All Forum Posts by: Nik Moushon

It all depends on how your contract is set up. If you have one. There are many situations (bad ones) you can put yourself in if you don't do things right. Even if he is completely in the wrong, if you go against the contract, he can come after you for damages. If you are going to hire another contractor or keep his retainer or his bond I would discuss this with your lawyer so you do it the right way the first time. The little money spent on a lawyer now is well worth it, especially considering the costs if you don't and things go wrong. 

DO NOT use any glue on any piping between the sink and the wall. The sealant stuff you are mentioning is for gluing PVC pipes together. Thats not what you want. You want that all to come apart when you need to. I personally prefer teflon tape (plumbers tape) over the paste but both will work. Just go to any hardware store and it should be near the plumbing. 

https://www.amazon.com/Teflon-Thread-Seal-Tape-


EDIT: You just wrap the tape around the male threaded end about 4-5 times. You want to trying and keep it tight while wrapping as well as flat, to cover as many threads as possible. It has a tendency to want to stick together and will start to look like a string. You dont want that. It doesnt have to be perfectly flat but do try to get it as flat as you can.

I havent used that specific paint myself but I've never heard of good experiences with it. Just the nature of the material doesnt lend well to anything adhering to it. 

As an architect I like the style on mansard roofs if they are done correctly. This one is not and it clear because most people will find it ugly looking. The two best things you can do, in my opinion, is to replace the cedar shingles with a high quality asphalt shingle that is not your typical rectangular shape. Pick a nice elegant looking shape/style the plays nicely with its intents of the French Mansard. Do a quick google search and you'll find plenty of examples. The second thing is you need to dress up those windows. If you look at any pictures of French Mansards you will see, that the good ones, don't treat the windows as an after thought that american builds tend to do. They are beautifully ornate with lots of trim and a decorative header. Now I'm not suggestion you go all out and spend five grand on every window in trim. But leaving it plain and simple makes it worse. Dress it up and make it look apart of the architectural style and not an after thought. 

There are plenty of options but doing those two things will drastically improve the look and desirability of the house. And with everything you can pinch pennies are spend a fortune so just make sure to spend what fits in your budget. Long story short, don't be scared off by the mansard, there are lots of options to make it work.

PS: If you get a roofer to do the work they might try and charge you extra for working a steep pitched roof. This application is more attune to siding than roofing. Just something to be aware of.

@Derek Meehan I'm new here too, so glad I could be helpful. 

You should be able to get your money back. If they even hesitate I would seriously fight back. Whats there does not fit the definition of new and any court will side with you on this. I had this same thing happen to me on my house. Have your realtor send a very stern, but polite, letter to the other agent emphasizing this and you should be ok. Thats how I took care of it when it happened to me. Best of luck.

If the prices are that close go with metal hands down. Also remember you CAN put a metal roof directly over shingles so no need to pay to rip them up and haul them off. Now there is a limit on how many layers but i can't remember off the top of my head what that is.