Get matched with top contractors in Prosper, TX

"Don't let the ithica on the bisiness card fool you. I hate to have to leave a negative review and I wrote this up shortly after my experience with Jarrod but am just now posting it.  I found Jarrod on Angie's list and I have had great results with other contractors on Angie's list but not this time.  I was stunned at the attitude I received from the owner of this company. I hired Jarrod because he was prompt to respond to my request for a bid.  His bid was the second highest bid I received, but, I also felt it was the most thorough.   It is important to note that I have an older home, built in 1985.  It needed a lot of work; there have been some lean years in the past where I was not able to afford the upkeep and the exterior was neglected. I needed to find someone not just to paint the exterior, but to take care do all the repairs that were needed including removing chipped paint, replacing wood components that had deteriorated, and to address some issues around my windows in the front of the house that had gaps near the sills.  Jarrod was felt confident addressing the issue with my windows.  We discussed the design and he agreed that it is was not the best but he did not want to change the core design because he felt it was built the way it was built for a reason and did not want to get into unforeseen issues. He said that one issue that might arise when they take it apart and remove the sills is that there could be damage behind the sills that might increase the cost of the repairs.  I liked the fact that it was a Christian veteran owned business and that he was so proud of the people (contractors) he works with and his and theirs years of experience working together. All I can say now is don't let the ithica on the business card fool you.  Jarrod’s original bid was and sent to me via email with the key details outlined in the body of the email…nothing formal and not in an attached document.  I asked him 3 times if had a contract or needed me to sign anything and he said, “No, we work on word verbal word of mouth. “ Before the work began, I discussed having the trim and sills around my windows stained instead of painted with Jarrod.  He said that he would do it but advised against because he felt it would be better protected with painted and he would not warranty any areas that were stained.  I knew the look I wanted and that I would keep up with any necessary maintenance after the initial application so I asked him to go ahead and stain the areas discussed and he agreed to do so at no additional charge because I had decided not to paint the vertical 1 x 2’s on my siding a different color from the siding and just go ahead and keep all the siding one color and I also decided to keep the front door color the same and he felt it was an even trade off.  Fair enough. We also discussed in advance the material that would be used for the 1 x 2’s all to match and be rough cedar.  The previous owners had replaced a couple of them with pine and they did not match.  Jarrod sad it would be an extra $90 to also replace those if I wanted to, even though they were still in good condition, just so they would match.  I agreed. He also gave me the option to replace ALL of my one by two’s because he felt it would best to suggest it at this time anticipating that I might wish for that later.  I appreciated the thought but declined because I was mostly concerned with the area in the back of the house where we sit on the patio and not the rest of the house. The next morning, the contractor (two guys) showed up with pine 1 x 2’s.  I notified Jarrod, and he said they would be returned and they would get cedar, no problem.  So far so good.  Up to this point I felt the communication was going well and concerns were appropriately addressed when they arose.  Things changed after they started working on the window sills. He said they ran into an issue where there was a gap at the bottom (underneath) that we did not know about in addition to the gap at the top which we did know about and he was to address.  To close the gap at the bottom they needed to place shims.  Previously there was a piece of trim at the bottom of the sills that either he did not account for or that he could not see the gap behind the trim when bidding on the project.  Additionally, there was still a gap at the top of the sills.  We knew this from the start and my original understanding was that the vertical trim around the windows (above the sill) would be cut to  come down further to close that gap and or the sill would be fitted to close the gap.  Neither of these things happened.  His excuse was that the vertical trim could not be cut to come down further because it would be a design change.  Also said the sills could not be fitted to close the gap because they do not come any wider.  His solution was to fill the gaps around the wood with mortar or thick caulking.  This is not what we discussed and not what I wanted.  I consulted with a carpenter who advised me that no mortar should be touching the wood.  Jarrod also said he could not raise the sill any higher to close the top gap because the brick on the sides was in the way.  I asked if he could take out some of the mortar around the brick that was in the way on the sides to close the gap and he said they could not because that is mortar work and they do not do that.  And it would also be a design change. Then he said they would take a piece of pine trim and it would be added at the top the window sill with some mortar.  To close the gap and it would be an extra $250.  This did not seem right to me at all.  I asked Jarrod to allow me some time to think about this and inquire with others. When I came back out he had left my property but the contractors were still there.  I spoke with the contractors and shared my thoughts; that this is not what I was expecting, and Jarrod and I need to discuss further before they proceed.  Later my boyfriend and I were in my neighbor’s yard mending the back side of my fence and Jarrod had returned and came back to speak with us.  We agreed on how the window sills would be addressed (with me still feeling uneasy and uncertain about it because it was becoming clear to me that addressing my particular issue was not his area of expertise) and he took the additional cost down to $150 to help me with my decision and keep things moving along.  After this, things got weird.  I looked at my phone and saw a text from Jarrod saying the contractor (his painter) told him I wanted to stop work and he was informing me that he could, if I want, and how much I would owe up to that point if we part ways now. I was shocked.  Maybe things were lost in translation when I told the contractor that Jarrod and I needed to talk before they proceed.  He had sent me this text prior to returning to the house and speaking with us that day and prior to us reaching an agreement on how to address the sills and I did not notice until after he left again.  I let it go and moved on. I continued to check daily on progress and pointed out any issues that I saw as things went along  This seemed to irritate Jarrod and he said all concerns would be addressed at the final walk through.  But it did not make sense to me to wait until the end to ask questions or raise concerns when it is too late to make corrections. While I was at work, I had my boyfriend oversee things for me and this seemed to irritate Jarrod even more.  My boyfriend pointed out a few issues such as an area on the chimney were the boards were replaced but trim was not flush with the siding. And there was another area of concern in the back of the house with the bottom trim and area under my patio where a huge gap approximately 2” in the soffit was filled with caulk instead of being closed with a nail.  When my boyfriend brought these concerns to my attention I brought them to Jarrod’s attention.  But J"