Fries Home Remodeling

Fries Home Remodeling & Property Maintenance David Fries, Dave Fries, David Fries Home Remodeling Contractor Appearance great; hidden nightmares Inte

25th of Mar, 2011 by User920937

I needed my bath to be re-gutted and was highly recommended by my insurance company "Allstate" since Dave Fries was used on their claims. I had gotten over 3 estimates and Dave Fries was in the middle. What made me go with him was because he really seemed dedicated and knew his stuff. He actually saved me money by dealing with his "contact" at a local Home Depot store. Because of all this and the high recommendations; I went with Dave. Since I only had one bathroom, I was told that it would take 5 days and he would work over a weekend. Those 5 days turned into 3 weeks and he disappeared one of the weeks with no calls, not answering texts (which we did alot on); and even the insurance company was reaching out to him. Supposedly he had surgery and showed me the incision but why didn't his wife or co-workers call? During the installation of the tub which he recommended but I also liked when viewing all the options of the materials to buy; I noticed it squeaked and had some movement. Upon contacting the distributor of the tub; they stated it should give somewhat since it is on a styrofoam base. Dave also stated that if he firmed it up; it would void the warranty. I should have gone with my initial gut reaction and had it yanked out. Dave applied two types of caulk and stated that it shouldn't leak at the edges of the tub & the surround etc. Not quite 18 months later; the tub is ruining my walls because the mold/mildew keeps growing where the tub and surround meet and water actually moves on the edges. Water is running out on the edges of the tub and onto the tile floor. I've contacted the distributor and Dave. I honestly didn't think Dave did anything wrong. Just thought the tub and surround were defective. Dave came out a few days before the distributor and upon review; stated he has installed this tub many times before and after me with no problems. He stated he would try to be here when the distributor would come out to review the situation. When the distributor came out with their Risk Management inspector, the product manager and installation guy; they took many pictures and totally evaluated the whole situation. While they were here; they mentioned it wasn't braced up completed and that it wasn't filled in on the bottom of the tub. When they started talking of the contractor being at fault; I tried to call Dave to have him at least speak to them to stand up for his "workmanship" and even texted him. To this day, I haven't heard from him which is over 3 - 4 weeks. Received letter from the distributor and they stated that the fault of the tub's defect is due to how it was installed. I'm in the process of getting the tub & surround replaced which is costing me approximately $3,000 to have it done correctly. I'm having a licensed plumber do the work. Upon removal of the tub; it was found that the tub and surround were only "glued" in and that Dave never firmed up the tub base (with the stryfoam) to the concrete floor. There was a major gab under the tub and the tub was about to crack due to the stress. Also, only the toilet had to be removed but instead of caulking the toilet; he cemented the toilet to the tiles. Thank goodness, the toilet was saved. I can't get reimbursed from the distributor/manufacturer since they weren't at fault. My homeowner's won't pay due to poor workmanship. I am trying a claim with the insurance carrier he had at that time through Allstate but was basically blown off since it was shoddy work that they don't cover. So, I'm basically losing the money since Dave is in foreclosure and living with his in-laws. He is no longer insured by Allstate and doubt if he picked up new insurance. I'm totally disgusted that I was lied and manipulated. He is good at hidden nightmares...... Please stay away or run away if he offers assistance!

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