Crystal River Home Design

.

After 'interviewing' several different contractors, Crystal River Home Designs was the last one I was to meet with. My phone conversation with Keith didn't go that well, in my opinion as I was extremely tired of talking to contractors, but I set up the appointment anyway to meet with him. By this time, I just so frustrated with contractors saying they could or could not help me and I was at my last straw and this was basically a mercy meeting. I already had another contractor in mind to hire before my meeting with Keith. The meeting went better than expected and I signed contract that night. I am very happy with the work on my basement and will use Crystal River in the future. I marked price down as good because they were the most expensive but not by much as compared to contractors I talked too. The basement is exactly what I wanted! Roberto and Alberto, the carpenters/builders, were phenomenal to work with it! Always on time, explained everything that was happening everyday I came home after work. Iaon, the electrician, was also fantastic to work with it. My basement started out as a partially finished dark brown cave and the utility area was unfinished. With the current setup (only approx 600 sqft), the completed area felt very small and creepy. The basement included ripping everything back to the studs, tearing down one wall, re-insulating, and finishing. The floor plan consisted of laying bamboo flooring, updated the fireplace with stone, closing in the laundry area, HVAC, and creating a small storage area in the corner. The stairs were also unsafe and redone with bamboo treads, wood railings with stainless steel cabling (staircase railing was Alex's idea and it turned out great) and a new slider door. While the basement was being renovated I had found mold in one of my closets upstairs and Crystal River was able to remediate, re-insulate, and sheetrock (contributed to cost) on short notice. Again, Roberto and Alberto were amazing. They stopped work on the basement and immediately took care of my closet and then back to basement. Job was started on time and finished on time as promised. Keith also stated during the construction that Roberto and Alberto are two of his best guys on the job. The pride in Roberto's and Alberto's work showed through during the entire process. I will definitely request Roberto, Alberto, and Iaon again for my next remodel. I did not like being downstairs but laundry is down there so I had no choice. Now I have a place that I thoroughly enjoy being in and I have received multiple compliments from family, friends, and neighbors. T

