Smith General Contracting

We were contracted to do the roof on the house and the shed out backWe also Cut holes to install skylights on the HouseWe had to replace several sheets of woodThe section the homeowner feels the roof might be leaking from is at a transition from the roof to a sided wall leading to the garage
roofThe siding on the wall is a wood lap siding and had step flashing cards behind the sidingWe were never contracted to remove or reinstall the sidingWe used the existing flashing that was behind the siding already because the homeowner did not want to change the sidingThe wall comes down the roof at an inward angleThe whole section was covered with a moisture barrierEach Step Flashing Card had moisture barrier under and over the cards beneath the shinglesThe siding was also caulkedon top of the shingles After we were done with the roof, the Homeowner had called us back to the house and said there was water on her floor under that wall section with No spots on the ceiling showingWe had put her back on our schedule to return and see what we could do for herWe came with whole crew to repair whatever we may have needed to on the roofWe had a garden hose and sprayed water on the whole wall and roof sectionThere was a lady who had been there when we signed the job and when we did the jobThat is the who we assume is the contractor that said we "broke in"We thought she was there to let us in to find the leakWe opened the unlocked back door to see where the water was coming in at while the hose was onThe representative name Seth was only in there to take pictures and look for water coming inHe never saw water come in that area the whole time we were running the hose for more than an hourWe did see an old spot that was dried on the base trimThis was at the same spot where the downspout is backing up down low and it also is under the corner where the wall ends on the roofBecause there was an awkward angle, we went ahead and put in a rain diverter near the bottom of the roof above the corner to push the rain away from the corner just in caseWe also caulked the wall againWe did see the gutters and downspouts were clogged and backing up at the bottom elbowThe downspout elbow is right there by that corner where there is old damageIt had been washing out the ground behind it under the foundationWe cleaned out the gutters and the downspoutsWe did not hear back from the homeowner until the fifth monthWe told her the same thing when she called backThe Gutter and Downspout could be causing the same exact issueWe never were contracted to replace any gutters or siding or step flashing behind the siding, and we feel the roof is fineThat is why the water is not showing on any part of the ceiling or wall, just down low at the floor base in that areaWe have pictures that show the damage is not at the ceiling or wall but on the floor

I am rejecting this response because:statements were made, which I can prove.# Because the roof had been repaired by the previous owner in this odd angle spot, I requested that they cover the entire area with what they call ice dam barrior Seth assured me they would I looked when they were doing this area and it was not done I suppose you could tear off the shingles and see that it is not there, seems like a bit much doesn't it? Anyway I ask some one, I really don't remember who, about it I was told it would be fine and was not necessary I assumed they knew what they were talking about # The other contractor told me they broke in I don't know why that would be said if it wasn't true I also know I locked the door Not knowing either contractors, locking the door seemed like a no brainer!# I may have been "on their schedule" to come back but let me assure you, it took the involvement of the credit card company to get it done Even at that, there were more than attempts by Capitol One I had taken off work times to be home when Gary said he would be there, all to no avail I would have thought when it rained the day after the job was finished, that someone would promptly be there to fix it.# I have pictures of the roof that shows it was never caulked until they came out to "fix" it I have pictures of the caulk job thay did Frankly it looks like a third grader did it

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/27) */
I received a call from Mr*** saying his roof leakedI went to see what I could doThere wasn't really anything showing it leakedI cleaned & caulked the skylightsI told the homeowners the best I could do is wait, "trial and error"
basicallyThey were nice and said okThey texted me a couple weeks later with pictures of wet skylights, wet at the bottom corners onlySo I went back with ***, the Owner and Foreman, to investigateHe agreed that we couldn't see any leaking from the roof, so we left to gather material to lift and re-set the skylightsThe skylights are polycarbonite (plastic) and we set them differently than just tarring them downFirst we set aluminum coil stock around the openingWe install a 3-inch double sided seam tape between the skylight and metalWe then glue down the skylight, over the flange, with form flashingThat makes them hard to tear back outSo we scheduled to come back
When we went back to check on the leaks, we had both skylights lifted up and checked by our entire crewEvery man on the crew agreed that there was no water trail and no signs of any leaksThis is why we feel it must be condensation if it is only dripping right under the skylightMy boss and I were discussing this on the roof near the open skylight hole, when Mrs*** started yelling up at us through the opening, saying that we were wrong and that they were leakingMr*** had previously sent me a text message on my phone telling us not to deal with wife because she would just "***." (His word, not mine!) And she did "***" at us and we did not confront her or say anything to her!! *** then told her to settle down and leave us alone (because of my text from Mr***)Next thing we know, Mr*** showed up and he was mad (apparently because his wife had called and told him that we were being rude to her, which was not true!) He came onto the roof and I was trying to show him why we said condensation was the problem, but he completely ignored me and went straight for *** was sitting by the open skylight when Mr*** approached him, threatening to push *** off the roofAnd then he actually tried to push *** off the roof!! *** never advanced toward Mr*** for him to have this kind of reaction*** never pushed him back or elevated his anger to match the homeowner's angerWe both called the police and Mr*** left the scene
When the police arrived they allowed us to finish the repairWe stand by our work still, and have no reason to believe that water ran a zig-zag pattern through the materials that were adhered and showed no signs of a trailEither way, we went back to check our workwe even repaired the skylights! The problem lays with the homeowner assaulting *** and nothing elseWe stand by our group decision that it must be condensation
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/31) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The account is incorrectthey were very rude to my wife and to methe police were called only by my wife, and the police also stated that they have had numerous complaints against the contractorI have retained an attorneyI will handle the problem myself

I am rejecting this response because:
Gary Smith is not an honorable person I am afraid it is a he said she said situation I do have proof of the break in and proof the the ice dam was not installed It would take disposing the other contractor and tearing off that section of the roof to prove I am telling the truth I am very willing to do that, but I would not want to incur any more expence as I already have, repairing the leak he made The fact of the matter my roof didn't leak for a year before the new roof was put on and the next day I had water on the flooir

We did use a Moisture Barrier on that section above and over the step flashing cards like we already stated. Again, We reject the accusation of "breaking in"! It implies we picked a lock or broke a window or forced our way in for no reason. We literally opened the door right there by the area we were supposed to be looking at so we could check to see the damage or water trail as we ran a hose. Nothing was ever said about "breaking in" then or while we were there because there was nothing bad happening.The homeowner did have the credit card company make a conference call between me, the homeowner and the card representative. They threatened us to dispute the payment if we did not come back out. I told them that we know she was stressed but we can only get there as soon as we can. We told her we are trying our best and we still made it out there with or without the call. Our intention was not to make her wait but we had other jobs and dates filled in on our schedule. There was nothing we could do until we did get back there.We still feel the water is not coming from the wall. We did caulk it after we sprayed it just to make sure. The picture that shows the floor area wet again. Not the ceiling.