MAM

To Whom This May Concern,While performing labor on the project at the *** residence, we notified the homeowners that the sheet rock was contaminatedThe sheet rock was bleeding a yellow substance which was causing the primer not to adhere or seal properlyAt that point in time we applied a
different product recommended by our paint manufacturer to seal the yellowingWe followed up after that with a premium ceiling paint.At the completion of the job Mr*** went over every square inch of his ceilings with an "LED Flashlight" (which is not a recommended light for inspection of drywall by the way, and I also let him know that)After to days of inspection and tediously going over everything, Mr*** approved and paid in full!There is nowhere in writing or posted anywhere else that we warranty interior workThis is one of the reasons whyYou never know what is behind the wallsMold, mildew, condensation, etc...We are not obligated to refinish the project again and reserve the right not to perform labor on any jobs we wish not toIt's not like we quit in the middle of the project and left the job in limboMr*** inspected thoroughly, he approved, he paidThis project was completed months agoWhy are we just now hearing about this? Also, another contractor has been in the house performing work after us. Thanks,*** / Joes Painting

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Unfortunately
for Joe’s Painting, they never notified us our sheetrock was “contaminated”.  And the fact of the matter is that sheetrock that
is not prepared correctly by being cleaned and sealed or primed will bleed and the paint won’t
adhere well.    
We, as
the consumer, brought to [redacted]’s attention that they needed to paint another coat
in numerous areas of the house due to the sheetrock bleeding through (which is
bound to happen if primer is not used – see below) and questioned whether they were using
primer.  Priming the sheetrock was part
of the agreement for the job.  [redacted]’s
response at the time was that “his paint rep” told him they didn’t need to use
primer.
So skipping
that initial coat of primer is very likely the reason for the paint peeling (see
article below – excerpt “Excessively porous paper also can lead to peeling
problems, because it greedily absorbs paint and leaves little of the binder
behind on the surface. That doesn't give the topcoat much to stick to”).  We even let him know on 1/16/15 that the
paint was peeling and they seemed to have missed the primer.  It is pretty handy for [redacted] to say there is no
warranty on a job even when the job was not done as agreed upon.  The job was to remove all popcorn from the
ceilings, mud where needed for a smooth finish, prime the sheetrock, and then
finish with [redacted] ceiling paint.  And as I also stated in my initial complaint, I am not confident that [redacted] paint was used.  
We know
from experience on completing this same job in other rooms throughout the house
that the sheetrock isn’t “contaminated”. 
We ourselves have removed popcorn from ceilings in other rooms in our
house, mudded where needed, used a high-quality primer, and then painted the
top coat with ceiling paint and NEVER had the sheetrock bleed through or
peeling paint/adhesion problems.  We think Joe’s Painting realized
they underbid the job midway through and then cut corners and didn’t follow the agreement.  So now that the paint is peeling off they are just
saying they don’t warranty their work. 
Finally,
just to again counter the sheetrock “contamination” point from [redacted] - here are a
couple of articles citing the necessity of primer on sheetrock to avoid
bleeding and to ensure adhesion of paint:
[redacted] 
Drywall
primer is not the same as paint. Its main ingredient is polyvinyl acetate
(PVA), the same ingredient in carpenter's glue. Its job is to seal the porous
surfaces of the paper and dried joint compound and make them more receptive to
new paint. The PVA in the primer adheres better to unfinished drywall than does
paint, and paint adheres better to primer than it does to drywall. Primer comes
in various grades, and a high-build variety fills in small nicks and ridges in
the joints better than paint, giving the wall a smoother overall appearance.
[redacted]
"The
biggest thing that people don't do is prime the board -- and that causes an
ugly stripe where there's a joint," said [redacted], manager of
technical services for [redacted]. "The face paper sucks
in the paint, but it stands up on the joints, so you get a shadow because of
the texture difference. Priming equalizes the porosity between the wallboard
paper and the joint compound."
That's
not all it does. Excessively porous paper also can lead to peeling problems,
because it greedily absorbs paint and leaves little of the binder behind on the
surface. That doesn't give the topcoat much to stick to.
It's
tempting to skip the application of a true primer and apply an extra coat of
paint instead, and on low-end work, you have a passable chance of getting away
with this. But on anything else, better do it right with the primer, or you'll
be doing it again.
Yellowing
is another problem you'll probably encounter. It occurs because substrates vary
in porosity and sometimes color. It gets its name because what usually happens
is that a yellowish cast appears on surfaces painted white or off-white.
Yellowing is a generic term in a sense, because the discoloration may show up
as another color -- including pink.
Cutting
your paint can contribute to yellowing. The recycled paper used on wallboard
may contain leftover pigments that will bleed through, so you need all the
covering capacity possible, said [redacted], product manager for [redacted].
"In
some bid situations that are real tight, some contractors don't apply a primer.
Sometimes they only apply a single coat of latex instead of two topcoats.
That's better than one coat, but a primer coat is strongly recommended.
Otherwise, you're asking for trouble," he said.
The
alkalinity of the sizing used in wallboard paper sometimes is blamed as the
culprit for yellowing. [redacted] doesn't think that's the cause, however, saying
that the paper his company uses doesn't have alkaline substances in the sizing,
and yellowing still occurs in some circumstances. In short, he and others
believe that many, if not most, drywall painting problems come down to improper
surface preparation.
Regards,
[redacted]