Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Tuesday Talk or Tune Time?

Hi everyone. We hope you all had a great weekend and for those of us in the U.S. a great 4th of July. It is very hot here but we have to keep reminding ourselves that it IS July.


Today we have agreed to let Mom have a few words here to explain the whole roof situation, but if she gets too wordy for you, just cruise on down to the lower part of our post where you can have some fun courtesy of our good pals at Zoolatry.


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The Momster here with a bit of a rant about the roof. We had a bad hailstorm here way back in April. Although our roof wasn't leaking, the insurance company determined it was damaged enough to warrant a new roof. I was elated because we had a cedar wood shingle roof that I have always hated. As a native of New England, I never really did get used to the "look" of the wood roof that is pretty typical here in the Midwest. It is also a fire hazard when the weather is very dry, AND it breeds those squirmy annoying silverfish that invade the inside of the home when the seasons change. Our roof was pretty close to needing to be replaced, and we just got lucky with this hail damage. We also had damage to our garage doors, gutters, outside lights, deck, and all those pretty copper ballcaps on the deckposts. The insurance settlement was like a gift we never expected. We rarely make frivolous claims on our homeowners insurance, but this one was far from frivolous.

Almost every house in our area is getting a new roof. My husband and I did a lot of research and got a number of bids before we decided to sign a contract with this roofing company. They came with very high recommendations from several of our neighbors, some of whom had used them for new roofs PRIOR to the hail storm, and a couple had used them on former homes. So we were very surprised at what has happened. They are a well-known and well-respected roofing firm in the KC area. Even as we would walk through the neighborhood, we had the opportunity to observe first hand the work being done by several of their roofing crews. We were very pleased with all that we saw.

We have a large, high, and extremely steep roof. We also did not have any leaks as a result of the hail damage. We made it very clear to the salesman that we were in no hurry for the roof to be replaced and that we would rather wait until the crunch of all the roof work settled down and we could get the very best crew they could send. A lot of firms hire extra crews during a period of time where many roofs are being replaced because of storm damage. We wanted to be sure we got a quality crew. Little did we know that we would actually end up with what may be their most inefficient one.

The supplies for the roof were delivered the week of June 6th. Delivery is made by a firm not owned by the roofing company, but by an independent supply company. They unloaded a large amount of supplies in our driveway and placed about 50 bags of tiles on our roof, many of them on the highest and steepest area in piles three bags high. I figured they knew what they were doing. That afternoon, literally minutes after my three grandchildren and daughter had left, about 10 of those bags came tumbling down in three episodes over a period of 45 minutes. Luckily no one was out there at the time and only one shrub was damaged. The roofing company agreed to replace that shrub, and that has already been done.

The work was to begin later that week, but the weather did not cooperate. We then asked the roofing company NOT to schedule us for the following week as we were going to be away. Thank goodness we did that as we can't begin to imagine what would have happened if we weren't here to watch them. Work was to begin Monday, June 20th. A crew came by early that morning and walked all around the house looking up at the roof. They stayed for about a half hour, and then they left. Tuesday morning another group came and the same scenario happened. The contract manager called and said that the roof was too wet and it was too windy. OK, that was fine with us. Wednesday came and another crew comes and then leaves. Thursday we get a call from the office that they have a crew that wants to start in the afternoon. I mentioned to the lady that rain was forecast for the next three days. She said yes, they had some concern about that but knew we had been waiting a while for the roof to be done. I told her we didn't mind waiting in light of the weather. She said that was great because the following Monday would actually be better for them.

