Exterior Insulation on my home
I was pursuing updates to my home as part of the second energy audit. I was planning on installing PV Solar panels on the South side of my home and thought I should replace the aluminum siding on the second storey and add insulation as a number of neighbours had done. When the audit was being done it was discovered that due to the age of my home (built late 1960's)there wasn't really any insulation in the walls (equiv.R4) so I couldn't just replace the siding as the whole North side of my house was brick and therefore the coldest portion would be left 'as is'...So I started researching for an alternate solution and found EIFS which is essentially putting insulation on the outside walls and then sealing it with cement and a finish coat of stucco. I started searching for providers and found that after 5 estimates I had one that was $8k higher than the lowest with 3 in the middle but the scope of service varied widely. This became key to knowing what you were getting for your $. I found a neighbour a street over had their house done and they provided me with the name of the person they used, he was local to where we lived and they had good things to say. I contacted him for an estimate, his was in the same range as the other 3 but since he was local I felt it was a better choice.I called the 3 references he provided and went to see their homes. He assured me I would be extremely happy with the work of his crew and the finished result would be perfect, he wants his customers to be happy. He would take care of extending the external outlets and taps and included caulking once finished which was one difference with the others. He also provided me with a copy of his insurance information. So I said let's schedule for May...I also had to get 3 doors and 7 windows done and all those had to be finished before he would be able to complete his work. The work started beginning of June, took 2 weeks and was more disruptive than I expected and if I never see small pieces of styrofoam again I will be very happy. This is really where the high expectations didn't come through. The promised daily clean up wasn't done effectively or consistently so there was always styrofoam around, inside/outside, everywhere so I ended up cleaning up after the crew left each day. I also had to clean up after the stucco was applied as it was in the gardens, on various other areas outside. It looks like I have new home and his willingness to use a custom colour for the external walls that I chose as well as the colour for the ledges was great. The final work was to have the caulking done and due to lack of communication the person arrived twice without warning. Once he had to be sent away because my front door had still not been installed, only the frame was in place but not properly set(see Ostaco review). The second time we had a long discussion while my relatives from the US, Australia, etc. watched as he showed up without warning as they were arriving for a visit! There was also an issue with the front tap as it wouldn't stop dripping and there was a gap at the top of a few windows and the front door between the stucco and outside caulking making it look inconsistent. He came by to 'look' and didn't think he should have to address these issues. He said he did me a 'favour' by extending the taps and it wasn't in the contract so he wasn't responsible to fix it, even threatened to just take the tap off and I could hire someone to fix it.He was angry that the person doing the caulking was sent twice and I said calling me would have avoided both instances. He also challenged the suggestion to paint where the gap showed, he felt he had addressed one other problem with flashing as 'a favour' due to the other workmen not doing the job properly. I said that cutting off a piece of flashing was part of finishing the work properly. I said I was told I would be happy and all would look perfect? He later emailed indicating he would do the painting, I guess my having still owed the last installment was realized, I was disappointed he didn't also apologize for his loud discussion outside my home.
Overall, I am pleased with the finished product, just disappointed when someone says something will be perfect. I was skeptical, however in this case simple attention being paid to communication and a calmer approach would have resulted in a very happy customer. Another neighbour has already had him do work on their home as a result of my initial reference, the recent interaction on the remaining items has tainted my impression which again could have been softened by an apology.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $17,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- He needs to either find someone to help him keep things organized and maintain two way communication when things are delayed on either side. His being too busy means that he will miss things and take out his work pressure on others...
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Do you homework on what is being included in the pricing, the small details can be overwhelming when such a large project is being considered. Don't underestimate the disruption to daily living...However the overall result is worth it and my energy bills should be greatly reduced all year round as a result and you can't get a 'new' house for this price...
- Company Response
Dear Allison,
Unfortunately that is very hard to make everybody satisfied, even if im working hard to make all of my clients happy. I've read your review and sorry to hear that, i couldn't deliever a 100% service, since i thought (and said) you will be really satisfied with us at the completion of the work.
Well, regarding the caulking issue: soon as we finished all four elevations of your house(it was first week of of June), i sent my guy to apply the caulking on all doors/windows. You're right, i didn't call you to let you know that, he's comming to finish the work, please accept my apology for that. He couldn't finish his work at that time since you have told him to do not caulk around the main entrance door because you're facing with some door issues, so i didn't even ask for the final payment eather for months. Finally, you emailed me with the great news "Hi Arnold, The door saga continues...I apologize for the delay...I've been waiting 12 weeks and courting to get this sorted out too..." as you wrote in this email in 10th of August. First week of September you called me to inform: the door has been installed and you want me to finish the caulking around the door, so i told my guy to go there as soon as he can. I supposed to learn from my previous mistake, i didn't call you with a notice, when he will arrive to complete our work, but i sent you an email to your smartphone that morning to let you know he is comming early afternoon. Well, it was my mistake, i apology for that as well.
Re: extending the exterior taps(valves)
At my first site visit, we were walking around your house and gave you a list, what has to be done before you hire a stucco contractor, specially if 3" ridgid board has to be installed instead of the standard 1,5 or 2" exterior insulation. You was asking me if we can install the extension boxes for the light fixtures and include the caulking seal as well in my estimate. About a week later, you called me to sign the contract for the above work, not including the tap extension(please see our signed contract). Once, we have started the EIFS work and the valves were not installed yet, i offered to extend them for FREE OF CHARGE, otherwise we have to work around them and not able to complete that 2 elevations. I went to the local home depot to buy the required tools, pipes and taps and installed by myself spending long hours with the one at the backyard(since im not an expert of plumbing) so i returned the other tap to the store and purchased a high end (no tool required) valve with a pre-installed extension to avoid to spend another evening again welding that tap instead of enjoying my newborn baby at my home, even if i had to spend a bit more money. Unfortunately that tap was leaking slowly(factory defect) as we recognized after the completion of the stucco work. You told me to replace ,what i refused as you wrote above. Im sorry, but that was not my fault and i can't offer warranty on job what i did as a favor, so i told you to call a plumber to fix the tap. I was trying to save you a few hundreds of bucks and avoid to delay our work doing this favor to you. Well i learned the lession, but still, willing to help my future customers in a similiar case and hopefully they will appreciate that with a few kind words.
Re: existing steel lintels above the windows/doors:
As i explained you on my site visit, we can't apply our material onto steel, that has to be painted with exterior oil paint to match the color of the window or the stucco. Previously they were painted white to match your existing windows, that's the reason, they didn't stand out so much. After the completion of our contract, you asked me to paint finish them. It was not part of my work, but i offered my help to do the labour if you bring a small can of oilpaint in the color you like, then you said, i have to do the labour and supply the paint as well. Well, i went to the BM store to buy the paint and refaced the lintels to the matching color.
Re: cleaning after the succo
Whenewer we do a job, we have to leave the site in a reasonably clean condition and fit for use (please see at the back of my contract) which means, that is inpossible to clean each pice of the foam powder. During the work, we had to work around debris left on site by other contractors, but we cleaned ours and removed from your property as we agreed. Im really sorry if we caused any hard time for you, please accept my apology for that.
Over all, it was my pleasure to serve you in my neighborhood and thank you for the referrals(we finished both).Regards,
Arnold and the boyz