DISCLOSURE First, note that Crystal River Home Design gave me a significant discount because I agreed to submit a review of their work, so be aware of potential biased reviews on Angie's List and elsewhere. (I'm guessing they didn't expect I would disclose that fact, but I want to be as honest as possible and, as you will see, I am not holding anything back). THE PITCH Keith Patton is a smooth salesman but uses high pressure sales tactics like making "exploding" offers to pressure you to sign a contract before he walks out of your house (i.e. before you can get a competing bid). We went over many options and Keith promised the moon and we agreed on a price and a very specific plan with my wife's input. Keith then quickly filled in the contract. Beware of this last point. Keith promised things orally that we were led to believe were in the contract but Crystal River later backed out on them on technicalities. More on that later. Under VA law you have three days to back out of a contract when an unsolicited sales person convinces you to sign at your home, so you can push back. I certainly did, because after Keith left I noticed some horrible reviews online (yelp) and was ready to walk away. They promised some nice upgrades and convinced me to stick with them and promised a good job so I took the chance. THE WORK - OVERALL If you were to walk from my kitchen onto the deck, you would likely say it is gorgeous and you would be right, it is quite beautiful. And you might think this would warrant an A review. But what if it took constant supervision by the homeowner and nagging of Alex Post to get him to fix many obvious errors and even some dangerous ones? What if they twice failed inspection including the Fairfax Co. inspector saying "Gap between posts on stairs larger than 4"" (i.e., so big my toddler could fall through) and that the other errors were "to[o] many to list."? What if their response was to shrug and say, everyone fails inspections? What if it took *months* longer than expected to finish? What if they left a used portable potty on the property for almost a month after the project was done? What if you know you overpaid by a large amount because they didn't finish the entire bottom side of the deck as promised and the deck looks plain unfinished? Do you think they still deserve an A because the topside is pretty? I don't. THE CONTRACT Here is the main point of dispute. Keith showed us pictures of decks during the pitch and we discussed in detail our vision. He showed us a picture of a deck that was finished on top but had support posts of bare wood all along the bottom. While this might work for homes where no one can really see the framing, I made it absolutely clear it would not work on my house because a) our back yard is at the top of a hill b) it abuts a community walking path c) the deck would be 10+ feet high and d) we would also be accessing it from the ground floor walkout. As a result, I emphasized that we did not want a high-end deck sitting atop low-end unfinished wood stilts. Repeat, I specifically said we didn't want it to look like wooden "stilts" so Keith agreed to "wrap" the posts and add fascia around the visible structure to match the white pvc railing on top. This was the baseline. We then discussed the option of adding stone work columns instead of sleeves on some posts, but ultimately decided against the stonework because of cost. When it came time to do the wraps, they backed out saying it wasn't in the contract. They said the "post sleeves" box that we saw Keith check on the contract did not refer to sleeves on the support posts (as one would naturally think), but to sleeves on the railing posts because the box appeared in the railing section of the contract. When I reminded Keith about our conversation about not wanting "stilts" he remained silent. Both he and Alex, in fact, avoided making eye contact during the conversation and they made it clear they weren't going to budge. Suffice it to say, we felt duped out of thousands of dollars of work that Crystal River did not perform because of a bait and switch. It would be like car dealer delivering a luxury car that came with black spare tires instead of matching chrome rims because the dealer says you didn't specify the wheel type clearly enough in the contract they presented to you. Another bait and switch dealt with their trying to back out of fastening the stairs with hidden fasteners--which was clearly specified in the contract--saying it simply could not be done from an engineering stand point. A simple Google search I forwarded to Alex, however, revealed that it is actually not at all complicated to do. Had I not asked about it and nagged them on it mid-construction, I am certain that they would have just violated the contract without thinking twice and would have left screw holes that would have marred an otherwise smooth looking deck. THE DESIGN Although I had figured out just about every detail of the deck shape and layout before meeting with their architect, the architect was great in that he knew how to configure all the necessary framing to support my vision without it being obtrusive and had an excellent idea about the stair configuration that we adopted. He also had a slick software package that showed how the deck would look completed in 3D and from any angle. This was the most professional aspect of the job and should be commended. THE CONSTRUCTION There were months of snow delays and cold weather delays. The weather is not their fault, but they had a substantial deposit all that time and I was bothered by the lack of urgency. So when there was a clear week and the weather broke, I was irked that they did not start the regrading process, instead, they let the days go by. When they finally started, Alex did a masterful job regrading our back yard by himself. It took eight hours, he stayed late, and did more than was required, which was much appreciated. That guy knows how to run a skeet loader. It was a great start but then it started going downhill. When his carpenter crew began work, Alex was rarely on site which was very troubling. He also became very slow to respond to numerous issues I raised and would sometimes not respond at all. Eventually I was forced to become like another foreperson on the site; everyday pointing out installation errors as they happened so the workers could take care of them on the spot and at small to no cost because they were caught early (thankfully I am a fluent Spanish speaker). I can't underscore this enough, the topside of the deck came out as nice as it did because I, not Alex, made *daily* checks on all the detail work. The workers also knew I was watching on a daily basis so they, not surprisingly, began to be more careful and detail-oriented overall. Remember, I spent well over $40,000 so I shouldn't have had to worry about things as obvious as making sure they didn't lay decking boards with *identical* simulated grain patterns all right next to each other (which they did) which would have ruined the illusion of natural wood had I not caught it. Would Alex have caught it? No way. And if I had pointed it out after installation he would have said that I'd get used to it, just like he did with other items I didn't catch until it was too late and he refused to fix because of cost. FINAL VERDICT I love my deck, yes, but what it took to get there was a nightmare and we now have to spend a lot more money than we expected to complete the deck of our dreams.

