Tin Man Siding & Windows LLC

unknown

Scott Specker, owner of the oldest house (two bedroom, one bathroom, built in 1873) in Pierz, MN, is not knowledgeable about construction or remodeling like I am and he didn't care about what the Tin Man and his assistant were doing. I described to Scott what I had observed almost daily but most of time my concerns fell on deaf ears. I rented the 2nd floor rooms from Scott for nearly 4 years and I watched a lot of what the contractors were doing during the project. Scott's mom made the remodeling project happen. She found out that because of the historic nature of the house, it was eligible for a grant from the Minnesota Housing Partnership and the City of Pierz. From my understanding, 80% of the project was paid for with grant funding. Scott and his family picked up the rest of the costs. I moved out on October 18, 2013 and the only things that hadn't been completed yet were natural gas being run to the house from the line running behind the property for the new furnace and installing the new programmable thermostat. The day I moved out overnight temperatures were in the 30s and the house did not have heat. I lost contact with Scott so I don't know if or when the natural gas was connected and the furnace worked. I encouraged Scott to invest in central air since the house had been altered to accomodate ductwork many years earlier but I don't know if he did. Scott lived through the heat in the summers as he never bothered to get even a window A/C unit. The one window A/C unit in the house was dedicated for upstairs, according to Scott. The upstairs living room and bedroom desperately needed new windows (broken glass in both) and that's what really led to the remodeling project. My recliner was right by the living room window and I watched the contractors install both windows and they never even had a level with them so I know they didn't check for level and plumb. The original double hung window in the upstairs living room was out of plumb and stuck going up and down. The exact same thing happened after the new vinyl double hung window was installed. Also, wood in the rough openings for both windows were rotten but the Tin Man didn't even consider replacing it. He and his assistant just slapped the new vinyl windows in and put up simple boards as window trim (no miter cuts and no rounded or beveled edges), which was loose because of the rotten wood underneath. I have absolutely no respect for the Tin Man and his assistant. Scott is single dad and a friend of mine and I feel sorry for what will eventually happen to his house. He's worked two jobs for a couple of years to ensure he can pay the mortgage but he still lives paycheck to paycheck so I know he won't be able to afford to fix any additional problems with the house. His teenage daughter moved in with him full-time (first time ever) after I moved out.

Not as good as expected.