So the work began on Monday, June 27th. And so did the destruction. After about two hours of work, I walked into the garage to get something and thought, hmmmm, it is pretty bright in here for a garage with no windows. Something is definitely wrong when you look up at your finished garage ceiling and see the sky. They had dropped a tool and it went through the ceiling. In our previous post about the roof HERE entitled Whiney Wednesday, you saw the careless and horrific way the debris from the old roof was just tossed down on our property with little concern for where it landed. Thus began the week from hell, one thing damaged after another. Without going into every last detail, here is a brief list of most of the damage:

1. Bags falling from roof and ruining shrub.
2. Ceiling in garage damaged.
3. Refusal by crew to cover a/c heat pump units (less than a year old) with plywood to protect them from falling debris. It took two phone calls to foremand and manager and then to his boss to get it done.
4. Wrought iron gate hinges bent so gate does not close properly - a vital necessity with three sibes who use that yard daily.
5. Two of the copper ballcaps on deck posts completely demolished.
6. Deck rails gouged and scratched by falling debris.
7. Brand new garage doors (installed June 8th) scraped by falling debris.
8. Less than one year old storm door glass scratched in three different places.
9. Nails and large staples scattered all over lawn and not cleared at the end of each day as was agreed upon before the work began - they have a magnetic roller that is to be run over all the property at the end of each day.
10. Large sheets of plywood AND multiple pieces of composite shingles (with tar on them) left for hours on grass in 95-100 degree heat. Multiple areas of severely burned grass - all of this despite requests not to do this.
11. Three shrubs crushed or damaged by debris.
12. Three hostas - large ones- ruined.
13. Most of my individually planted wax begonias that line the entire length of the front landscape bed dead or crushed or missing.
14. Many tar-like stains on sidewalk, porch, and driveway caused by leaving composite tiles on those areas for too long in hot sun.
15. Many scrapes on driveway caused by dragging equipment across rather than carrying.
16. Electrical landscape light in landscape bed snapped despite having been flagged by us and pointed out multiple times to workers.
17. These crews work very long days and we do admire their stamina and hard work, but we asked them to be gone each day before dark so that we could look around the property before letting the dogs in the yard and before bringing our cars into the garage and off the street. They were here every night except for one until 9:30 or later, well beyond dark.
18. Lunch remains, cans, bottles, and orange peels (like maybe 50-60 pieces) strewn all over the lawn.

I will stop there, but I think you can see we really had a problem. A couple of these things could easily be understandable, we didn't expect perfection. But every day it was something new. We had spoken at great length with the salesperson before signing the contract about our concern for shrub areas, new garage doors, nails on ground with three dogs, etc. We were assured there were all issues they were very careful about.

The job was "completed" by noon on Saturday. Throughout this whole week, either I or my husband had been in daily multiple contact with the foreman and project manager about the problems. We told the crew, making sure to communicate with the ones who spoke English, about our concerns. We pointed out areas to be careful in advance of their even working near them. We were always told "OK" and then completely ignored. I took photos of all damage and my husband was sending these photos along with emails to the office contact we had. The contract manager was telling us that "in the end" all would be taken care of and we would be very happy with the job - a lot of consolation that was as we watched our property being totally abused and disrespected. On Saturday morning we informed him and the office contact that we intend to hire an outside roofing company to give us an assessment of the roofing job that had been done, since we really don't know how to judge the quality of the work done. After that the contract manager told us something we SHOULD have been told on day 1. The first several crews who came to our home refused to do the job because of the height and steepness of the roof. The crew that DID the job was the ONLY crew willing to do it - a lot of comfort and confidence that gave us. We should have known this at the outset so we could have figured out a better way to handle it.

Saturday afternoon my husband received an email from one of the company's co-owners with an apology for what had occurred and an assertion that he would personally be certain that all issues would be resolved. He himself is coming here tonight along with the project manager to meet with us and to survey the property. One other interesting fact that does raise further questions about the quality of the job is that AFTER the email from the co-owner and AFTER we indicated we would have an outside firm come in, late Saturday afternoon the project manager was back at our home with several of the workers. They proceeded to remove a good amount of the work done late Friday night (in the dark) and redo it.

