipts so you can reimburse me. I have a guy that has a lot of experience he could dig it tomorrow and then I’ll come out and we will replace the main. She was so happy she said I’m so glad I called you. I was ready to pay 5700.00 to get this fixed and that was my low bid. My high bid was 9900.00. I shook my head and said I know they charge a lot to have this done. The main is the pipe that comes from the city’s meter to where it enters your house. It is called the main supply line. To test to see if your main is leaking . You find the main shut off valve inside your house and shut it off. You no longer have water going to the house. That also eliminates anything in the house like a dripping faucet that would effect the test. The main could also have branch lines outside of the house that supplies the sprinkler system a barn an outbuilding etc. Each of the branch lines that are directly connected to the main will have a shut off valve. She has a branch line that supplies her sprinkler system. That also prevents a leaking valve or sprinkler head that barely dripping effect the test. When we tested the main it wasn’t leaking. We tested the branch lines. We found that the back flow preventer was leaking.You could feel for a leak by rubbing your hands on it. We went to *** to get a rebuild kit. The tech guy said you might as well get a new one they are only 16.00 more. When we got back the homeowner was in the yard talking to meridian plumbing. I left the back flow preventer in my truck and asked him what he thought the problem was. He said the main needs to be replaced it’s leaking and all full of rust. I ask him if he tested it he said yes. I’m thinking it’s a good thing she called me. What a sobShe told me that he was gonna hand dig the trenches and while he was at it he was gonna put a new back flow preventer on. That’s why she thought he was such a nice guy. He was gonna put a new back flow preventer on cause that’s where it was leaking at and he new it. Jesse snd I retrofitted the new back flow preventer on. It was a real pain trying to get it to line up because the pipes coming out of the ground were not straight. Plus the #2 valve pipe that was connected to the branch line in the ground wasn’t tight so it probably was leaking from there too. We had to dig down to get the pipes angled enough to fit the new back flow on and we fixed the loose pipe. We turned opened the branch valve and purged the bfp snd checked the meter. The arrow wasn’t moving. The leak is fixed. It also meant nothing else was leaking either. I told the homeowner to come outside that the leak is fixed. Come look for your self. I had jesse go turn her kitchen faucet on and the arrow started moving had him turn the faucet off and the arrow stopped. I showed her that the branch line that supplied the sprinklers was all the way open. I told her the good news, it wasn’t your main so I’m not charging you for that. I’m gonna charge you for trouble shooting and retrofitting the bfp on. Jesse and I have been here almost 5 hrs. I’ll charge you 500.00 and as agreed you reimburse me for the materials I handed her the receipt for 100 and she gave me 100.00 I told her how difficult the bfp was to install becsuse pipes weren’t straight and the #2 valve pipe was really loose. Who ever installed did probably had to loosen it to raise the pipe to install the bfp. The whole time she was nodding her head up and down in agreement. That’s when she told me that she and a guy she was with Installed it last yr. she said I didn’t think he new what he was doing.We cleaned up and left. She was very happy and could not thank us enough for saving her over $5000,00. She said if I couldn’t have gotten ahold of you she was going to hire meridian plumbing for $5700.00. I guarantee that he would have charged her another 500.00 to fix her sprinkler system and if he hadn’t told her he was going to to install a new back flow valve while he was at it he would have charged her extra for doing that too He new that’s where it was leaking from. That’s why he told her he would throw that in too. I did not scam her I charged her fairly for the work that was completed And the city came out and checked it and told her she wasn’t leaking anymore. From the time the city tells her that she has a leak they require you to get it fixed they give you so many days to do it. She passed. Most companies charge to retrofit a back flow preventer 600-1000.00 I can’t believe she wants me to give her 600.00 back. I only charged her 500.00. Plus I saved her over $5000.00She was in a crunch with the city she had to get it fixed. I’m 2-3 wks backed up with work. But she needed it done so I helped her out. And fixed the problem. Sprinkler system repairs. In her complaint She accused me of not repairing her sprinkler system and taking washers from other non leaking valves sabotaging them to fix the #4 valve. Not only does that sound crazy to me. It doesn’t even make sense. Why would I do that, she would be calling me again to fix it.She asked me what I was going to charge to fuwasn’t charging her to help her fix her sprinkler system. When she called I didn’t tell her I would come repair it because of something I did. It was because she couldnt and I knew I could fix it or at least tell her if it needed to be replaced. When she asked me how much I wouldI charge her to fix it. I told her I’m not gonna charge you. If it’s not repairable you’ll have to get a new one and I’ll install it.It’s gonna be a pretty simple fix. There’s not a lot to it. Attached is her voicemail she left.telling me she had been messing with her sprinlklers trying to get it to get more water. So she put the system on rain. But couldn’t get it to stop leaking. I could have told her I’m sorry I don’t have time to look at it. I wasn’t obligated to fix it. I have other job commitments. When I replaced the back flow preventer the supply pipe to the sprinkler valve box