Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The Spray Foam job started on 11/2/23, and we paid half down ($8,400) and was supposed to be a 2-day job. After the first day, the foam was cracking and pulling away from our basement studs, and the owner told us that summer foam had been used to spray when winter foam should have been. Also, our front door was not covered and was oversprayed, ruining the door. After the first day, we called and complained and were assured that things would be made right. The job continued, and more overspray happened on four windows and two more doors, floors, and a security camera. After five days of spraying, we had to stop the job in order to ensure no more of our doors and windows would be ruined and that the foam being sprayed was safe, would do its job, and was not off ratio. Several other spray foam professionals have cited that the job was done poorly and that the workmanship in some areas was novice at best and unprofessional at worst. The owner has filed an insurance claim, and now we are stuck with an incomplete addition that cannot be heated in Wisconsin in January. With no communication and or ends in sight, I contacted the owner, giving him another chance to make things right, but he still refused to do anything to help. We have someone willing to complete the job, and at this point, we need our addition insulated so that it can heated. His insurance company is not being responsive and told me it could be another month before I hear from them. I have contacted the foam manufacturer to come out and test the foam in the house to ensure it is safe. They have been great, but unfortunately, the testing takes time as well. After speaking with the masonry company that laid all of the concrete, they said that once the outside temperature drops below 20 degrees, the area needs to be heated to avoid damage. At this point, I am stuck paying another spray foam company to finish the job since RetroFoam refuses to do anything about it.

  

  Business response

  01/13/2024

  Agreed some of the insulation thats pulling away needs to be removed and replaced. 
  I put in a claim in ** insurance and the foam manufacturer has been contacted. I am waiting on the responses from each of them. I was there to finish the job personally Thanksgiving weekend and was asked not to come back. I contacted customer on 1/10/24 asking for an update and again now. 
  

   

  Customer response

  01/24/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  The simple fact that the owner agrees that some of the insulation needs to be removed and replaced validates my concerns about having his company come back to finish the job. 
  
  The insurance claim has been in open status with no progress since it was filed in late November. The last response I received was when I contacted them on 1/4, the response I got was that they had contacted an attorney for legal advice but they didn't expect to hear back for weeks if not months... 
  
  Regarding the quality assessment of the foam that has been sprayed, the owner has done nothing to assess the quality of the workmanship of the foam that he sprayed to ease the concerns that I had regarding the workmanship of the job. Instead, I was left to fight on my own to attempt to contact the manufacturer of the foam as well as other third-party spray foam installers to assess the quality of the job.
  
  It should not be my responsibility to update the owner on the progress of his insurance claim or his spray foam manufacturer's investigation. 
  
  In regards to the owner being available Thanksgiving weekend, this job was supposed to be a 2-day job and was supposed to be finished on 11/6. After 5 days of spraying, the job was still not completed. At this point, it should not be surprising that the owner of the company would be willing to help out when a job is three weeks behind, and has had several overspray issues and workmanship complaints, even on a holiday weekend. However, because of these issues as well as the fact that a local third-party spray foam company, our HVAC guy, and our Inspector all said they had concerns with the quality of the job and the foam that was sprayed, we asked RetroFoam to stop the job on 11/23/23 a week before thanksgiving. 
  
  When I complained initially about the foam pulling away it was "repaired" by simply spraying foam over it instead of removing the foam and replacing it. This has been pointed out by several third parties and even the owner himself when confronted about it.
  
  With the workmanship in question stopping the job was an obvious decision to make. It has been obvious to everyone including the owner of RetroFoam that there are issues with the foam that was installed as well as the negligence involved in the over-spraying of the windows and doors. 
  