We really are not looking for any monetary compensation for all the damage. All we want is for our property to be restored to the way it was before this work was begun and for assurances that the roof we now have has been properly installed. We will see what tonight brings. Meanwhile we still have two big outside projects to be done. The gutters and downspouts need to be replaced - another project in the hands of this company, and a new paint job for the entire house. Hopefully they will go better for us.



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So now it is time to put all this bad stuff behind us and move on to some fun.

Ann of Zoolatry is so good at finding ways to make us smile. With her clever and excellent photoshop skills, she succeeded in making all of us laugh and smile. How about this?


SING ALONG WITH THE WOOS



Check out these photos and added song titles. Can you think of a few others - they can be the real title or slightly altered ones - help us make light of this intolerable, unexcusable, dreadful, and miserable situation? Have some fun and make us laugh some more.












This last one - oh dear - Ciara on the roof and with a hammer - now THAT is scary:)


So have some fun - come up with some songs, help us make the Momster smile. And of course, thank you, Ann.


Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

56 comments:

  1. What an ordeal. We have been through several remodels and usually end up with most of our hair pulled out....but you must be bald by now. Hope your issues get resolved and your roof is okay.

    Wyatt's Mom

    We are wooing your tunes!

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  2. Woof! Woof! I guess every home owners will encounter problems ... we did. Fining good n right people is the hardest thing. Hope you'll resolve it ... n everyone can have a good rest. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  3. From the looks of your post, Ciara might have been able to do a better job with that hammer!

    Good luck getting it all sorted out. Hopefully the trio will have their yard back soon!

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  4. I'm soooooo happy your ordeal is mostly over and it sounds like the company is going to handle the the mess, hopefuly to your satisfaction.

    Love the OP Pack singing the roof blues! Now I'll be trying to think of more songs, all day!

    Happy, Waggin' Tails, FUREVER!
    Stumpy and me

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  5. I'm often the one in our family business who has to start the "we care, we will make it right" process with customers. It's not my favorite part, but it's very important...

    Love the songs.

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  6. Wow, that is just unacceptable for any business. We would make a complaint to the Better Business Bureau too.

    Those songs were cracking us up!!

    Pugs & Kisses,

    Yoda, Brutus & Ellie

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  7. Being new home owners and discovering all the things that need fixing - we understand all your concerns. We had no gutters at all on 3 sides of our house - something the inspector didn't even notice and the company we got in did a terrible job, they leak at all the joins! Anyway - you keep fighting until they fix things the way you want them.

    Love the new song photo's - how about "How much is that woo is the window" and "woo are so beautiful to me"

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  8. So Sorry for the the Roof Mess (which is an understatement, I'm sure!) Hope it gets all cleared up really really soon for you!

    Happy Fourth of July and Happy Summer!!! :)

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  9. That is unbelievable! They have a lot of repairs and replacements to make but what a lot of stress for all of you.

    You really needed those fun graphics after that.

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  10. I need a rest after reading about all that ;-)

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  11. What craziness!

    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

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  12. What an absolutely awful story. We feel for you all, and for your poor house. At least it seems that higher management is taking the necessary responsibility and all will be well in the end. But just why is it that there are so many idiots out there with no skills and no integrity?

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  13. Oh my gosh! I can't even tell you how livid I would be! My head would have exploded long before the roof was finished! I'd definitely file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau so that at least other homeowners can be warned.

    Bunny's mom

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  14. Mom got angry just reading this...Do I need to come up there and put the bitey on them now that I've had the taste of blood?

    The nails, the damages, the run a rounds, geez...I hope you guys get it all settled.

    All that's left is to start singing "The woof, the woof, the woof is on fire!!" (kidding, no fire needed!!!)

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  15. I am so sorry to read of your roofing disaster. It boggles the mind how this is an accepted standard of the roofing industry. Every time my mother had her roof done, messes as you describe occurred; and her last roof repair is when the broken glass (from my mom's own kitchen that he used!) was left lying on the ground. Unbelievable. I hope that you are able to come to a satisfying resolution with the company.

