Tipton and Sons Construction

I was a first time home owner in the beginning of 2006. I had a room with a cathedral ceiling that was 24 feet wide and 32 feet long. The roof was sagging in the center due to an existing moisture problem. My real estate agent recommended Mike Tipton and Son’s Construction to repair the roof. Mike Tipton was contracted to remove 12 existing 2x6 scissor trusses and replace them with a ridge beam and new rafters. The existing trusses were sagging and were moldy due to improper roof ventilation. Mike looked and the job and quoted me $7,000.00 to shore up roof and replace the trusses with 2x12 rafters. He said that the roof failure was causing the walls to move at the top plate bearing and that he would need to replace the main ridge beam with a MicroLam beam. He said the job would be extensive and would require “a lot of work”. He insisted that I sign a contract with his company before the work began and that due to the amount of work he would need $7,000.00. I secured a home improvement loan and told Mike I would pay his asking price. He said the roof damage would continue to worsen and the longer I waited the more it would cost due to the walls moving. I removed all the insulation and drywall, pulled all of the wiring, and prepared the work area for Mike and his crew. I signed the contract and sent it back to Mike and he said he would be out the following week to complete the work. I estimated the cost of lumber to be around $1,500.00. Mike showed up that Monday morning and was at the house for 20 minutes telling his 3 men what needed to be done. He never returned to the work site after his first visit. His men replaced the existing trusses with 2x12 rafters and a MicroLam ridge beam in less than 2 days. I came home and checked over the men’s work, the walls were not pulled back in, there were nails through existing wiring, they had left the old rotten trusses in the center of my driveway and they had not cleaned up the sawdust that was left when they were finished. I called Mike and told him about the issues I had with the craftsmanship and the first thing Mike said was “you signed a contract”. I told him the walls were not straight and that he needed to hold to what the contract said. He asked me if it was about the money charged and I said that he needed to uphold the contract. Mike said that he had done what he could and that his job was done. He would not return my phone calls and I have not talked to Mike Tipton since.