Sound Craftsman Services

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• By Theresa G.

  July 9, 2020

  Replace Exterior Door

  $820

  I needed an exterior door replaced and had David come out to do a quote. His quote was for 7.5 hours at basically $60 per hour. I noticed under "Notes" in his estimate that it said it was an estimate only and that I would be billed for actual time and material. I have always used people that have bid the job and not done it in this manner so I was hesitant. I figured that if he had done enough doors and windows, he should have a good idea of what the job required. I discussed my concerns with him and he assured me that it would only go over the estimate if he ran into an unforeseen problem and that I would know about it.
  He came out around 9 am and at 8 pm that evening, I told him he had to leave as I had an early morning the next day. The door hardware was not installed, there was a large gap on one side of the door (so the door barely latched because the latch bolt wasn't long enough to grab the strike plate with the huge gap. He initially tried to blame it on the place where I bought the door but after talking to 2 different people who install doors, they said it was because of his installation job. Also, on the lower left corner of the door, there was a huge gap between the door and the shingle siding that was at least an inch wide that he was filling with caulk. I have never seen a large gap that size being filled with caulk without something to fill up the gap first.
  So after his 11 hour day here, I still had to install the door hardware, shim the door hinges so that the gap was not huge on one side and re-do the job in the lower corner of the door so that the it was done correctly (I was not going to fill that one lower gap with a full container of caulk - that's not what I expect from someone in this industry).
  When asked why the job went so far over his estimate, he said it was because he had to build up the threshold. I have absolutely no idea why this would require the amount of time he spent on it. There was no rot or anything that should have required that much extra time and still have the job not completed. He was the one who took the door measurements and also spoke to the person who submitted the door order so there should have been nothing that surprised him. He was unwilling to budge on the price and asked to come back the next day to finish the job - I would not allow it.
  I think he probably could have completed the job in 2 days to my satisfaction but I am unwilling to pay someone that much for that job. If time and money are not factors, feel free to contact him.

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