    The graphics are awesome! If I think of a funny song, I will let you know, but my mind is a bit tired today. Sorry I couldn't help cheer you up.

    K and Suka

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  16. UGH!! This is why our dad, the perfectionist, does almost all work oround here himself. It's slow, he gets extremely crabby, but it's done right. If he can't do it himself, he is here. Mom thinks he's a nut, but you've just proven her wrong. Mom can't think of any songs - only a book: Raise High the Woofbeam Carpenters; one of her favorites! Our paws are crossed for a resolution tonight.

    -Gizmo, Bart and Ruby

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  17. Wow...that is a lot of things for that company to do wrong. I don't blame you for wanting your property put back the way it was. People can be so inconsiderate when it comes to things like this. I hope that they get it all taken care of from you and NO MORE STORMS! :)

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  18. What an ordeal! Mom gave Auntie El the name of the roofer that replaced ours (and a lot of other neighbors) a few months ago. Everyone that we recommended him to raved about the great job, super clean-up and prompt communications. Not so much for Auntie El. They showed up late, took forever, messed up plants, left early and shingles blew off the first time we had a rain storm. Mom was soooo sorry she gave Auntie El his name. Who would think they could do so well and then be so bad for one person?

    We're glad you can smile at Ann's graphics!!!

    The Florida Furkids and Angel Sniffie

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  19. The roofing job from Hell, indeed!! I kept reading what the Momster had written, hoping it would get better...it only got worse! It's definitely a good idea to get the outside company to come evaluate the job they did--smart thinking!

    What a nightmare. We do hope everything gets resolved without any problems or issues (or courts/judges involved!).

    Can Woo Feel the Love Tonight??? :-)

    Elyse and Riley

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  20. Do you say that you will allow this company to install gutters and do the paint job? I would want to say Goodbye to these characters permanently!

    My song for you:

    Woos Sorry Now?

    I feel very badly for your family because I have seen photos of this beautiful, well kept house and you deserved workers who would appreciate it. Let us know how the meeting turns out!

    Cheers and hugs,

    Jo and Stella

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  21. Oh Lord, so sorry about all the damages! I hope everything gets fixed real, real soon.

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  22. Be sure to have your insurance man take a look at this, too. They should at least want to make notes about the damage. Good luck.

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  23. SO sorry about all the roof troubles! That sounds just awful!

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  24. What an ordeal!!


    But to make your mum smile we have to have some Beatles songs....

    Like:

    Love Me Woo

    She Loves Woo

    All You Need Is Woof

    Baby It's Woo

    Can't Buy Me Woof

    From Me To Woo

    Got To Get Woo Into My Life

    I'm Happy Just To Dance With Woo

    I'm Looking Through Woo

    P.S I Love Woo

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  25. Sounds like the Sibes would have done a better job! What a mess! Hope it at least keeps the water out.

    XXXOOO Daisy, kendra & Bella

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  26. I am SURE that this meeting tonight will bring a LOT problem solving actions!!! There is always the Better Business Bureau.... Mention of the BBB sends SHIVERS down a GOOD Company's spine!!!
    Keep us posted!!!

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  27. Oh no! You have certainly went thru a lot! I hope everything turns out the way you want....

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  28. Hi,
    I don't know what is wrong with me, but I actually have tears in my eyes for you...this is horrible. I am soooo glad you put something funny at the end of your horrible experience. So in light of this horrible disaster, I have a song title for you for the last picture...."I will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor...
    xxoo
    Deborah

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  29. Thats a whole lot of bad there and I hope it gets sorted. I am glad you can smile through and those graphics are brilliant.. Hugs GJ xx

