Four years ago I looked over the work done by Mastercraft
and noticed some very obvious defectsAs mentioned in the last message, some
of the aluminum trim was very crooked, and at least of the corner boards on
the house were installed piecemeal in mismatched piecesWhen I pointed out
these issues to the owner, his initial response was denial that there was any
problemHe and I reviewed the rest of the work done on the house and the
garage, and he remained reluctant to repair the work, complaining that it would
cost him valuable timeI told him that the work was not complete and that we
would only pay the final installment if he made the repairsHe relented and
had his employees returnThe repairs were completed and we paid in full,
believing that the rest of the work was done in accordance with the contract
The problem areas that are the subject of this complaint were not mentioned
because we could not see themThey are not visible from the groundWhen I
toured the property with the owner, I only pointed out issues that were visible
from the groundThere were perforated aluminum soffits installed under the
eaves on the house, and some aluminum facing was visible covering the eaves
below the guttersThe facing appeared to extend behind the gutters, and
because the area between the gutters and the edge of the roof is not visible
from the ground, I assumed that the eaves were completely enclosedThe purpose
of installing perforated aluminum soffits was to create ventilation under eaves
that should have been completely enclosedThis was what the owner explained
before we hired him for the jobIt would have made no sense whatsoever to
install ventilated soffits under eaves that were still open above the gutters
I made the assumption that the eaves were completely boxed in partly because
there were ventilated soffits under the eaves and also because the bottom of
the aluminum facing was visible from the ground as wellI assumed that if it
was there on the bottom it would be there all the way to the top, as we had
agreed upon earlier Had the gaps above
the gutters been visible from the ground, I would have included it in the “punch
list” and insisted that repairs are made before we made full paymentI am not
a contractor and did not think that it was necessary for me to climb a ladder
to make sure that the areas that were hidden from view were actually completely
coveredThat is the contractor’s job, or so I assumedApparently my “fine toothed
comb” was not fine enough
The problem areas only came to our attention by pure luck
We had a bee infestation around the house this summer and hired an exterminator
to come byHe noticed that there were many birds sitting on the edge of our
roof and gutters and thought that they appeared to be guarding nestsWe had
always thought they were just living in the hedge that surrounds our property
and were sitting on the roof because we don’t have any treesWe have never needed
to get on or near the roof because we don’t have any surrounding trees to clog
the gutters with leaves and debrisWe couldn’t imagine where the birds would
have nests in our roof as we assumed that the eaves were completely closed and
we have a screened cap on the chimney, but we agreed to have the bird/wildlife
removal expert in his company take a lookThe man came a few days later,
climbed a ladder and pointed out the large gaps and missing fascia boards that
allowed the birds to settle inside our eaves and build their nestsHe told us
that the area between the gutters and the roof edge should never have been left
open and that any necessary ventilation would be permitted by the perforations
in the soffitsHe also said that in the process of having the necessary repairs
done, the birds would become frightened and fly awayThen they would live elsewhere
when they saw that there was nowhere for them to re-enter the eavesNo actual
wildlife removal would be necessary if we had the issues properly repairedThe
four contractors (from various exterior and gutter companies) also agreed with
the pest remover’s assessment of what needs to be fixed to solve the bird
problem
The owner states that his response only took daysI emailed him prior to calling, but
he did not respondTwo days later I called himHe stated at the time that he
could not talk but would call back later that dayHe did not call back, so I
contact him again two days later, and he agreed to come to our homeHe did
come by the following week but not at the agreed upon time Fortunately, my wife
was home at the time and tried to show him the problem areasHe was
argumentative from the very beginning, and refused to climb a ladder to
evaluate the eavesWhat he calls a “small enough gap” is actually many large
gaps between the aluminum trim, gutters and roof on three sides of the house
that have allowed many birds to build large numbers of nests beneath our eaves
These gaps are not visible from the ground, so the owner could not have
possibly evaluated them properly without climbing a ladderThese gaps exist
only because our eaves were not completely boxed in by MastercraftThe contract
with Mastercraft called for completely boxing in the eaves on the main roof,
the dormers and the garageThere was NEVER any discussion of PARTIALLY boxing
in any of the eaves, nor was there any discussion of completely boxing in the
eaves as a service that would incur an additional costThere was no “improper
