Issues regarding the move-in at 317 N Mansfield Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90036: A.) On Sunday, September 14, 2014, during the initial walk-through of the unit with Daniel DeVantier (Brimco), I made it very clear that the newly applied paint was a problem. a.) Paint was applied too thickly and was still tacky. b.) Doors & drawers were closed, & cushions were placed before the paint was dry, causing peeling. c.) Paint was applied to door/cupboard hinges/latches & was flaking off into food prep & other areas. d.) Many cupboard doors throughout the house would not move because they were painted in place. Daniel assured us that those issues would be fixed prior to moving in. B.) On Saturday, October 11, 2014, we arrived at the house and called Daniel to bring us the keys. We made a final walk through, at which time I commented to Daniel that nothing had been done at all regarding the painting problems. He just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I considered this to be the second time that Brimco was notified of our dissatisfaction with the paint, and the start of a waiting period to see what they were going to do about it. C.) Sometime in late November or December, when the painters had come to do some work on the upper unit, I asked Daniel again to come and look at the paint and how it had gotten worse. This is the third notification that Brimco has received, and the start of another waiting period to see what action would be taken. a.) Paint was applied to surfaces that had not been prepared properly. On some surfaces there was soapy residue that was not cleaned or roughed up prior to painting, and on others, paint was applied to up to three or four previous layers of paint that had been applied themselves in a similar manner on unprepared surfaces. In most cases, the vacuum cleaner itself would strip the paint. b.) I had worked to free all the immovable, painted in cupboard doors, and most of the "new" paint on those had peeled off. c.) The guest room bathroom has nearly completely peeled off. d.) Most of the built-in drawers would not move properly due to excessive paint buildup, which had to be removed. Some drawers are physically too tight even after removing the paint. Paint was peeling from the movement of the drawers and falling into our clothing. e.) All of the cupboard door latches were painted over and required paint removal. Many of the latches are missing, broke or misaligned such that they wouldn't work. D.) On Tuesday, January 13, 2015, I sent Daniel a text to ask what actions were being taken about the paint, the fourth notification I have given about this problem. The reason I acted at this time was due to a separate problem, a decrease in the flow of hot water to the kitchen sink which had occurred the previous night. I suspected that foreign debris had clogged the spray nozzle, and it had to be fixed as soon as possible. Daniel and Ester stopped by the next day (Wed, 1/14) to inspect the paint again. Ester stated that the problem with the paint was a "bad batch" of paint, however, I have many examples around the house where the paint was applied properly, and has adhered. It's only where no actions were taken to prepare the surfaces that the paint didn't stick. In some cases, touch-up paint was applied over damage that occurred after the initial paint was applied, leading me to believe that the painters, at a minimum, were well aware of how easily the paint could be chipped or peeled. For the other areas, much of the initial damage was caused by closing doors/drawers on wet, or over-applied paint, and in all of those cases, the old paint build-up had NOT been properly removed. Until I see paperwork on the "bad batch of paint", my professional analysis is that poor workmanship, and/or not investing the proper resources, has caused all these problems. During this visit we looked at the garage door also. The relay is bad, it clicks but the door doesn't move, and it's missing an infrared safety switch. I showed them the termite damage in the dining room, and we looked at some dirt falling out of the cracks by the fireplace and determined that it wasn’t termites. I also informed them about the low hot water flow. Daniel said that they would get someone out to fix it. We didn't get around to any of the other problems. E.) On Saturday, January, 17, at around 10 AM, me and Laurie were discussing why the kitchen sink still wasn't fixed four days after speaking with Brimco. I made a bet with her that it wouldn't get fixed this weekend. She called Daniel, who was surprised that it wasn't fixed yet because he "told the office about it". Later that day it was repaired, but without her calling, it would not have been done. F.) We were supposed to be moving into a complete and livable house, not spending time and money just to be able to open storage compartments, freeing up painted drawers, and preventing paint from falling into our food as we eat, and the clothes in our drawers. Work was done on the upper unit for the very same problems, yet not a finger was lifted for us. Now Brimco wants to do the work, while we live in a construction zone. Ester has suggested that we leave our house during this time. The rest of the problems encountered are listed below and referenced to the house map: 1.) The living room curtains are dirty with visible stains. The south curtain pull cord is severed and the traverse mechanism is