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  30. Dawling Phantom, Thundew and Ciawa
    Thank dog fow Zoolatwy and theiw Mom and theiw hoomow and love , what an owdeal!!! We can undewstand the howwow youw pawents must have felt thwoughout this dweadful , destwuctive stwessful time.
    I cwoss my paws hoping that all gets westowed and fixed pawfectly.
    I am pictoowing a safe and bootiful woof and gawdena dn dwiveway and plants I hope my good vibes help.
    I love the Beetles titles that wewe sent to you
    Wuf me tendew is anothew I can pictoowe wif all of you
    smoochie kisses
    ASTA
    pee ess I'm so glad you had a good time in honowoowoo

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  31. Oh my goodness, I can't belive all that you put up with. I would have been going crazy! Hopefully you gets things straightened out soon.

    (Blair's Mom)

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  32. Wow, and I thought my house renovations were epic!

    Trace

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  33. What a nightmare! Our paws are crossed that the rest of the work still to be done, goes smoothly for you.

    Love ya lots,
    Maggie and Mitch

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  34. OMD what an ordeal your people and you pups have had to go thru! I hope they do make everything right! Mom says to tell you Ikea makes a glass topped coffee table and you can do a coffee table project too!! We'd send you some shells!

    Pedro

    Pee ess - sorry we haven't been around. There are two very ill cats in my dawg house and my mom has been preoccupied.

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  35. You sure put up with more than your share of trouble with that company. Hopefully everything is resolved to your satisfaction tonight. Thankfully no one and no dog got hurt by anything debris and that no vehicle was damaged by falling debris in the garage. Hope the rest of your projects goes more smoothly than this one!

    We love the graphics! We think Ciara should have be swinging her hammer to let that crew know they needed to get their booties in gear!

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  36. OMD!
    I can't believe all the damage they caused to your house!
    I really hope the company is fixing all the mess the crew made!
    My mom wants to go there to say some words to them.... in english and in spanish too!
    Take care
    Kisses and hugs
    Lorenza

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  37. Wow, it sounds like Ciara, Phantom, and Thunder could do a better job. That is horrible. I hope you get everything figured out, but it is so frustrating to have to deal with it and fight to get things back the way you want them. Your home and property is so beautiful, so I hope it all works out.

    Valerie

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  38. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0I2ZrBuFdQ

    Sibes, holes, and wandering!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

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  39. So very sorry you've had to deal with all of the unexpected damage to your house! Hope everything goes well with repairing the damage.

    It's great that you're able to vent and have fun with your 'Sing Along With The Woos' photos - love those pictures and the idea :)

    - Steffi (Starbuck, Nari and Alpha's mom)

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  40. Mama hopes all went well with your pawrents and the roofing people. There is no excuse for the poor workmanship as far as she is concerned!

    We loved all the fun song titles and are trying to come up with a few of our own.

    Smileys!
    Dory, Jacob and Bilbo

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  41. remodeling andfinding a reliable personis a lot of work. You guys are great singers
    Benny & Lily

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  42. Hi friends!!
    Great post, sorry to hear about your ordeal though...
    Hope it all goes away and things will be better!
    Reading your post really puts a smile on mom's face and when she's soo happy, i get extra walks and treats!!
    Hooray!!

    Cheers,
    Maxx

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  43. So sorry for the ordeal you've had to endure with this roof. Hopefully the worst is behind you and the owner of the company will do the right thing and make sure you are completely satisfied with the job and the compensation for your losses.

    Love the graphics, good friends always have a way of making the best out of the worst. :)

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  44. I so feel your pain and am sorry to hear that you had to go through this!

    We just got a new roof in October. It was horrible. To say the least we are taking the roofer to court. It has been a total nightmare!

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  45. This sounds like a haloween horror movie to me.
    love
    tweedles

    "Saw it in the morning,
    when drips down on me fell,
    thought i was just dreaming
    until the blue sky I saw
    "Hang down your head and cry"
    xoxo

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  46. Oh No!! What a horror story!!
    We are so sorry you had to go through all that but the last part of your post was fantastic. Everybody looks so cute. Love it!!

