Hernandez Tile & Construction

Review: Because of water damage to the eaves of the roof of my house, I hired [redacted] who had come recommended by the Yahoo group in my neighborhood for his tile work in a bathroom and who is licensed. At our first meeting, I asked him if he did the kind of roof/gutter work I needed. I stated that I was told that there was water damage, and that I wanted the problem found and fixed so that it would not happen again. Mr. [redacted] said that he was a licensed and insured contractor and he said that he would do the work for $5,600. Trusting his expertise, I agreed, realizing that this amount was about half of what I paid for the entire roof (which was no longer under warranty) and presuming that the water damage extended to the roof. Mr. [redacted] gave me a written statement of the work he would do, beginning with pressure washing the south side of the house. Although this didn't relate to the problem I was having, but I thought it spoke to his fastidiousness. His materials--which he did not itemize or provide receipts for--he listed as being $1825, with an additional $1000 upon acceptance, and the balance of $2825 to be paid upon completion.Mr. [redacted] did not use flashing materials which were stipulated in the contract. He did remove and replace approximately 5 feet of plywood in the eaves, then painted it, using exterior house paint that I had in the garage. He may have purchased caulking for where the gutters join. I have not seen receipts for either the caulking or the ply. I told him that there would need to be something to prevent critters from entering my garage or under my roof, at which point he stuffed the opening with some type of white batting encased in netting. It looked unsightly being the first thing one noticed in contrast to the materials and color of the roof. I told him that it would have to be re-done or covered up. He asked if I had any extra roof material. I did not. So he purchased about a yard of brown asbestos material to place in front of the white batting.Desired Settlement: Because Mr. [redacted] material costs were minimal, I asked him to reduce his bid. He did not, saying that I had agreed to $5600. When I was told that the work he did was substandard and that it would have to be re-done, I told him that I wanted to compensate him fairly, but that I believed he should refund 1/2 of the amount I paid him, i.e., $2825. Mr. [redacted] has been in business for 30 years. He is a congenial man. But I was overcharged, and the job was not done to my satisfaction.

Business

Response:

Please see attached contract in which Miss. [redacted] agreed and instructed us to move forward with. In doing so, R. Hernandez Tile & Const. Co. moved forward and completed all work outlined per work order. At the time of completion Ms. [redacted] was completely satisfied with all work outlined in contract and paid us in full for services. After completion Miss [redacted] continued to call us and let us know how happy she was with our work, there was never an issue. A month later Miss [redacted] called me a said she felt she paid too much for the work we performed and wanted a refund (see attached response to Miss [redacted]) then shortly after that we received your letter which states she has to redo all our work (that makes no sense). I know she has had a roofing contractor to bid additional work over and above what we have completed but we are having a very hard time understanding her actions.

To date none of the work we performed has to be re-done, there would no reason to redo any of our work. All extra work she wants done is over and beyond our contract. I ask her for a detailed outline of work that we performed that has to be re-done and why, we have not received anything to date. I have also told Miss [redacted] that any of our work that is not up to par we have no issue in fixing any and all, but I can assure you are work is 100% complete per contract. We are very interested in knowing why the work we performed has to be re-done. We were hired to do all that is outlined in Miss [redacted] contract and performed all work to completion with no issues...

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: In replying to my claim, Mr. [redacted] does not address the fact that he did not complete the work listed on his quote, the work I paid for. He did not supply flashing, nor did he do any work on the roof which the insertion of flashing might have entailed. Early in the job, he said that the damage was less than either he or I originally thought. I stated, "Then you will adjust your prices, of course." to which he replied, "No, you agreed to pay me $5,600." Mr. [redacted] returned after I had paid the final installment in order to touch up wood bordering the gutters that sustained slight damage in the pressure washing, and to neaten the caulk where the gutters joined. At that time, to drain water build-up in the gutters away from the area in which he lifted the gutter alignment off the roof, Mr. [redacted] poked a small hole in the gutter. This was his solution to water drainage. He and I discussed the need for a downspout, which he initially said he would submit a bid for. I said, "No. You were hired to find and fix the problems with water damage, and to make sure they didn't happen again." Work on the downspout was never done. After getting my first assessment of his work, I didn't want him to do it. In showing a friend of mine who is not a roofer the hole, he said, "The man is an incompetent. I wouldn't let him near my house." It was at that point that I had 3 additional roofers inspect Mr. Hernandez's work and ultimately hired one of them to complete the job I had hired Mr. [redacted] for. In doing so, he realigned the gutters (repositioning the one Mr. [redacted] lifted off the roof), removed shingles, put in proper flashing, and replaced roof shingles. Doing the work in its entirety required removing the eaves that formed the bulk of Mr. Hernandez's effort, extending them, and placing a barrier to prevent critters from entering the garage or attic under the roof. ( The barrier that Mr. [redacted] put in place had flattened and looked unsightly between the time when Mr. [redacted] finished his work on January 17, 2014, and March, 2014, which is when I began the process of having both licensed and licensed roofers assess his work. The (unlicensed, but experienced) roofer that I hired is currently preparing for me a list of the work he did, and the amount of Mr. Hernandez's work he had to remedy. Mr. [redacted] will get a copy of this as soon as I receive it.