Back River Builders

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] The business owner is mistaken if he thinks that the complaint is about things that he was not contracted forHere is the list of things I have asked him to complete that are an integral part of what he was contracted to doPaint in the bedroom: The contract was to paint the bedroom and install light fixtureThe room was painted and then the light fixture installedThe contractors left dirty hand prints around the light fixture on the newly painted white ceilings Paint in the bathroom: The business owner and his employees painted the bathroom with at least two coats, maybe even threeWhile I acknowledge their effort, the paint job is very poorly done -- they left paint on my cabinets and light fixtureThere is paint on the chrome trim and paint peeling off at the edgesThe ceiling has texture instead of being smooth, and there are dark spots visible through the paintThere's even painter's tape left over from their last attempt Doors- The doors for the closet and bathroom were taken downstairs to install handlesIn the process the new and newly painted doors were nickedThere's even a pencil mark from where one of them was measuredOne of the six handles installed on the doors came loose after 2-weeks and is about to fall offThe baseboard in the bathroom is not completeThere is a hole in the wall behind the bathroom sink cabinetThe things listed above were the things that I asked the business owner to completeMy email dated 12/clearly lists theseI think my demands are reasonable and within my rightsThe trim on the closet and marble shelf I was willing to pay forThe list above was me trying to be reasonable but since we are going down this road here's what I have to say about the quality of some of the work done by this business owner and his employeesThe plaster work in the bathroom is completely uneven and patchyThe doors for both the bathroom and the bedroom leave big gaps when closedThe closet doors are completely unevenThe patching of the floor by the bedroom door is horrible and actually has a small gap in the floor on one side of the doorThe plaster behind the bedroom door is shoddy and completely unevenI tried to be reasonable and we are now just a few weeks shy of a year since the project was startedThis the first time I've heard the business owner say I should hire someone else to complete the jobI'm sorry that he is ill and has fallen behind but this is almost a year laterHe did not even have the courtesy to respond to my last three emails before I filed the Revdex.com complaint Regards, [redacted] ***

Today I was notified about the above complaint.The client is asking me to come back and do work that I was not contracted to do.I've been ill, fallen behind with work and can not get thereI've advised my client I'd prefer he hire someone else and that I would still have to Charge him even if I
could go.I'm empathic to his complaint and wish it was differentI've been paid in full for all the work contracted and additional work completed to date- as far as I'm concerned I'm not obligated to do anything else.Thank you,*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].
The business owner is mistaken if he thinks that the complaint is about things that he was not contracted for. Here is the list of things I have asked him to complete that are an integral part of what he was contracted to do. 1. Paint in the bedroom: The contract was to paint the bedroom and install light fixture. The room was painted and then the light fixture installed. The contractors left dirty hand prints around the light fixture on the newly painted white ceilings.  2. Paint in the bathroom: The business owner and his employees painted the bathroom with at least two coats, maybe even three. While I acknowledge their effort, the paint job is very poorly done -- they left paint on my cabinets and light fixture. There is paint on the chrome trim and paint peeling off at the edges. The ceiling has texture instead of being smooth, and there are dark spots visible through the paint. There's even painter's tape left over from their last attempt.  3. Doors- The doors for the closet and bathroom were taken downstairs to install handles. In the process the new and newly painted doors were nicked. There's even a pencil mark from where one of them was measured. One of the six handles installed on the doors came loose after 2-3 weeks and is about to fall off. 4. The baseboard in the bathroom is not complete. 5. There is a hole in the wall behind the bathroom sink cabinet. The things listed above were the things that I asked the business owner to complete. My email dated 12/22 clearly lists these. I think my demands are reasonable and within my rights. The trim on the closet and marble shelf I was willing to pay for. The list above was me trying to be reasonable but since we are going down this road here's what I have to say about the quality of some of the work done by this business owner and his employees. 6. The plaster work in the bathroom is completely uneven and patchy. 7. The doors for both the bathroom and the bedroom leave big gaps when closed. 8. The closet doors are completely uneven. 9. The patching of the floor by the bedroom door is horrible and actually has a small gap in the floor on one side of the door. 10. The plaster behind the bedroom door is shoddy and completely uneven. I tried to be reasonable and we are now just a few weeks shy of a year since the project was started. This the first time I've heard the business owner say I should hire someone else to complete the job. I'm sorry that he is ill and has fallen behind but this is almost a year later. He did not even have the courtesy to respond to my last three emails before I filed the Revdex.com complaint.  
Regards,
[redacted]

