Border to Border Roofing, LLC

We care deeply about customer satisfaction and relationships, and we stand behind our work. We believe this is an unfortunate situation and wish the homeowner the best in the future.We responded to a request for a service call to finish the installation of a three-piece shower and faucet that the...

homeowner had installed himself. Typically, a homeowner may feel comfortable setting the shower apparatus but uncomfortable plumbing in the fixture itself, and we expected to connect water service to the faucet and correctly plumb in the drain for the shower unit.Upon arriving onsite, the homeowner showed us a three-piece shower unit that had been installed and un-installed 2 or 3 times, a shower faucet that had been installed in the wrong place, and an improperly vented drain connection that he wanted us to use. We noted to him that it appeared quite a bit of the plumbing in his basement would not pass code, and offered to correct the most egregious error: the unvented shower drain. In addition, we later discovered the floor and walls around the shower were not level or plumb, and we informed the homeowner that it would make it difficult to finish back the floor and the drywall.We proposed to the homeowner that we return at a later appointment and install his shower, correct the issue on the unvented drain, and move his shower faucet to its correct location. We offered an estimate of not to exceed $2000.00.When we returned, we spent most of the morning moving the shower faucet. Changing its location was particularly difficult because it involved cutting out wall studs, changing piping, and installing backing boards, all while maintaining the correct spacing for the valve to protrude through the wall.Next we repiped the drain in the basement. The issue with the drain is that it was tied into a vertical 3" PVC stack with a wye fitting. This fitting is designed only for horizontal uses, and when installed vertically, it causes the shower trap to siphon and allow sewer gas smells into the house. It also causes the drain to drain improperly and stop up more easily. If left as it was, it would have constantly gurgled and become a frustration to the homeowner. We corrected the issue by installing a second wye horizontally in the correct position. We then installed a 2" PVC drain line to the shower and installed a p-trap in the correct location. At the homeowners request, we removed the plastic no-caulk shower drain he had installed prior to us arriving and reinstalled a brass drain in its place.When we began setting the actual shower, we discovered that the base, which the homeowner had set himself, was not level. Therefore, we had to uninstall the base and correct this issue with shims, all of which we discussed with the homeowner. The shower walls themselves had been damaged by continued installation and uninstallation, which made it particularly difficult to set them correctly.Ultimately, we set the shower per the instructions in a plumb and level fashion and shimmed out the walls. The left wall was out of plumb 1.25 inches over 6 feet. We showed this to the homeowner and he agreed that we should shim it out and he would make corrections as needed with the drywall. This was an error on our part as we should have found a better solution to help the drywall match up to the new shower.When the homeowner complained the next day, we offered to correct the issue under warranty. Instead, he told us that he had already uninstalled the shower completely, which was unnecessary, and that he wanted $1000.00 back. Of course, we did a lot of work on this job, we came in $655 below our estimate, and we could have remedied the problem relatively easily to make the homeowner happy. As a result we wish that we could have come to a better solution for the homeowner, but he has decided that he will not work with us.