decision making” on our partThe contract called for completely boxing in all
of the eaves, plain and simpleIn fact, the eaves on the garage and the
dormers were COMPLETELY boxed in, and our expectation was that the same would
happen with the eaves on the houseThe owner’s assertion that we somehow
decided to only partially box in the eaves on the house to decrease our costs
is and preposterousHis other assertion that Mastercraft’s work was only
under the eaves is also absurd, considering the amount of work that was done
the eaves of the dormers and the garageBased on my observations of the gaps between
the roof and the gutters, it would not have taken much more material (lumber or
aluminum) or labor to completely box in the eavesOnly laziness or
incompetence could explain the work that was doneIt is doubtful that (what
seems to me like) a limited amount of additional work would have added much to
the cost or duration of the job
As mentioned in the original complaint, another issue that we have had is malfunction of the
guttersThey overflow easily with heavy rainThis was never an issue before
Mastercraft worked on our homeAs part of the job, they removed our gutters,
then reinstalled themNo other contractor had touched the gutters in the 7+
years that we have lived in this homeFive contractors came by to bid on the
repair work, three of whom were unwilling to take on the job because of the involvement
of wildlife managementAll mentioned that when the gutters were reinstalled,
they were set too deeply under the edge of the roof, creating inadequate room
for water running off of the roof to get into the gutterThey all stated that
the eaves were not boxed in properly and that they considered it an incomplete
jobNone of this was a pre-existing issue, nor were the birds’ nests (and any
associated rot of the rafters or the overhang of the roof-which has yet to be
determined) nor the bird feces and rotting nest material and associated insects
trapped against our house
The owner states that this is not a typical issueEvery contractor that has come by to
bid on the repair work has commented on the poor quality of the work, and has
advised us that this is not standard practiceThey have all advised us to seek
compensation from the responsible contractorThey all wanted to know who did the
work, but we declined to disclose the nameWe tried to address this with Mastercraft
in a civil and tactful manner, without any actions that could potentially cause
any harm to business or reputationWe invited the owner to our home, but he
declined to adequately evaluate the problem, or to take our concerns seriously
Had he taken the time to look at the gaps, apologized for the poor quality of
his employees’ work, and made some offer to make repairs or compensate us for
the cost of repairs, we would have been satisfiedAt this point, our only
option is to take any and all legal measures to obtain reimbursement for the
work that will be needed to repair the damage caused by Mastercraft’s
negligence
By the way, this is not the only issue that we have had with the quality of the work done by
MastercraftThe aluminum trim on the garage and the corner boards on the house
were initially installed improperlyThe owner came to review the work and
initially denied that there was any issue with the workmanshipHe then complained
that any repairs would cause him to lose time, but reluctantly agreed to make
the repairs
Thank you for your assistance in this matter
Sincerely,
good morning,
This is NOT a valid complaint for which I'll explain.
Also to be mentioned as owner I responded from the time of the first phone call to my office to the complainant home took just 5 days
I'm told by this family the birds are entering above the work eaves or as others refer...
to this area as soffits.
Apparently there is a small enough gap between the gutters and the roof that allow the birds to enter through.
This gap is caused by improper gutter installation or improper decision making by homeowner and or contractor NOT to seal off this area as this would have incurred an extra cost.
This gutter installation took place prior to MasterCraft contracting this project.
Also this pre-existing issue was not brought up to us at the time prior to our work or during this 3 week project.
This is not a typical issue as a matter of fact I've never seen this problem in the 28 years in business.
Understandably the complainant is upset.
The issue is not with MasterCraft neither due to negligence, workmanship or other.
I suggest whomever installed the gutters be the ones to address or have conversation with to remedy this issue
respectively
[redacted]
MasterCraft
and furthermore when asked about replacing the gutters to the main house and garage the complaintant did not agree to
This issue is due to whomever installed the gutters onto this home prior to MasterCraft work.
Our work is below this area referred to the eaves and is not the point of entry as described to by the complainant.
did so without installing a fascia board first to then instal the gutter over the fascia board which is proper procedure.
Good morning,
4 years ago this client looked over our work with a fine tooth comb then paid us in full for our services after a small "punch list" was completed
If we did not fully comply with our contractual agreement we surely would have heard from client prior to receiving final payment.
