Mike Howe Builders, Inc.

I have worked with *** for years I understand her frustration. Since receiving her letter I had contacted my supplier to talk about the door, he had to talk to the manufacturer of the door to come up with a resolution to the problem. I don't know for sure if the problem
currently exists at this time because I did not see it for myself. I am taking her work on it but I can not get an answer that fast through my supplier in the time frame allowed. I have phone calls out to them about the issue and I am waiting for a response. If the door is faulty then the manufacturer needs to stand behind the door as well. I am working to resolve the issue however it doesn't happen that fast. Sorry for any inconvenience I really like *** and I would like to see her happy with the final results so I will continue to work on it. Hopefully by February 6th I should have an answer.Thanks*** ***

I am responding to ***'s issue. I have had the supplier try to call her a few times this week and she has not responded to him. My goal was to have him look at the door to make sure the issue is there before I can make any agreement. She has to understand the warranty process that needs to take place before I can get any answers. I am willing and always have been there to take care of any issues that arise. I may not always agree to what it is but I have always taken care of everything. So I am not going to agree with her until I have my supplier look at the door to make sure the problem even existsThanks *** ***

Complaint has been solved. Thank you for your help

Revdex.com:
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.
On February 13, 2015, the building supplier came to assess the door situation regarding my complaint.  At that time, he noted there was daylight showing and cold leaking in from the left corner where the door meets the frame.  His statement was that this was unacceptable.  He put a new wedge pad on the door frame in that location, stating that would take care of the seal problem in that area.   He did an inspection of the door, the seals, stated the door is correctly installed, and the threshold intact.  OF NOTE:  This was a visual inspection only.  I have remaining concerns regarding draft and heat loss from the seal/frame areas.  It is now February 15 and I note, once again, a draft on the left side of the lower door area, same area with the new wedge pad.  Therefore, the origin of my complaint regarding heat loss/cold air entry remains unresolved.  I am going to contract and pay for a thermal imaging inspector to test the door/frame for heat loss/cold air entry issues.  If the report shows no problem exists, I will then close the complaint as resolved.  If the report shows a problem with heat loss/cold air entry, this complaint will remain open as unresolved.      
Regards,
[redacted]

We have made contact with the homeowner and have advised him via voice mail message, we would like to let the temperatures get a little warmer and will we notify the homeowner one day next week (Jan 22-26)that will be there to review the issues they are having with the roof.  We did leave 2...

voice mail messages in regards to this issue.

Review: I would not recommend anyone using [redacted] Howe Builders after our unfortunate experience with this business. Upon hiring this business is October 2013, we were told that the hail damage repairs to our home would be completed in approximately 6-9 weeks. We were getting new gutters, siding, roof, front door and window wraps. We had everything picked out prior to even hiring them. We even wrote the colors/styles on our contract. Despite this, we still had numerous phone calls asking to remind them what color siding they needed to order. Our roof was done within the month of October. They broke one of our windows in the process (which they did replace months later after winter). Our chimney flashing was ripped off during the roofing and not replaced for several weeks despite our phone calls. In the meantime, we had received rain and our roof was leaking. Six weeks passed, nothing else. Nine weeks passed, nothing else. Phones calls were made by us several times and they were just so busy, and "we were next" is what we kept hearing. Months later, our siding was finally completed. They broke another window doing our siding (which they replaced months later as well). After making several phone calls and emails to them over several weeks, we finally got them to do our window wraps, gutters, door. We again had received a lot of rain and since we had no gutters on our house, our basement was flooding. Supplies were never placed on order even though they said they were and always done last minute. These were all done on separate occasions and they were all done after pestering on our part instead of coming and doing it all at once to get it done. Every single large job they have done on our house (i.e. Siding, roofing, gutters, window wraps, door, windows) were ALL subcontracted out to other businesses. Most if not all of which were not local. We hired local to keep the jobs local. None of [redacted] Howe Builders crew worked on our house until June of this year rolled around and they were replacing shutters, re-caulking window trim that was installed improperly, and painting trim. If I had known that it was going to take them 9 months instead of the 9 weeks I was told when we hired them, I would have hired someone else. If I had know. They were going to subcontract all of the work, I would have hired someone else. Their business practices are very poor especially when it comes to customer service. Returning phone calls was a big one. No one ever seemed to know what was going on. I always got the line "I'll check with [redacted] (or [redacted] or [redacted]) and get back to you." Most times I would have to call back again to get a response. A lot of times their phone would just ring and ring during business hours and no one would pick up, not even voicemail. They managed to complete the work approximately 3 DAYS before the one year anniversary for the date of loss. The job needed to be completed within that year mark in order to receive the rest of the money from our insurance claim. Then I spent all of July trying to get the rest of the money from insurance. Then spent an entire month waiting for [redacted] Howe Builders to return phone calls to my insurance company (I had to call several times and email several times to get them to call) We finally received the check in the mail from our bank to pay the balance on our account a little over a week ago. Four days after we received this check, I got a phone call from [redacted] Howe Builders ([redacted]) wanting the balance paid. Really?! Now they are in a hurry to get paid when they could drag their butts for 9 months. I told [redacted] on the phone that I would get it to them shortly, and today I received a certified letter in the mail demanding payment or a lien would be placed on our home for the amount owed. Now that they want their money it is a rush, rush, rush. The way they do business is horrible and again, I will not be recommending them to anyone. In fact, if anyone mentions possibly using them, I will be sure to inform them of our experience with them in the hopes that they think twice and hire someone else.Desired Settlement: I want the the late fees/finance charges removed and a receipt showing PAID IN FULL upon payment of the $4,694.00. I also want this to satisfy their intent to file a lien.

