Manfredia's Carpentry & General Contracting

August 22, 2014
[redacted] and [redacted] contracted us for a master bathroom remodeling project which included framing, plumbing, wet bed stall shower floor, ceramic tile installation, drywall, and painting. The bathroom tile design was not provided by us. [redacted] had her own design...

she wanted and selected her special order tile through [redacted] Tile in [redacted], PA. [redacted], [redacted]’s tile representative from [redacted] Tile handled the tile orders and design. [redacted] is familiar with the unfortunate tile delays and errors caused by [redacted] Tile. These errors caused scheduling delays that are beyond our control and interrupted us and the tile installer from continuing on until the proper and needed tile arrived.The tile installer explained to [redacted] that her design layout would not work that she will need additional tiles. She changed her mind on the stall shower size and tile layout several times. The plumbing fixtures location in the stall shower was placed by [redacted] and at her direction. She had the plumber put them where she wanted. Tony the tile installer and I have patiently spent many days and hours putting different color lines and marks on the stall shower walls to help [redacted] with her layout. We keep [redacted] and [redacted] updated through the whole process in person, by phone and through email.I did received a deposit in February 2014 to secure the contact, a payment in March 2014 to order the tile and materials, and progress payments in June. All payments were scheduled in the contract they singed. [redacted] stated to me that she would have never had her husband pay any of the progress payments. In the contract [redacted] signed it states that additional charges may apply if any changes, alterations, unforeseen problems arise, or additional work is agreed upon. The tile was chosen by [redacted] at her location. [redacted] Tile is not our tile suppler and we had no control over the tile selected, ordered or its arrival date. [redacted] at [redacted] Tile has failed to update all parties on order timing and delivery causing delays. I made three trips and sent my employees there three different times to [redacted] Tile in [redacted] to pick up tile we were informed was in and available for pick-up. The tile was not there or part of the order was missing. Still [redacted] blames us for the tile delays.[redacted]’s timelines are incorrect and she made inaccurate statements about the progress of her project. After [redacted] stall shower tile and floor was complete she had a progress payment due as stated in her contract. When I asked [redacted] about the progress payment, he told me he had to review it. He sent me an email asking when the plumber and electrician were coming back to finish. Payment was not demanded as they stated. I reminded them of their pasted due progress payment that needed to be paid ([redacted] threatened not to make any payments at all many times through this process). I received a response with a long email stating she is going to complain to the Revdex.com and Angie’s List and they will not make any payments until the job is 100% complete.The plumber was scheduled to finish and did so on Tuesday, August 19, 2014. My crew and I were there on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 and as a courtesy to [redacted] and [redacted] we installed bathroom accessories including two mirrors, towel holder and tile backsplash that were not included in their contract.[redacted] has been very difficult to work with from the beginning of this project. She has been very impatient. We have maintained a level of professionalism throughout. It is always our intention to do the very best work and please our customers as our reputation is something we value. We work very hard to maintain our A+ rating with the Revdex.com. We are proud of that achievement and have many satisfied customers.We continued on with the work even though she has progress payments that are now more than 30 days past due. She has stated to us that she will not make any further payments on this job. Our hope is that the owners will fulfill their obligations and satisfy all outstanding obligations related to this job.Please contact me if you have any questions.Thank You,Wally MOwner/ OperatorCarpentry, Remodeling & New Construction

Review: Mr Wally M[redacted] was contracted in late December 2013 (a $1,500 deposit was paid) to start a master bath remodel in early February that he stated would take 3 weeks. For multiple reasons the job start was delayed until April 14,2014. (We were entertaining 30 people in our home on 5/3/14 and were assured by Wally that the job would be completed by then with the possible exception of the glass shower enclosure and the marble vanity top.) On 4/16/14 the plumber did the rough in without discussion of the tile design and without having the bath fixtures that Wally had told us he had, before the job started. (At one point Wally told us that we never told him to order the fixtures which was a blatant lie and laid a very bad taste in my mouth for dealing with someone who would blatantly lie in that way and was probably the beginning of tension between us) As the result of the plumbing rough in, the original tile design that we described to Mr M[redacted] in an email (3/4/14) prior to the start of the job was not feasible due the the layout of the rough in, according the the tile installer who is the plumbing contractors employee. This was in early May. We were not pleased that we had to come up with a new tile design and then order more tile as a result. Wally is billing us for this additional tile which we would not have needed if Wally and his plumber had discussed the tile design PRIOR to the rough in. Now we have a large tile bill and lots of extra tile that we don't need and a tile design in my shower that was not what I had wanted.