was on. The sprinklers were off. However they could have been turned on anytime. When we checked the meter it wasn’t moving at all and all the supply fixtures im the house and the sprinkler system hsd water to them. None of the fixtures were leaking at all or the meter would be moving. If any one of those fixtures were turned on they would work and the meter would move. The point I’m making here is none of the sprinkler were leaking or the meter would have picked it up. We didn’t touch sprinklers. When I got there she had all her tools out. She was actually laying down sticking her arm and half her body in meter main hole to shut the water off and turn it back on. She was very annoyed and frustrated I could tell she had been at it along time. I looked at the #4 valve and asked her what did she do to it. said she was trying to open the adjustment valve on top to get more water to the sprinkler. Any way I told her I’ll fix the leak don’t worry about it. I would fix it. Take a break. The adjustment valves was stuck open and very difficult to close so difficult I didn’t want to try cause it my break. I took it apart and the rubber Oring was kinked that sealed the adjustment valve and it was in bad shape. I went to my truck and all I had was a smaller thicker one that stretched over the plunger and I thought it just might work. I rubbed silicone on all the rubber washers and put it back together and it worked. I told her what I did and it worked. I told her if it starts leaking again I have a whole bunch of o rings and I’ll Put the right size in it. The next day she called me again. The valve is leaking again. When I got there the valve was.nt Just leaking it was gushing. the valve box was completely fulll. I said what did you do. She said it was leaking and she tried to fix it. I could see what she had done. The top of the valve wasn’t down all the way and the corner wasn’t sealing. I vacuumed all the water out of the box and reset the valve cover so it was laying flat and tightened it down. It fixed the problem the valve wasn’t leaking. I went to turn the water on at the meter and put the cover back on. And the meter was barely moving. I went back to the #4 valve felt it for water and it was dry. She handed me a plastic bag of used valves and said these might help. I said that’s ok I’m leaving I think with all the turning on and off of the main valve the pressure must have broke loose alittle rust particle just big enough to get stuck someplace. I showed her the meter and it was moving so slow u could barely tell. I told her it will stop shortly. Next morning she sent me a text saying the meter wasn’t moving any more. And thanked me again for all the help. The next day she called me Again I was working right around the corner she it’s leaking again. I vacuumed all the water out of the box wiped the valve off and sat there to see if it was leaking. Homeowner came over was telling me that her rotary sprinkler in the corner of front yard was hitting the neighbors house and her house. I said it sounds like it needs to be adjusted. She said she adjusted it but it kept going on neighbors yard. I said ok let’s look at it. Which one is it. It was like 5 ft from me it was. Corner of front yard between her and neighbors house. I told her I will turn the water back on go turn the front sprinklers on. With the sprinklers running I tried to adjust it. I would set the left stop where it needed to be but couldn’t set the right stop where it needed to be. It would go past where I wanted it to stop. Each and every time it would hit between the houses. She insisted it could be adjusted snd I told her I can’t adjust it. I said your going to have to get another one then because this won’t adjust where it needs to be. She said it’s new and the guy at *** said it’s adjustable. So I googled it up and found the make and model. This particular model you could reduce 25 percent. Which sounds right cause that’s about all I could get it to reduce. I told her she needs to take this back to *** and get one that will spray 180 not 360 cause she needs coverage cause she needs just over 40 coverage or she need one for a corner. If you don’t do it soon your neighbor is gonna be mad. I said that’s probably what filling the valve box up with water. I checked the #4 valve and it wasn’t leaking. I told her I would be gone for the weekend. I went to put the cover over the meter and the arrow was moving. I ask her if she had anything in the house running like dishwasher or laundry. She said no. I said you must have something running because the arrow is moving. I told her to go check. She come out laughing and said the kitchen faucet was on. I said do you do that often she said never. Anyway now the meter wasn’t running and I left. We never talked about this but I think it goes back to her 1st call (See voice mail) that she mentioned she was messing with the sprinklers valve # 4 trying to get that zone more water for the sprinklers. And every time I fixed valve 4 she would mess with it again till she finally went to get a new valve which they didn’t have but they gave her at no charge a bag full of used ones. That problem isn’t the valve it’s the sprinkler filters in the heads. Just my thought cause there was no reason to have to keep repairing the same valve over and over. Idk but I never quit on her every time she called I politely went back and repaired the valve again. With all I did for this woman. I can’t figure out why she thinks I scammed her and ripped her off. I literally bent over backwards trying to help her save money and fix her issues.It was like dealing with a Jekyll and Hyde. In person she was appreciative and thankful.I don’t know what to think but I did the best I could to help her. It makes me sad she feels that I scammed and ripped her off. I swear the above to be true. Bob KAce Quality Home Improvement.

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