Business

Response:

Unfortunately we have a difference of opinions on the chain of events for the homeowners hail damage repairs. We apologize that the homeowner did not have a good experience with [redacted] Howe Builders that was definitely not our intent. We do warranty our workmanship and if they are still having issues with their home we will make sure these issues are addressed.

Review: February 2012, I contracted Mike Howe Builders Inc. to do upgrades to my home. One of the upgrades included a new entry door to replace an old door that was not energy efficient. Every winter since the installation of this door, there is heat loss due to a faulty threshold/seal issue. In the winter of 2012, I notified the contractor that air was coming in from underneath the door and I could see daylight. Upon his removing the cover on the threshold he stated that it was "all busted inside". He put shims in and said that would take care of the problem, "final fix". In 2013, there was again cold air entering underneath the door. I called and this time the contractor sent the building supplier who sold him the door. I was told that this would be a "final fix" (he rebuilt the threshold). I mentioned to both the contractor as well as the building supplier that if it happened again I wanted the door replaced. Winter of 2014, with chill factor winds plummeting the temperatures to -35 or greater, I again noted cold air streaming in from the bottom of the door. The contractor was at my home and visually inspected the problem. He said he would talk to the building supplier to see what they did and get back to me. When I stated that perhaps the door should be taken out and fixed or replaced, he commented "you don't want to know how much work that would be". I stated "you don't want to know how much heat I am losing". A month later, with temps continuing to drop and no followup from the contractor, I wrote the business and reminded him that I was losing heat yet again through this door fault. I had to write and threaten small claims court before that complaint was finally acknowledged. The company that built the door came and they rebuilt the threshold stating that it would not fail and this was a "final fix". Now it is winter 2015, again the threshold/seal has failed on this door.

I wrote a letter to the contractor on Friday, January 16, 2015. In the letter I stated that due to the present as well as the past issues with the door that it was obvious the door needed to be replaced (as the door and frame are all one unit - per contractor statement). In the letter I further stated that I no longer chose to do business with this contractor/company and the only resolution was to refund my monies paid for this door. This will allow me to hire a new contractor and have a proper sealing door put into the entry of my home. I gave him a deadline date of Wednesday, January 21 to hear from him or a representative of his company and that I expected a check (full refund) in hand at that time or I was going to contact the Revdex.com as well as file in Small Claims Court. I have not heard from the contractor or a representative of the company. I did send an IM message to his secretary on Tuesday, January 20, requesting status on the email/letter of January 16. Her IM in return stated that at that time they were in discussion with the building supplier and the door manufacturer and would follow up with me when they heard from them. I dealt with the contractor not third parties for the purchase and installation of this door. Why is my satisfaction/resolution of this issue (refund) contingent on the contractor's dealings with his supplier and manufacturer?

I decided to contact the Revdex.com before filing in the courts in hopes that this could be resolved before involving the court system.

I choose to no longer do business with this contractor/company due to the untimely addressing of issues and lack of proper follow up as well as follow through regarding work performed on my home. I have never received a written warranty for the door (or any other work performed through my contracts with this contractor), however I have asked repeatedly for written warranties on the door as well as other work.Desired Settlement: Full refund for door/installation.

Business

Response:

I have worked with [redacted] for years I understand her frustration. Since receiving her letter I had contacted my supplier to talk about the door, he had to talk to the manufacturer of the door to come up with a resolution to the problem. I don't know for sure if the problem currently exists at this time because I did not see it for myself. I am taking her work on it but I can not get an answer that fast through my supplier in the time frame allowed. I have 3 phone calls out to them about the issue and I am waiting for a response. If the door is faulty then the manufacturer needs to stand behind the door as well. I am working to resolve the issue however it doesn't happen that fast. Sorry for any inconvenience I really like [redacted] and I would like to see her happy with the final results so I will continue to work on it. Hopefully by February 6th I should have an answer.Thanks[redacted]

Business

Response:

I am responding to [redacted]'s issue. I have had the supplier try to call her a few times this week and she has not responded to him. My goal was to have him look at the door to make sure the issue is there before I can make any agreement. She has to understand the warranty process that needs to take place before I can get any answers. I am willing and always have been there to take care of any issues that arise. I may not always agree to what it is but I have always taken care of everything. So I am not going to agree with her until I have my supplier look at the door to make sure the problem even exists. Thanks [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

Review: In 2010 we had our rental property roof located at 1942 Roosevelt Ave. in Two Rivers Wisconsin completly redone by Mike Howe builders, this cost us almost $6,000. Since then we have yet to get satisfaction from them regarding the roof that continues to leak. I have contacted them starting 6-6-12 that I am still getting water in the lower bedroom under the flat roof. He contiunally either does not return my calls or refuses to do anything about repairing the roof. My tenant can not use this room because it continues to leak water in the room. I most recently called on 6-10-14 talked to his office mangaer [redacted] who said she would get back to me she did not . I called again on 6-23-14 and was only able to leave a message, I called again today and again left a message for them to return my call. On 2-17-14 I had called and they told me then they needed to wait for the weather to warm up to check out the situation. they never didDesired Settlement: I want my roof repaird and the damage to the bedroom below the roof repaired as well.

I can not believe a local business has treated me so poorly.

Business

Response:

I have been over to [redacted] house twice before and found nothing wrong with the roof. After you contacted me I went there the next day and checked the roof again and saw no issues. I then took the gardenhose to the siding and it leaked right away. So the way I fixed it was to remove all of the siding on the dormer, then install a house wrap on sub siding which would overlap the rubber roofing, then tyvek taped all joints, reinstalled old siding, then caulked and sealed siding. So as far as I am concerned I took care of a siding issue. So all of the exterior work is complete however I don't feel its my responsibility to fix the inside.