ComplaintsforCutting Edge Construction Services

• Initial Complaint

  08/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Storm doors do not close properly. Snow and insects enter through the doors. Stamped colored porch and walkways sealer is lifting up from the concrete. This has a 1 year warranty. Company will not respond to our phone calls. They now have blocked our telephone numbers making it impossible to make contact.

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  This is in response to the Consumer Complaint.  Firstly, I did not receive the first complaint sent.  I am aware that the homeowner is not completely satisfied with the finished product.  I have explained to them that there is nothing improper regarding the installation of the door.  Unfortunately, they have unrealistic expectations on the performance of the doors.  The Homeowners provided the doors they had purchased through a local lumber supply company.  The new entry doors are a Therma-tru brand french door and a set of full glass Larson brand storm doors with the French door conversion kit.  Both are made by highly reputable manufacturers that were recommended by the lumber supply company and were good quality units.  We installed the entry doors on 11/14/22 and the storm doors on 11/16/22.  We did make a slight adjustment at the homeowner’s request to the entry doors due to the existing house walls being out of plumb and causing a small twist to the frame.  Our adjustment resolved the misalignment on the top corners of the door faces. 
  
  The complaint that was brought to me was regarding the door sweep piece at the bottom of the LH storm door (outside).  The door sweep must be trimmed in a notch to accommodate the center adapter piece for the French door conversion kit.  As with all screen doors/storm doors, the frame pieces must be individually trimmed to fit the opening.  This caused a small gap (about 1/4”) at the end of the piece which allows the end of the cut metal to be visible when viewed from a croutched position on the floor inside the house.  I recommended that it needs to be filled with the color matching caulk that came with the door, but the homeowner refused to have caulking applied to the new door.  I explained that this is how it needs to be done and is the only remedy.  He insisted that I should replace the piece at my cost.  I explained that I was unwilling to do that as I would need to cut the new piece to fit per the instructions and would need to leave it approx. 1/4” short to fit it place without scratching the paint on the surrounding surfaces placing us right back in the same situation.  Furthermore, I explained that the screw holes may not line up perfectly on the new piece and we could create more fitting issues.  The Homeowner is insisting that something is not right because they have been getting ants into the house now and have never had ants before.  I also received a call after a snow storm last winter saying there was snow getting inside the door.  I stopped and looked the next day and saw that the snow was getting in between the storm doors and the entry doors.  I explained to them that the doors were not faulty and that the fact that we experienced 70+ mph winds from the Southwest for about 12-16hrs this was beyond the design of the storm doors.  No snow made it into the house although a small amount of water may have accumulated as the trapped snow melted.  I’m attaching photos of the completed door installation which show that it is installed correctly with uniform joints and a square fit.
  
  Regarding the stamped concrete, I’ve never received any information about sealer lifting away from the concrete.  The sealer we use is a product made by Sherwin-Williams called H&C Clearprotect.  It is a clear acrylic sealer made for professional use by a reputable company.  The concrete is integrally colored from the concrete batch plant.  No coloring is in the sealer.  Mr. ******* was concerned last fall that he thought the sealer was too dull.  I explained that it was dirty from the surrounding loose dirt and I told him that it was getting late in the season, so it would be best to wait until next spring to see how everything looked before getting carried away re-sealing and causing more issues.  He wants me to re-seal it, but there was no reason specified other than he understood that I was going to re-seal for free because of his concerns the previous fall.  The only thing mentioned to me late this summer when we spoke last was that when it rains and the concrete is wet, they perceive some white spots in places which may be some bubbling in the sealer.  I specifically call out in my warranty that concrete sealers may experience some bubbling issues and that this is the nature of the product and beyond our control.  We have taken many steps to minimize those issues, but it is impossible to control in an outside, uncontrolled environment.  Thus the wording in my contract.   After reviewing the photos he attached, that is most certainly the case coupled with normal wear and not a defect.  Unfortunately, the customer is simply ignorant of the process and does not understand.  This is paramount to a clearcoat on a new car.  No dealer is going to re-coat it for free because of a few scratches after even 1 month.  It would be best to reseal, but not necessary.
  
  I believe that they fall into the group of individuals that are never satisfied.  In my professional opinion
  they simply have unrealistic expectations for the products.  I have always made a good faith attempt to
  satisfy customers even when they are wrong, however after almost 20 years of running a business I
  have found that sometimes it is a lost cause.  I surmised that if I make any further attempts to remedy
  anything, they will not be satisfied in the end no matter what.  I made the decision to end my
  professional relationship with them.  I told them that I would no longer be working for them and not
  to contact me.  They continued to call at all times of the day and week, so I blocked their number, as I
  had nothing nice to say to them and it was bordering on harassment.  They called repeatedly
  after I ended our relationship.
  
  At this time, I have no intentions to do anything more for the situation.  I have determined that there are
  in fact no issues with the workmanship and do not want to risk more complaints by trying to fix
  something that isn’t broke.  As I mentioned earlier, I started this business formally in 2004.  This is the
  first and hopefully the last complaint that you will receive regarding our company.  Thank you for your
  time.
  
  
  ***** ********,
  Owner
  Cutting Edge Construction Services

  Customer response

  09/25/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  First of all the contractors statement regarding that there was caulking that was supplied with our new doors. There was no caulking supplied. The contractors employee cut the metal door sweep short. He even told us that he mistakenly done this and would address this with his employer. The contractor informed us the next day that he would order a replacement piece. This is an untrue statement in his letter. He even said that he would pick up the piece once it came in. He told this in person to my wife and myself. It ended up that he never ordered the part so I went ahead and ordered it and informed the contractor when it arrived so he could replace it. 
  As far as the sealer on the porch: The contractors secretary was informed on 8/7/23 and on 8/11/23. I called twice that week because I received no callback from them as promised by his office.The secretary wrote down this information and said she would place on his desk and to call us. We got NO callback and he even blocked our phone numbers. As for him saying we harassed him is a totally untrue. We ONLY called him early mornings before he left his office usually around 8:00am. He never returned our calls or came to see the issues first hand. The porch is NOT blistering. The sealer is actually missing period! There has been one untrue statement after another. They even sealed the sidewalk with pine tree needles still on the walkway. This is where the contractor stated that he would reseal the porch and walkway during the next year. Which now he refuses to do so. We are senior citizens and feel that we have been taken advantage of.This whole issue is completely wrong. All we are asking is for the contractor to be honest and fix these problems. The above statements is the absolute truth and we asking assistance from the BBB.

   

  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******

  Business response

  09/26/2023

  I have no further response to add.  I have no more proof of what was discussed between the homeowners, myself, and my employees than they do.  I'm not going to debate this any longer.  I don't believe they will ever be satisfied with our work and obviously don't trust our company any longer.  I'm not going to be able to solve their issues and have no interest in doing so.

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