I GOT SIX ESTIMATES FOR THE WORK, INCLUDING THE COMPANY RECOMMENDED BY THE JAMES HARDIE WEB SITE AND THE ONE RATED BEST IN THE FAIRFAX CO BEST PICKS REPORT.CRYSTAL RIVER GAVE ME THE BEST VALUE COST AND THEY DELIVERED. THE JOB STARTED ON TIME AND ENDED ON TIME. THE WORKERS, MANAGERS AND OWNER WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL. THERE WAS MORE TRIM THAN SIDING, SOME TRICKY WINDOWS WITH CURVES AND SOME OLD ATTICK WINDOWS THEY HAD TO BASICALLY REBUILD.THEY HELPED ME WITH A FEW THINGS I NEEDED TO DO (add some insulation around some pipes and moving an electric box) AND CLEANED UP NICELY AROUND THE HOUSE AND YARD EACH EVENING BEFORE THEY LEFT. THEY DID SOME BRICKWORK BY THE GARAGE ALSO. THE HOUSE LOOKS GREAT, ALL THE NEIGHBORS ARE IMPRESSED AND IT SHOULD NEED NO MAINTENANCE OR PAINTING FOR THE REST OF MY RETIREMENT--I AM NOW FREE TO TRAVEL.

On 22 Jan. 2014 I ordered a sliding glass door from Crystal River Home Design and gave them the required 50% deposit. Alex told me the door would be ordered soonest and should be ready for installation within 3 weeks. In February Alex called to verify all particulars that were written in the contract and assured me he would order the door that day and it would be ready for installation in 3 weeks. On 3 March, I met with Alex and he stated the door still had not been ordered, but would be taken care of as soon as he returned to his office. Again he stated that it should be ready for installation in approximately 3 weeks. On 17 April, I called Crystal River and Alex stated that he was not sure of the status of the door, but would call me the following week with an up date. On 21 April I hand delivered a letter stating my dissatisfaction with this situation. On the 24th Alex called to tell me the door was available for installation that Friday or Saturday. I told him we would not be available that weekend and I would get back to him. On the 28th I mailed a return receipt letter to Crystal River stating that I felt that as they had failed to order my door within a reasonable timeframe they had voided our contract and I was requesting a full refund of my deposit, to be made within 30 days. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A few days shy of the above mentioned 30 day timeframe for refunding my deposit, Andy called to check on when the door could be installed. When asked about my letters he said he not seen them. I suggested he read them and call me afterwards. He called me a few days later and agreed that if I removed the above review, he would refund my money. Further conversations/e-mails transpired. I won't go into details regarding that here, but Angie's List was advised. In the end I did receive my refund in full.

I cannot speak to the comments/reviews of others; I can only relay my own experience: in a word, my experience with Crystal River Home Design was positive - very positive. The Crystal River team demonstrated professionalism, customer care and quality workmanship from the point of sale through completion of the project. We now have a home that features a totally new look: Hardie Plank siding/trim has replaced old aluminum siding, and a large front porch and a brick walkway were installed where none previously existed. We have received admiring comments from neighbors (across the street and a quarter mile down the street). There are other upgrades I would like to undertake when my budget allows: when that time comes, I will not hesitate to call Crystal River Home Design. I would highly recommend Crystal River Home Design for any home remodeling needs. I became acquainted with Crystal River Home Design (which was Exterior Depot at the time) through a regional home show last . I was not familiar with the company (or any other for that matter) and added it to my list of a half-dozen contractors who seemed able to meet the needs of my project. I was not just "kicking the tires"; I went to the home show intent on finding a contractor to upgrade our home. We are not the original owners of the home, which was constructed in 1976; however, I am sure the degrading aluminum siding was of original construction and I knew I wanted to replace it with Hardie Plank. Keith Paton, the sales representative from Crystal River Home Design, was the last contractor from the home show to get in touch with me. In fact, I avoided his calls (through caller ID) on a couple of occasions. We had already dealt with a few contractors, and I was finding the process (as I have on past projects) to be a chore - you never know what is going to walk through the door when you set up a meeting with a contractor and I was beginning to second guess my dedication to the project. In any event, Keith was persistent and I figured I would give him a shot (if for no other reason than he would complete my list of contractors from the home show). I am glad I gave Keith that chance: he is very affable and represented himself and Crystal River Home Design very well. All our dealings have been low-key and no pressure. Keith listened to what I wanted, assisted in meeting my project requirements and contributed creative ideas that I had not even considered. I suppose the choice of a contractor ultimately comes down to ones comfort zone. I ultimately chose Crystal River Home Design because I felt comfortable working with Keith (and his cost for the project was consistent with the handful of other proposals I had received). Chad Wisotzkey, the project manager for our home, was another personable representative of the Crystal River Home Design team. Chad and his crew were all about getting the job done right. Our home, as I previously mentioned, was built in 1976: I am sure the aluminum siding was from the original construction and I know from past inquiries for this project that there was nothing between the existing aluminum siding and the construction board/main frame of the house. Chad ensured that rotted construction board was replaced and that moisture/weather barrier covered the house before the siding went up. Chad consistently provided progress updates: what part of the project was completed during the week, what would be completed in the upcoming week, and explain why something may not have been completed and what would take to get it done. Chad was very accessible; he was always available to answer my questions (and he never made me feel like I was taking up his time by asking the same thing for the third or fourth time). In sum, the Crystal River Home Design team was easy to work with and the project could not have turned out any better. The team was helpful from the point of sale through completion of the project; they knew what I wanted and assured the project was completed to my satisfaction: they provided constant status reports as the project progressed and solicited my feedback at the same time; they contributed ideas that would improve the project; and they quickly reworked aspects when some of my ideas changed as the project progressed. I now have a totally new home (on the exterior). Again, I can only relay my own experience: I would highly recommend Crystal River Home Design for any home remodeling needs and I will surely call them for my future projects.