  I have given RetroFoam plenty of time to make this right to no avail and I am done trying to work with them. I do not want RetroFoam spraying any more foam in my addition and I request;
  
  To remedy the defects caused by the spray foam job I request the following:
    To be compensated
            - to get the subfloor back to a usable condition (sanded and free from spray foam overspray)
            - for any heating expenses that have been incurred while heating the unfinished spray foam job in the addition.
            - for any time spent managing/documenting this defect complaint.
            - for the property damage (three exterior doors, 4 windows, and a SimpliSafe security camera).
  To be refunded the deposit of $8,400 for services not rendered
  To be compensated to repair the spray foam in the addition including but not limited to;
            - All delaminating and incorrectly mixed/applied spray foam removed.
            - Any damaged construction materials (framing/sheeting/shingles etc..) damaged due to removal, off ratio, or improper spray foam installation repaired to the same condition it was before the foam was sprayed.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

  

  Business response

  02/09/2024

  I received a decision from the insurance company that they will only cover the cost of the over spray issues from the job we did. 
  I will need to exercise my right to cure the job. 
  

   

  Customer response

  02/20/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I have not heard from the owner or the insurance company

  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

  

  Business response

  02/20/2024

  Hello ***************. I sent an email asking how you would like to proceed. I need to exercise my right to cure. The insurance will only cover the oversprayed items. 
  

  let me know

  ***

• Initial Complaint

  11/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They came to my property August ********************************* a envelope and said here is your warranty and my receipt and my rebate paperwork would be mailed to me in about 10 business days I called around September 10 talked to *** she said they had another job close to my house on September 27th and they would drop off my paper work then it's November 15th and no word from them. They still have to check for drafts. and i still need my paperwork.

  

  Business response

  01/10/2024

  I sent him a check for the rebate amount to cover until we get out there. Did he receive it?

• Initial Complaint

  09/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid $6,048 on April 15 2022 for retrofoam of southeast Wisconsin to remove siding and spray insulation in my walls. I removed some of my wall for an improvement and found that there was barely any insulation. They came back and tried again but I have reason to believe they skipped most of my house. The reason is that it's obvious they never removed my siding (caulk not broken, personally observed employees). The owner of the company verbally promised an energy audit and vermiculite testing. He doesn't know what he's talking about with the vermiculite testing, according to a different business (in which attic insulation is their main focus) vermiculite testing is unnecessary, they just remove it regardless of test results. Wisconsin regards all vermiculite hazardous. However, retrofoam just wants to sell me attic insulation (I presume to try and recoup some losses). Retrofoam now seems very reluctant to perform an energy audit (I presume because it will reveal that the job performed twice still isn't done). They also didn't even attempt to nail my siding back in and bent up some of it. They didn't caulk anything and drilled three holes on the inside of my house and poorly repaired them. Invoice #****.

  

  Business response

  10/06/2022

  Hello ************;
  
  The guy who I sent over about the vermiculite in your attic led me to believe you signed with him and hasnt been responding to me since. I have no idea why he told me that if you didnt. You have full coverage in your house. I am becoming certified through BSI for the audit. I learned through the process we cannot do a blower door test on your house because of the asbestos in your attic. Which makes sense we obviously do not want to blow asbestos around your home that your family lives in. So the test was not because we didnt do a great job. We came back to mark sure we did not doing the blower door test is actually for your own safety. I stopped communication with you because I thought you went with ****** for the attic job like he told me. I offered you attic insulation because you need it. You should have the asbestos abatement done and get new insulation. Right now you have a yeti cooler on the sides with the lid open. I am thinking about getting my company certified in abatement and performing these myself as I am not happy with the guy I sent your way either. So if youd like to work something out let me know . I called and left a VM about an hour ago. 

  Customer response

  10/08/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  *** from Retrofoam initially offered me the blower door test and then suggested an energy audit from a third party. When I asked about the energy audit they quit responding. *** did send my information to a *********************** from ****** Home Insulation but I did not sign anything with them, however I am inclined to use their service because that's his specialty. When Retrofoam came to attempt to fix the job, by redrilling and refoaming my walls, I personally saw his workers do one side of my home. I happened to be in my pole barn which had a direct line of sight to that side. I didn't see anyone do the back of my house, which I could also see, however my wife did report she heard work outside. I am led to believe that it was not done thoroughly because of my observation as well as caulk on the siding that was broken the first time they came but not the second. Retrofoam removed different pieces of siding the second time because it would've been too difficult to use the same holes as the first, but only on the side of the house I could see, the caulk is broken there but nowhere else. Also my neighbor across the street reported that he didn't see anyone working on the front of the house. There is a small hole in my kitchen where a coaxial cable used to be and I believe that if my home had been properly repaired I would see foam through that hole. The company uses an infrared camera to verify if the house needs the insulation in the first place as well as confirming if the work was completed successfully, they never confirmed the second time. I'm under the impression that a third party could be consulted to confirm, or I was considering purchasing my own IR camera to confirm myself. I'm not confident in their resolution and would like verification that they did indeed do a "great job," otherwise I believe I'm entitled to at least a partial refund and/or a third party to properly perform the requested service.

