ComplaintsforModern Stones & Flooring

• Initial Complaint

  03/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The Contractor has not completed the work under the contract, but has hired a lawyer to try to get us to pay the final payment, which is not due until the contract is complete. The contractor has left the following items unfinished, or with defects (see on extended area below):1) Shower curb was installed level. Water pools against the glass enclosure causing leaks to the floor. Contractor refuses to correct this error.2) Walls are left unfinishedwith unpainted mud and unfinished surfaces that have pits and trowel marks.3) Baseboards have exposed nail holes that are unfilled and unpainted.4) Electrical covers (outlets, vents, etc.) need to be installed. As it is, the Contractor has left ******************* open and protruding from the wall. We are concerned about this safety hazard as we have young children.5) The bathroom door handle was installed with the lock on the outside.6) An area under the vanity (which is free-standing) was left unpainted and is visible.7) All tools and leftover materials need to be removed and the job site cleaned. There is overspray and dust all over the place.

  Business response

  04/03/2024

  We never abandoned the job and made multiple return trips to satisfy the client. The shower curb was installed at the proper grade but ***************** insisted we re-do it to make it level against our recommendations.  She told multiple people there, including the tile installer and owner of Padre *****, that she wanted it removed and leveled and even gave us the dimensions, she even wanted the custom shower glass leveled against our recommendations. We all warned her against this but she was adamant so we relented and rebuilt it per request and at our cost. She has made an error in judgement and we will not pay to re-do it again (see texts). We textured the walls with skip trowel per contract and completely painted. ***************** was unhappy with the finish and wanted a different texture and asked one of the painters we sent to do a different texture and repaint.  We also have text messages from ******************************** saying she was happy with the work. The picture **************** uploaded showing an unfinished wall was not of our doing. Perhaps they are working with someone else to refinish and want us to absorb the paint costs. 3.As far as electrical, our contract only included lights for vanity and a ceiling fan.  We sub-contracted with *************** for that. For all other electrical we introduced the clients to an outside contractor *************************** who is not part of Modern Stones and Flooring Inc.  The electrical outlets in the pictures are *****'s work and getting those finished is between the client and ***** and is not part of our contract. The leftover tools are *****'s as well as any debris, the ******' and ***** have ongoing work they agreed on outside of our contract.  ***** was also supposed to address the paint patch that was left unfinished under the vanity.  ***** has let us know that he has tried to finish his work but that the ******' have told him "to hold off" on this work, probably because they want the work to appear unfinished. Please let us know if you have further questions.
  *******************************
  Modern Stones & Flooring Inc.
  **************
  www.modernstonesandflooring.com
  www.floorfloorfloors.com
  

  
  

  Customer response

  04/03/2024

  Everything the Contractor is stating is heresay. The facts are that the terms of the contract are not fulfilled. Anyone could come to our house and see how the Contractor left it (They offered us $2500 off of the final payment so they wouldn't have to come back and finish. Why would they do that if they really had finished the work??). And how convenient it is for the Contractor to say that we requested the errors ourselves! Why would we do that?? We don't know how to properly install a shower. That's why we hired them in the first place!! If we had requested something that was going to cause our shower to be completely unusable, this should have constituted a contract change. No such language is in the contract, so the onus has to be on the Contractor to install per code and best practices. This Contractor seems to think they can get out of their mistakes by simply stating we asked them to do it that way! The reason it's wrong is that the owner himself, ************************, did the work, sandwiching together two kerdi boards instead of using the proper construction materials. Furthermore, now that we have contacted other contractors to inspect and quote what it will take to finish the contract, they have noted that the Contractor didn't even hot mop the curb before installing the tile. They say this and other errors that are out of code will need to be fixed because there is high risk of water leakage as-is. Of course, the Contractor will probably say that we asked them not to hot mop and properly waterproof the shower. This is apparently how they get out of actually performing the work stated in the contract.

  Business response

  04/09/2024

  We completed the job and offered $2500 off the balance after our third attempt to collect final payment because it was pretty clear this client had no intention of paying. The shower was done correctly and re-done more than once by professional, licensed contractors. The shower curb was done correctly and we attached text messages of the wife, ******* (*****) demanding it be rebuilt against our advice and causing us to tear down properly done work to rebuild at her whim.  We even have pictures of the hot mop process and have plenty more text messages to prove all work that was done and the excessive requests for rework from ***********************.  Unfortunately these clients just are not honest, and the insurance company they are using to fund the job as contacted us about his excessive claims.  When they contacted me they read words on my invoice that are not my own which makes me think the client added words to help secure additional funding. We have tried to mediate and this client is unwilling. We need to be paid for completed work.

   

  Good Morning, In summary, we have tried several times to mediate with this client. We are a long established, family run business. We depend greatly on referrals and word of mouth and we never want to leave a client unsatisfied but in this situation we delivered a beautiful bathroom and the client is trying to hold us on the hook for doing work outside the scope of our contract and for redoing work that was done properly the first time. Even though we find their claims invalid, we want everyone to walk away happy and have offered money off the balance in hopes of finding a solution. Part of the motivation for that was that these clients were a referral from a happy client of ours and we dont want to damper that relationship with this fiasco. Initially we offered $1,000 off, then we offered $2,500 off and we are willing to make one final offer of $3,500 off which would leave only a $5,000 balance due, and we can all walk away from this without further litigation. We are already at a loss but that would allow us to at least pay some of our sub contractors for work they completed there such as the stone, tile, and custom shower glass. Any support from BBB with mediation is appreciated, we dont want to go to court, we just dont want to be taken advantage of either. Please. Thank you. 

  Customer response

  04/16/2024

  We do not agree with the Contractor's offer of $3500 off the final payment. We have received an estimate from another independent contractor and it exceeds the entire amount due on the final payment. If the Contractor doesn't return and correct their errors, we will have to file a lawsuit to recoup the additional cost to fix their errors and finish the contract. The best outcome is for the Contractor to come back and finish the work, using qualified subcontractors instead of performing work ad-hoc. Attached is the quote we received from the independent contractor to recover from what the original contractor left either faulty or unfinished. As you an see, the $15,000 is well above the $8000 we would owe on a completed contract. We are not unreasonable. The contractor can come back and finish the job and this would be the best outcome. We are ready to pay the full amount due with a completed job. We don't need discounts. We want our bathroom finished.

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