Pictures of my horrible new fence

[jadinolf]

What a horrible job.

Looks like you guys have the same kind of contractors as us here.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Conky
How hard is it to put up a fence by yourself? Seriously.

Anyway, your pics don't show that it's a bad fence but rather that you are a bad photographer perhaps in search of a free fence, lol.

i take it your handywork looks much like that in the pics

 

[skace]

Congrats on your new fence!!!

 

[TripleAAA]

Originally posted by: jackace
As stated above. Make sure you get 2-3 estimates from other contractors in your area to fix the fence before going to court. Make sure you have all your documentation ready. A video is a good option along with the pictures. Small claims court is a good option because it will keep lawyers out of the mix and allow the judge to talk with the contractor in person and the contractor will have to explain his actions in person to the judge.

I do have one estimate already and another one coming. I had them quote me the price for removal. I've been trying to get the contractors to write on the estimate the reasons for the current fence being removed (ie...poor workmanship due to...etc etc). I've been met with a bit of reluctance and one contractor refused to even come out and look at the fence after I told him about the situation.

This one contractor that I'm hopefully getting a bid from today is willing to go the extra distance for me and might even appear in court if I ask him to. I've also seen several of his jobs around the neighborhood and the work is far superior.

 

[TripleAAA]

Originally posted by: SlickSnake
Ok, the most important point I think in your lawsuit or claims situation is this: a wooden backyard fence is typically built for privacy, not as a mere landscaping addition, like typically a short wood fence would be when built around the front yard. Since its obvious you have a yard surrounded by other houses that are unfenced, the only possible conclusion is the fence was intended as a 6 foot wooden privacy fence. Otherwise, if privacy were not a concern, you would have simply had a cheaper 4 foot chain link fence built around the backyard instead.

If, however, a judge chooses to ignore these obvious facts about wood fence heights and privacy, and instead focuses simply on the quality of the fence, such as not even bothering to add a latch to the double gate to keep it closed and undamaged in a wind and all the obviously warped wooden pieces, you may be looking at a situation where he simply orders the contractor to fix the damages. So you need to get that repair option out of the way before you go to court, so you dont have to return to court again later if he fails to repair it properly.

A few possible solutions to fix this, should you get stuck with it, would be to add a lattice along the top of the fence to bring it to the proper height. Once you get some nice vines growing along it, you might turn lemons into lemonade in a few years. A more difficult solution would be to raise the fence up a bit and replace some of the posts with longer ones (like at the corners) and add either a heavy lattice or some long, wide runner boards going between the posts along the bottom. These might also be considered fixes for the contractor in court if you are forced to keep it and he is forced to repair it. It is good to go to court knowing what you might settle for before you have to suddenly think about those options when faced with them in court.

Unfortunately, some contractors are not very competent and this happens more often than it should. I have my own fence horror story with a 100 foot long 8 foot fence falling over in 10 different directions right after being built after it was shorted on the length of the posts. The guy worked for Sears as a contractor, and I complained about the build immediately after he finished it, when I saw it leaning all over the place. I had him leave me all the posts he cut off, and most were a foot and a half long (meaning 6 inches in the ground). He also built about 100 feet of 6 foot fence, but because it wasnt falling over immediately, the Sears claims adjuster would only refund half the fence build. The contractor had to remove the other 8 foot half, and I rebuilt it myself. I used 3 2x4s inside the 10 foot posts I sunk 2 feet in concrete. I sided the pickets on the outside of the fence. Even the garbage truck when it hit the fence did not knock it down!

Good luck on this! Keep us posted on the outcome!

Good points and ideas. Back when this first happened, considering I hadn't heard from the contractor for two weeks I figured he must have just "skipped town" on me. There were a few other options to fix the fence but it all came back to the overall stability not being present regardless of what I did. One way was to increase the height of the posts by leveling off the cut and adding an additional foot of post to the top using a joist/bracket method. Then, I would take some additional cedar boards and "wrap" up the posts. The combination of the joists and boards should give it some stability to add one more 2x4 to the top part of the fence. Again though, not having one continous post is unstable and would probably eventually fall apart should I do it this way.

The lattice idea is pretty good with vines and such. I won't rule anything out until this thing is fully settled.

 

[TripleAAA]

Another FYI, the bottom 2x4 is 13" off the ground. Other contractors have mentioned that it should be no more than 8" off the ground.

I might go pick up a couple of fence building books that note this, make copies of the pages and then return the books afterwards. Good idea?

 

[49erinnc]

Man, I feel bad for you. It's not so much the rough edges on top and a few warped boards as it is the height. You could easily fix up the other issues but at only 5' tall, it pretty much defeats the purpose of being a "privacy fence." That's totally unacceptable and I'm surprised this contractor is still in business. I find it hard to believe this is an isolated job for him because most contractors do really consistent work.

Good luck and I definitely think you have a lot of leverage here based on the pics. Unfortunately, I don't think you can avoid tearing it down and starting from scratch if you want a 6' fence.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

OMG, I just looked at the pics again and wet myself. I can't wait to show my dad tonight cos he was a carpenter.

 

[TripleAAA]

I may add some more pics to show some of the finer points such as incorrect measurements, etc.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: TripleAAA

Originally posted by: Fritzo
It looks to me like he didn't inspect his materials before building, or he got a deal on some "seconds" at his supplier. Pretty sloppy job.

I recall him at one point prior to building the fence saying that he had bought a large amount of cedar before the prices went up. Also one of the other contractors said he used a "grade 2" wood.

OK, that means they're going to use all that wood at Home Depot that people put aside because it's warped, chiped, has huge knotholes, etc.

