Merrill Construction

Complaint:
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
*** And I*** *** *** There are other nails in the house that show a little bitI was told that this happened due to the moisture of the mudding put on the drywallThe nails rust and form a bubble
We didn't do any constructional work and everything that has been done has been inspected by the city of GoletaWe were owner builders and didn't have different contractors work at the houseThe inspectors came every other week and inspected everythingI already submitted our permits and the records of the inspectionsStuart is more than welcome to contact the city of GoletaEverything we did was approvedI don't know what causes the crackingWe aren't slamming the doorThat's for sure

Then why have the drywall nails popped ? the only way this could have occurred is if there was significant force from the wall wall that the front door hits. All of the framing on that wall was existing. The only other reason these tiles could have cracked in a perfectly straight line at the Hardi backer joint is settling. I know that the home owners had multiple contractors working on this house before and after we completed our project. Can the home owners please provide proof that the structural changes made to their home were engineered, permitted and done by licensed contractor? I'm sure the city of Goleta should have record's off all their modifications. If they can provide the approved plans and permit for all the work done on their residence I will gladly fix the tiles that were cracked by the blunt force impact. Sincerely [redacted]

To whom it may concern, I Stuart Merrill  first went to the residence in October of 2012 and was shown a bathroom that was partially complete with Hardi backer on the walls and a 4 by 4 hole in the concrete with rolled copper in the hole, including joints under slab that are not to code. We...

included fixing the copper in the holes for the new bath tub but did not include or could we see the illegal red stripe copper plumbing in the walls. Besides having to remove all the copper in the walls and replace it  we also found a small leak. I notified the owner at the time (Ermgard) that this work was not to code and would need to be removed and repaired. We had permit for the job and it would all be inspected. She gave us the verbal consent to fix it. The job was inspected and passed first time by a Goleta building inspector. All the previous work done on the bathroom had no permit or inspection. In fact they had done numerous projects on the house with no permit. After completion of the job I was informed by Ermgard that if we billed her for the pre approved plumbing work she would not pay us for the entire job. The only reason I agreed to her extortion is because my plumbing contractor never got a signed change order (lesson learned) About 8 months later they called me to fix a crack in the curb. I called my tile contractor rite away to set up a repair. After the repair was complete I learned the home owner had never had a shower door and glass panel installed or even a shower curtain. This shower was never designed to have water hit the tile on floor and slab. The water saturating the slab every day and had wicked under the curb causing the  wood in the curb to swell and that's what caused the damage.After we fixed it for free  I sent the home owner via certified letter, that the lack of the door and glass panel has voided their warranty. Then last week [redacted] called me to look at a vertical crack in the tile going from floor to ceiling. I went the following day to check out the problem even though the warranty had been voided. I met my tile contractor on the job and both witnessed the crack and 2 popped drywall nails. The popped drywall nails indicated a force from other side of the wall. That is  when I walked to the front entry and saw the owner had installed a plastic plate at 36" high that the front door knob would hit. Their is no door stop on the floor or screwed into the framing plate as usual. Every time the front door hits this plate that is directly behind the crack in the tile its like hammer hitting the wall. I offered at our cost to remove the tile and do the repair. Stipulating that they would need to sign a release saying that the crack was not the fault of our workmanship and is directly related to the front door slamming into the wall.I also told them that I would require this to be notarized and I wanted a cash payment up front and I would supply a receipt due to the fact they didn't pay us in the past and I don't trust their word.
I have photos of the popped drywall nails and the location of the door stop. In the 19 yrs I've been a contractor I have never not addressed a problem but I do not feel this has any thing to do with our workmanship and I will not fix it for free. Oh and by the way their is still no shower door or shower curtain and were coming up on 2 years.
Sincerly [redacted]

Review: [redacted] Merrill Construction remodeled our bathroom in October 2012.The estimate was for $9074.50.When we received our final bill Merrill Construction ([redacted]) asked for an additional $800 for a leak they fixed. I refused to pay because I was never shown or informed about the leak. I got very suspicious since Merrill Construction asked and informed me about everything except a $800 leak.Merrill C. accepted that I don't have to pay the additional $800.A few months later the tiles around the shower tub started cracking and drifting apart. Merrill C. repaired the damage but blamed it on us for not using a shower curtain. We are still not using a shower curtain (the shower tub is big enough) and the cracking didn't happen again. A sign that it hadn't been done properly before.Now 2 years later the tiles inside the shower tub are cracking. This time Merrill C. accuses us of banging the entrance door against the wall which causes the tiles in the bathroom to crack. I find this ridiculous since we don't bang our front door against the wall. I wonder how hard you have to bang a door to make tiles crack? Merrill C. told us that they will repair the damage but we have to pay $500 in cash in advance. I refuse to pay cash in advance for a damage we haven't caused.Desired Settlement: We would like Merrill C. to repair the damage. We don't want to give Merrill C. $500. We would Like Merrill C. to stop blaming us for the damage.Thank you very much.Sincerely,[redacted] and [redacted]

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern, I Stuart Merrill first went to the residence in October of 2012 and was shown a bathroom that was partially complete with Hardi backer on the walls and a 4 by 4 hole in the concrete with rolled copper in the hole, including joints under slab that are not to code. We included fixing the copper in the holes for the new bath tub but did not include or could we see the illegal red stripe copper plumbing in the walls. Besides having to remove all the copper in the walls and replace it we also found a small leak. I notified the owner at the time (Ermgard) that this work was not to code and would need to be removed and repaired. We had permit for the job and it would all be inspected. She gave us the verbal consent to fix it. The job was inspected and passed first time by a Goleta building inspector. All the previous work done on the bathroom had no permit or inspection. In fact they had done numerous projects on the house with no permit. After completion of the job I was informed by Ermgard that if we billed her for the pre approved plumbing work she would not pay us for the entire job. The only reason I agreed to her extortion is because my plumbing contractor never got a signed change order (lesson learned) About 8 months later they called me to fix a crack in the curb. I called my tile contractor rite away to set up a repair. After the repair was complete I learned the home owner had never had a shower door and glass panel installed or even a shower curtain. This shower was never designed to have water hit the tile on floor and slab. The water saturating the slab every day and had wicked under the curb causing the wood in the curb to swell and that's what caused the damage.After we fixed it for free I sent the home owner via certified letter, that the lack of the door and glass panel has voided their warranty. Then last week [redacted] called me to look at a vertical crack in the tile going from floor to ceiling. I went the following day to check out the problem even though the warranty had been voided. I met my tile contractor on the job and both witnessed the crack and 2 popped drywall nails. The popped drywall nails indicated a force from other side of the wall. That is when I walked to the front entry and saw the owner had installed a plastic plate at 36" high that the front door knob would hit. Their is no door stop on the floor or screwed into the framing plate as usual. Every time the front door hits this plate that is directly behind the crack in the tile its like hammer hitting the wall. I offered at our cost to remove the tile and do the repair. Stipulating that they would need to sign a release saying that the crack was not the fault of our workmanship and is directly related to the front door slamming into the wall.I also told them that I would require this to be notarized and I wanted a cash payment up front and I would supply a receipt due to the fact they didn't pay us in the past and I don't trust their word.I have photos of the popped drywall nails and the location of the door stop. In the 19 yrs I've been a contractor I have never not addressed a problem but I do not feel this has any thing to do with our workmanship and I will not fix it for free. Oh and by the way their is still no shower door or shower curtain and were coming up on 2 years.