When we bought our new house, the existing deck had unsafe railing and rotting stairs. Crystal River replaced the old wood railings with new Trex railing, and built some new stairs. Overall CRHD did a great job on our deck. We were pleased with the craftsmanship, the price, and the way everything turned out. We'd use them again. Price: CRHD was competitive on price. They were not the least expensive, but we felt we got a good value for the price we paid. The price increased in the middle of the project when they learned that the new rails wouldn't secure properly to the old trusses. While CRHD recommended a complete new deck from the onset, there wasn't a discussion about the possibility of a cost increase due to structural deficiencies. While we weren't thrilled with this development, in the end, we were very satisfied with the work they did to secure the rails, and the cost, considering the work they did, was also reasonable. Time: CRHD showed up on time and worked hard while on site, although they worked harder when Keith or Alex was onsite, Cleanup: At the end of the project, Keith and Alex came and picked up all the scraps, nails, screws and wood. They even hauled away an old wood pile for us. However, the crew had left some wood in place for the duration of the project, and it ended up killing the grass underneath when Keith and Alex removed it.

It was an overall good experience. The on-site crew was good and were professional while working. I have no complaints about the work provided or the timeline to accomplish the task.

The experience was extremely satisfying. Keith patiently and thoroughly explained the window models available, the process, and expectations--we had no questions prior to installations. They estimated 1.5 to 2 days to remove the old windows and install the new. However, they accomplished the entire job in one day. The installers were all extremely courteous and very careful about minimizing their footprint in the house during installation (figuratively and literally!). After completion, the only evidence that they were there was the new windows. And we love the new windows! I highly recommend Crystal River!

They arrived on time the day they projected and began removing the old concrete and hauling it away. They began measuring and resetting the grade of all components and setting up protection of existing portions of the house and stabilizing the roof above the carport. The workers were a real team as each knew what needed to be done and when they ran into a small problem they quickly came to a solution and moved on. As they broke up the old concrete the bobcat operator was a real pro. The second day was involving setting the final grades for the cement forms so that the water problem that we had would be corrected. They were also filling the base ballast and compacting it. They also were installing re-bars into the foundation to prevent the settlement that was the source of the original problem. They had to wait a day for a second load of ballast for the driveway. On the third day they were ready to pour the concrete and finish the forms and ballast for the front walk and stoop. By 4:30 they had completed the concrete work and finished the driveway and carport and walkway and stoop foundations and removed the forms, put up stakes with caution tape and told us to wait two days before walking on any of the new concrete and we would need a week before driving a vehicle on the drive. The walk way and front stoop needed to rest several more days before they could install The stone work crew came near the end of the second week with the cut stone for the walkway and flagstone for the stoop. They got most of it completed by Saturday afternoon but still needed to do some detailed fitting which they completed on Sunday and told us to not walk on the flagstone stoop for another day. They did a really great job, cleaned up very well and protected the environment and house from all the dust and dirt. The even put some topsoil along the walk way and drive way where the grade had been raised and forms had been set. They even spread grass seed which sprouted within a few days after they left. I didn't expect that as all. We didn't get much rain in August and September to really test the new grades but a good rain in October proved that they did a really great job. They projected that they would finish within two weeks and beat by one day. The president of the company came around to see how the work was coming and stopped by after the job was complete as we planned. Can't get better than that!

