Angie's List Message Boards : Angies List Forums: Unanswered Threads

Stucco

Janjan — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:57:07 GMT

I have three estimates from three different stucco companies and these estimates are very different. Why so different?

DEck -> stamped concerte work

harmeek — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:49:29 GMT

Please do provide recomendations about cost efective ways and contracters who could help in deck work . stamped concerete is what we are looking for.

harmeek

Mold Remediation/ Testing

Frank — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:46:46 GMT

I've heard of estimates in the 15-20k range for a 4-8 day job! Any body been hit up with this scam?

NYC Apartment search

newcitysue — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:37:51 GMT

I'm looking for a reliable, ethical no-fee source to aid in finding a studio or one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Has anyone worked with UrbanSherpaNY.com or RDNY.com rent-direct,com? Or, can you recommend a source?

Thanks!

love seat

alligator — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:19:54 GMT

I bought a love seat from Creative Leather, when it was delivered it was damaged. I have been dealing with them and want them to pick it up and return my money. They just want to fix it and want me to keep it. Does anyone know who I can turn to to get them to return the love seat and my money?

Tips for hireing carpenters and others

Fix-it — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:57:40 GMT

I am going to list a few things we learned the hard way when trying to build a house.

1. Try to purchase all materials your self and pay for labor only.

2. DO NOT pay any type of deposit up front on Labor only jobs. Have you ever been paid in advance for work not yet done.

3. DO NOT pay until work is completed and done to your satisfaction.

4. Write down EVERY THING you exspect to be done and the amount to be paid for work. Have it signed. Pictures and detailed drawings of work exspected is also good. Take before and after pictures.

5. Have them show you their work in other homes if all possible.

6. If you do pay installments as the work progresses, have them sign for the payment and include balance owed.

7. If you see they do not know aht they are doing or doing non quality work it is beast to let them go before it is to late.

8. If you have someone come to give an estimate and they put the pressure on to SIGN NOW or they will not be able to fit you in, RUN FOR THE HILLS.

9. Contractor comes to look at job and he starts pointing out the mistakes of others, RUN FAST, this is their way of covering their defective work. When it becomes evident they aren't all that they will blame their errors on some one else.

10. Know as much about the job as possibe. Example Installing Hardi Plank Siding, go to their site and read all the directions, and then when the contractor put a field cut edge jamed down to a deck, you will KNOW it is WRONG.

11. When you have a signed contract and have kept your part of the bargain, job is not finished or not done correctly DO NOT now allow them to intimidate you by threating a lien. Don't waste your money on Attorney fees. If they do go to court, take your contract, pictures ect. and present your case.

12. Someone rips you off contact your Attorney Generals Office, they helped us get money back for leaking, non draining gutters.

13. Have your worker sign an agreement that they will be responsible for damage to materials. We all know mistakes happen so be resonable. We just had a worker, so called 25 year trim man cut up over $300.00 worth of azek, just because he didn't know how to measure 2 cut 1./Only one example of wasted materials.

14. If you hire one man and he sub contracts the job to someone else, make sure you have the actual person who did work sign off that they have been paid, before the contractor is paid all the money.

All for now but I am sure I will think of more tips and will post them later.

Amerisave and Baron Mortgage

Uresh — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:51:44 GMT

I am looking at attractive mortgage rates from Amerisave Mortgage (nationwide, does business through internet) and Baron Mortgage (based in Salem, MA). Has anyone had any experience with them and can share? I saw mixed reviews on Amerisave at some mortgage review sites, and practically nothing on Baron.

plumbing

karin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:36:47 GMT

All Star Plumbing owner Jack Stodola was gracious when he showed at my house and I was not home. I called to apologize about my failure and he was great. He has my business in the future.

Above All Construction - Indianapolis/Greenwood, IN

IU Hoosiers — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:58:12 GMT

Has anyone used this company before? I am possibly going to use them to do some roofing work. Any positive or negative feedback would be greatly appreciated. They handle insurance claim work.

Customers Treat Your Contractor, like you would like to be treated.

balboa — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:01:52 GMT

I tell you, i read these posts (complaints) by customers, it's crazy! We all know that there are bad, unreliable contractors out there. But, as customers we cannot treat all contractors as if they have all wronged us. There are more good contractors than bad. Customers often worry about being taken by contractors, and write about there experience like a places like angie's list etc, and vent.