NO, it doesn't. Grade 2 (or #2) lumber is the most common for non-critical structural applications. Grade 1 (or #1) lumber is rarer, and is typically only used for critical structural applications. He is probably referring to the quality of his pickets in this instance. You can get #1 pickets that have no knotholes or checks in them, but they are rare and very expensive compared to #2 pickets you commonly see used. I can tell you from experience that when a contractor or homeowner orders a large load of lumber for delivery, the yards typically mix in some poor material (the warped and badly knotted pieces) in your order. If you need good material, you need to go hand-pick it yourself.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: cscpianoman
Is it just me or is the posts, etc. untreated wood?

Cedar posts last longer and are more eco-friendly than chem posts.

not necessarily true. Old growth cedar was better at this, but today's cedar is much more sausceptible to rot. Cedar is weaher resistant and insect resistant, but I'd recommend pressure treated for anything buried.

 

[TripleAAA]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: cscpianoman
Is it just me or is the posts, etc. untreated wood?

Cedar posts last longer and are more eco-friendly than chem posts.

not necessarily true. Old growth cedar was better at this, but today's cedar is much more sausceptible to rot. Cedar is weaher resistant and insect resistant, but I'd recommend pressure treated for anything buried.

The neighbor behind me is using some new kind of post that's whiter in color. He said they are really hard to obtain for some reason and are the best thing out right now. Don't know the name though.

 

[ViviTheMage]

wow, I seriously laughed when I saw the swinging door....crapolla!

and that thing was so crooked!

 

[radioouman]

I didn't think that it was too bad.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: radioouman
I didn't think that it was too bad.

Were you looking at your monitor when you made that assessment?

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: TripleAAA

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: TripleAAA

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure
Did the contract you signed with the contract stipulate the fence he made would be straight and not jagged. =)

The contract stipulated everything I had originally requested. He then "edited" the original bid form by adding a small note at the bottom claiming I had called him to request the height of the fence be "shortened" which is absolutely false.

The bill he sent me, the city permit, etc all dictate the correct height which is a foot taller than what he built.

so you don't have your own copy of the original signed contract and the attached bid?

The bid/contract are one piece of paper and I don't have a copy because I had to mail it in to him. In hindsight, I obviously wish I had made a copy prior to sending it to him. As I mentioned before he even sent me the bill which dictates the correct height. This guy is a serious piece of work, don't ya think? :disgust:

sorry bud, but a bid is not a contract. you made a major error in not requiring a written contract and keepin g a copy of the paperwork.

it is your word against his, and you may prevail in small claims court if the quality of the work is terrible, but don't expect to rely on the height issue.

One of the issues I'm sure a court will look at is who is the "expert" in this case. The contractor obviously is, and would normally know the city code requirements of a 6 foot height minimum. A contractor just can't build out of code because a client requested it. He's the expert and knows what needs to be done and how it needs to be done.

Also, that dude needs a new blade on his circular saw. That is some bad chipping.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: DainBramaged
lmao...holy crap...i can't believe how bad it is

When I saw the OP I thought you must be exaggerating but after seeing the pics... Wow. I can't believe a licensed contractor would consider that work acceptable. He didn't think you were blind or something did he? Hope you can get it removed at his expense.

 

[kitkat22]

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: cscpianoman
Is it just me or is the posts, etc. untreated wood?

Cedar posts last longer and are more eco-friendly than chem posts.

Sorry, you're right. I thought they were pine for a second until I looked closer.

 

[TripleAAA]

Originally posted by: cscpianoman

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: cscpianoman
Is it just me or is the posts, etc. untreated wood?

Cedar posts last longer and are more eco-friendly than chem posts.

Sorry, you're right. I thought they were pine for a second until I looked closer.

I think the ones I mentioned earlier are pine but treated with some new technology. They are smoother and almost look and feel like that vinyl wood

 

[Pepsi90919]

please focus your camera and try again

also call mike holmes

 

[TripleAAA]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
please focus your camera and try again

also call mike holmes

Eh? Maybe you only looked at one of the pictures. One is a bit blurry but the rest are pretty clear. And who is Mike Holmes?

 

[Goosemaster]

now that is indeed city wok....er fence

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

LOL. I built 120' of prvacy fence a couple Summers ago by myself....with no experience just some reading, and it came out 10X better than that. And mine is all redwood.

If I were you, I'd pay the bill and consider this a lesson learned. I've been fortunate to have mostly chosen good contractors for what I didn't want to do myself, but have had a bad one. All it did was give me that much keener foresight when choosing the next one. And, ya, you can go ahead and pursue all legal recourse through small claims and the BBB and whatnot too.

 

[Beau]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: cscpianoman
Is it just me or is the posts, etc. untreated wood?

Cedar posts last longer and are more eco-friendly than chem posts.

not necessarily true. Old growth cedar was better at this, but today's cedar is much more sausceptible to rot. Cedar is weaher resistant and insect resistant, but I'd recommend pressure treated for anything buried.

... only if they're legal in your area. Some cities (like mine) forbid chemically treated wood from being buried.

 

[MrWizzard]

Originally posted by: TripleAAA

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure
Did the contract you signed with the contract stipulate the fence he made would be straight and not jagged. =)

The contract stipulated everything I had originally requested. He then "edited" the original bid form by adding a small note at the bottom claiming I had called him to request the height of the fence be "shortened" which is absolutely false.

The bill he sent me, the city permit, etc all dictate the correct height which is a foot taller than what he built.

If this is true and what you are saying is true, ask him what day it was that he claims you called him. Get phone records. You win. You could drop that bomb in court.