ComplaintsforRoberts Remodeling & Construction Co., Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  01/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Upon completion of a kitchen remodel, Robert's Remodeling & Construction failed to uphold its warranty which states, "...if you experience problems with craftsmanship during this period of time, please bring it to our attention. We will inspect the problem free of charge, provide you with our findings, and complete any repairs that we deem necessary and/or work with you to arrive at a solution." The matter at hand stems from craftsmanship that does not meet industry standards as determined by an independent, licensed home inspector. We have made numerous attempts to meet with the company to discuss our concerns but the owner, ****** *******, has stopped responding to our written communications.

  

  Business response

  02/06/2023

  [BBB transcription via email]

   

  Mrs. ******,

   

  We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Mrs. ******** complaint.

   

  Over the years, we performed several projects at the ****** residence. All of which have been completed with successful outcomes.

   

  In response to the kitchen project and the concern regarding the uneven tile. As I explained to Mrs. ******, the floor in her kitchen is not level and had many areas that settled, heaved and became uneven over time.  These are pre-existing conditions and were not in any way the responsibility of Robert’s Construction.

   

  This is significant in the area in which the tile is slightly uneven. My seasoned craftsman tried to level the area as best as possible. However due to the larger size tile selected by Mrs ******, and location of the uneven floor, we could not completely eliminate the issue without adversely affecting other high traffic areas.

   

  Mr. and Mrs. ****** requested my best employee and craftsman. They wanted him and no one else. This man was on site from start to finish. He and I have had long conversations regarding this issue. He expressed that he did all he could to remedy the uneven floor issues without adversely affecting other high traffic areas.

   

  While I respect the experts report, I believe that in remodeling we deal with many pre-existing conditions and try our best to correct what we can.  We do not offer perfection. We do not guarantee or warranty any pre-existing conditions. We simply have to do the best we can with what challenges we confront. This was the conversation I had with Mrs. ******.

   

   

   

  Respectfully,

   

  ****** ********, Pres.

   

  Cell# ************

  Office # ************

  Fax: ************

  Customer response

  02/09/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Thank you for facilitating a response from ******* ************. The owner abruptly stopped communicating with me so I am grateful that you were able to get a response. In follow up I present the following:

  
  It is untrue that our floor was ‘heaved’ in any location. The home inspector found no issues with the framing, joists or subfloor. Moreover, neither Mr. ******* nor his carpenter ever mentioned an issue with the subfloor. I do not dispute that the floor required normal leveling with leveling compound. But if the floor was as bad as Mr. ******* described, why didn’t he or his expert craftsman talk to us before installation commenced? I have asked this question of Mr. ******* and that is the point at which he stopped communicating with me.

  
  During initial text communications (attached) regarding the floor with Mr. *******, when he was still responding to me, he told me two different stories about the work that could be done to address our concerns:
  On September 1, 2022 he said, “I discussed with ***. We can only install additional grout to even out the seam out. We won’t be able to free *** up right away. Will let you know when I can get him out there.”
  

  After not hearing back from him regarding his worker’s availability, I contacted Mr. ******* again on October 5, 2022. He responded he should be able to have his worker at our house the following week.
  

    The next week passed with no response so I followed up on November 10, 2022. I did not get a response.
  

  I followed up again on November 15, 2022 and received the response below. Note that it is a totally different explanation than I got on September 1, 2022 (above)
  

  Response from November 15, 2022 – “I spoke with *** at length about your floor. The existing subfloor and framing was extremely out of level and was leveled as much as possible to accept the larger tile. This cannot be corrected with grout. *** and I agree there is nothing more we can do to correct the floor that would not show up somewhere else due to the preexisting condition of your floor.”
  I responded to the above and asked why this was not discussed with us before the work began. I also invited him to our home to see the areas for himself (he previously only saw iPhone pictures). Mr. ******* never responded to me.
  

  In summary, Mr. *******’s description of our floor is false. I know that because we had the home inspected and also because of the first text response where Mr. ******* stated he had talked to his worker and he’d be able to fix it with grout. If what Mr. ******* said on November 15, 2022 is true, he would have had to be lying on September 1, 2022 when he said the area could be fixed with grout.
  

  One place I agree with Mr. ******* is on the status of other projects his company completed for us. Our kitchen was the third remodel he did for us and we were extremely happy with the previous projects. Beyond the approximate 100k dollars we’ve spent with his company, I thought we had built a trusting client/contractor relationship. He had talked me through p***lems/challenges with past projects. He knows I am reasonable and logical. If he would have consulted with me about the floor before work commenced or as soon as they realized the p***lem, this could have been avoided. But as it stands, I have areas in my floor that are a hazard to anyone walking on the floor in bare feet including our grandbabies.
  

  Potential customers need to know that Mr. *******’s communication is inconsistent, misleading, and at times, completely false. They should also know that he does not stand behind his warranty. 

  
  

  

  Business response

  02/14/2023

  [BBB transcription via email]

   

  In response to the letter dated February 9, 2023.

   

  I would like to address a few items to clear our company from any wrong doing or misrepresentation.

   

  The ****** kitchen has several different traffic patterns transitioning to doors or adjacent rooms within a small area approx. 144 sq. ft.