What we don't read, see on tv is, how many contractors are getting taken by customers, much more. That is what us customers do not understand, many more customers out there are threatening bad reviews (with no merit at all), theft of services, passing bad checks, wasting the contractors time, just to get the information to repair the problem themselves, and much more.Come on people, this is there livelyhood. How would you feel if a contractor called your boss and told them false info about you. Or what if your boss decided not to pay you for working a full week, just because.Or how about this, he payed you with a bad check, or called the credit card company after paying you, and reported that the job was not done to his satisfaction(just because he did not want to pay). All this and more is happening out there, and customers are not being held responsible.

Contractors: Theft of services is fraud, and stealing, every customer that does this should be reported to the police, and hopefully get held accountable. If you have a signed estimate, and complete the job by estimate standards, and the customer does not want to pay you, call the police for theft of services.

The moral of this is, customers are not alone, the contractors do have to be very careful with the caliber of customers out there now a days. Treat your contractor with respect, and respect that this is how they pay the bills, by providing a professional service to us.

You treat them right, they will treat you right, that can be garanteed!

Wells Fargo home appraisals investigation information

Meredith — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:25:46 GMT

Hi All,

Are you a homeowner who used Wells Fargo and their subsidiary Rels Valuation for your home loan?

I work with a law firm investigating claims that Wells Fargo is involved in an appraisal rigging scheme. Reports say independent appraisers are forced to work for below market value while Wells Fargo’s in-house appraisal firm Rels Valuation charges homeowners an inflated cost, generating huge profits.

A recent lawsuit against Countrywide cites similar allegations and claims homeowners pay up to a 200 percent markup for the appraisal.

If you’ve had your home appraised by Wells Fargo, this case is worth checking out.

For more information, please visit the Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro website and select Wells Fargo Home Appraisals under ‘Investigations’.

labradoodles

tina — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:38:12 GMT

I am looking for a large labradoodle that is currently in Hawaii.

plumbers in antelope valley, california

twenty by twenty apt — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:17:41 GMT

I have done finish plumbing, but never the rough. I just took the plumbing sub off my tiny project. Maybe my project was too small to bother doing well? I would like to find someone reliable who doesn't mind sharing his expertise with me. I don't want to do it as much as I want to understand it.

Stained Garage Cement Floor

MattsKramer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:02:41 GMT

I let several black garbage bags (full of grass, twigs, leaves, and stuff) sit on my flat cement garage floor for perhaps several months. When I arrived to check on it, and move the bags to the curb, I found black gooey black stain-like stuff on the garage floor under the bags. I imagine that chlorophyll (decayed plant matter) and corroded plastic bad matter coated the garage but I am just guessing.

I did manage to take the bags to the curb, but I don’t know how best to remove what it left. What do I do about the stain? I have not touched it yet. I imagine that gasoline or kerosene and a scrub brush might work. Do you have any ideas?

tin or tin like ceilings

re~deux — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:33:31 GMT

Has anyone had any experience with tin ceilings faux or real? I have a Huge coffin ceiling in our bedroom and am wanting to put a tin ceiling... any suggestions?

Who pays for home staging..Realtor or Seller?

stagingu — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:08:25 GMT

So after you decide that you are going to stage who will pay for it? I would say that about 70% of the time the homeowner pays for the service. After we build a relationship with a Realtor we find that they want every house staged because they see the benefits and then they pay for the staging or share the cost with the seller.

We encourage Realtors to have the client pay for the service up front and then reimburse the seller 50-100% on closing. This becomes a win-win for both the seller and agent because they save money on marketing because the home is in showcase condition so pictures and presentation come across excellent. And time is money so with the use of staging the property usually stays on the market less time and everyone gets paid faster.

Savvy Realtors and homeowners understand that staging a home really helps them to get the sold sign posted! So if you're not using a stager on your team do some interviewing of the companies in your area...it will be time well spent.

We have the largest staging company in Reno so we can provide a higher level of service and products than most other staging companies. We own all of the furnishings and accessories and we have a lot of them. And it's our products that always makes a house beautiful and unique. Best wishes for getting the SOLD sign posted!

www.RealEstateStagingUnlimited.com

Stink bugs

Noel — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:57:22 GMT

My house has hundreds of stink bugs on it. Does anyone know of a good exterminator to call to get rid of them?

sump pump v. effluent pump

Lewis — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:03:32 GMT

We have had some water in our basement recently and have had several contractors make a pitch to us for their different systems. Some recommend putting in a sump pump, while others recommend an effluent pump. Does any one have a recommendation one way or the other?

