Consumer Law, Warranties contract breach walls not primed

[whyme2]

My "reputable"contractor (NARI past president, large design showroom) is in the process of finishing my basement and authorized the painter to skip the primer and just put 2 coats of paint on new skim coated drywall (My Contract states "prime and paint interior walls") . When blue painters tape is applied anywhere- paint pulls off (fails industry paint adhesion test). Skipping primer contradicts paint mfg'er recommendations (Paint Mrkt'g director provided letter to my contractor saying skipping primer is okay ).

The fix to this is to remove all drywall and redo. My contractor says paint is okay- we are the only ones that have a problem with skipping the primer.

My 5 week basement job is now 3 months and holding- I still owe $- probably not enough to redo the drywall and finish electrical/plumbing.

Should I get 3 estimates on finishing the job and go to court? I live in Ohio

 

[presutin]

(My Contract states "prime and paint interior walls") - why are you going to get estimates?

Have them redo the work for you even if the paint markenting director said otherwise. If they refuse to do the work, then you can go to court, but as per your posting, you haven't even tried asking them that.

Hope this helps!

 

[whyme2]

We have been back and forth asking/demanding that the drywall be replaced (and timing) so that we can finish the project . 3 weeks have passed since we told them to replace it- they are "getting back with us" - the Contractor/owner says "he just doesn't know how to process this request" . He believes that he could redo it all and still not have the paint stick to the drywall. We have given up on showing him that adhesion is a problem-we pull the blue tape in front of him and he denies there is a problem .... so the only thing in black and white here is the contract and "prime and paint". He is looking for someone to write him a letter stating that "primer" is paint....- that way two coats fulfill the terms of the contract.

 

[presutin]

The best way to resolve this issue is then to send him a certified letter asking him to, by a certain date, have this issue resolved otherwise you will file a claim in small claims court for their failure to deliver on contracted terms. Get your own expert and have them give you an affidavit saying that prime is not paint so you can have that as backup for your suit... Good luck to you!

 

[whyme2]

Thank you for your suggestions. We have a Home Inspection expert writing our report today, as a matter of fact.

I appreciate you answering my post.