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Nightmare with contractor, want to sue

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obs

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

Hello, we have a four bedroom home in Hoffman Estates, IL. Our home has a flat roof, and one section of the home has water leaks and it was starting to sink in.

We got this guy to do it, and the problem here is, it was a verbal contract. We agreed that he would reroof the sinking in part of the roof, and replace all the shingles, sand and repaint our backyard patio deck, as well as replace the wood that borders our windows. He was charging 12,000 for this, which I thought was a lot at the time. We gave him a 4,500 deposit and have a receipt for it.

Problem started when he did the reroof. He stripped the roof, replaced the old wood, and closed it up. I checked out the area where he reroofed from the inside, and I thought it was very cold, colder then normal. I never saw any insulation supplies, so I suspected he didn't insulate. And I was right. When I confronted him about it, he said "yea I put it in, I'm sure". Well he lied. Because I made him make sure, and before he showed us anything, he bought insulation and brought it. Then he proceeded to cut holes maybe 2x3 ft into the drywall ceiling and wow, no insulation. Then he proceeded to stuff these larges sheets of insulation into those tiny little holes. What a complete mess.

After seeing this, I called over the citys building inspector. He showed me the roofing permit application form, and the contractor wrote that my mother was the contractor. And the inspector said, theres nothing we can do, since my mom is shown as the contractor, he suggested I hire a lawyer. He says its fraud, and that this guy most likely doesn't have a license to do this kind of work.

Then, after a big argument with the contractor, there was a big area of the roof where the old shingles were stripped. This guy left it like that, and it rained for 2 consecutive days. I keep calling him telling him to cover it up, even just cover with plastic sheet or something, and he says he refuses until I give him more money.

I'm worried more damage will be done to our home, this has been a absolute nightmare. Do I have a case here? And if so what kind of lawyer do I need?
 


obs

Junior Member
I'd also like to mention that, yes there was insulation in the roof prior to this contractor doing any work. we agreed that even the insulation would be replaced, and in one corner of the roof, you can see that he took the old rotten insulation, and stuffed it back in. I'm concerned that even the reroofing job he did, may not be up to code, however, with my inexperience with this kind of work, I am unable to tell.
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

Hello, we have a four bedroom home in Hoffman Estates, IL. Our home has a flat roof, and one section of the home has water leaks and it was starting to sink in.

We got this guy to do it, and the problem here is, it was a verbal contract. We agreed that he would reroof the sinking in part of the roof, and replace all the shingles, sand and repaint our backyard patio deck, as well as replace the wood that borders our windows. He was charging 12,000 for this, which I thought was a lot at the time. We gave him a 4,500 deposit and have a receipt for it.

Problem started when he did the reroof. He stripped the roof, replaced the old wood, and closed it up. I checked out the area where he reroofed from the inside, and I thought it was very cold, colder then normal. I never saw any insulation supplies, so I suspected he didn't insulate. And I was right. When I confronted him about it, he said "yea I put it in, I'm sure". Well he lied. Because I made him make sure, and before he showed us anything, he bought insulation and brought it. Then he proceeded to cut holes maybe 2x3 ft into the drywall ceiling and wow, no insulation. Then he proceeded to stuff these larges sheets of insulation into those tiny little holes. What a complete mess.

After seeing this, I called over the citys building inspector. He showed me the roofing permit application form, and the contractor wrote that my mother was the contractor. And the inspector said, theres nothing we can do, since my mom is shown as the contractor, he suggested I hire a lawyer. He says its fraud, and that this guy most likely doesn't have a license to do this kind of work.

Then, after a big argument with the contractor, there was a big area of the roof where the old shingles were stripped. This guy left it like that, and it rained for 2 consecutive days. I keep calling him telling him to cover it up, even just cover with plastic sheet or something, and he says he refuses until I give him more money.

I'm worried more damage will be done to our home, this has been a absolute nightmare. Do I have a case here? And if so what kind of lawyer do I need?

**A: hire a lawyer.
 

VinnieL

Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

Hello, we have a four bedroom home in Hoffman Estates, IL. Our home has a flat roof, and one section of the home has water leaks and it was starting to sink in.

We got this guy to do it, and the problem here is, it was a verbal contract. We agreed that he would reroof the sinking in part of the roof, and replace all the shingles, sand and repaint our backyard patio deck, as well as replace the wood that borders our windows. He was charging 12,000 for this, which I thought was a lot at the time. We gave him a 4,500 deposit and have a receipt for it.

Problem started when he did the reroof. He stripped the roof, replaced the old wood, and closed it up. I checked out the area where he reroofed from the inside, and I thought it was very cold, colder then normal. I never saw any insulation supplies, so I suspected he didn't insulate. And I was right. When I confronted him about it, he said "yea I put it in, I'm sure". Well he lied. Because I made him make sure, and before he showed us anything, he bought insulation and brought it. Then he proceeded to cut holes maybe 2x3 ft into the drywall ceiling and wow, no insulation. Then he proceeded to stuff these larges sheets of insulation into those tiny little holes. What a complete mess.

After seeing this, I called over the citys building inspector. He showed me the roofing permit application form, and the contractor wrote that my mother was the contractor. And the inspector said, theres nothing we can do, since my mom is shown as the contractor, he suggested I hire a lawyer. He says its fraud, and that this guy most likely doesn't have a license to do this kind of work.

Then, after a big argument with the contractor, there was a big area of the roof where the old shingles were stripped. This guy left it like that, and it rained for 2 consecutive days. I keep calling him telling him to cover it up, even just cover with plastic sheet or something, and he says he refuses until I give him more money.

I'm worried more damage will be done to our home, this has been a absolute nightmare. Do I have a case here? And if so what kind of lawyer do I need?
hire a lawyer ASAP and sue him, i think it's call universal code, meaning insulation etc... has to be installed by law....and if he is playing dum then your attorney will straighten his act..
 

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