Project: (Only the siding repairs are documented below. The kitchen and laundry faucet repairs were cancelled by me) Lauer Exteriors received a very high rating on Angie?s list with many positive comments. That is why I chose him. The worked performed for me doesn?t match up to all the good ratings he has gotten in the past. In my opinion, this may be due in part to his other projects, especially the flooding, but also doesn?t excuse what I have presented above. My initial call to Ron Lauer was March 13th and he came to the house the next day to see what I needed to have done. I received a quote two weeks later and I asked if he could come out to explain it. He came out one or two days later and we discussed what was to be done. I also mentioned that he was offering a 10% discount to seniors that was not included in the quote. I am 62 and asked what his "senior" criteria was. He said he would send me a new quote which I received one week later. His listing on Angie?s List also mentioned a 5% discount for those that used Angie?s List to hire him. This was never considered in the quote and I never brought it up. Work started on Tuesday, May 7th promptly and was completed the afternoon of Wednesday May 8th. This should have taken longer. All trim boards and 4x9 panels were stained by myself prior to Ron beginning work. He dropped them off at the house along with 4 metal horses for me to use as supports. They were really handy to have and made the staining much easier. Outcome: East wall appears to be ok except for the very large cutout that was required to accommodate the gas line into the house. The pipe was about 1 ½" wide but the cutout was 7 ½" inches. They created a "filler" piece but once inserted was not flush with the rest of the panel. Not sure why the cutoff was so large. Patio was not done well at all. There is an upper and lower portion to the patio wall. The upper 4x9 panels that are being replaced have 1½" and 10½" grooves. When the new panels were attached, the grooves were not aligned with the bottom portion (the existing panels that were not replaced.) I mentioned this to Ron after the patio was completed and he did acknowledge the error. Since this was the only patio wall with upper and lower portions, nobody would probably know anything was wrong? except for me that is. I accepted this as "ok" only because it would have been a major undertaking to redo it and the panels were already cut. The 4x9 panel closest to house is tilted and it looks like the panel next to the patio door, which was not being replaced, was cut to accommodate the poor fit. Same panel was cut at the bottom to eliminate the "tilted" look but was done very poorly and has more of a curve instead of a clean straight cut. It appears that the far right panel was not flush with the underlayment and it made the corner boards not fit tightly, exposing more of the North facing 4x9 panel. I had to use filler underneath to seal the large gap between the panel and the underlayment. Due to the panel not being flush, the nail holding the bottom of the panel had nothing underneath to grip to. I had to glue the two pieces together at the seam. Also Tyvec was protruding from a joint of two 4x9 panels which was no big deal. I used a knife to remove it. East wall South corner the new trim boards were installed incorrectly revealing an unpainted portion of the North facing original panel and the East facing original trim board, neither of which was being replaced. East eve on the patio side at the roof line has a big gap close to the gutter. East eve over front door panel joint close to the roof was not nailed. Was able to put finger between joint. There is apparently no support behind this section to drive a nail. This same problem existed prior to repairs but I assumed this would be fixed during the repairs. West eve over the North side of the garage seems to have a big gap where the siding meets the soffit. This soffit was not being replaced so I assume the gap was damaged in the process of removing the old siding. Wondering why there was no flashing placed at the roofline on all three eves. Ron mentioned it but it was never added. I requested metal soffit vents but plastic was used instead. Squirrels wreck the plastic and I mentioned this to Ron explaining why I wanted metal. While painting the 4x9 panels and trim boards, I had to remind Ron that I did not get the soffit boards. He had to make a special trip and he brought a ¼" 4x8 piece of plywood. I mentioned at the time that I thought that the soffits were 1" x 8" but he said that the ¼"x 4x8 panel cut to the proper width was common. The next day, I also realized he did not bring the 1x8x12 trim boards for the East side of the house. He had to make another special trip for those. I mention this because at times Ron didn?t "appear" to have my best interest in mind, or possibly had too many other projects going on. I never saw him right down anything. There was severe flooding in a neighboring town and he stated numerous times that there was a lot of work to be done there. He also asked if it was OK for him to delay work on my home for a few days due to this. I agreed and we set a new date. I got a call from Ron a few days prior to this new date asking if he could delay it another day. I agreed. It seemed that my project was becoming "less important". The flood occurred after I had signed the agreement to begin work. As mentioned previously, Ron used ¼" plywood cut in 8" width strips for the soffits, not the 1"x 8" that was originally used. I mention this because the original 1"x 8"had rotted over time. What was the ¼" going to do? After the new installation, the soffit boards look "wavy" probably due to the lack of rigidity. Time will tell. Gutter straps were not replaced where originals were, not a big deal, but it revealed the faded lines and the old screw hole. Lacked attention to detail. At the end of each day and at the end of the project the work site was cleaned appropriately. Rich and Jeff assisted Ron and all were very courteous. Work ended on May 8th and Ron said he would be calling me to come out and install some flashing? somewhere, not sure exactly what or where he meant but I assumed it was probably at the roof eves. Ron called me on Wednesday, May 15th to schedule a time to finish caulking. I thought the caulking was done and he was going to bring some flashing which he mentioned the last day of his work on May 8th. Anyway it did not matter and I told him that I was dissatisfied with his some of his work and to bring the final bill along with receipts for some of the materials used. He arrived at 12 noon, the time we previously arranged. I let him in through the front door and I then proceeded to the kitchen table where I had my notes and our prior agreement paperwork. He remained at the front door and I asked him to come into the kitchen and "have a seat". He did come into the kitchen but did not sit down. I reviewed his final charges and some of the receipts he had brought along. I disputed one of them but did not take into account sales tax. The receipt given to me at a prior date only showed a total amount. All this time Ron barely said a word to me. I got up and asked him to come outside so I could show him what I considered problems. He refused to go out and look. I asked him a second time and again refused to go. He was starting to get upset with me and I was already upset with him. He never said a word. I asked him a final time so he had a chance to see what I was talking about and possibly dismiss what may be considered as petty. He declined a third time. During this I was writing out a check for what was owed. I have no other choice but to assume he knew what I was going to show him and he didn?t want to confront me on the issues. . He said some remark that I had stated that everything looked "good as punch", or some words to that affect meaning that I was very happy with the work that was done. What I actually said was a "pretty good job". That was before I had a chance to see areas that I had not seen before or areas that I scrutinized in more detail; certain corners, soffit areas, roof areas that I needed to access by ladder, and particularly portions of the patio. He also mentioned that he has never had anyone complain about his work before. If that was the case, why didn?t he "stand up" for his integrity and review the problems I was complaining about? Since things had become pretty negative by this time I mentioned that I never got the 5% discount for using Angie?s List. He said some remark that he had already given me $200 off. I?m not sure what that meant since the only prior negotiated discount was my 10% senior discount which I had to ask for and he had to redo the original quote. I handed him the check and he walked out the front door. I mentioned that he could read about this on Angie?s List. If Ron had any professional ethics at all he would have accompanied me outside to view the problems I have outlined above.