    {{{huggies}}}....Mona & Weenie

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  47. I actually am a commercial insurance agent from Texas that works in the construction industry. I hope you took photos of the damage to your home caused by this company. Hopefully they provided you with proof of their insurance prior to the job commencing. If all does not go as you want it to, I would make a claim against their insurance company and also notify my insurance company so that a subrogation claim might also be appropriate in this instance. Just my thoughts and good luck with all this. I absolutely love your blog.

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  48. Something always goes on when I am away from the keyboard...
    Hope by now your roof is in one piece and the carnage cleared up... and I thought we had a problem with a leak !

    lots of love X

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  49. First of all, we are hoping for a swift and satisfactory resolution to this whole roof dealio.
    Secondly,,,this made me laugh. I came up w/ a song title for your situation.....ready........
    Here comes the sun,,,woo, woo, woo, woooo....thru our garage ceiling? woo, woo, woo, woooo and I said "it's alright,,,someone has to pay for this.....

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  50. I am so very sorry that you had to go through all of that unnessary mess. It sounds like a nightmare. I'm beginning to see that their is a real shortage of good and reliable people to do work anymore all over the place. It's really bad! I've been trying to get a small shed fixed since May. The "so called" contractor has not even fixed the roof yet much less the siding...going on 8 weeks since I paid him! If I don't call him every single day, several times a day, he doesn't show up to work. When he does come, he works about 30 minutes and comes up with an excuse to leave. He came highly recommended! I give him a big ZERO for effort. He has torn the shed apart and left holes in it that are now getting the rain so I had to give my lawnmower to somebody else so it wouldn't get wet. These workers that do this are past pitiful and should have to pay for their actions. This makes me mad hearing what you have been through and it should never have happened to you! I am so sorry.

    On the good side, I love the graphics and that did get me to laugh..they are so cute!

    Lots of love, Debbie & Holly

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  51. What a disaster! I hope all is resolved to your satisfaction and that the memory of the nightmare fades once the house is finished and painted.

    We would like to add a work by modern minimalist composer, Philip Glass (with due respect to his 1000 Airplanes on the Roof): 1000 Falling Bags from the Roof!

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  52. Work like that from contractors is sooooooooo frustrating. We don't blame your mom........my momma's blood pressure would be off da charts by now, if that were her.


    Butt, I gotta admit, da Zoolatry fotos are VERY Funny!!! BOL!!

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  53. Being married to somebody in the home improvement business I just cringe to read horror stories like this. It sounds like you did all the right things before you started. What a mess. I read the list of damage and almost couldn't finish. I cannot imagine. Feel free to vent as much as you need to. Wish we could fly our crew out there to fix everything for you.

    Mango Momma

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  54. Ack! We just did a post about our roofing escapade - nothing that compares to yours! This makes me glad that we live in a townhouse complex that has a strata council that deals with everything and all we have to deal with is the noise!

    Hope all is fixed quickly and without any arguments.

    Sam and Pippen

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  55. Okay, we admit we didn't read the whole post, BUT we've been involved in some renovations and Dad's in construction so we can imagine the h*!! you've been going through. Think we said before and we'll say it again - Mom would rather move than renovate anything!

    The Road Dogs

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  56. Oh the pics and song titles were just pawsome! Made me smile - sure hope they for you too! We have some minor, minor construction going on here for a deck extension around the pool with piles of wood and nails laying across the Sibes' "play" side of yard, so naturally, it's been weeks and they can go down there until it's done. Hopefully, the guy will be back today to, um, maybe start??? A few years back we had a roof put on out back and it was not good. That's the same year Gibson was hit with his epileptic seizures. All I wanted was for the hammer to s-t-o-p. But I just can't imagine what you guys are bearing...wow. Hang in there and good luck.

    "If Woo had a Hammer," you'd probably do a better job!

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Thanks for wooing at us. We love your comments!