Advanced Home Remodelers Inc.

*** ***Revdex.com Dispute SpecialistID ***
Reguarding
Mr*** * *** ***Cleveland, Ohio
12/14/
In reviewing the job that began on October 10, 2016, and after putting together all of the facts along withthe pictures that were taken with our cell phones, I'll try to explain to the
best of my ability what took placeand how we got to this point
The first day started with the grueling process of removing the entire wall and shower tiles along with 3/4" ofcement and wire mesh on the walls, shower and portions of the ceilingAfter an extensive cleanup theprocess that took three days longer than originally anticipatedThe next delay was due to the discovery ofexisting wiring running through the soffit to be removed and also through the medicine cabinet cavityThesecond week we replaced all of the defective wiringAnd we rerouted the wiring found in the soffit andmedicine cabinetAlso at this time *** indicated a major change in the prints which involved installing half wall 42" high and rerouting all of the plumbing to a new location on the shower back wallAll of thiswas completed along with the shower back wall to the exterior, the shower seat and the half wall onNovember 26thBetween October 27th and November 3rd, the shower was completely plywood, all of theplumbing was installed, all the rough electrical was installed and the drywall on the ceiling was installed
On approximately October 27th, Brian stopped by per my request to see if anything else was required fromus so that he could proceed with his tile workHe recommended that we install 1/2" plywood to all theshower walls so that there would be sufficient support for the weight of the tilesThere has been amisunderstanding between *** and myself about my role in the tile installationThe entire tile job wassubcontracted out to BrianI wanted no involvement in the tile installation so that it would free me up fortime to do all of the drywall, taping, sanding, prime painting, finish painting and the installation of the canlights to expedite the completion of the jobThere was also another setback in time when *** said tome "I wanted new shelves installed in the closet" while removing the old shelvesIt was apparent to bothof us that all of the drywall needed to be repaired, prime painted and finish paintedAll of these items werecompleted with the acception of custom made shelves to fit her closet that are ready to install
Prior to November 3rd, all of the drywall was installed, taped, sanded, prime painted and had thefirst coat of finish paint appliedOn November 3rd, Brian began installation of the shower panIttook five business days to complete the pan, and tile installation on the shower floorIt tooklonger than expected due to the cement not drying in between the four process step ofwaterproofing
During the completion of the shower pan, Brian explained to *** that this type of tile that theychose ended with a metal edge*** was very unhappy with that and wanted some bullnosingversus metalI drove around to six different tile stores in search of bull-nosing to match thetile, because the tile she had picked out at Active Plumbing does not come with bull-nosingAfterKen and *** reviewed the bull-nose pieces that I purchased, they decided to purchase allnew tiles (which caused another delay)The prior tile was returned to Active Plumbing.Brian started tiling the walls of the shower somewhere between Nov 4th or 5th, and left the jobsight on Saturday Nov12thFrom Nov4th thru the 14th, Scott and I were taking care of minordetails of this job while the tile work was in processI was confident that there would be noproblems with the finished productI stopped by on Friday Nov11th, around 3:p.mto checkthe progress and to make sure that Brian would be finished by MondayAt that time he indicatedthat he would be finished by that timeFriday on Nov11th was the last contact that I had withBrian or *** until Monday morning at 9:amwhen I showed upUpon arrival I was met byKen and he asked me take a look at itUp until that time I thought we had an open relationshipbetween us that if there were any concerns he knew I was always available to himBefore I couldview the tile *** said to me three times "The tile has to come down"Yes, I was very upset aboutthe installation of the tile work and it not being finished*** started demanding permits from theCity of *** and he also stated that he had another-contractor look at the tile and gave hisopinionThat made me even more upset
I stated to *** at the time, that he knew there was no money in the budget for permits, licensedelectricians and plumbersAt that point he said that he wanted themMy emotional reaction wasto say "why don't we let the other contractor finish it and I need a signed release." Yes I was veryupset and yes I said the wrong thing
