Legacy Remodeling, Inc.

Review: A contract with Legacy Remodeling to install "James Hardie" siding on my residence was signed 6/24/13. The siding installation was completed by a subcontractor [redacted] on 10/8/13 however there were several installation problems that had to be corrected. These were outlined in a letter to them on 10/28/13. One was that a [redacted] awning was incorrectly reinstalled and the original installer,[redacted] had to be contacted to correct the issue at a cost of $295.00 (a request was made to Legacy for reimbursement however they have denied payment. The original contractor was called since [redacted] crew originally refused to install it and when they did it was done incorrectly. An electrical plug also had to be repaired due to a broken wire. Aluminum flashing also was poorly replaced and had to be corrected and this was done on a subsequent visit by [redacted]. During the week of 12/23/13, [redacted] returned to replace edging board that had blotches of paint on it to cover nail holes. The paint left unsightly blotches. All except one 6' board was reinstalled due to a shortage and had to be ordered. To date this has not been replaced despite several dry and warm days. Contact was made at the Pittsburgh Home Show on 3/17/14 and with a call on 3/11/14 but they have not returned the calls although they did send a card thanking us for stopping at the booth. Today I went to replace a porch light that they had reinstalled and found it also was incorrectly installed.Desired Settlement: It is requested that they complete the siding installation, provide reimbursement for the awning replacement, and provide reimbursement for the correction of the electrical problems.

Business

Response:

While we are very sorry that Mr. [redacted] is unhappy with certain aspects of his project, we believe that Legacy has gone above and beyond what could be reasonably expected of us and at this point. So while we are disappointed to hear of Mr. [redacted] dissatisfaction, there is nothing further we can do for this customer.

With regards to his specific issues, first allow me to address the[redacted] awning that Mr. [redacted] referenced in his complaint. We removed the awning as was necessary to effect the installation of the siding that he had purchased. We were not contracted to reinstall it and we did not charge him for this. There is no reference to us having to reinstall his awning any where on the contract. We are not an awning company and therefore the people who we hire to do the work are not expected to be prepared or able to install an awning. For this reason the installer initially told Mr. [redacted] that we would not do this. When Mr. [redacted] called our office to express his dissatisfaction with this, it was explained to him that this in not part of the job and that he was not charged for it. Further we explained that he should have the company he had initially purchased the awning come back out and reinstall it. He was not satisfied with this, so in order to make him happy, we asked the installer if he could do install the awning and he said he could. We then directed him to proceed to do so in the interest of customer satisfaction.

We never heard any more about this until Mr. [redacted] sent us a letter stating that he hired a company to do the re-installation and requesting the reimbursement of $295. We have denied that reimbursement and intend to continue to deny it. We feel this way for 2 reasons. First, the installation of the awning was not part of our contract and Mr. [redacted] was not charged for it. Therefore, he should have borne this responsibility and cost all along. Secondly, since we had made the decision to do this for him in the name of customer satisfaction, we would have stood behind our work and come back out to correct it if he were unhappy with the installation. Unfortunately, Mr. [redacted] never contacted us about this problem until he had already paid someone else to correct it. We feel that it is unreasonable to expect Legacy to pay for someone else's work when we were never given the opportunity to first fix it ourselves and in fact were not even aware that there was a problem.

With regards to the installation of the James Hardie siding, the siding was installed properly and in line with the manufacturer's installation instructions. Mr. [redacted] has expressed dis-satisfaction with the fact that we had to use touch up paint to cover the nail holes. However this is required by the manufacturer. These are the unsightly blotches he is referring to. The manufacturer's instructions dictate that touch up should be used sparingly. Unfortunately Mr. [redacted] has a definition of sparingly which is different than ours and which we feel is unreasonable. We were satisfied that the boards were installed correctly and looked right. Despite this fact, again, we went above and beyond for Mr. [redacted] and replaced 6 trim boards. We do not intend to replace the last trim board that he has referenced in his email as we do not feel that there is anything wrong with it.

As far as his concern that he has an outside outlet that we broke, in discussing this with the installer he felt confident that we had nothing to do with this.

