I remember the day the Realtor drove us out to see the house at 7 Lynn Blvd. We had a dog back then. A gentle, fun-loving black Lab named Frodo. My wife named him. You guessed it, she is a Lord of the Rings fan! No sooner than the Realtor placed the car in park, my wife exited the vehicle, and had vanished! Seemingly into thin air. We found her in the middle of the backyard. As our eyes met, I heard her say, “This is it!” We hadn’t even been inside yet. She just knew, this would be the place where we would live and grow old together. That was thirteen years ago.
Much has changed. Frodo has moved on. Gone off to wherever good dogs go when they’ve breathed their last breath before their last long journey. We’ve had a few floods, and several battles with a number of critters seeking to turn our home into a multi species grand hotel. The house needed attention, and neither one of us was in any condition to do what needed to be done. So after much consideration we decided to hire someone to replace our old Cedar siding, and Gutters. We hired PJ Fitzpatrick.
To learn more about PJ Fitzpatrick, you should read the “About Us” page on their website;
https://www.pjfitz.com/about-us/our-history/
Our experience with PJ Fitzpatrick began with a visit to our home, and a lengthy planning meeting. The representative walked us through all of the siding and gutter options, and then spent considerable time taking pictures of the exterior of our house. By the end of this meeting we had settled on our choice of siding and gutters, and were approved for financing. It was a long, but thorough and enjoyable process. It was during this meeting that we learned that some of PJ Fitzpatrick’s workers might be non-English speaking, but we were given assurances that an English speaking supervisor would be available on-site, at all times during the project. It was the end of June, and we were told to expect a project start date about two months out.
We received regular updates from PJ Fitzpatrick regarding the ordering and delivery of materials, tentative start dates, material delays, weather delays and such. But finally, we arrived at the start date, and we were so excited. First came the giant dumpster, then a few days later the first team began their work on the siding.
This would probably be a good time to mention, for any of you who work from home, having siding work done is very noisy work. That’s just the way it is! So having some of those foam earplugs handy will keep you happy and sane during the work.
The team was exceptionally organized, and finished the siding and trim in about three days. The siding and trim look absolutely gorgeous! We are happy with the results, but there were some problems.
If you are going to have home remodeling or renovation work performed you should be prepared to have things broken. You can protect items by moving them, if you can, prior to the start of the work. The fact is that no matter how skilled the team, or how careful the planning, accidents do happen, so be prepared.
We had a few minor issues, a broken exterior bulb, and a broken exterior outlet cover. The workers informed me of the broken bulb, and I decided not to worry about it, as the exterior light hadn’t been used in years. The outlet cover was a surprise. I found it just laying there on the porch. No one took responsibility for it, and I decided to replace the cover myself, though I imagine if I told PJ Fitzpatrick about it, they would probably have paid for it.
This next one could have ended very badly! I had spoken to PJ Fitzpatrick several times about our two 120 gallon Propane tanks in the rear corner of our house. I asked PJ Fitzpatrick if the tanks needed to be moved. The reply I received was that they didn’t think so. Our understanding was that if the tanks needed to be moved I was to be notified so that I could contact our Propane company. I bet you can guess what happened next?
Towards the end of the first day, one of the workers rang my doorbell and motioned to me to follow him. He led me around the side of the house toward the backyard. My heart was beginning to pound in my chest, then I heard it, that hissing sound. Someone had moved one of the Propane tanks and broken the gas line! I immediately called the Gas company to inform them of the leak, and was told to get everyone out of, and away from the house. My wife is disabled, so helping her out of the house was a slow process. Communicating to the workers the need to stop working and move away from the house was another challenge. I don’t speak Spanish. Not fluently anyway. Despite the early assurance that an English speaking person would be onsite, there was no one. So I called PJ Fitzpatrick to tell them about the gas leak, then began screaming the only Spanish word that I could remember. “Cuidado”, be careful.
The day ended with the workers leaving, and my wife and I waiting in our car for the Gas company to show up. They did, the gas was shut off, and we began the first of seven days with no Propane service. Thank God it wasn’t Winter!
Still, all things considered, we are very happy with our new siding.
Next up, was the Gutter and Downspout installation. PJ Fitzpatrick’s crew was supposed to arrive between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm the following Monday. The crew, one older gentleman and a younger gentleman, in a large utility truck, raced into our driveway Monday afternoon. Neither gentlemen spoke English.
I spent several minutes showing them around the exterior of the house pointing and gesturing about where the gutters and downspouts should go, and in what direction the horizontal drain pipes should face.
Again, PJ Fitzpatrick assured me that someone who spoke English would be here, onsite. But there was no one.
Later in the day I happened to glance out of my window and noticed the younger gentleman installing a downspout on top of the roof! Not running down the side of the house as I had wanted. I took pictures and sent them to PJ Fitzpatrick, and the gentleman was instructed not to run the downspout across the roof. This was the first of several communication issues that resulted in the downspout not being installed as I wanted, and I was powerless to communicate my wishes to the gentlemen who spoke no English.
By the time these workers left, night had fallen, and it was very dark out side. When the gentlemen left, they backed their big truck over a drain pipe in the front yard, breaking it. The loud cracking of the large eight inch drain pipe punctuated a really bad day.
PJ Fitzpatrick stopped by my home to talk to me about the gutter and downspout installation. I told them about the language issue, and how not being able to convey my wishes to the workers resulted in one of the downspouts not being installed the way I wanted it. PJ Fitzpatrick listened, left, and I have not heard from them again.
So after all we have experienced working with PJ Fitzpatrick, I have very mixed feelings. We absolutely love our new siding. We are heartbroken over the gutters and downspouts. Yes, they work. But one of the downspouts is not at all where I wanted it to be, and it could have all been perfect if PJ Fitzpatrick had provided an English speaking person onsite during both the siding and the gutter and downspout projects. They said that they would, but they didn’t, and that cost us dearly.
I don’t know what our next move will be with PJ Fitzpatrick. I do know that it is likely that we will not use them again. I am genuinely disappointed! I wanted to believe in PJ Fitzpatrick. I really wanted to trust in the vision their founder had back in 1980 when “doing things better than anyone else” was a treasured core belief.
Over time, something wonderful has been lost. It feels like if you want something done right, PJ Fitzpatrick may not be the best choice.
Over the next month or so, I’ll install new railings and stairs. I think I’ll do these myself. Why, you ask? Because, after working with PJ Fitzpatrick, “I believed that I can do this better than anyone else”. I think I understand what Pete was feeling back in 1980.