M & T Services

Mr. Trapnell had 4 visits with me. The initial assessment and estimate. He didn't charge me to come out and assess and estimate cost, which is rare and very wonderful. At the time I was very low on money and he told me he could work with me. He said the main thing was to get the flooring replaced because that's a major safety issue. The damage was limited to a pretty small area of floor, about 3 feet x 4 feet in the bathroom and extended another 3 or 4 feet into my master bedroom. He worked with me on price. The second visit was the initial "first fix" which included him taking up the tile in the bathroom and replacing those floors. For the bathroom floor work he only charged me $250 dollars. He said the bedroom wasn't so bad so that could wait until I could afford it. I was pleased with the job he did and the fact that he understood that I didn't have much money so I went ahead and scrapped up the rest of the money needed to FULLY fix the problem. Mr. Trapnell and his assistant (whose name I can't recall) came back a third time and did the whole job. He discovered that the window in the bathroom was the problem. It was leaking and causing all this water damage to my walls and floor. So he fixed the walls and support beams for me. He even cut a couple of cost corners by using some scrap linoleum and particle board he had from other construction jobs he had performed. Like I said, it was a small area that was damaged, so the scraps worked out just fine! He also fixed the floor in my bedroom. He reset the toilet for me as well. He told me that I should go get some silicone sealant and seal the tops of all my windows to prevent this problem in any other areas of the house. This was very good advice so I did it. I sealed all the windows of my home and asked him if he wanted me to go ahead and seal the bathroom window too. He said no, that he would do that since it?s a part of the problem I called him about and he was also working on that area at the time. He did a great job pressure washing my house. He also pressure washed the old chipping and peeling paint off my front door. He didn?t get all the paint off, but got as much as he could. His assistant then repainted my front door with white spray paint to protect it from rusting. It wasn?t the best paint job I?ve ever seen, but it did just fine as far as function. And I guess you can?t expect perfection on a budget. About 4 & ? to 5 months passed and my husband noticed that the window was leaking again. We could actually see water on the wall in our bathroom? so I gave Mr. Trapnell a call and he said he?d be over to look at it as soon as he could. He came over a couple of days later and said he didn?t know why the window would be leaking again. He said it could be condensation and that we might have to replace the entire window, but the best thing was to try putting up a small section of ?rain gutter? over that window to divert the rain water away from it and just see if that fixed it. He said it would cost around $25 - $40 dollars. I said that would be fine and asked him when he could come again to fix the problem. He said he wasn?t sure he?d give me a call or just come do it and leave a bill on my front porch. A few days passed and I saw no sign of the window being fixed and no bill on my front porch. So I called Mr. Trapnell again. He said he had a death in the extended family and wouldn?t be able to come for a few days. I gave my condolences and told him to take the time he needed. A week passed and no sign of Trapnell. So I gave him a call and he said he would be there the following Tuesday, he also said he called his assistant and asked him if he had put the silicone sealant on my bathroom window and his assistant told him he hadn?t! I didn?t get mad, but told him it had to be fixed and to please come that Tuesday. Tuesday passed, then Wednesday, then Thursday, and Friday we had the first snow in GA in over 20 years? naturally I assumed he wouldn?t be there in the snow or on the weekend. I waited and called him the following Monday, Feb. 15th 2010. He didn?t answer so I left him a voice mail. He called me back, but I was at work so he left a message saying that the weather was the reason he didn?t show? but it didn?t snow until that Friday, Feb. 12th 2010?and he said he?d be there on Tuesday the 9th. It is now Saturday Feb. 20th and I?ve pretty much figured out I?m being blow off here. So I went to Lowes, bought a ladder, calking gun, silicone sealant, etc? and did the job myself. I?m looking into getting a small awning or gutter scrap to place over the window just in case the sealant wasn?t enough to prevent the problem. I am not poor, but I?m not ?rolling in it? either. I am however rational and reasonable. I don?t expect someone to do a job at cost and not charge labor. But I get the feeling that Mr. Trapnell?s lack of motivation to come back and fix the issue is due to the fact that it?s a low cost project. However I do have a lot more things that need to be done around my house and I?m not sure it?s worth all the phone tag and frustration to call Mr. Trapnell again. I guess I?ll be reading a couple of ?do it yourself? books in the near future.