Everyone was so professional and courteous. From Alex to Keith, they were straightforward with us and gave us options on ways we could improve and maintain our home. The workers were timely and made it a point to clean up after themselves, so we never had to worry about scraps of any materials laying about. The foreman worked and tweaked the front door with such care and concern, making sure it fit precisely. I was so impressed. The work took exactly as long as predicted, 5 days. We are so happy with the results and just marvel at how pretty our home looks. We are looking forward to contacting Crystal River Home Design for our future projects of replacing our old deck in the back of the house with a new patio (complete with a fire pit and half-moon wall for seating) in the spring and, at some point, converting our garage into a rec room. Many thanks to Alex and Keith and the others at Crystal River Home Design who helped improve the looks and life of our home!

We needed to replace our cracked driveway, front walk and sagging front entrance slab. Our neighbors had recently had similar work done by Crystal River Home Design and we were impressed with how it dressed up their property. They gave rave review of their entire experience with this company. We contacted Crystal River and a representative made himself immediately available. In our home he made a clear and thorough presentation of their work. He used a process which easily stepped us through the process of selecting between many options, so that we arrived at a fully planned project with no stress. What really sold us was their willingness to work us into their schedule immediately. We were departing on a long trip in a week. They agreed to squeeze us in between other jobs they were working. As the representative said, "We are not the cheapest, but we provide the best value, we stand behind our work." They arrived on schedule and proceeded efficiently with ecological care, saving shrubs and ivy that I thought that we would lose. The drive was concrete and laid out and finished perfectly. The walk was pavers and were laid in an attractive pattern. The entrance was flagstone and they allowed us to not only pick out the stones we wanted but followed a pattern we designed. Outstanding work with different craftsmen for each phase of the work. They obviously take pride in their work and provide resources and supervision to ensure they have satisfied customers such as us. We recommend them!

After living in our custom built house for over 15 years, we finally decided to build a deck. Though we met with a number of companies, only Crystal River Home Design managed to meet the quality, price requirements and time schedule that we were looking for. The contractors were very professional and polite, working very efficiently. I am very happy with our deck and delighted to have found an excellent service.

The contractor, David "Alex" Post, became very angry because Fairfax County became involved. I have 186 emails to Crystal River Home Design (formerly known as Exterior Depot) asking them to complete the work. There were no vapor barriers behind tile which was uneven. The shower wall in the basement was concave. There were 7 exposed live or hot wires hidden in the walls which is a fire hazard. There were 36 recessed lights not rated to be installed in contact with insulation installed in insulation. They disconnected the gas exhaust from my heater so if I had turned it on, anyone in the house would have died. The County has the gas shut off at the street for my own protection but the contractor has not rectified this issue. It is now October 11, 2013, ten months after the job was to be complete and it is still uninhabitable. None of the 4 bathrooms are complete. There is only one working toilet. There are parts and pieces strewn all over the house waiting for someone to repair or replace. There is so much trash piled up in the garage that it cannot be used. I paid $33,000 to transform the exterior of the house to include a portico, shutters, & garage door. The never showed me any architectural drawings. I was shocked to see a weird thing built out of untreated pine deck wood attached to the front of my house. Again, they pulled no permit with Fairfax County. It is still there, incomplete with the base partially on the old concrete and partially off and not even bolted in the walls on the sides. I have asked to see drawings from an architect for my approval but they seem to like a computer program that doesn't correctly account for the actual size of what is existing so it is impossible to build. I have asked for a refund for the portico but have not received it. The same computer program was used for the drawings of my house which show a bathroom wall at 10 feet when it is actually 14 feet. The unsupervised workers were allowed to put doors in the new master bath in the wrong place and install the vanity in a different location than the drawing because they did not know what to do. Alex Post did not oversee the job so many things are way off. As far as quality. Every item they selected for my house is the cheapest possible product found. The hardwood floors turned out to be compressed paper floors, not even laminate! The first thing you notice when you drive up to my house after you see the unfinished weird decking wood thing over my front door is the cheap plastic or vinyl garage door. The old one was wood. There are many examples in the house where they removed something and replaced it with an inferior quality product or something much smaller. In the old master bath they removed at 42 inch vanity and replaced it with a single sink vanity with no counter space. They removed bathroom light fixture with 5 lights and replaced it with one light bulb! The kitchen oven 36 inch oven was removed and replaced with a tiny 27 inch oven that a cookie sheet cannot fit into. I called "Alex" Post but have received no response. There is no one at their office. Many of the people shown on their website do not work there. I was told that this contractor was a "class a" licensed contractor and that the workers were all "W-2" employees. In actuality, at the time that statement was made, they were only class b and not qualified to contract for a job of this magnitude. Since then, the have obtained a class a license but after the damage was done at my house. I have been living in hotels since December. I have called "Alex" Post maybe 20 times today and he does not answer and has not returned my calls. I went to his office and no one is there. Have they shut down? Are they still Crystal River Home Design or have they changed their name again and changed locations? I still have $50,000 worth of unfinished work for which I have already paid.