inoperable. Both window cushions are dirty with visible stains. The north cushion is missing one button, the south cushion is missing one button on one side, and two buttons on the other. Both cushions were placed while the paint was still wet and were stuck in place, and there is paint on the north cushion and paint damage to the wall. It also appears that there are areas around the windows where mold was painted over. The south cushion also has stitching damage near the window. I brought up the curtains with Daniel at our first walk through and nothing was done about it. I brought them up again when we arrived to move in and nothing was done about it. I mentioned the cushion damage, and he said they only left those as a courtesy because they were basically trash. I assumed he was referring to the curtains also because they’re basically trash too, due to not having been cleaned properly in the past, and having stitching damage. Cleaned curtains 8 hrs + $200 cleaning costs Fixed traverse mechanism 2 hrs General cleaning 1 hr Requires repainting and possible mold removal 2.) The French windows in the dining room are missing glass panels. The paint is covering all the hinges and latches and it's peeling away. The paint has many flaws, and the doors were closed when the paint was wet. Cleaned peeling paint 3 hrs Requires repainting and new glass/panels 3.) The paint on the frame of the pocket door is damaged and peeling. Cleaned peeling paint 1 hr Requires repainting 4.) The shelves in the breakfast nook were painted in place and they cannot be removed for cleaning or height adjustment, only two of the eight shelves are moveable. Both doors were closed before the paint was dry and there is paint damage. The painters painted over debris that was under the paint, including cellophane tape on one shelf. The inside rails that hold the shelves up were installed directly over the latch mechanism so that the mechanism cannot be adjusted. The rails need to be cut so that they don't overlay the latch mechanism. Cleaned peeling paint 2 hrs Requires repainting, freeing the shelves, cutting the rails and adjusting the latch 5.) Drawers and cupboards in the bathroom are painted shut and will not open. A large bobby pin was found in the cupboard door track that had been painted over, and was preventing the door from opening, even after freeing it from the paint. The door handle is very stiff and is not operating properly. The door bumper is too low and doesn’t strike the door. The door was shut while the paint was still wet, and surface preparation problems. Debris was painted over on the shelves preventing objects from sliding. Cleaned peeling paint 2 hrs Requires repainting, door handle repair and bumper reposition 6.) Peephole in the front door is faded and scratched and cannot be seen through. This is a safety issue when someone is at the front door. The mailbox door does not open and close properly due to being bent, having paint caked on it, and one of the support screws are bent. Repaired mailbox door 2 hrs Requires fixing the peephole (SAFETY ISSUE) 7.) Master toilet cycles two or three times after flushing, after the bowl fills. Seems to be OK now 8.) Lower cupboard is painted shut. Paint is peeling from around the hamper. Found the hamper was not removed for cleaning and there was considerable dust and dirt in and around it. The heater vent was not painted in this bathroom. Some of the wall tiles have been cleaned to the point of fading. Cleaned paint, freed drawers 2 hr Requires repainting 9.) Cracks in shower tile floor. 10.) Door won’t shut properly due to paint build-up along door and frame. Door was closed while the paint was still wet. Cleaned peeling paint 2 hrs Requires repainting 11.) Door handle is loose and rotates around. Door won’t shut properly due to paint build-up. Door was shut while paint was still wet. Shelf in closet was dirty with large clumps of plaster and dirt stuck to the surface and painted over, preventing objects from sliding over the surface.. Cleaned peeling paint 2 hrs Cleaned dirty shelf 1 hr Requires repainting and door handle repair 12.) The bookshelves are partially painted/glued in place. The shelf supports were painted over and the paint has to be ripped to get the supports out. One shelf had a support in the wrong position causing the shelf to wobble. The upper shelf will barely move due to the amount of paint on it. The cupboard door hinges were painted over and are now peeling. Cleaned peeling paint 1 hr Requires repainting, freeing the shelves and cleaning the supports so they can move 13.) No cable in master bedroom. Cable company corrected 14.) The cupboards and the large drawers were painted/glued shut, and the drawers have a build-up of paint causing them to not open and close properly. The vanity table’s surface was not prepared properly and the paint is peeling in large sheets. The floor of the closet has debris that was not cleaned prior to painting, preventing objects from sliding over the surface, including a nail sticking up from the floor. After freeing the cupboard doors, found loose pieces of wood in the runners that need to be glued. Cleaned paint, freed drawers 5 hrs Requires repainting and fixing cupboard runners 15.) The west door handle is loose and crooked, and the door is missing its closing device. Two drawers in the closet are painted/glued shut. A sharp screw is sticking out inside the closet. Paint was