PRE-INSTALLATION HELPFUL HINTS

COVID 19

We understand that this is an anxious time for you and for months now, you’ve been limiting the number of people who’ve come into your home.  This is also a stressful time for our installers, and we have adapted in these unusual times and have made the following changes in the way we work:

• Employees are provided with personal protective equipment such as masks, respirators, and gloves.
• New procedures have been instituted to sanitize equipment before and after each home visit.
• Any surfaces touched inside the home are wiped down.
• Employees have been taught about social distancing (6 feet) and how to respect the customer’s concern for safety.  Customers are being encouraged to stay far away, in another room or on a different floor, if possible.  Some customers will even prefer to leave the house while the work is completed.
• Scheduling longer service calls, so the service person can slow down and focus on safety, as well as on the job at hand.

LEAD TIMES

We will not accept any financial liability if we incur further delays from our suppliers.  At the time of your order, we provided our best faith estimate regarding current lead times.  With the volatility of labor, product demand and raw material shortages, our manufacturers lead times do fluctuate without prior notice.

We promise to keep you informed of any delays from our suppliers that are greater than two weeks.  We will send out email notifications as warranted and will always answer your questions while your order is in process.

FURNITURE

The safety of your possessions are very important to us.  Please remove all items from the immediate area around the window.  This includes curtains, shades, blinds, lamps, pictures or any other valuables and breakables.  Furniture should be moved away from the window area so that the installer has a space to work.  If you need assistance with any piece, please don’t hesitate to ask your installer.

If we do move furniture or window treatments, we are not liable for any damage to said items.  We always use the utmost care, but we don’t know the condition of items before we start.

SCHEDULING

If you must reschedule, please give us 48 hours advance notice.  Our voice mail is monitored throughout the evening for messages.

Please note that every job is different, and we do experience delays from time to time.  We do appreciate your patience and understanding if your job runs long, and we need to come back to finish a few days later.

Occasionally, we will ask to push back an installation start date so that we can finish an ongoing job, but we usually build in free time during the week to finish jobs that run long.

We promise that we will not rush your job and we thank you in advance for your understanding.

SECURITY

We are confident that we have the most professional and trustworthy installation crews.  We are bonded and insured for your protection and peace of mind.  However, if you are concerned about a particular item, please place it in a safe area.

If you leave before we have finished our work, unless instructed, we will close the door behind us with the bottom lock secured.

DAY OF THE INSTALLATION

WEATHER 

Unfortunately, we cannot control the weather and appreciate your understanding if the weather doesn’t cooperate.  High winds and ladders don’t mix where crew safety is concerned.  In addition, rain or snow may cause a delay due to problems with caulk and dirt being carried into your home or business.  Our crews do travel from as far as sixty miles away so starting later in the day is not possible.  We will notify you early in the morning if the weather is going to cause a delay.

PARKING

Our crews utilize cube trucks and pick-up trucks with trailers.  If you live in a congested area, please let us know about your parking situation.  As most people are still working from home, we have found that parking in certain city neighborhoods can be challenging and has resulted in us having to reschedule jobs.   If you have a parking space, alley parking or we can park in front of a driveway, please let us know when we schedule your installation.

CLEANING – LEAD SAFE

Scientific Home Services is a certified lead safe company, and all of our installers are also certified lead safe.  We will use drop cloths to cover all areas within 10’ of window and door openings.  We clean up with HEPA filter vacuums and will wipe down surfaces with baby wipes.   These are all EPA approved lead safe practices.   After the installation there may be small particles of wood, drywall or glass that could be missed by the installation crew, so we suggest you vacuum again before walking in the areas without shoes.

CAULKING & TRIM (INTERIOR)

For white windows we caulk with a white paintable-stainable latex caulk.  Other color windows may be caulked with a silicone caulk.  Silicone caulk is not paintable.  If the interior of your windows are not white, and you don’t want a matching color used, please notify the office prior to installation.  We can always use white, and it can be painted later. All wood trim supplied is either primed or unfinished. The Homeowner is to paint which includes sanding and filling of nail holes

CAULKING (EXTERIOR)

Exterior caulk when applied is very shiny.  This accentuates any ripples or bumps.  The shine will fade in a few weeks. The minimum recommended manufacturers caulk bead is approximately 3/8” thick.  This is to promote adhesion and prevent joint shrinkage.  If the surface of the brick has been sandblasted or is uneven, we will not be liable for uneven looking caulk.

SERVICE

Items requiring service should be confirmed with the installer before they leave the job.  Please remind them to call the office to set up any service work to be done on your punch list.

DAMAGE CONTROL

Although our installers strive to be as careful as possible, accidents can happen to anyone. We are not responsible for any damage to Dryvit, Stucco and Plaster. Chips. Chips or cracks in paint will be the responsibility of the homeowner. Any damage caused by our installation crew should be reported to our office immediately. Please call us or email us at mark@shschi.com.

PAYMENT

Unless you have made other arrangements, we consider that all work is done on a C.O.D. basis.  Payment is due upon completion of the job and should be given to the installer.  If you have furnished a credit card for the deposit and wish to pay the balance due with a credit card, please let us know.

To help control costs, we only accept credit cards up to $10,000 per job (at no additional cost to you).  For jobs over $10,000, your final invoice will include a ‘View/Pay Invoice’ button on the bottom of the email.  This will take you to Quickbooks which can process an electronic ACH check for the balance due.  This method is preferred, otherwise you can mail in a check.

Thank you very much,

Scientific Home Services, LTD

Mark Brottman & Jon Koloms