Also at this point in early May, we still had no fixtures to see how they would fit with the tile. Then Wally sent us an invoice (from his plumber) for fixtures that cost MORE than the original price I had from Weinstein, were I was going to order the fixtures in the first place (in Feb) until Wally insisted that his plumber could get it cheaper for us. Wally said he sent the fixture order to the plumber and that they must not have gotten it. On May 8, 2014, Wally, Bob and Debbie had a discussion and decided that the bathroom could not continue until the fixtures were in hand and a new tile design to work around the "rough" was determined. On that same day, I sent Wally an email reiterating details of a discussion between him and us regarding the outstanding issues on this job, including ordering more tile. He never responded to that email. We waited over three weeks for the new tile order. On Wed June 4, Debbie sent Wally an email asking for a tile update. NO answer to this email. The evening of Friday June 6 Bob sent an email asking about the tile order. Wally answered Bob late Sunday June 8 in the evening that the tile was not in. We called the tile store Monday morning to ask about the tile and were told it was ALL in late May and that they called Wally. On Monday 6/9 when we told Wally the tile was in he said they never called him. In that same email he said he would call the plumber to get the tile man scheduled. On 6/11/14 we contacted Wally to find out when the tile man was coming to then be told (on 6/12/14) that the tile man was busy for the next THREE weeks. On the morning of Friday June 20, Bob emailed Wally to let us know the date the tile man was coming. Wally did not answer until June 23 at 7:30 am when he said he would follow up with the plumber and let us know that day. Since we did not hear back, at 5:01 pm Bob sent an email asking if Wally heard from plumber with a date. At 11:56 am on 6/24 Debbie sent an email asking for tile installation date. On JULY 8 at 7:13 am Wally answered Bob telling him he would call plumber for date. Tile man finally came on Tuesday July 15 and finished the tile work on Friday July 18, 2014. (The entire month of June plus some days before and after June were just wasted days with Wally ignoring us or giving the run around.)

On Monday July 21, one fella worked on the bathroom (compounding the walls I think) for little more than two hours. On Tuesday Wally and two other fellas were here for two (8 am to 10 am) hours but Wally sat outside in his truck, just the two men in the bathroom. More compounding I guess. This day, Tuesday, I drove to [redacted] Marble to find out if they have heard from my contractor on when they should come out to do the template for the marble vanity top. I was told that Wally's wife called that morning and scheduled the marble template for Friday, 7/25 between 12 - 3:00 pm. On Wednesday, 7/23 two fellas arrived, stayed just over an hour but the one fella was outside fixing a handle on the back door of their truck. Thursday 3 fellas arrived early but one left quickly, two stayed and put primer on the walls and were gone at 11:15 am. When they left they assured me the painting would be done and the vanities in place before the marble person arrived. So since Wally scheduled the marble person I assumed the bathroom would be ready for him. At 8:00 am, two of Wally's men arrive they carry the vanities that have been in my garage since February up to our bedroom. One man leaves and now one fella there to paint walls, ceiling and place the vanities by noon. At 11:45 I see Wally pull his truck into my driveway and one of his workers gets out, Wally drove away. His worker goes upstairs to help the boy already up there. At 12:15 the [redacted] Marble man arrives to measure and one vanity is in bathroom and one is in the bedroom. They asked the guy to wait and then they tried to rush to get the last vanity in. When they had the vanities in and screwed to the walls the marble fella told them one of the legs wasn't even touching the floor and that he couldn't do template until this was done correctly. He left. Wally rescheduled the marble man for the morning of Monday July 28.

On Monday July 28, Wally shows up at 7:45 with two other men to fix the vanities. At 8:00 the marble man shows up again and we have to tell him the vanities are still not correct. They finally get the vanities set and Wally and one fella left at 10:15 am. One fella stayed to finish painting and to fix some holes in the wall and to gout behind the vanities where there was about a half inch of space between the wall and the floor. Wally said the tile guy (that he subcontracted) should have done that. That one fella stayed till late afternoon - a rare full day of work on our bathroom.

on Tues July 29 one fella arrived to finish painting and to fix gash in drywall behind the vanity that must have happened on Monday. He left around 11:30 am.

On Wed July 30, the [redacted] marble person came for the THIRD time as did the Burhan glass fella to measure for the glass shower enclosure.

On July 23, Wally sent us an invoice for the additional tile (which we should not have needed) and for the 7th payment due when tile is installed. The tile backslash is not yet installed and won't be until the vanity marble is set, so we don't believe that payment is yet due. Also the invoice values that he sent do not add up or make sense. So before we make any payment for tile he needs to send a corrected invoice. Today he sent us an email telling us he would not do any further work until we pay him what HE thinks is due. At this point we do not believe that any reasonable customer would be willing to pay this man. We have had no bathroom since early April, we have had to send repeated emails to try to get answers to when things would get done. I have not even addressed the many voicemails we have left asking him to get back to us which often went unanswered. I believe we have paid previous bills when asked.