BNI Group: Business as Usual-Successful Synergies needs you in Lone Tree/Parker, Colorado

Mheckler — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:12:16 GMT

NEW BNI GROUP FORMING

Several business people are joining together to form a new BNI (Business Network International) group in the Lone Tree area. We want to invite you to join us for our next meeting to see if you are interested in joining our group.

We meet every Thursday from 11:30- 1:00 at the Mosaic Restaurant located at 11957 Lioness Way, Parker, CO 80134 (East of I-25, South East of the corner of Lincoln and Oswego). Lunch will be served for the cost of $15.

Business Network International® (BNI®) is a business referral organization whose primary purpose is to assist its members to find and exchange qualified business referrals for each other and develop effective word-of-mouth marketing techniques. To find our more about BNI please visit their website at www.bni.com.

In the short time I have been acquainted with BNI, I am amazed at the results. One Remax realtor has closed 8 homes in 6 months from BNI leads. Another client of mine in the Water and Fire Restoration business accounts for $30,000 of business in 2007 to BNI leads. I believe this success comes from the strong commitment, mandatory weekly meetings and the code of ethics each BNI member agrees to when becoming a member of BNI. If you are serious about growing your business and helping others do the same, then BNI is for you.

Please contact me at 303.910-0680 or marybeth.k.heckler@coloradomortgagealliance.com if you have any questions, would like further information or to RSVP to our next meeting.

Thanks for your interest and I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

Anyone know of a television atenna installer in the Detroit area?

rogerjab — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:00:24 GMT

I've gotten rid of my cable, now I need an installer for an outdoor antenna for my Digital Tv's. Any help would be appreciated?

Frontline & Heartguard-save money

Rosebud — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:38:50 GMT

Like most responsible pet owners I make sure my dogs (had 4 at one time) get their monthly heartguard and now every 3 weeks, Frontline. This gets very pricey so I explored my options. If you purchase these items from your vet they are the most expensive. I found a site online (PetCareChoice.com) that is considerably cheaper especially with a generic option for heartguard. I thought you might want to check it out for yourselves.

Tent Rental?

jannypie — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:36:04 GMT

We are planning an event at our modest home in December and are considering renting a couple of tents w/heaters for the event. The one quote we have received so far was extremely high--it was in line with a high-end venue rental fee.

Can anyone who has experience with tent rentals, catering and so forth in the greater Atlanta area tell us what exactly we need to focus on? For example, are tent liners really necessary?

Thank you!

Buying a Furnace

dapper — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:51:27 GMT

We live in a home in Sausalito CA with 2 old furnaces (1 for up, 1 for downstairs). House is about 2500-3000 sq ft. House has poor insulation, but temperature drops to 35-40 f at low.

Replacing both, my question is whether to buy 1 or 2, and if one, is there a good mechanism to control upstairs and downstairs separately - ie when downstairs is on, upstairs usually off, or different temperatures to both. What would be the best configuration and technology available for that? havent been impressed with the zone idea, because as its been explained to me, too much heat blowing through to single zone - dont really save - and hard on the system. What are the best options available today for a forced air heating system to control heat to different areas of the house? Cost a factor, but more importantly looking for the ideal solution. I DONT want to under-buy - even with these two old systems, the house has been chilly last few years, and I DONT want to heat the entire house when the heat is on. Most friends I have talked to have one furnace, but end up heating the entire home when its on. Thnx

Looking for a plumber

decidela2 — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:50:41 GMT

I have been having sewage problems for quite awhile. I must have a plumber snake my in house sewer line about every 6 months . I first had the floor dug up and the stack raised because I was told it was too low ( didn't solve the problem). The next time a hole was dug in the floor near the bathroom in the basement and a part of the pipe was replaced. I was told the pipes were too level and did not have enough pitch (1/4 inch slope per foot). When the toilet is flushed upstairs, the sewage would come down but gradually flow backwards and lay in the pipe, eventually causing the backup into the pipe leading to the bathroom in the basement. I would need the floor dug up and the pipe replaced at the correct pitch. I have been trying to find a plumber to fix ths problem but have not been successful. The few that I have contacted have not returned to do the job. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Replacement of small window

NanNan — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:26:12 GMT

I live in the Nashville, TN area and our very small bathroom window has a broken seal. We have been unable to find a company that will do less than 3 windows. Any suggestions as to who might be willing to work with us? Thanks.