Again, we regret that Mr. [redacted] is an unsatisfied customer as we go to great lengths to take good care of the people who hire us. Unfortunately in this case we believe we have gone well beyond what we were contracted for and what Mr. [redacted] paid us to do and therefore cannot offer him any further assistance.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

See attachment.

Regards,

Business

Response:

The position of Legacy Remodeling with respect to Mr. [redacted] concerns regarding his siding and trim is that the work is completed and completed properly.

The product which Mr. [redacted] purchased was James Hardie fiber cement siding. This product must be painted in order to protect it from moisture and the elements. Mr. [redacted] ordered their "Color Plus" product which means it comes prefinished (painted) from the factory.

When we install this product, we have to use fasteners such as screws or nails. On trim boards, which is what Mr. [redacted] is concerned about, these must be applied through the front of the product. In order to maintain Mr. [redacted] warranty from the manufacturer, we have to then use a touch up paint which is supplied by the manufacturer in order make sure that the product does not become damaged by moisture where the fastener penetrated the product. Failure to do so would void Mr. [redacted] warranty. To be clear, the use of the touch up paint is not optional, it is a manufacturer's requirement. Failure to do so would void any material warranty from the manufacturer.

Unfortunately, since the product comes pre-painted with a baked on finish, even though the manufacturer supplied touch up paint is the same color, it has a slightly different sheen when applied to the product. These visible differences where the touch up was applied are what Mr. [redacted] is concerned about. Over time, the difference will fade and become much less noticeable.

It is Mr. [redacted] view that we should have used less of the touch up, however it is difficult to achieve this as our installers are working on ladders and scaffolding with the manufacturer supplied applicator which is a brush approximately 1/4" wide. Further, we want to ensure that we apply a sufficient quantity of the paint to ensure no moisture penetration, so the paint has to extend a small distance beyond the actual location of the fastener.

The net result of all of this is that Mr. [redacted] ended up with touched up area's approximately the size of a quarter, when he would like them to be the size of a dime or less. In order to address Mr. [redacted] complaints, we removed and reinstalled 6 out of the 7 trim boards that we had installed on his home. The second time around we asked the installers to attempt to further minimize the use of the touch up paint. We did this at our expense and even though they were correctly installed. The 7th board that Mr. [redacted] is referencing was not replaced because it is correct and we simply do not feel that we can do any better on it and we do not feel that it makes any sense to remove something when there really is no opportunity for improvement.

We have confirmed with the James Hardie representative in Pittsburgh, Mr. [redacted] that 1) the product was installed properly and 2) because we installed it properly, Mr. [redacted] has the full warranty that he expected when purchasing the Hardie Board siding.

I do not believe that there is anything further which Legacy Remodeling needs to do in order to fulfill our contractual obligations and to provide Mr. [redacted] with the level of quality and service which is expected of a Revdex.com Accredited business.

Respectfully,

President

Legacy Remodeling, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

There are several issues that remain to be resolved in the response by Legacy Remodeling.

The first is the fact that the job was not completed. Regardless of the fact that they agreed or disagreed with my complaint of the initial installation, they did return and redo the siding that was in dispute with the exception of one board. According to the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act 73 P.S. § 517.9(5) No person shall abandon or fail to perform, without justification, any home improvement contract or project in or undertaken by a contractor… It is under the right to reasonable assurances that the project would be completed. The fact that they did not agree with me is not a justification particularly when they agreed enough to return and replace other sections. In addition, in a telephone response back from [redacted], who identified himself as the President of Legacy Remodeling, stated that he would not complete the job since he was reported to the Revdex.com.

Legacy Remodeling was reported to the Revdex.com because of this outstanding issue, the second issue with the awning that was incorrectly installed, the third issue with the reception of a card thanking me for visiting their booth at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show after a follow up phone call to them with no other response, and the fourth issue with an additional electrical problem that was recently found.

The issue with the electrical installation was found when I went to replace the light and found it was not to code. If, according to Legacy, they replaced it the way it was originally installed, they should have notified me of the problem and recommended an electrician correct the code violation as opposed to reinstalling a “hazard”. This is unprofessional for an experienced remodeler. This follows through with the same issue with the awning. It’s almost as if it is being said, we don’t know what we’re doing but we’ll cover it up in hopes that the homeowner doesn’t find it.

