We have pictures and video of this entire mess
The video of the roof buckling and leaking profusely is scary
All we wanted was for it to be done properly, within a reasonable amount of time.
What we got was a frustrating, stressful, expensive, dangerous mess.
Due to the contract violations, illegal construction, child endangerment, humiliating treatment, and the extreme amount of trouble and stress we are demanding a full refund.
Summary
We hired DoIt4Me (DIFM) construction to build a corrugated plastic covering on our deck so we could have shade from the sun and protection from the rain. What we received was a, dangerous, sub-standard, poorly constructed cover that leaked like a sieve and posed a danger to our family and house and did not have a permit from the city.
We have already paid out $898 of the $1,797 contract and are demanding that all of our money be returned. The illegal work performed by DIFM was totally unacceptable and has caused us considerable stress. We had to remove their dangerous, leaky cover and replace it on our own.
The following is a documentation of the events of this situation.
February
We contacted DoIt4Me (DIFM) for a bid to do an addition for our house that included adding the following:
o Sun room
o Media room
o Two bedrooms
o Bathroom
o Deck cover ($1,547.00)
On 2/25/07 Albert provided us with a detailed bid for $125,934.00 to do the work.
March 1 13
We contacted Albert Fairclough and asked for a price on covering the deck with aluminum instead of plastic. He gave us a quote of $2,263 for an aluminum deck cover.
Since $125,934 is a big commitment for us and would require us getting the maximum limit on a home equity loan to finance, we decided to try out DoIt4Me by having them do the deck cover only. Once we saw how they did on that small part of the project, we would then decide if we wanted to use them for the additional $124,387.00 in remodeling.
Tuesday, March 13
We contacted Albert Fairclough at DoIt4Me and asked him to send the bid and contract for the plastic corrugated roof.
He sent us a contract to do the plastic roof at the aluminum roof price of $2,263.
We told him that this was the wrong price for the plastic cover.
Albert then sent us another contract for the plastic roof for $1,797.
O The original bid for the plastic cover was $1,547
o First he sends us a contract for a plastic roof at the higher aluminum price and then he corrects' it to a price that doesn't match his original bid for the roof.
O At this time we were so busy with painters and repairs to our house that we failed to notice that this was not even the correct price for a plastic cover. He slipped in a higher price that, since we were in a hurry to get this all done, we did not realize. If we had taken the time to compare this price to that in the original quote from February we would not have signed this contract. Our mistake and a sign of things to come.
The contract included the following commitments from DoIt4Me. A complete copy is attached for reference.
O Article 2: Time of Completion
The work to be preformed under this agreement shall be commenced on or before Wednesday March 14 and shall be substantially completed on or before Thursday March 15.
O Article 4: General Provisions
1. DIFM agrees to complete the work in a workman-like manner and with applicable laws.
8. If required DIFM shall be responsible to obtain all permits necessary for the work to be preformed.
9. DIFM agrees to remove all debris and leave the premise in broom clean condition.
O Article 7: Warranty
All DIFM's labor comes with a 120 day warranty.
Wednesday, March 14
DIFM sub-contracted the work to a man named Robert and his helper. They arrived on Wednesday and started the job.
DIFM did not obtain a building permit Article 4, Section 8 of the contract states that DIFM will obtain all necessary permits. The city of Garland requires a permit for the work they were contracted to do. DIFM never got the permit for the job. We have it in writing on a letter DIFM sent to us where they admit to doing our job without obtaining a building permit.
We decided that we didn't feel that the gray plastic we had selected would provide sufficient shade. We asked Robert if it would be a problem to switch out to an opaque green. He stated that it would not be a problem, since he hadn't installed any of the material yet. He just wanted us to be sure we could locate the same number of pieces of the green that he had obtained of the gray. We found the required amount that he said he needed at a local Home Depot that day.
Robert had purchased plastic sub-bracing for the corrugated plastic. We asked him if this would be a problem if we changed out the cover. He said that it wouldn't be a problem, since the same bracing was used for both types of cover. He made a point that he would be able to use the same bracing.
Note: No plastic sub-bracing was ever installed.
At the end of the day they had removed the framing and sunscreen. There were only a few pieces of the new framing installed, no covering installed at this point.
Thursday, March 15
At the end of the day - Additional framing was installed. No cover was installed.
Article 2 of the contract stated that the work shall be substantially completed on or before Thursday March 15
Friday, March 16
Robert told Ted that he needed to go back to the store to get the correct glue. Robert remarked that someone must have put the wrong tube in the bin and that it was not the proper glue for the job. He couldn't continue until he had the right glue.
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