I'd have to take your pool builders side on this if it happened to me. If you chose an outside entity over mine to perform your decks you'd have to deal with them on any after the fact problems that are decking related. quote" Are they just trying to get out of honoring their warranty? quote" Absolutely not. They've got nothing to warranty on this job description because they were no part of that aspect of the job. You took them out when you chose a separate concrete company to provide the work and cut them off from there ability to make their markup on that portion of the job. quote" However, we need to get that joint caulked. -and- The deck company says if the tile falls off after this winter, they will pay to have it replaced. "quote I'd suggest having them handle the job. After all they poured the deck and got paid for it. I'm certain they'll come through for you. quote" Do I just caulk the joint myself at this point "quote Most definitely no, your the customer and have paid your money to have the work handled correctly. quote" Please help! "quote The only help I can offer is to stand your ground and make your decker come back and handle the job, then stand behind the work he performed. There's no need to repour anything, and no need to do anything yourself or force the pool builder to do anything to the cold joint between the beam and the concrete decking. This has, was, and always will be the concrete contractors responsibility. I'm forced into your builders position every now and then. I always make it a point to tell the buyer prior to conceding that portion of the job that situations like yours are the reason I discourage them from using their own subs on my jobs. Unless the sub is willing to pay me my markup out of the buyers payment I don't warranty the jobs done by subs other than mine. That warranty is extended and supported by the contractor they payed. This is not a personal decision it's a business decision. I, and your builder, make our living off of marking up the trades invoices. I hope this assists you, and sincerely hope it didn't offend you. It's just my .02 See ya, Kelly

#1 will rent a portable toilet = yes please Contractor 1 has done the following: Front porch roof replaced via sub-contractor. There was a porch beam that is rotted and needs replacement and we thought should have been prior to roof replacement but he said he'd get to it afterwards, and has not mentioned. The last date he said it would be fixed was right after Thanksgiving. Him not having even mentioned it does bother me a little but it was a 350 USD kind of job so maybe not a big deal for him to follow through on time but as customers, it matters to us as it was supposed to be part of the porch roof repairs job. On second thought, no thanks. Following through is a big deal. It sounds like he likes to subcontract, so if he cared to remember he would have had someone do it for him. Sounds like contractor #2 can do the job themselves if needed AND follow through. Just request a portable toilet.... Unless you want various subcontractors destroying your toilet after burrito and fast food lunches. but our idea is that if we do the work internally and get an electrician and plumber and HVAC guy in it might cost us less. Having said that, we've also been told that contractors get better rates for these jobs because of the on-going jobs they provide to those trades. Yes and no, you will find the trades will be interested if the job is big enough. If you call an electrician to wire one outlet, not so much :) Also, whatever you would be paying the trades, the GC would take his cut so it probably would cost you more anyhow. I also would not worry about mistakes. If you hire the tradesman directly and they do it wrong, I would expect the tradesman to come out and redo it. You as the homeowner can ensure they do it right by getting permits pulled before job and inspections done afterwards. Permits and inspections are there to help homeowners (especially those that do not have specific knowledge checking tradesman work).

I think I have the same siding as you - it looks like Hardi Board. Those nail holes look wrong to me. If those are on every piece of siding then the original installer didn't know what they were doing. Except in special situations, the nails should be covered by the piece of siding above. There should not be nails down low on the siding. Since those holes should not be there, I would think that filling them would be an extra step. FWIW my neighbor has the same siding and the installer caulked the seams between the boards - the vertical seams. It looks horrible because the caulk is a different texture than the siding so it sticks out. Caulking those holes would probably give you the same result - strange shiny dots on your siding. Having said that, giving water a path into the siding is not good either. But if the house is several years old and that has not been a problem, you are probably fine. On the soffit - I would have someone finish that area with an appropriate soffit material that will accept paint well and hide the 2x4s and plywood that are there now. No amount of paint is going to make that look good.

There is no difference between a home builder and a general contractor To repeat the second response on this thread: Vague terms whose definition varies by jurisdiction. For instance, as per the British Columbia government housebuilding registration site: Ditto in Ontario, where my municipal renovator's license counted for bupkis when I wanted to build a new home for sale.