owner in Calgary

After work started CINL informed us that the deck needs to be thicker to meet IKO warranty standards and current building code (CINL had inspected the roof before giving us an estimate), so we did not have a choice, but to accept it (I wonder why they did not check the deck when they were on the roof, and included this extra in the estimate). They installed an extra layer of plywood on the top of the existing deck (item that was not mentioned in the estimate or contract), and charged us at the rate for "replacing rotten wood". That did not seem fair. This brought the final invoice to 27% increase! No rotten wood/plywood was found anywhere on the roof by CINL. Other contractors quoted a rates of $0.50-$1 /sq.ft. for the extra wood and labour, while CINL wanted to get paid $2/sq.ft (same rate as replacing rotten wood). We wanted to pay CINL for the extra material and work, but at a proper rate. We reached an agreement through our lawyer (CINL initiated involvement of lawyers by threatening us with a lien) to pay them for the extra work. Right before sending them the payment, CINL changed their mind and decided to go after the full amount they initially asked for. CINL placed a builders’ lien on our property 60 days after their last work on site (they stated a false date in order to pass the lien). That was a really "nasty" trick. Instead of going to court and fight the lien's validity, we offered them a bit more money, since legal fees were building up quite fast, and they finally accepted to remove the lien. In the end we end up paying close to the same amount CINL initially asked us for. CINL were very hard to communicate or negotiate with. Their owner kept passing us to his project manager and lawyer. We hope that the CINL’s workmanship is much better than their customer service and methods of estimating, billing. The roof was supposed to be completed in 2 weeks. It took CINL a month, and another 3 months dealing with this matter.