Another issue with this contractor was with the SIX windows that he installed for us in October, 2013. On 2/17/14 I let him know in an email that the caulk on one of the windows had separated and air was coming in - it was very cold last winter and the house was always freezing. He told us he would come right away and take the window out, re-insulate it and re caulk. He never came in February - not until last week! Wally was paid in full at the completion of the window installation in Oct 2013. To make this very long story, short, on Monday JULY 28, 2014, while Wally was here to FIX the vanity issue, we brought up the caulk again. I actually had to follow him around to make sure he re caulked ALL of the windows which at this point had ALL separated. He said he didn't understand why that happened cause it never happened before and it must have been a bad batch of caulk. He was actually in his truck - I assumed getting ready to leave - TWICE that morning that I had to go outside after him to ask him to finish the caulk before he left. He looked at me like I was annoying HIM. This has been so frustrating and actually just absurdly crazy to deal with this.Desired Settlement: We want the work finished in a timely manner, as FIVE months is way beyond the 3 weeks he assured us and we feel he should be doing all he can to make this right for us now. Instead he is demanding payment after dragging out this project for 5 months. He should absolutely accept responsibility for most of the delay instead of blaming the tile people, his own workers and the plumber, oh and the inspectors. He should also offer to pay for half if not all of the additional tile as we feel he should have consulted with the plumber and the tile installer before the plumbing rough in was done incorrectly. He is welcome to return the excess tile as we certainly have no need of it. Also he needs to know that we will only pay the price quoted to me by Weinstein for the three plumbing trim kits that he told us they had in his email of Monday May 19 at 5:08 pm. Any additional fixtures, we ordered separately per his direction and we will not pay twice for any confusion as he did not respond to our requests for clarity.

At this point we are not comfortable paying him any further money, only to wait until he feels like coming back to finish this way over due project. We have acted in good faith and he has been completely unprofessional. As of May 5, 2014 we paid Wally $18,100 of a $22,870 job total. Then for the rest of May, all of June and until July 15 we had NO work done at all. Now he won't continue until we send him more money. OUTRAGEOUS!

Business

Response:

August 22, 2014[redacted] and [redacted] contracted us for a master bathroom remodeling project which included framing, plumbing, wet bed stall shower floor, ceramic tile installation, drywall, and painting. The bathroom tile design was not provided by us. [redacted] had her own design she wanted and selected her special order tile through [redacted] Tile in [redacted], PA. [redacted], [redacted]’s tile representative from [redacted] Tile handled the tile orders and design. [redacted] is familiar with the unfortunate tile delays and errors caused by [redacted] Tile. These errors caused scheduling delays that are beyond our control and interrupted us and the tile installer from continuing on until the proper and needed tile arrived.The tile installer explained to [redacted] that her design layout would not work that she will need additional tiles. She changed her mind on the stall shower size and tile layout several times. The plumbing fixtures location in the stall shower was placed by [redacted] and at her direction. She had the plumber put them where she wanted. Tony the tile installer and I have patiently spent many days and hours putting different color lines and marks on the stall shower walls to help [redacted] with her layout. We keep [redacted] and [redacted] updated through the whole process in person, by phone and through email.I did received a deposit in February 2014 to secure the contact, a payment in March 2014 to order the tile and materials, and progress payments in June. All payments were scheduled in the contract they singed. [redacted] stated to me that she would have never had her husband pay any of the progress payments. In the contract [redacted] signed it states that additional charges may apply if any changes, alterations, unforeseen problems arise, or additional work is agreed upon. The tile was chosen by [redacted] at her location. [redacted] Tile is not our tile suppler and we had no control over the tile selected, ordered or its arrival date. [redacted] at [redacted] Tile has failed to update all parties on order timing and delivery causing delays. I made three trips and sent my employees there three different times to [redacted] Tile in [redacted] to pick up tile we were informed was in and available for pick-up. The tile was not there or part of the order was missing. Still [redacted] blames us for the tile delays.[redacted]’s timelines are incorrect and she made inaccurate statements about the progress of her project. After [redacted] stall shower tile and floor was complete she had a progress payment due as stated in her contract. When I asked [redacted] about the progress payment, he told me he had to review it. He sent me an email asking when the plumber and electrician were coming back to finish. Payment was not demanded as they stated. I reminded them of their pasted due progress payment that needed to be paid ([redacted] threatened not to make any payments at all many times through this process). I received a response with a long email stating she is going to complain to the Revdex.com and Angie’s List and they will not make any payments until the job is 100% complete.The plumber was scheduled to finish and did so on Tuesday, August 19, 2014. My crew and I were there on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 and as a courtesy to [redacted] and [redacted] we installed bathroom accessories including two mirrors, towel holder and tile backsplash that were not included in their contract.[redacted] has been very difficult to work with from the beginning of this project. She has been very impatient. We have maintained a level of professionalism throughout. It is always our intention to do the very best work and please our customers as our reputation is something we value. We work very hard to maintain our A+ rating with the Revdex.com. We are proud of that achievement and have many satisfied customers.We continued on with the work even though she has progress payments that are now more than 30 days past due. She has stated to us that she will not make any further payments on this job. Our hope is that the owners will fulfill their obligations and satisfy all outstanding obligations related to this job.Please contact me if you have any questions.Thank You,Wally MOwner/ OperatorCarpentry, Remodeling & New Construction