I cannot make any further comment to this matter as it would be repetitious and not productive to this conversation
Four years ago I looked over the work done by Mastercraft
and noticed some very obvious defectsAs mentioned in the last message, some
of the aluminum trim was very crooked, and at least of the corner boards on
the house were installed piecemeal in mismatched piecesWhen I pointed out
these issues to the owner, his initial response was denial that there was any
problemHe and I reviewed the rest of the work done on the house and the
garage, and he remained reluctant to repair the work, complaining that it would
cost him valuable timeI told him that the work was not complete and that we
would only pay the final installment if he made the repairsHe relented and
had his employees returnThe repairs were completed and we paid in full,
believing that the rest of the work was done in accordance with the contract
The problem areas that are the subject of this complaint were not mentioned
because we could not see themThey are not visible from the groundWhen I
toured the property with the owner, I only pointed out issues that were visible
from the groundThere were perforated aluminum soffits installed under the
eaves on the house, and some aluminum facing was visible covering the eaves
below the guttersThe facing appeared to extend behind the gutters, and
because the area between the gutters and the edge of the roof is not visible
from the ground, I assumed that the eaves were completely enclosedThe purpose
of installing perforated aluminum soffits was to create ventilation under eaves
that should have been completely enclosedThis was what the owner explained
before we hired him for the jobIt would have made no sense whatsoever to
install ventilated soffits under eaves that were still open above the gutters
I made the assumption that the eaves were completely boxed in partly because
there were ventilated soffits under the eaves and also because the bottom of
the aluminum facing was visible from the ground as wellI assumed that if it
was there on the bottom it would be there all the way to the top, as we had
agreed upon earlier Had the gaps above
the gutters been visible from the ground, I would have included it in the “punch
list” and insisted that repairs are made before we made full paymentI am not
a contractor and did not think that it was necessary for me to climb a ladder
to make sure that the areas that were hidden from view were actually completely
coveredThat is the contractor’s job, or so I assumedApparently my “fine toothed
comb” was not fine enough
The problem areas only came to our attention by pure luck
We had a bee infestation around the house this summer and hired an exterminator
to come byHe noticed that there were many birds sitting on the edge of our
roof and gutters and thought that they appeared to be guarding nestsWe had
always thought they were just living in the hedge that surrounds our property
and were sitting on the roof because we don’t have any treesWe have never needed
to get on or near the roof because we don’t have any surrounding trees to clog
the gutters with leaves and debrisWe couldn’t imagine where the birds would
have nests in our roof as we assumed that the eaves were completely closed and
we have a screened cap on the chimney, but we agreed to have the bird/wildlife
removal expert in his company take a lookThe man came a few days later,
climbed a ladder and pointed out the large gaps and missing fascia boards that
allowed the birds to settle inside our eaves and build their nestsHe told us
that the area between the gutters and the roof edge should never have been left
open and that any necessary ventilation would be permitted by the perforations
in the soffitsHe also said that in the process of having the necessary repairs
done, the birds would become frightened and fly awayThen they would live elsewhere
when they saw that there was nowhere for them to re-enter the eavesNo actual
wildlife removal would be necessary if we had the issues properly repairedThe
four contractors (from various exterior and gutter companies) also agreed with
the pest remover’s assessment of what needs to be fixed to solve the bird
problem
The owner states that his response only took daysI emailed him prior to calling, but
he did not respondTwo days later I called himHe stated at the time that he
could not talk but would call back later that dayHe did not call back, so I
contact him again two days later, and he agreed to come to our homeHe did
come by the following week but not at the agreed upon time Fortunately, my wife
was home at the time and tried to show him the problem areasHe was
argumentative from the very beginning, and refused to climb a ladder to
evaluate the eavesWhat he calls a “small enough gap” is actually many large
gaps between the aluminum trim, gutters and roof on three sides of the house
that have allowed many birds to build large numbers of nests beneath our eaves
These gaps are not visible from the ground, so the owner could not have
possibly evaluated them properly without climbing a ladderThese gaps exist
only because our eaves were not completely boxed in by MastercraftThe contract
with Mastercraft called for completely boxing in the eaves on the main roof,
the dormers and the garageThere was NEVER any discussion of PARTIALLY boxing
in any of the eaves, nor was there any discussion of completely boxing in the
eaves as a service that would incur an additional costThere was no “improper