   
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  10/11/2022

  Our crew spent 5 hours at your home making sure to go around the entire home and topping off the cavities. To say about the caulk on your home is a statement with no value. Most of the caulk on your home was original and deteriorated. Again I stopped responding to you due to the fact that I was told you were going with ******. I was prepared to give you the deal of a lifetime on spray foaming your attic, again I offered the blower door test before I knew there was vermiculite in the attic. I am disappointed we cannot perform one as it make the leaks in your home very noticeable. Looking in your attic I know it leaking horribly. I will call a third party to do the parts of an energy audit he can. He wont be able to do the blower door test. Want that or no?

  Customer response

  10/20/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I mentioned the caulk because I can clearly see where they removed my siding and I'm extremely confident that they did not in some areas, saying that it's a statement without value is calling me a liar. I have no reason to lie, but plenty of reason to be skeptical. In regards to the previous message, and the reason why I felt it necessary to get the BBB involved, was because you promised a blower door test and then said an energy audit but stopped responding before delivering on that promise. All I wanted was what you promised. Also, I knew the whole time you wanted to insulate my attic, but how stupid would I look to give you more money after the job your crew did the first time? I hate to add this, because you said the guy on the second job was your friend but he told me verbatim "if you're gonna have them do your attic, you better do it soon, because he doesn't know what he's doing yet." Probably not a great statement to make to a disgruntled customer, not exactly a confidence booster. I do appreciate that you are making good on the energy audit now, unfortunately we had to go to this length. I spoke with the energy auditor recently and set up an appointment for November (10th? I think), in which he said that will confirm any future problems as well as if I really do have a "yeti cooler" in my walls. I'm very excited to see those results and hopefully you're right, I'd like to be done with this whole thing. Honestly, I never wanted to be a pain but all you had to do was respond and make good on your promise. 

  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  10/21/2022

  I thought you were moving forward with that other company with your  attic. We will see when home perfect does the scan and see if the walls are good. All I want is for you to get the insulation you paid for. If it is lacking in any areas we will come back. Let me know what he says.

  Customer response

  10/30/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer 
  

  I was going to go with ********************** since he'd be here already and that's his main focus. He quoted me and everything, then he stopped responding too. I'm not gonna beg him to take my money, except he's the only company I can find that'll remove the vermiculite. Hopefully the energy audit guy finds everything is good, that guy seemed really legit. I'm sure one of us will let you know either way. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  10/31/2022

  Yes those guys are very legit. All they do everyday is trouble very difficult homes to insulate. I am debating wether or not to get certified in the asbestos removal. Its not difficult. Mostly its the equipment and proper use. But if not I can help you find another guy if he doesnt respond to remove it. I told you I will give you a great deal on your attic insulation and I meant it. But we have to get the vermiculite removed. I will get a copy of the report when he is done with it but let me know when he is done. Have a good week

   

  ***

  Customer response

  11/10/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  

  The energy audit went well, he was very knowledgeable and had great advice. I'm very excited to see his report which should be in **** days. His initial inspection of your work was favorable, which is good news. ********************** sent a guy out and I'm waiting for a more detailed quote. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  Customer response

  11/21/2022

  So far I have not received the results from the energy audit, however I have detected cold air coming from an outlet in one of our bedrooms. Leaving us to believe that I have not received the insulation I paid for.

  

  Business response

  11/21/2022

  We will happily come by to touch that up. I have not gotten anything from the audit either. Once we do we can come up with a plan. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