At that time I was realizing in my mind there would be about a week and half delay in securing theproper building permits, hiring another tile contractor, hiring a licensed electrician, and a licensedplumberI also knew that there would be fines involved and that is why I discussed these issueswith *** prior to starting the workKeep in mind we were there three weeks before ***demanded a permitMy intentions were to resume work as soon as I found the appropriate men tofinish the workOn the following Tuesday I placed a call to *** and left a message with him toget back to me so we could work this out, with no reply that day or on Wednesday or Thursday.On Friday I received a call from Inspector *** with the City of *** Building Deptandalso on Saturday, Nov 26th I received a certified letter from Mr***.On Monday morning at 8:a.mI spoke to Inspector *** and put a call in to Mr***OnNov 30th I registered with the City of *** and once again informed Inspector *** andMr*** with the updateInspector *** informed me to pull permitsOn Dec5th I securedthe building permit and put a call into Inspector *** and Mr***Inspector ***responded to my call and at that time I asked him to meet me at the ***'s home to see what heneeded for his inspectionAt that time I indicated to him that Mr*** was not returning mycalls, in which he said he would contact Mr***Within ten minutes Mr*** called me.We then agreed to meet with the inspector at Mr***'s home at 3:p.mon Dec6th.At that meeting Inspector *** and Mr*** and I reviewed what Inspector *** needed toinspectI knew at that time that the wall tile had to come downMr*** asked the inspectorthree times about the shower panThe inspector said to him "I could make that decision after thewall tile is down, but for right now we do not have to remove that pan." After the inspector leftMr*** sat down at his dining room table and he wanted me to put together a punch list thatwas needed to complete his jobSo we put together that listHe also indicated to me that hewanted this completed by Dee 31stI said to him that there should be no problem in meeting thoseexpectations and wrote in the punch list with the exceptions of subcontractors and inspectors.I was not trying to buy more time I was trying to educate Mr*** that in my thirty years ofexperience, not every subcontractor or not every inspector is at our beck and callWe agreed that Iwould resume work at a.mthe next morningSo as of 4:00p.m., after the meetings and doingthe punch list with Mr***, we agreed that I would be on site at 9:00a.mthe next morning tobegin removal and repairs of defective tile work for inspection and to move forward to acompletion of the bathroom
At 8:p.mon Dec6th I received a phone call from Mr*** indicating he wanted me to waitone more day before continuingI had no idea what that was about but I agreedThe nextmorning I received a call from Mr*** telling me that his attorney advised him to say that hewas not confident in having me finish the workI responded to him "If that is the case I wouldneed a release of work letter and did *** Isabella represent him as his attorney?" He said he wouldhave *** call me in which he called me in ten minutesThis was a three way conference callbetween Joe, Mr*** and me*** indicated to me not to return to work and to put together mynumbers so that we could settleI said "What do you mean?" He said "Mr*** already has hisnumbers and we want to settle this case."In response to our meeting on Friday, having gone over and reviewing everything my invoice wasimproperly tabulated, line reading plus additional extras should have been the $6,not$6,Also the balance due that was 70% of completed job should be $15,not$8,
I have reached the following position.All work done prior to beginning of the tile work was never in question nor was the ***'s faithin my ability to complete the jobUpon being aware of the deficient tile work things may not havebeen handled perfectly but I did make phone calls to Mr***, secure all licenses and permits,met with the inspector, and put together a plan to correct the problem, which would have includedremoval of all wall tile and cement board ~d any additional removal requested by the inspector,followed by completion of bathroom to the ***s' expectations.Unfortunately, the ***'s refusal to allow me to proceed as advised by their council has left ushereWith that no longer being possible with the ***'s feeling that they are entitled to receiveall of their money back of$10,with no accounting for delivery and installation of materialand labor equaling 70% of the entire job or additional completed extras
Hopefully my response to this complaint can help bring this complaint to a resolution
Tom M*** Pres
Advanced Home Remodelers Inc

Attached please find [redacted] & [redacted]'s response to Advance Home Remoderler's of December 14, 2016.