decision making” on our partThe contract called for completely boxing in all
of the eaves, plain and simpleIn fact, the eaves on the garage and the
dormers were COMPLETELY boxed in, and our expectation was that the same would
happen with the eaves on the houseThe owner’s assertion that we somehow
decided to only partially box in the eaves on the house to decrease our costs
is and preposterousHis other assertion that Mastercraft’s work was only
under the eaves is also absurd, considering the amount of work that was done
the eaves of the dormers and the garageBased on my observations of the gaps between
the roof and the gutters, it would not have taken much more material (lumber or
aluminum) or labor to completely box in the eavesOnly laziness or
incompetence could explain the work that was doneIt is doubtful that (what
seems to me like) a limited amount of additional work would have added much to
the cost or duration of the job
As mentioned in the original complaint, another issue that we have had is malfunction of the
guttersThey overflow easily with heavy rainThis was never an issue before
Mastercraft worked on our homeAs part of the job, they removed our gutters,
then reinstalled themNo other contractor had touched the gutters in the 7+
years that we have lived in this homeFive contractors came by to bid on the
repair work, three of whom were unwilling to take on the job because of the involvement
of wildlife managementAll mentioned that when the gutters were reinstalled,
they were set too deeply under the edge of the roof, creating inadequate room
for water running off of the roof to get into the gutterThey all stated that
the eaves were not boxed in properly and that they considered it an incomplete
jobNone of this was a pre-existing issue, nor were the birds’ nests (and any
associated rot of the rafters or the overhang of the roof-which has yet to be
determined) nor the bird feces and rotting nest material and associated insects
trapped against our house
The owner states that this is not a typical issueEvery contractor that has come by to
bid on the repair work has commented on the poor quality of the work, and has
advised us that this is not standard practiceThey have all advised us to seek
compensation from the responsible contractorThey all wanted to know who did the
work, but we declined to disclose the nameWe tried to address this with Mastercraft
in a civil and tactful manner, without any actions that could potentially cause
any harm to business or reputationWe invited the owner to our home, but he
declined to adequately evaluate the problem, or to take our concerns seriously
Had he taken the time to look at the gaps, apologized for the poor quality of
his employees’ work, and made some offer to make repairs or compensate us for
the cost of repairs, we would have been satisfiedAt this point, our only
option is to take any and all legal measures to obtain reimbursement for the
work that will be needed to repair the damage caused by Mastercraft’s
negligence
By the way, this is not the only issue that we have had with the quality of the work done by
MastercraftThe aluminum trim on the garage and the corner boards on the house
were initially installed improperlyThe owner came to review the work and
initially denied that there was any issue with the workmanshipHe then complained
that any repairs would cause him to lose time, but reluctantly agreed to make
the repairs
Thank you for your assistance in this matter
Sincerely,
good morning,
This is NOT a valid complaint for which I'll explain.
Also to be mentioned as owner I responded from the time of the first phone call to my office to the complainant home took just 5 days
I'm told by this family the birds are entering above the work eaves or as others refer...
to this area as soffits.
Apparently there is a small enough gap between the gutters and the roof that allow the birds to enter through.
This gap is caused by improper gutter installation or improper decision making by homeowner and or contractor NOT to seal off this area as this would have incurred an extra cost.
This gutter installation took place prior to MasterCraft contracting this project.
Also this pre-existing issue was not brought up to us at the time prior to our work or during this 3 week project.
This is not a typical issue as a matter of fact I've never seen this problem in the 28 years in business.
Understandably the complainant is upset.
The issue is not with MasterCraft neither due to negligence, workmanship or other.
I suggest whomever installed the gutters be the ones to address or have conversation with to remedy this issue
respectively
[redacted]
MasterCraft
and furthermore when asked about replacing the gutters to the main house and garage the complaintant did not agree to
This issue is due to whomever installed the gutters onto this home prior to MasterCraft work.
Our work is below this area referred to the eaves and is not the point of entry as described to by the complainant.
did so without installing a fascia board first to then instal the gutter over the fascia board which is proper procedure.
Good morning,
4 years ago this client looked over our work with a fine tooth comb then paid us in full for our services after a small "punch list" was completed
If we did not fully comply with our contractual agreement we surely would have heard from client prior to receiving final payment.
I cannot make any further comment to this matter as it would be repetitious and not productive to this conversation