Anyone ever report a contractor to CSLB

everysurfer

Phil Edwards status
Sep 9, 2013
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2g Sprayed orange oil for preventative termite control....for a month, our garage smelled like St Joseph baby aspirin
factory.
I SWEAR by Termidore SC. It is the concentrate that the bug companies use. Except they save a few pennies by over diluting it. Follow the instructions and spray it around the perimeter once a month. Kills all the nasties except spiders. Find it on Amazon.
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,850
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San Francisco, CA
We have sprayed Termidore ourselves on the exposed ground and then laid down the construction plastic sheeting before the new foundation work was done. (I was all Tyvek suited up when I did the spraying.)

We told the project manager what we had done the following morning.

"We could have done that for you if you asked."

"For free?"

"Well........."

"It is done now, and the construction plastic sheeting is laid out per construction code. I figure I saved you guys about 20 minutes of work, if that."

He just gave more a mute stare for about 15 seconds, then turned away.

A few days later, pick-axed a trench around the external slab, sprayed some more.

I'll probably repeat that soon.

A month ago, had set out some in-soil baits about 5 ft from house. I check a few this weekend....nothing.
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
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One more day to go....

Meanwhile, this is me fixing paint bubbles left after the 2rd time they tried to fix them after they painted the doorframe, so yeah, 3rd time is the charm. This was repeated on the top and right side.

Oh, and per painting contract,t hey were to remove all hardware before painting. Guess who later had to remove the lock and door-handle and clean with mineral spirits and a dremel buffer to get the paint off it because they never removed any of the hardware?

 

_____

Phil Edwards status
Sep 17, 2012
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For termites, could you provide some info about which product you recommend (Termidore SC?) and how often and how you treat? Does it eliminate them? They are in the walls of two units I'm at and when it gets hot, the termites swarm out of the walls, drop their wings and make a mess on the floor, screens, etc. When it's cold, it's only little brown dots similar to sand coming out of their holes. The only effective thing I've been able to do is open a door - they seem to be attracted to light and fly away.
2 rooms, one unoccupied and the other I only use for storage.
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,850
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Termites, the behavior and control, kinda a big topic of which I only know a small part.

You are better off doing some research via Google Scholar than reading what I am about to type.

1 There are roughly two types: dry or wet Know their environmental needs and attack them there.
2 All termites dry out easily. It is part of the reason why they tent homes and turn up the heat.
3 Poison (termidore) is great at killing them, but if they are hiding in wood, well, you got to get the poison into the wood.
4 Killing during swarming season is best (lots of debate on this), but I think this is when prevention is best.
5 Orange oil will kill them on contact, and various citrus oil are supposed to act as deterrent (more debate), not so toxic.
6 You can buy termite bait/trap to draw them out. This is good way to gauge problem.
7 I did a lot of the above but eventually had to rip out stairs and do foundation work to get them all (I hope).
8 Time for another Termidore treatment against the outside foundation.
9 Hire a pro to kill them with poison and if you do it yourself, gear up with protection and respirator even if you use orange oil.
10 Start thinking about ripping out the infestation sooner rather than later.
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,850
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I need to wait till the project is done before I name names.
The faster I can forget about this the better, but as I see new paint bubbles coming up in places (not where I had already repaired their work).......

Anyways, I would heartily endorse two of the three contractors listed here.

1 Tom Lee Roofing
2 RBC Painting and Construction
3 Arellano's Wood Windows

The dissociation didn't last as long as I thought it might.
 
Last edited:

JBerry

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 8, 2017
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The faster I can forget about this the better, but as I see new paint bubbles coming up in places (not where I had already repaired their work).......

Anyways, I would heartily endorse two of the three contractors listed here.

1 Tom Lee Roofing
2 RBC Painting and Construction
3 Arellano's Wood Windows

The dissociation didn't last as long as I thought it might.
Thats a problem right there, any contractor who promotes themselves as a painter, house painting, etc. or vice versa.

IMO Contractors should just stick to what they know, the old saying goes....

'caulk and paint make a carpenter what they ain't!' or any other trade really applies!! lol

paint still bubblin' don't refer that guy!!
 

everysurfer

Phil Edwards status
Sep 9, 2013
6,713
1,811
113
Santa Barbara County
The faster I can forget about this the better, but as I see new paint bubbles coming up in places (not where I had already repaired their work).......

Anyways, I would heartily endorse two of the three contractors listed here.

1 Tom Lee Roofing
2 RBC Painting and Construction
3 Arellano's Wood Windows

The dissociation didn't last as long as I thought it might.
YOU HIRED A CONTRACTOR WHO'S LICENSE STARTED WITH A 9!!!!!

LICENSED IN 2014!!!!!

FVCK DOOF, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,850
7,747
113
San Francisco, CA
YOU HIRED A CONTRACTOR WHO'S LICENSE STARTED WITH A 9!!!!!

LICENSED IN 2014!!!!!

FVCK DOOF, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

A previous license held by them was issued earlier, but only for painting. Their newer license was issued in 2013 and included the construction side. They had recently started including the construction side of things.

What was I thinking? I was thinking that after 3 years of trying to find a contractor that would show up on time and wasn't too skeevy and could give me a written bid that had the "right" building license, would be the one I would hire once I had 3 to compare.

Not sure why a license starting with a '9' is bad...does a recent license mean they must be worse than one that was issued earlier?

As I stated earlier, this is what I think where my side of things went awry.

1 I am a terrible judge of character, apparently.
2 I trust people to do the right thing
3 I expect licensed and bonded professionals to follow the law
4 I expect people to live up to their written agreements
5 I don't expect to be billed for work I never agreed to
6 I did expect blowback once we reported them to CSLB, and am still glad we did, but am surprised they continue to risk further complaint. Good thing the law allows for civil cases to be filed up to 3 years after the injury.
7 I didn't know the construction code beforehand
8 I should have been more pendantic and gone over the contracts 3 or 4 times with them instead of once.
9 In retrospect, should not have hired them.

As for total numbers, the original bid was $ 125K for everything. It ended at $202K. Of that $77K difference, from our point of view I would say $35K would have been justifiable. But then I remember pointing out to the GC and the Project Manger the differences between what the blueprints shear-wall called for and what had been put up and thinking, "If I hadn't caught this, would anyone," and all the other items, and yeah, that justifiable $35K number gets smaller.

I really don't think I know everything, hence the goofy name I use here to keep me honest. If I had known then what I know now, I would have run a credit check on the company and the owner, then also run a criminal check on them as well and then hired someone else.

Oh, another thing I should have done is wait until there is a downturn in local construction activity....but this may have been what one of my neighbors had been thinking when he broke through his stairs and tore up his leg.
 

everysurfer

Phil Edwards status
Sep 9, 2013
6,713
1,811
113
Santa Barbara County
A previous license held by them was issued earlier, but only for painting. Their newer license was issued in 2013 and included the construction side. They had recently started including the construction side of things.

What was I thinking? I was thinking that after 3 years of trying to find a contractor that would show up on time and wasn't too skeevy and could give me a written bid that had the "right" building license, would be the one I would hire once I had 3 to compare.

Not sure why a license starting with a '9' is bad...does a recent license mean they must be worse than one that was issued earlier?

As I stated earlier, this is what I think where my side of things went awry.

1 I am a terrible judge of character, apparently.
2 I trust people to do the right thing
3 I expect licensed and bonded professionals to follow the law
4 I expect people to live up to their written agreements
5 I don't expect to be billed for work I never agreed to
6 I did expect blowback once we reported them to CSLB, and am still glad we did, but am surprised they continue to risk further complaint. Good thing the law allows for civil cases to be filed up to 3 years after the injury.
7 I didn't know the construction code beforehand
8 I should have been more pendantic and gone over the contracts 3 or 4 times with them instead of once.
9 In retrospect, should not have hired them.

As for total numbers, the original bid was $ 125K for everything. It ended at $202K. Of that $77K difference, from our point of view I would say $35K would have been justifiable. But then I remember pointing out to the GC and the Project Manger the differences between what the blueprints shear-wall called for and what had been put up and thinking, "If I hadn't caught this, would anyone," and all the other items, and yeah, that justifiable $35K number gets smaller.

I really don't think I know everything, hence the goofy name I use here to keep me honest. If I had known then what I know now, I would have run a credit check on the company and the owner, then also run a criminal check on them as well and then hired someone else.

Oh, another thing I should have done is wait until there is a downturn in local construction activity....but this may have been what one of my neighbors had been thinking when he broke through his stairs and tore up his leg.
licenses are numeric. A 9 is the new kid on the block. Painters are notorious alcoholics. Your guy was a contractor for just 5 years. That's really just a novice. I've been licensed since 1989, and I'm still learning on every job.

The hardest thing to find is a contractor who actually likes the work, and has a desire to do the work. I'm in the business, and I only know a handful.
 
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