In response to the customer’s rebuttal to my initial response to their complaints:  Component [redacted]. The customer says that I was contracted to paint bedroom. Here is proof I was not, and a change order was invoiced after the work was completed. I was not contracted to do the painting in the bedroom. We we’re contracted to paint the bathroom. Below is a screen shot of the original estimate where we charged $600 to paint the bathroom and a second screen shot of a change order  invoice we sent after where we we’re asked to paint the bedroom. After we were done with the bedroom, we we’re than asked to install a light. To my knowledge the ceiling was not dirty after we installed the light. Although Im not accusing the customer of dirtying the ceiling- it is  not uncommon to brace yourself on the ceiling when you are changing a light bulb for example. In any event, Im not under contact to come back and touch up a ceiling. If I had time and wasn’t ill. I would have to charge the customer $50/ hr to travel to Boston, park,  unload my paint box, set up a drop cloth, protect his bedroom funiture in order to   touch up a finger print. In a phone conversation, I explained this to the customer and he expressed that he didn’t agree he had to pay for me to come back. If the client is interested in paying this time, Im more than happy to come back when I can. The reason we need to charge for every hour is because we did not have a fixed cost on this project. When we bill a customer by the hour and charge for the material, we call this “cost plus.” In construction, this is  usually the cheapest way for a customer to get a service done. At a billable hour of $50. We need to pay an hourly rate to a laborer, pay insurance, pay taxes, pay gas, and pay a portion to vehicle expense. There is no room in the hourly fee to come do a service like this for free. Original contract as it pertains to painting. Painting Change Order for bedroom. To some other points….The customer did not want to install the door handles that we’re supplied with the closet door tracks. We only learned this after the doors we’re painted and installed. The customer selected a very expensive door handle. These needed to be ordered. The order was screwed up, we we’re sent the wrong color handles, the correct one came when we we’re finished with all the other work.  In selecting a new hardware, this signaled a change order. In order to install the hardware the customer selected , we need to router out the door to recess in the handle.  These doors are MDF wood and  are extremely messy when you cut them.  We decided to do this work outside. Once these doors we’re cut and the hardware was installed, we bought the doors back into the bedroom and installed the doors. We then repainted the doors. These doors are heavy solid doors, they slide very easily. Perhaps these doors we’re nicked in everyday general use. To the clients point that doors are cut uneven. The door was scribed to the direction of the floor. The bedroom floor was an existing floor that sloped from right to left. Meaning, the left side of the closet is lower than right side of closet. In order to make these doors slide, the door needs to be higher on the right side than the left. There is nothing can be done about this. If the door is cut to the highest point and then leveled across, it will not catch on the center glide guide. To the customer’s point about the gap in the door. The customer chose the same style door for the bedroom and bathroom. Its a barn door. Attached is a screen shot from the manufacture that requires the door to be off the wall. in my experience the gap is a normal condition in using a barn door. The door can not be flush on the wall. It will not slide.  Gap with bathroom and bedroom door is a result of the type of sliding track the door is installed on: See image from installation manual. I’m sympathetic to the customer’s complaints. I’ve tried my best to manage what Im asked to do, with what Im RESPONSIBLE to do. In my opinion, I’ve done what I was contracted to do, and have tried to communicate with the client the best I can. On multiple occasions, I’ve tried to communicate the interests of business versus what he was asking me to do for free.  Despite the often aggressive tone, I still tried to get a sub contractor  to do the work while I was ill.  Unfortunately the customer was not available and was over seas. This is the first Im hearing about all the other issues the client has with our work. I don’t know what to make of it, I was paid in full, and this is the first Im hearing about it these other new concerns.  My hunch tells me these new claims are coated in the frustration the client has because he has not gotten me to do what he wants me to do and that I am continuing to defend my position, which I view as fair and reasonable. I'd encouraged the customer  to understand that he is participating in defamation in making these claim and we will pursue further recourse if it continues.  These falsehood   could have grave consequences for the livelihood of me and my family if they persist.  CC’d on this rebuttal  is my attornery, [redacted]. She will handle any further discussion on this matter. Other reasons for the condition of the paint in bathroom:His description of the condition of the bathroom could be a result of things beyond the workmanship. If the  bath fan is not on  when the shower is on, it is likely that you will begin to see the paint  react to the dampness. If the fan is on, it could be blocked. I do not install the piping that goes into the fan. I can not make any judgement on this other than it is possibility, it happens often,  and if it is the case, it might be the cause of  the condition the customer is describing. Please see communication examples below. Customer Overseas: Asking the customer to speak to us with respect: