Here is what I obtained from our village website. They only provided "tips". I have included my comments to some items. More detail would have been helpful: Tips on Home Remodeling Getting Started The Village of xxxx allows homeowners to act as contractor for their own home remodeling projects. It must be noted, however, that a permit is required for all projects in which an addition or alteration will be done at the property. (comments: I can understand additions, difficult to define "alteration" e.g. cabinets replacement, carpet replacement with hardwood flooring, or replacing existing vanity and tub, or replacing existing fluorescent light with regular light.. etcare these "alteration"? or alteration of the structure of the home?.. this is a grey area dont understand this.. this can be interpreted different ways unless there is a definite definition for this) Additionally, projects that require the alteration of the roofline of the existing structure must have drawings sealed by a (STATE) licensed architect or structural engineer. Lastly, check the covenants for your subdivision before proceeding with any work; individual subdivision covenants may have special requirements and restrictions. Obtaining a Permit Although many people consider obtaining a permit to be a burden, it does have a critical role in any construction project. Having a permit entitles each homeowner: · Provides inspectors to answer questions. · Offers some security from contractor fraud. (some security? What does this mean? With permit contractor fraud did happen. With "zero" security from the village) · Allows inspectors an opportunity to verify that the contractor is working in a professional manner.(does this mean that the inspectors verify the quality of work and also the behavior of the contractors? Define what does it mean by "verify that the contractor is working in a professional manner" again.. this can be interpreted differently by inspectors according to their likeness unless there is a definite definition) Tips on Hiring a Contractor · Insist on a written contract. Obtain a written contract and make sure you understand the terms. Include a time frame for the completion of the project, but do not rush. Include terms of a payment plan and agree as to who will handle additional unforeseen expenses. · Make secure payments. It is not unusual for a contractor to require some money up front before construction starts. Make certain, however, that payments do not get ahead of work that has been completed. Never pay the full cost of the job up front. If a contractor insists on full payment up front, look for a different person. · Conduct interviews with potential contractors. Remember the contractor is working for you. Be certain that you are comfortable working with this person. Additionally, talk with friends and neighbors: people who have had experiences with contractors (good or bad) are always willing to share their knowledge. · Check with the Better Business Bureau. Checking with the Better Business Bureau will give you an opportunity to assess a potential contractors work history. · Verify the handling of inspections. Come to an agreement as to who will handle the permit and inspection process. If the contractor is scheduling the inspections, ask for copies of the results and keep them with the permit. · Make sure the contractor has insurance. Without insurance you may be liable if a worker is hurt in your home. The Village of XX does have an ordinance requiring all contractors working within the village to be licensed and bonded. · Ask for at least 3 references. Make sure that the sources had work done that was similar to your proposed project. · Get at least 3 bids. Check material pricing with that of your local building supply store to see if the price quoted is fair. · Establish a reasonable timeframe. If the contractor states the project will take 8 weeks, do not insist on 6 weeks; doing so might affect the quality of work. Revised

You CAN'T fix it without replacing the entire roof. I've been to your website (newroofleaks) and read that... An actual roofing pro - MIGHT be able to fix this without replacing the roof - but he/she is starting with a lousy foundation. A BAD roof job. Do yourself a favor. QUIT playing around, and posting stuff all over - and pay a reputable roofing firm to FIX your leaking roof - BEFORE your weather gets really cold again, and snowy. While your doing that - please be aware of some other stuff... Here is Washington state - ANY licensed contractor MUST have a Bond posted with the state. You state that the contractor got rid of his insurance a day before signing the roofing contract with you... If he is an actual licensed contractor - he probably still has a Bond witht the dept. of Labor & Industries. The dept. of Labor & Industries does not like it - when people hire themselves out, and are not licensed. When made aware of said individuals - they will go after them. Plus - if he IS licensed - the posted Bond can help you out... Also - although it does not seem right or correct - since you have not actually paid the contractor in 'full' - he can file a Lien against your house. Getting the lien off is a mess and more grief. Filing a lien against your house is easy for a contractor to do... (at least it is in the state of WA.) The reason I know the above is because my lovely wife is a Real Estate agent, and gets to study stuff related to houses and liens, etc. So, while being fully justified with not paying the contractor in full - he can retaliate - and easily file a lien against you... To take care of this stuff - you really need to do three things asap. Quit playing around. KNOW that you are going to do them... Then DO them. Like on MONDAY. 1. Get bids to fix the drywall hole in your ceiling. Don't be hiring unknowns. Hire an actual honest friend who KNOWS drywall OR hire an actual drywall firm. No lowball, done on the cheap.... 2. Hire a reputable roofing company to FIX your roof asap. Take out a substantial loan if you have to... But get your roof FIXED immediately. The rain and wet weather experienced for five months from Jan - May2009; and then the coming wet weather - are NOT doing your house any good. Your insulation is being ruined, you have the potential for termites and other pests, rot setting in... on & on... Get your Roof fixed asap. 3. The contractor doesn't care. No way in hell is he going to fix the 'ceiling hole'. He hasn't even fixed your leaking roof which cost you over $6K Why in the world would you want this unresponsive individual to come back and 'work' on your house??? SUE HIM!! You state the employee came on out all angry, and stated you had to shovel 3 feet of snow off the roof... I haven't read where the Contractor came on out and inspected the roof, and determined why it was leaking... The employee is not responsible. You did not sign a contract with the employee. You signed a contract with the contractor. SUE HIM! Take him to court. Just do it. Doesn't matter if the attorney will cost you $10k (Probably won't.) From your descriptions this seems pretty open and shut. If this guy owns a house, so he has some real property - SUE HIM! Lawyers are not all bad. I have a friend who is an attorney. Nicest guy you've ever met. Very smart. I've called attorney's out of the yellow pages, never met them - they've listened to my plight and steered me straight for totally free. All of the jokes about evil attorneys are really sad. Bad apples in any trade. A lot of good reputable attorneys exist. Look in your yellow pages, and call a few attorneys up, talk to them, and hear what they have to say... Call a lawyer referral service. In Seattle, a referral from the lawyer referral service gets you a half hour with an attorney - going thru your paperwork, etc. for only $32. Then full rates. But you get a real good feel for the attorney, and the probable outcome, etc. Plus - they'll tell you if your wasting your time or not. I've only been to court once; in my entire (52yrs) life. (Which I won.) But I tell you what - I'd be suing this dude. No joke. Bottom line. Get your roof and ceiling fixed asap. Be aware of the serious potential for a lien against your house - unless you take the contractor to court. So do so. Take them to court. Your playing around, and your house is getting ruined... I understand your frustration - but just move on, get the work done, and take strong legal action against the other - at the same time...

Bill_vincent, I have a question regarding the picture you posted. I'm getting ready to have a contractor redo my master bath and shower. He mentioned onyx base or tile base but said he'll have to buy the kit for the tile which is what I decided. From your picture, it doesn't look like you bought a shower pan kit, rather just used the same stuff that goes on the wall. Am I seeing this correct? Or am I missing something. I think he said the kit is about $500 plus the tile and work. He's done lots of work in my house and I never had any issues so I usually just go with what he says, but your pic has me scratching my head wondering why he doesn't just do something similar. ... On man I'm already editing my post. Did I just have a blonde moment I'm wondering... Looking at your pic maybe you did use some type of shower base kit lol I don't know...

Jane C., I would like to share my insight as an experienced (30 yrs.) woodworker. I work in a shop, not in the flooring trade or finishing, but we do a lot of projects that get prefinished and come back to our shop, for assembly and detailing, before going out for installation., hence my observations described later here. Unfortunately, there are many workers in the construction and home improvement trades, who are not very skilled, or experienced enough, to do a top-notch job. It seems the workers who did your flooring, would fit into this category. Not taping off painted woodwork is definitely unacceptable in my opinion, just a way to cut down time on the job. In your pic of the boot prints, it's hard to tell for sure without seeing it in person, but to my eyes, it looks like while the flooring was being installed, the workers had something on their shoes that left residue on the wood that reacted with the stain and/or clear coat. This would lead to my opinion, that these workers were not careful, and thorough, in their workmanship. Again, in my opinion, to acceptably spot-fix all those imperfections, would require someone very skilled and experienced at such things. In regards to the cracks and pits, I would have to say, with a high degree of certainty, that it is indeed from the wood shrinking. Any solid wood flooring, given a bit of time, is going to shrink a bit, under typical wintertime heating conditions where the air is dryer, hence the wood also dries out a bit. I would assume, when they came back to fix the poor finish job, the wood already shrunk a bit, and when new finish is applied, it doesn't "naturally" fill in all those small gaps. Finishes have a way of being repelled by cracks, rather than just flowing down in and filling it in, like one might think it would do. One must have a certain amount of acceptability, concerning these things- it's just the nature of wood and their finishes. Yes, those voids could be filled in with putty, but depending on the putty used, could still crack and eventually be sucked out with a vacuum, ( another coat of clear finish, after filling in all the cracks, would reduce the likeliness), but yes, it would make the voids less noticeable. I can't tell for sure if it's a glare in the pic, or if in the process of "fixing", they sanded some of the stain off, and now you ended up with noticeable light spots, If they DID sand through some of the stain, the only fix would be to strip, or sand off the WHOLE floor, and start over. Not sure how much success you'll have, trying to get a good quality fix/job out of these people. I know this may be of limited usefulness to you, but I just hoped to shed some light, from someone involved in the woodworking industry.