heavily applied and has bridged the gap between the walls and the door, and is now peeling. It looks as if the surface wasn’t prepared properly. The floor in this closet may have debris under the new paint. Cleaned paint, freed drawers 5 hrs Requires repainting, fixing the door handle and closing latch, and covering the sharp screw 16.) The door handle is loose on one side and the door won’t close at all, apparently due to paint build-up. The deadbolt is not aligned with the kick plate and does not engage. The door bumper was bent and not hitting the door. Cleaned peeling paint 3 hrs Readjusted handle kick plate 1 hr Requires repainting, fixing the door handle, and readjusting the deadbolt kickplate 17.) The closet door closing mechanism is damaged and not working. There is paint damage from closing the doors while the paint was wet. Requires repainting and fixing the door closing mechanism 18.) Upper cupboard won’t slide properly due to paint build-up. Some drawers have loose handles. Lower three drawers do not fit into the wall properly and stick out. The sliding surfaces of the drawers were painted. In most cases, the paint was applied to unprepared surfaces causing the paint to peel off every time the drawer was moved. Also the drawers are rubbing against themselves because they aren’t fitted properly. There is painted over debris in the bottom of some of the drawers. Clean paint on 4 of 6 drawers 8 hrs Fixed loose handles 2 hrs Requires repainting, fixing the handles, and reworking the drawers so they fit 19.) There is discoloration in the tub and the drain fixture is corroded. The shower doors move roughly. 20.) The closing mechanism on the sink cupboard doors is damaged on one side. The drawer pulls out roughly and has no stop. Paint is built-up around the drawer. Nearly all of the painted surfaces in this bathroom were not prepared properly, and the paint came off in huge sheets. There is debris embedded in these sheets that was ignored and painted over. The heater vent did not get painted. Cleaned peeling paint 6 hrs Requires repainting and fixing the cupboard door closing mechanism 21.) The towel rod in the master bath was previously bent in the middle. The door covering the bathtub pipes near the floor is not fitted properly and there is a gap that lets in cold air. Requires reworking the pipe covering door so it fits 22.) The laundry cupboard doors won’t slide properly due to paint build-up and the paint is damaged along the seating surfaces. A loose bolt was jammed in the back of the cupboard and had been painted over. All of the doors in the laundry have paint issues, some due to paint three and four layers deep that were all applied over surfaces that were not properly prepared. This paint will come off with the vacuum cleaner through all the layers. The door frames also have paint peeling off of them, as well as all the hinges, which are quite ugly due to peeling paint. The outside door has paint problems and was closed while the paint was still wet. It still doesn’t close properly and has to be pulled to engage the deadbolt, and the weather seal is damaged. In the closet, the paint is still tacky to this day, and objects that were placed on the shelves caused damage to the paint. The closet door handle is loose and wobbly. The door stop on the kitchen door is broke and has caused damage to the wall. This door won’t shut at all due to the build-up of paint around the door and frame, and the handle latch never engages the kick plate. Cleaned peeling paint 6 hrs Requires repainting, fixing the all the doors, and the weather seal 23.) Cupboard under the stove has a damaged closing latch. Pullout drawers under stove move roughly, paint is built-up on the runners, and they were not removed for cleaning. The upper and lower cupboard doors hit each other when closing due to a build-up of paint. The upper cupboard closing mechanism is misaligned; the doors only close due to the pinching caused by the paint build-up. The stationary part of the closing mechanism needs to be raised by about ½ inch. Paint is peeling everywhere due to painting the hinges and closing the doors. Other cupboards doors had similar problems. Clean peeling paint 8 hrs Fixed upper doors 4 hrs Fixed lower doors 4 hrs Adjusted closing mechanisms 2 hrs Cleaned lower cupboard 1 hr Requires repainting, fixing a closing latch, and reworking drawers so they move smoothly 24.) Lazy Susan only rotates one way and then jams on the floorboard. Found a loose piece of flooring under the Lazy Susan and removed it. The cupboards were closed with the paint wet, and the hinges were painted. The closing mechanisms are misaligned. The drawer under the oven was not removed for cleaning, and is difficult to pull out. Debris was painted over on the shelves and objects would not slide properly. Clean peeling paint 4 hrs Adjusted closing mechanisms 2 hrs Cleaned lower cupboard 1 hr Requires repainting, adjusting closing mechanisms, and make lower drawer easier to open 25.) In the kitchen, all of the hinges on all of the cupboards were painted over, and the paint is peeling into the food preparation areas. Also there is blue protection plastic still hanging in shards from the new appliances. The door closing mechanisms are mostly out of alignment and are too stiff. Clean peeling paint 8 hrs Adjusted closing mechanisms 6 hrs Requires cleaning or replacing the hinges and removing the plastic from appliances 26.) No ice make in freezer. 