I bought a room addition from Four Seasons Sunrooms/Ambiance additions in May.
Room was completed July with a 10 year warranty.
Right from the very beginning the room was never properly sealed, every time it rained water came through the roof in multiple areas. The first time the roof leaked there was major damage to a chest of drawers, which Four Seasons reimbursed me for.
Every time it rained I would call up and complain that the roof was still not sealed. They came out and re-sealed the roof multiple times (I cant remember how many but I think at least 5 times they sent their guys to come out and fix the leaks) The last time anyone came out to fix the roof was in 2006. Every time I called to complain I was met with a very hostile member of staff who at best was just unpleasant to deal with.
As you know we have had a drought in California for the past 2 years so what little rain we had I just mopped up with towels (it was easier to deal with than the people at Four Seasons)
This February we had an immense amount of rain in a very short period of time, I had to use 8-9 towels to stop the water coming through the sliding patio door. My walls are covered in watermarks and there is now toxic black mould growing on the wall, which has the largest leak on it.
I called Four Seasons on 3/6/08 and spoke with Jessica (office manager) she said she would have Willy (engineer) schedule an appointment with me to asses the damage. I waited a week and never heard back from them so I called on 3/13/08 and spoke with Willy who hadn't heard anything about my complaint. We scheduled for him to come and assess the damage on 3/17/08 at 1pm.
3/17/08
Willy took a look at the room and asked why I hadn't called earlier. I explained we had had a drought and the leak hadn't been so dire. I also explained that the room was impossible to climate control, it was unbearably hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter which made the room un-usable. Willy explained that if I opened the doors of the room to the rest of the house the climate would be the same as the house. Anyone who experienced this room in the summer or winter months would know that this is not true, my house doesn't need air conditioning in the summer as I am on a hill side and its a Spanish house which stays very cool, Sometimes too cool and the room addition reaches temperatures well over 90 degrees, I could cook an egg in it in the height of summer.in the winter only a fool with very deep pockets would attempt to heat this room, its icy cold and you can see your breath in it in the evenings.
Also, I need to point out here that the glass on the roof was the more expensive glass that was supposed to let in 100% of the sunlight but only 15% of the heat. So something here clearly is not working.
When I stated this to Willy and told him I didn't accept his explanation he got very agitated and began speaking to me in an aggressive manner, at this point I said we could discuss climate control later and should focus on the leaking roof at which he replied very aggressively that he would not discuss the climate of the room with me later.
It became very clear that the conversation had broken down at this point, instead of answering my questions Willy tried to intimidate me by staring directly in my eyes for a very uncomfortable amount of time, he kept walking towards me very close and speaking very loud at me whilst staring into my eyes aggressively the whole time, every time I stepped back to diffuse the situation he would step forward again saying things like "everything that has gone wrong with this room isn't all of our fault". Every time I tried to make my point he would twist my words around and talk even louder at me. He kept implying that it was my fault for not calling them in two years. I kept pointing out that there was a ten-year warranty on the parts and lifetime warranty on the seals (which is my issue) but he had no direct reply to that fact and kept repeating that I should not have left it so long to call them.
It was a very upsetting situation. I know that this would not have been his tone had I been male or accompanied by a male. I asked him simple questions like what did he suggest we do from here and what was the expected turn around on his plan of action - all of my questions were met with a intimidating stare which I found very unnerving. He explained to me that he made his schedules on a Friday, that he would make his schedule this Friday (March 21st 08) and that Jessica would call me and let me know. I heard back from Jessica approximately ten days later. It was then that I informed her that my meeting with Willy had gone very badly and that I was seeking advice from my attorney.
After speaking with my attorney I notified head office of the problems I had experienced and informed them that I was about to file suit, they sent David from Ambiance Additions (May 13th) to take a look at the room addition. After a very thorough inspection (water test lasting 2.5 hours) David suggested that the reason the door frame leaked was because I had stepped on it (not true) and even if I stepped on it (which I didn't) I live alone and I weigh 125 lbs not so heavy in the grand scheme of things he also suggested the the patch I had put on the corner of the room addition that leaked the most was what was causing the leak (obviously according to him I have nothing better than to cause damage to my own home) Anyway, at the end of the inspection David was very vague about what he proposed to do in order to correct the leaking room, only stating that they would prefer to fix the leak issues themselves. I asked him to put his findings down on paper and a proposal of what he planned to do to fix the problem so I could discuss it with my attorney before making an informed decision but he said he couldn't do that. When I asked why he said if I got my attorney involved he would have to get his attorney involved, I agreed and told him to go ahead and speak to his attorney and he said well if we go that route we may as well go to court. At that point I asked him if he was implying that I should make a decision about the room based only on his verbal statement and he then back tracked, said he could put something in writing for me but he would need to get advice and this may take a while. This Tuesday will be a week on from that conversation so I will make an update once I have heard anything back.
I paid $24,000.00 to Ambiance Additions/Four Seasons sunroom's and have what several other companies have said is a tear down. I have given them ample opportunities to make this situation right and give me a leak free, mould free, room that doesn't have cracking walls but so far they have not been able to do this. I would advise any homeowner wishing to expand and add value to their property to avoid this company like the plague! Unless you want toxic mould, leaks and cracking walls that is!
0 comments