TOP QUALITY PAINTING

A number of places on walls were missed. Big problem was the floor. W/in 3 days, streaks of paint was coming off where cats walked (claw marks). The existing enamel-based paint had not been roughed with sandpaper or treated to accept new latex paint. (I had supplied sandpaper and would have purchased coating or treatment if it had been suggested.) I was told to stay off the new floor for 2 days, but I waited longer. I called Top Quality, complained and was told they only would put another coat on. Knowing that I would have to take the surface coats off, I declined. I had to remove 2 coats of new latex floor paint with chemical remover and scrapers, sandpaper old enamel paint, then reapply top coats. I waited 30 days (per manufacturer's directions) before using the space. It took this 70 year old gal 2 months to complete the job. It cost me another $400 for supplies to redo their work

Firs, the roofing subcontractor was superb. They did an extremely professional job, cleaned up,after themselves every day, and left the site spotless. They did some custom flashing that was a work of art. I will review that company separately and give them my highest recommendation. Todd's crew was another story. I had prepared a detailed specification for the carpentry parts of the job. Todd and I bounced back and forth on email until we agreed. Todd's contract was quite general, but I assumed that he was going to honor the detailed statement of work we'd agreed upon. I know assuming is a dangerous game when it comes to contractors. I should have insisted that my.specifications and statement of work be added as an addendum to the contract. The work that Todd's crew did was nothing short of shoddy. They put the pergola ledger boards over rotting fascia. Would have taken an extra 30 minutes and $20 minutes to repair or I could have done it in the evening for them. Now I'm stuck with letting things rot or pulling off the.pergola. The (ethical) roofing sub contractor put in flashing over the pergola ledger boards that contacted the roof. Todd wouldn't put similar flashing on the pergola or deck "because it's dry around here an you don't need it". They also saved a few $$ by using gold interior screws on the deck and pergola. My bet is I'll be replacing them... The skylight installation that the roofer did,was,fine. Todd,ignored my,specifications,for,window trim and his crew did one of the worst drywall jobs I have ever seen. I had to sand it off and put several coats of mud on it to get it to look right. When his crew was leaving (reminded me of the last days of Saigon), they shouted out the window of their truck--you should put some foam around the window trim on the outside. What they really meant was "we cut the trim wrong and it doesn't connect with the flashing--your problem now...." . I haven't gotten to fixing their mistake yet, but it was simply sloppy carpentry that left a gap for water to enter the attic. Looking at it from the inside, there's light coming into my attic around the trim and the siding. I will fix it with an hour or so of my labor and $10 in materials, but the reason I hired a contractor was to have somebody do it so I didn't have to get up on my,roof to install a window. Now I have to... When they framed in for the window, they left the attic side of the drywall un-insulated. Would have taken 5 minutes to do it, and now I have to... The most expensive goof up was re-ducting the swamp cooler to cool the upstairs bedrooms. The existing ducting was that aluminum foil covered insulated flex duct. Instead of spending the money to buy the correct fittings for the new ductwork, his crew hacked into the existing ductwork with a utility knife and spliced in the new duct with a sloppy application of duct tape. The cold air registers were installed very poorly and put most of the air into the attic instead of into the rooms. Memo to Todd--duct tape is to seal air leaks. Around here,attics get too hot to use duct tape to attach a flex line to a register. You have to support the duct with straps and use sheet metal screws for the mechanical connection!!! When his crew had, by their admission, installed one of the cold air registers in the wrong place in the room, they "fixed" it by patching in some un insulated clothes dryer exhaust duct--again just with duct tape vs. the correct metal fittings. Long story short, the first time we turned on the swamp cooler, the,duct tape joints blew apart and we didn't have cool air anywhere in the house. I got a recommendation to go to Grand Mesa Mechanical for the correct design and parts. (GMMI was wonderful, by the way). $500 in parts, breaking a new hole in finished drywall to access the attic, , a proper redesign of the system by,GMMI, and 15 hours of my labor in a 120 degree attic, and it works.fine. But the reason I hired a contractor was to avoid having to design the system and to avoid 15 hours in a 120 degree attic... Did I try to resolve this with Todd? Short answer, no. I didn't want his,sloppy crew anywhere near my house & the difficulty of recovering money through small claims court is not worth the hassle. Would I,recommend Todd? Yes, with reservations. If you're the kind of do-it-your selfer who doesn't mind correcting poor quality work--Todd's your guy. For the rest of you, I'd steer clear