27.) Sink faucet handle hits the countertop in the hot position. 28.) The outside door hits the clothes dryer with nothing to stop it. The washer and dryer should have been installed with the dryer on the right, so that the doors would open opposite each other to facilitate moving laundry. Installed felt bumper 15 min 29.) Door from kitchen to hallway doesn’t shut properly due to paint build-up. Some paint damage due to closing the door when the paint was wet. Requires cleaning peeling paint and repainting 30.) Garage floor is stained by oil and grease. There is an extra window screen and glass. The garage was filthy and had not been cleaned at all for our arrival. The garage door is filthy with dirt, leaves and hornets nests all over it. The cupboards in the back were filthy and not cleaned. The side shed has paint peeling off, and the wall is stained by something. Plaster or paint is peeling from the rear wall of the property. The garage door does not operate properly when pressing the button. The relay clicks but nothing happens. Someone was called out for this problem before, but was too incompetent to fix it. This individual came to the conclusion that it took two presses of the button to get it to work, because in the two hours he was there, that’s the only thing he could think of. In fact, the relay inside the garage opener is dirty and needs to be replaced. Also there is no infrared emergency stop switch to prevent the door from closing on someone. Recently, the door itself has shifted slightly and is hitting the side of the garage when it closes. It doesn’t actually close all the way anymore. Clean garage 4 hrs Requires replacing the opener relay, installing infrared stop switch, and realigning the door 31.) The sink cupboard has a broken latch. Grease stains were painted over under the sink and around some cupboards. Requires repainting and repairing the latch 32.) The basement was filthy and had not been cleaned. Paint is peeling from the steps. The sump pump has debris in the reservoir in and around the pump and level switch, and may not even work. The hot water lines are not insulated properly, or at all, and some runs are long and waste a lot of energy. Clean basement 2 hrs Requires cleaning/verifying the sump pump, painting, and insulating the hot water lines 33.) A light bulb was missing from the foyer, across from the front door. Install new light bulb 15 min + cost of bulb 34.) Paint is peeling from the closet doors where paint was applied over previous layers that were not prepared properly. The doorway to the hall has no door stop. Requires repainting and installing a door stop 35. Termites in the window sill. Requires killing the termites 36.) There is no carbon monoxide (CO) detector in the house. Install CO detector 37.) The heater vent behind the TV is stuck open and hot air cannot be prevented from blowing on the electrical equipment. Cleaned excess paint 1 hr Requires removing, cleaning, and repairing of the vent 38.) The hall pantry has excessive paint, hinges peeling paint, pushpins painted over, and debris painted over on the shelves. The cupboard doors are hard to open and need the closing latches readjusted. All of the closing mechanisms were painted over. The cupboards were dirty. Cleaned excess paint & dirt 2 hr Requires cleaning peeling paint, repainting, and readjustment of cupboard doors 39.) The hall closet has excessive paint, and the door is peeling due to being shut when wet, and not having the old paint removed. All of the shelves and the floor were covered in small nails that were sticking up and preventing objects from sliding across the surface. These nails may have been for a previous carpet in the closet, but instead of pulling them out, they were painted over. Not just by the last paint job, but for one or two paintings previous to this one. Found a broken light switch plate wedged between a shelf and the wall that had been painted over. Some blue masking tape was left in this closet from the previous painting. Paint is peeling off the shelves due to not preparing the surface properly. Cleaned paint, removed nails 4 hrs Requires repainting 40.) The wood flooring is not level and varies throughout the house. In some cases I had to take up ¼ - ½ inch just to level a piece of furniture, including an entire bed. Leveling furniture 2 hrs 41.) There is a gas leak under the stove that you can smell. Tightened pipe fitting 1 hr 42.) The dishwasher would run, but the dishes weren’t getting clean. In fact the dishwasher was dry. The solenoid valve that isolates the water supply had a connector that wasn’t properly plugged in. Reseated solenoid valve connector 2 hrs Results: Items painted over by the painters: a.) Cellephane tape b.) Bobby pin c.) 1 ½ inch bolt d.) A broken light switch plate e.) Pushpins f.) Many nails that were protruding at least 1/8-1/4 inch above the surfaces they were pounded into. g.) Plaster that had fallen onto shelves and not been cleaned up. h.) Dirt that had not been cleaned up. i.) Greasy surfaces. 123.5 hours listed to correct problems and stop paint peeling. $250 direct costs (including cleaning supplies, etc.). There may be other issues that didn’t make it to this list due to the sheer quantity of problems and the amount of time I’ve had to spend correcting and documenting them. Any additional items will be reported at a later time. Tim A Herman Principal Engineer 1/23/15