SOLARIUM DESIGNS

I live in a side by side duplex and own both sides. In 2003, I hired Solarium Desings, specifically Bill Perssons, to build a deck onto my rental side and a two story solarium on my side. The deck was done well but with too much drama over the crew doing the work. Bill had subcontracted the work to under qualified workers whom proceeded to make a blunder of the project. I finally convinced Bill to have different workers fix and finish the deck project. Meanwhile, he just moved the under qualified personnel to do solarium work at another location. I know this because the team he subcontracted to where neighbors of mine who bided on the deck work initially and I declined since they had no experience. Even though Bill knew this, he still assigned them to my project, much to my objection. So, I told him he was responsible and I was holding him accountable. When the 60 MPH straight-line winds were on the way and the tools were laying all over the back yard and the deck going up was not secured, I called Bill to get their butts off the bar stools to come back to the property and secure it. Since it was so late on a work night when they actually arrived, I would not let them use power tools since the neighbors would have police there in a snap. Other drama must have unfolded between them and Bill thereafter and the deck project fell into non-activity for a few weeks. Finally Bill had one of his ?long-time? crew members finish the deck. The finish product is well done. The Solarium did not go as well. It leaked from the very start. So I would not let him finish the inside until the leaking was fixed. It was not fixed in 2003 or 2004. In 2005 I had finally complained enough of the steaming water inside when it rained, that Bill came back to the Solarium to jack the top floor solarium up and put down new caulking to reseal it. He said that my neighbors that he hired to do the deck accidently used the wrong caulk when sealing the solarium and so it leaked. Not true, I was there the whole time the solarium and deck were worked on; the unqualified neighbors never touched my solarium. The Solarium stopped leaking through 2006. In 2007 I called Bill to have his crew come back and finish the inside of both solariums when I was off work (I?m a consultant and was between gigs.) No return call so I and another friend finished the inside of both solariums ourselves. In 2008 Bill called back to see if he could finish the inside of the Solariums. I returned the call and told him it was already done and it was leaking again. He didn?t return that call. I continued to call about the leaking and in 2010 Bill finally answered the phone and came over to see the leak. Once over and looking at the damage from the leak, Bill mentioned that he was no longer in the Solarium Build business (and thus not guaranteeing his prior work any longer) and just fixing leaks and doing small remodeling for hire; I could hire his guys that he had working part time (after their regular job) to come back and fix the leak. That?s when he mentioned that my sliding door on the upper solarium was not sealed and told me what type of special caulk to get to seal it myself. (WOW, this was 7 years after the work date his team should have sealed the door and didn't. and didn't do it in 2005 when he was there jacking up the solarium to fix the leaks!) After this conversation I called the manufacture of the solarium glass and spoke with the regional rep for Minnesota. He mentioned that Bill must still be in the solarium build business since he has ordered entire solariums from him as recent as the week prior to our conversation. He also told me who the best solarium builder in my area is; his name is Lee Peterson. Evidently Bill use to work for Lee but decided he knew more and struck out on his own. Lee came over to assess my solarium situation and showed me all the flashing problems with how Bill assembled the solarium. He gave me an open quote with a minimum of $12,000 of work of what he saw needed to be done; once the solarium was off the house he would need to fix and rotting damage from the water and didn?t know how much that would be. That bid was in an economically slow time. And updated bid had it at $18,000 plus the unknown. I don?t have the money to fix it, yet. I called the state of MN to learn that I need a court ruling to file against the Bond Bill has in place that is still intact. I don't have money for the lawyer required to go to court over this. As of December 28, 2012 the solarium is still not done. The outside of the solarium was never finished. I still have the scratch coat on but no finish. I finished the inside. And it all still leaks. I?ve got it down to a bucket strategically placed that catches most of the water falling before it hits the floor but really need to fix the root cause. The trim around the solarium windows is peeling and the caulk used on the solarium was never trimmed to look nice. In my opinion, Bill is a really nice guy and can talk your ear off. He claims he has been in many car accidents and has a lot of pain, which he is quick to tell you all about. With competing priorities in his life and lack of proper supervision on the job site, though he promises something very different, it is hard to get a quality product even though you pay a quality price. He is a smooth talker but in the end it appears to me that he doesn?t know what he is doing either. My ever leaking solarium is a standing testimony to that. Initially I had conducted reference checks, checked with the Better Business Bureau, and ensured a bond was in place and funded. I wish I would have thought to call the manufacture rep to see what he had to say. Now I?m glad there is something like Angie?s List to check references as well. We can obtain a better perspective on the company and individuals we are hiring to conduct work on our homes.

When this company started the job, they cut corners on every aspect. There was no hot water in the greenhouse, and the drains lead into the wrong pipes. Our basement was leaking because they did not seal the wall connecting the house and greenhouse. They never returned our calls, and it just seemed to be one thing after the other of bad news. We were basically disgusted with this companies work.