VALENTINE CONSTRUCTION

I was awarded a grant from the city of Elgin to repaint and reroof my house. I unwisely chose Valentine General Contractors from Elgin. For the first three weeks, his crew of painters scraped and painted my house. I shared some Halloween candy with them because they were hard workers and I wanted to show my appreciation. I should have saved my candy for myself. At the end of October or beginning of November, he started tearing off the roof and reshingling. I asked him verbally if the workers would replace rotted roof wood and he assured me they would. The roofers were "done" in three days. The gutter guys came a few days later. When I thought most of the gutters were up, and it looked like the job would be done in a day or two, I signed over the check. Big mistake. I called Julio several times. No response. His company left ladders and various roofing debris scattered about my back yard. All winter. Finally, I had someone move the materials into my basement so they wouldn't get stolen. March of this year, I get a nasty letter in my mailbox telling me that the police were notified, by Julio, accusing me of stealing his ladders! The ones that he left in my back yard ALL WINTER! He did not even call me to ask me where the ladders were! Had he called, I would have told him my brother had moved them into the basement and I would move them back out so he could work the next day. Aside from the very nasty letter, his crew showed up one day, then disappeared again for a week or two. To top that off, they installed them incorrectly, with the gutters straps on the outside instead of tucked under, and the pitch was all wrong, causing water to back up and remain in the gutters. I called Julio numerous times, left messages, never heard back. My gutters remain pitched incorrectly. Now, to top the whole experience off, during the spring rains, I noticed major water damage to my master bedroom ceiling ... right under the "new" roof. My boyfriend went into the attic and was appalled to discover that he could see the roofing felt through the rotted wood in several places. Of course, I tried to call Julio to rectify this situation. Several times. Also sent an email. No response. Furthermore, now I need to hire another contractor to fix the roofing that he cheaped out on. And litigate in small claims court. My advice: skip the Julio Valentine Headache!