I had a contractor come in and perform wood treads/risers on my stairs and engineered flooring on a foyer. The stairs were done to my satisfaction, but the engineered floor is making the popping sound when you step on it in certain areas.

I have notified the contractor several times, and he is dragging his feet to come back out to remedy the problem. Not sure if its scheduling issues or logistics, or whatever but it is coming up on 2 months since the work was originally done. Do you guys have any advice on how to escalate this to have the work done correctly according to the contract? Thanks, any advice would be appreciated.

If you have given him adequate notice and he has not repaired the problem, then you can hire another contractor to fix the problems and then sue the original contractor in small claims. If you have a family attorney, ask them to write a letter stating that is your intention. Or you can write the letter yourself. If the contractor still does not repair the problem, document everything and go to court. However, if you live in a state that requires licensing and bonding (like CA.), you can file a complaint with the licensing agencing and file a claim against the contractor's bonding company. All of these actions will take time, months.

Thanks Gary for the heads up and advice. This work was done in the state of Virginia. Does anyone have information on licensing/bonding requirements in Virginia, or can point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance.

Based on Virginia Board of Contractors website, there are A, B, and C contractor licenses. What trade/sub-classification would hardwood installers fall within? Thanks again in advance.

It varies by different states. Call the state licensing agency and they should be able to answer all your questions. Not sure if any of the pros here work in Virginia. In CA., one needs a specialty trade license, which is a C classification, to install flooring. Here, it's a C-15. Also in CA., a B license is for general contractors, not specialty contractors. But a general can perform some specialty trades as long as he is also performing the framing. It's complicated. An A license is for architects and engineers. This is the way it is in CA; don't know about Virginia.

Thanks again Gary.

File a complaint with the Va. state board of contractors. All of us have to pay into a fund for dispute resolution called the "VIRGINIA CONTRACTOR TRANSACTION RECOVERY FUND"

Here is a link to the information
http://www.state.va.us/dpor/enf_conrecovery.htm

The contractor has to be state licensed as a contractor or tradesman, and also obtain a local business license. Liability insurance is required but they don't have to bonded. That is what is what this fund is used for.

Run a check on your contractor to see if any complaints have been filed against him. http://165.176.19.20/regulantlookup/sel ... N=82868498

Good luck

Sorry Jerry, I forgot you were from Virginia!

No problem