   

  Rooms as follows:

   

  • Powder room entrance
  • Garage entrance
  • Kitchen main entrance and walkway near peninsula
  • Office entrance
  • Stairway door to basement
  • Family room entrance
  • Rear sliding door entrance

   

   

  Noting the many different traffic patterns is important because trying to overcompensate one area would adversely affect another. Some areas required leveling of more than ¾ of an inch.  The area in question (the area Mrs. ****** claims is a safety hazard) where the three tiles intersect measures only slightly higher than 1/32 of an inch. Which is the thickness of a credit card.  I would like to also mention that three of the above listed traffic patterns have transitions measuring greater than 1/4”. All of which are acceptable to Mrs. ******. To attempt to satisfy Mrs. ******, my craftsman returned to the project and replaced two of the three transitions AFTER the kitchen floor tile was completed.  At this time Mrs. ****** never mentioned having an issue with the floor tile.  This was brought to my attention several months after the completion of the job.

   

  Next, and most importantly, the inspectors report never mentioned anything about the floor joist directly under the entire kitchen area. The report only mentions inspecting the tile floor from the first floor level. If he had inspected this area from the basement level, he would have noted the crowning of several floor joists as well as the joists that are deflecting.

   

  In my expert opinion, the crowning and deflection is caused by several floor joist being cantilevered in the kitchen sink area and others adjacent to them not being cantilevered.

  This causes the floor joists to settle differently. Over time, the non-cantilevered joist deflect, and the cantilevered joist actually crown. This could be magnified if the builder did not crown his joist properly during installation when the home was originally constructed. This is the root cause of Mrs. ******’s flooring issues. This is common in homes with cantilevered floor joists and of similar age (thirty plus years) of the ****** residence. We leveled (or made as level as possible) Mrs. ******’s floor free of charge, without additional cost to her.

   

  As stated in my previous response, this is a pre-existing condition which we were not hired to identify and or correct.  Also, we do not practice informing home owners of each and every defect that is present in their home. Every home has defects and as homes age, the defects become more apparent. We have done all we can do to remedy the tile in question (slightly more than 1/32 of an inch) and floor issue.  This is not a matter of negligence or not standing behind a warranty. I stand behind my work, my employees and the finished product. Whether Mrs. ****** agrees with my assessment or not, it still remains a fact that this floor issue was not caused by Robert’s Construction and had the inspector inspected the floor joist from the basement level I am certain he would agree.

   

  If I felt we did anything wrong, I would remedy without question. My craftsman did a heck of a job to get such a small height differentiation of slightly greater than 1/32 of an inch based on pre-existing conditions.

  We actually went above and beyond the scope of work and we are proud of the finished product.

   

  Respectfully,

   

  Robert Cogdeill, Pres.

   

  Customer response

  02/20/2023

  [BBB transcription via email]

  
  
  Good morning. I was surprised to see my complaint ********closed. Your coversheet states I had 7 days to respond yet the matter was considered closed prior to those 7 days. Moreover, I have a response for the business. I do not understand how you can say the business tried to resolve when all he has done is deflect and refuse to inspect the issue as per the terms of his warranty.  Please see below:
  
   
  
  ***, respectfully, this is exactly why I invited you to our home. Discussing the issues while being able to look at the areas of concern, would help align us. Since you refused to communicate directly with me, I am forced into a back and forth discussion with you that is getting us nowhere. Nonetheless, below is my rebuttal:
  
  The ¼ inch transitions you mention are sloped up from an adjoining floor of a different thickness. Where these transitions meet the kitchen floor is level. There is no lippage like there is in the original areas of concern. By deflecting from my last response and pulling in parts of the remodel that are not an issue, you are, in fact, helping to make my point with the overall concern. We discussed the transition areas you mentioned. We discussed options. You set my expectations that the transitions may be less than perfect because you had to work with the existing floor thickness differences. Your craftsman did a great job in those areas. You can step directly on the transitions and they are level and smooth with a slight slope from one floor to the next. Now let’s turn our attention to the areas of my concern. You state they are slightly higher than 1/32 of an inch, the approximate thickness of a credit card. The industry standard allows 1/32 of an inch. A lippage greater than that, exceeds the industry standard. I am glad we agree that the final work does not meet the industry standard.
  
  Thank you highlighting my concerns in your response. First you mention other areas of the kitchen where we had a great deal of discussion and agreed on a path forward. This entire situation could have been avoided if you would have consulted with me regarding preexisting conditions of the existing floor. You set a precedent of consulting and failed to do so regarding lippage concerns. We came to you as an industry professional. Past precedent included thoughtful consultation. However, when it came to this, you did not talk to me about preexisting conditions or other concerns like you had with other issues. Of note, the home inspector did inspect the floor from the basement. There is nothing in the report because there isn’t a p***lem. Secondly, you admit that the floor exceeds the lippage standard in some areas. Your warranty states you will inspect any areas of concern within one year. I have asked you to do so on numerous occasions but you refuse. In your failed attempt to deflect from the issue at hand, you emphasized the point that you failed to consult like you did in other parts of the project. Moreover, you admit the lippage is greater than the standard allows.
  
  ***, you haven’t inspected these areas yourself. You offered two different early responses about being able to fix the issue. This goes back to your warranty. It says to let you know within a year if there is an issue. You have refused to inspect it as your warranty says you will.
  
  I am done debating the issues. The fact stands that there is an area of concern and you refuse to come out to inspect it. I hope all or part of our discussion remains on the BBB website so other customers are informed about potential issues of doing business with you.
  
  
  **** ******
  

  
  

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