Getting the estimate, scheduling the install, and installation occurred with a minimum of inconvenience. Installation crew was very professional. New windows and doors have made a vast difference.

Crystal River did a fantastic job! They met every committment and were prompt in both their pre-work inspections and in accomplishing the project. They called several days ahead of the scheduled start date and asked if they could begin work a few days early. That was fine with us and we ended up getting the deck completed early. Their carpenter's obviously take great pride in the quality of their workmanship, and were equally meticulous in doing their daily cleanup. What really impressed me was that they identified a couple of areas where the spacing of our existing deck joists was too great to provide adequate support for the Azek composite planking. Without a word from me, they simply did what needed to be done and installed two additional joists...at no additional cost to me! I do recommend getting bids from other contractors. Their initial estimate was high, but when I told them about another quote I had gotten, they reduced their estimate to a comparable bid. Based on a bad experience I had had with another company, they also modified the purchase agreement to satisfy my concerns regarding unexpected charges. The cost was a bit higher than the low bidder, but I felt I was getting a better value by dealing with a very professional and reputable firm. I also liked the fact that they would be using their own employees to do the work and not passing it on to a subcontractor. All-in-all it was a very pleasant experience working with Keith Paton (Director of Marketing), the project manager, Chad, and the craftsmen of Crystal River. They'll be high on my list for work in the future.

Every day there was a Foreman on site to address any questions or concerns that we had. They worked with me and communicated with me daily to ensure we were all on the same sheet of music and the work was getting done to our satisfaction. Additionally there was a Project Manager who called me periodically and inspected the work almost every other day. The workers were polite, professional, and very in tune to make sure my wife and I were happy with their progress. The demo was messy but it had to be done in order to get to where we are now. The backyard looks phenomenal and my neighbors, friends and family are very impressed. This project has increased the value of our home almost $60,000.00 if not more. The Exterior Depot team did an amazing job and I feel like I have made an investment that my family and I will enjoy for a very long time!! I also just signed an addendum to our contract to add a new customized front door and to add wrapping to our garage doors. In summary we are very pleased with Exterior Depot and strongly recommend them to anyone who wants a first class job done. They definitely care about pleasing their customers and providing the best end result possible. Overall it was an outstanding business experience with this Company.