Regards,

Review: After installation of my windows in the spring, I noticed the cold air coming in one of the windows during the following winter. I called Legacy to have someone inspect window. [redacted] from Legacy checked it and a window was to be made a bit larger to compensate the suspected gap. That was in Feb/March. Didn't hear from anyone for a while. Called in April/May and were told that window a bit larger was ordered. Called a couple of weeks later. Appointment made to have window installed, June 18, 2014. [redacted] came with two different size windows to be installed. [redacted] said he had to wait for a windy day to look at it again. Called that same day to find a window finally ordered. Called Legacy a month ago and [redacted] told me it would be around Aug 8, 2014. I called Aug 15 to find no window was ordered ever.I need this window fixed now.I have been misled by Legacy for months.They got their money and have abandoned standing behind their products.Desired Settlement: This window if faulty and they just will not fix it.I would like for a different company to install a window frame and windows that work. Then Legacy can pick up material and give me a refund. All Legacy has to do is measure and order a new window, but after all this time,they still keep misleading me.

Business

Response:

We are very sorry to hear that this customer is unsatisfied with the service we have provided to her. Unfortunately I am not sure that we can do anything further for her at this time. We installed the windows at this customers home in the Spring of 2013 and have visited her home on four different occasions to provide her service with no charge service under our warranty and are more than happy to continue to provide her service.

With regards to the specific issue that the customer outlined in her complaint, we visited her on March 5, 2014 in response to a call that she made to our office where she indicated a concern regarding air infiltration through one of the bedroom windows.

Upon visiting her home, our service technician inspected the window and was unable to identify anything that was wrong with it nor could he find any area where that there was air infiltration. We verified that the window operated properly and that all of the weather stripping was in place and in good condition. However the customer insisted at the time that there had to be a gap somewhere and at the customer's insistence our service technician ordered a new lower sash that slightly larger (the sash is the part of the window that actually moves up and down within the frame of the window) in order to attempt to address her concerns.

Our service technician returned to the customers home on June 18th 2014 to try to install the new sash which we received for her. The new sash would not fit in the existing window frame which made it clear to us that the original sash was sized properly for the frame it was installed in.

At that point, our service technician explained to the homeowner that there is nothing further that we could do for her. We had inspected the window thoroughly and found no problems or any air infiltration, even so, we had tried what we could to to see if we could make it better for her. At the conclusion of this visit our service person indicated to the home owner that there was nothing further that we could do for her and that if she is able to identify the specific area of the air infiltration on a windy day to please note what she found and let us know and we would come back out. Alternately he offered to stop on a windy day so that she could actually show us the issue when it is ongoing. We did not order any further parts or product for this customer after the visit on June 18th. It was not our intention to do so as we cannot see anything that is wrong with the current product and we have no reason to believe that a new window would perform any better than the one that is currently installed. If there was miscommunication or confusion with the customer regarding this, I apologize.

I know that the customer has indicated that she would like us to provide a refund for her window however we do not agree that the window is defective in any way and we will therefore not be able to issue her a refund.

Legacy is not the manufacturer of these windows we are a local, family owned small business and we do our very best for our customers. The product that we installed in the customers home are manufactured by a company called Sunrise windows. This is who the customer actually has a warranty with for the window material. If the customer would like, we can arrange for a manufacturer's representative to visit her home to proved a second opinion of our conclusion that the window is not defective and does in fact operate properly.

I wanted to leave a note to express our appreciation for the fine job done by all the crews involved in building of our patio room off the back of our house. All were professional through the process and answered any questions I had. I want to single out Jason G[redacted] as the Project Manager who oversaw all of the process and for the time and patience he provided answering my questions and explaining in detail each step of the job either on the phone or coming out to the house to discuss. He kept the job moving forward with each sub contractor which I'm sure was not always easy to do. They did a beautiful job and we enjoy the room every day and will continue to for many years to come.