I should have realized there were some red flags. Exterior Depot does have one issue in the BBB and Alex sloughed it off when confronted and said it was just one little piece of aluminum. I should have run for the hills and the if the second red flag did not send me ...I guess I am old and stupid. They needed an affidavit to pull the county permit. Alex had me sign it and I noticed that it had a place to be notarized. Curious...then come to find out, he was going to have his mother notarize it without her having seen and id or having me present. When I confronted him about this today, he said he never did that. I have copied the email that documents this incident. I admit that I called him a liar. If this saves one older person from being taken advantage of, then some of what I have been through will be worth it. Email trail: Joan, First, the guys will be working on the porch today, tomorrow and from here on out. I genuinely apologize for the delay between the demo and the construction. We have done a ton of projects like yours, (straight forward job with a porch that was already existing) and we haven't incurred the permitting issues we did encounter with yours. These unanticipated delays did slow things down a bit, so I can understand your frustration. We are working on your job today and will continue to work on it full time until it is done and you are fully satisfied. As far as the roof is concerned, part of the roof did indeed have 3 layers and the entire roof was in poor condition. Replacing the roof was the right thing to do. The price you received was competitive and I deducted to account for not having to remove and dump as much material. If you would like, I will take off another $250.00 from the roofing contract because I want you to be happy. Joan, I really do appreciate your business and you are a very important client. Thank you for voicing your concern. I have already spoken to the foreman and we are adding two more workers to your crew to speed things along and get your job done as soon a possible. You will see substantial work being completed over the next week. Let me know if there is anything at all I can do, beyond getting your screened porch done asap, to make this project smoother for you. I know you have been dealing with a lot and I dont want to add any stress to your life so please don't hesitate to call or email with any other concerns. Alex On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 5:51 PM, Joan wrote: Alex, First, I am not in a good mood. I came home to nothing being done on the porch. I did a bit of research and you are charging at the high end which I do not object to if I do not feel I am being cheated. You got the roof job under somewhat false pretenses...telling me the roof had 3 layers and it was buckling and potentially causing structural damage. I even went off on the previous contractor for something that he had not done. So now I have to apologize to them based on taking what you told me on face value. I was not in the market for a new roof and it certainly was NOT in the budget. I now am beginning to distrust all that you have told me. Then, I knew there was something odd about you having me sign the affidavit without a notary. I should have questioned it then and there. Then come to find out you were going to have your mother notarize it and I would not have known the difference had her notary not expired. So I had to go to my bank and get it notarized. I do not think this is acceptable business practice. Then you started the porch work which ended up causing a wet spot in my dining room and we have been without a porch since before 26 June. It is now 17 July. That is at least 23 days and by my calculation much longer than the 3 weeks for the approximate completion time you stated in the contract. I asked in my previous email about the porch status and all I got was about the roof and the money you want. I am not sure what recourse is available, but I want you to know how dissatisfied I am. Sincerely, Joan On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 3:36 PM, Joan wrote: Remove and Replace Plywood Decking: $40 ? $70 per sheet http://thehousingforum.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-replace-a-roof/ Tear Off and Disposal Before a roof can be replaced, the old roofing materials must be torn off or prepared for overlaying. Typical costs for tear-off are listed below: 1 layer: $90 ? $140 per 100 square feet 2 layers: $110 ? $160 per 100 square feet 3 layers: $120 ? $170 per 100 square feet ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Alex Post <alex@exteriordepotusa.com> Date: Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 2:23 PM Subject: Re: Status To: Joan Ok, I understand. So here's how everything worked out with the roof: The area around the old screened porch was indeed 3 layers. The rest of the roof, while the shingles were in bad shape, was only one layer. You did have some serious issues all the way down to the plywood and we ended up replacing 14 total sheets of plywood. The total cost breakdown is as follows: Deposit: $7,700 Original Balance: $7,700 Deduction for having to remove only 1 layer on most of roof: -$360 Plywood: $910 (14 sheets at $65/sheet) Total Balance Owed on Roof: $8,250 I would like to come by tomorrow to pick up the check for the balance if you can leave it somewhere for me ie: mailbox. On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 1:58 PM, Joan wrote: Working late and it has been a bit hectic. The day your guys were there, the housekeeper had left the Great Dane out. She had killed a ground hog and when the little dog came out the Dane attacked her. The little dog had to have surgery and is not doing well. Also found out little dog has cancer. Been a bit hectic here and am not sure when I will free up. But probably not until after Thursday. Joan On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 1:41 PM, Alex Post <alexpostcontracting@gmail.com> wrote: Will you be home this afternoon / evening? I could come by and go over everything with you. On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 1:37 PM, Joan wrote: Alex, Like the roof. Did anyone confirm how many layers were actually on the main roof? Is there an update on the porch? The dogs are working on moving the red clay into the house 4 paws at a time. It is a mess!!! Joan -- Alex Pos tExterior Depot 10655 Fairfax BlvdFairfax, VA 22030 703 383 0803 office 703 383 0805 fax 703 731 5049 mobile "Remodeling the Industry" Just noticed their slogan...I sure feel "REMODELED"