those bloody stinking thieving bastards!

[golf_lover44]

After Harvey flooded my house, I signed with a contractor to replace the drywall. At the beginning of that all of my cans on the walls were left there, until it was time to install sheetrock in the den where the cans reside. I took them all down and placed into available boxes - I swear that all were present and accounted for...but I could be wrong now, months later. The boxes moved from room to room to avoid where the subcontractors were at any given day. After the new sheetrock was up, textured and painted, the contractor put back up my can shelves.

At the beginning of this week I decided to display the cans again. I took them all out of the boxes and placed them back where I thought they used to be. And then I noticed the gaps. Those bloody stinking thieving bastards took several of my 16 ounce cans! It looks like they took 6, probably 7 total. I've been able to identify 4 of them from pictures I took back in the Spring of 2015. It's not like they'll be easy to replace either: these 4 that I've confirmed are Lone Star and Lone Star Light "Banners of Texas independence" cans issued middle of last decade.

It won't be easy figuring out what the other ones are. I do have a spreadsheet where I've been looking at the shelves and marking the rows as I confirm the can exists, or with numbered boxes in the attic. But with cases still up in Chicago while I was up there working last year I can't cross off a few hundred to see what's left as the missing guys.

GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

[Boardman]

Man that sucks! First a flood and them missing stuff - double whammy!

I understand the complexity of time and memory and putting back cans, BUT it sounds like something is a miss and you at least know some cans are missing. I would have a meeting with General Contractor and all the Sub Contractors and confront them with this issue 'I am missing some cans - does anybody see come extra cans lying around? Did some accidentally get tossed out? - etc.' If you get a lot of staring at the floor, mumbling, or I don't know - then I suppose then take the next course of action - call the cops or file a claim with your ins and report this issue to the state contractor board; bad reviews on google, Angies list, yelp - and all forms or social media.

Sorry for the rant - but this makes me mad.

I wish you luck and let us know how it turns out.
Michael

[cantankerous]

I know the feeling.
I have had some thefts by postal workers of stuff I have ordered. The USPS just says " nothing can be done about it".

[idigrust]

Just a thought
Is it possible you wrapped some of the tougher ones up and placed them in a different box?

PS. I know the feeling of a stolen can.

[golf_lover44]

Just a thought
Is it possible you wrapped some of the tougher ones up and placed them in a different box?

PS. I know the feeling of a stolen can.

Dan,

No. All the cans from that room were taken down in a two hour period and put into boxes in the middle of the room. The only other place any of those boxes went to was the living room when they were painting the walls. Then all of the boxes returned there to clear out the living room for the subcontractors to redo the wall trim and paint its walls.

Again, I am fairly certain that there were no missing cans when I removed those on display and boxed them up.

And since neither the general contractor nor his subcontractors are answering our texts or returning our phone calls, it's 99% certain that they will never set foot in my house again (seeing as how I stupidly gave them almost 95% of the job estimate).

[Dixie Dave]

I've heard enough of these stories in the aftermath of Katrina. Bad experiences with contractors are sadly quite common in areas that were struck by hurricanes. The problem is that there is an overwhelming amount of work to be done after one of these storms, and hundreds of "storm chaser" contractors come in to make a quick buck because the local and reputable guys just can't handle all the work.

Your experience is the kind that really makes me upset. I agree with what Boardman said- you should confront these guys with what happened. Threaten legal action- that kind of thing usually gets people's attention. Sadly, it sounds like you had storm chasers, so they're probably long gone. Do research their information from their home state- I know Louisiana has a state board of contractors where you can find out a lot of information about them, and where you can file complaints against them.

You have certainly been handling things correctly to have your cans well organized enough during all of the chaos going on so that you can spot missing cans. I just hope you don't find any more that have vanished, especially older and rarer cans.

I do hope that these guys at least did the work they were supposed to do, and that the work was of a satisfactory quality. Got a lot of lowlifes who take people's money and disappear after doing really shoddy work IF they do any work at all, and leave the people with no more insurance company and a house that isn't fit to live in.

Please do keep us updated on your progress as you rebuild. I've seen and lived enough of it- I care and I want to see you restored to where you were before the storm. You remain in my thoughts and prayers.

[golf_lover44]

Actually, he isn't a "storm chaser". He lives on the west side of my town and he works out of his house, so we have his address on the original estimate.

After getting a free telephone consultation from a local lawyer, last Friday I sent a registered "demand letter" (requires a signature and a return receipt to me) to him stating either he returns to do the work that I've paid for, or he returns a significant amount of the money we already paid him. If he doesn't respond in 2 weeks, then he leaves me no choice but to sue him. Now if I knew some guys in the Chicago Outfit, having his legs broken would bring a smile to my face ...

The work that his subcontractors did looked like I did it, and I'm not skilled at home repairs at all. We had a real estate agent in for advice, and he said that the drywall repairs looked sloppy and need to be redone; otherwise, it will affect our listing price when we go to sell in the future and that will mean the offers will be much lower than desirable. The work just wasn't up to the level of what the neighborhood homes list for, and buyers expect, before Harvey hit.

The master bathroom is a total mess: the vanities are in and only partially primed, but nothing else was ever done in there. No sinks, wall lights, no shower (its drain is clogged with debris), tub sitting in my garage, etc. The kitchen has the cabinets installed, but the carpenter building them decided he didn't want to do the staining or putting on the protective clear coat. So the counter tops aren't installed, which means there's no sink, no running water, and no appliances in until that step is done.

[Dixie Dave]

Actually, he isn't a "storm chaser". He lives on the west side of my town and he works out of his house, so we have his address on the original estimate.

After getting a free telephone consultation from a local lawyer, last Friday I sent a registered "demand letter" (requires a signature and a return receipt to me) to him stating either he returns to do the work that I've paid for, or he returns a significant amount of the money we already paid him. If he doesn't respond in 2 weeks, then he leaves me no choice but to sue him. Now if I knew some guys in the Chicago Outfit, having his legs broken would bring a smile to my face ...

The work that his subcontractors did looked like I did it, and I'm not skilled at home repairs at all. We had a real estate agent in for advice, and he said that the drywall repairs looked sloppy and need to be redone; otherwise, it will affect our listing price when we go to sell in the future and that will mean the offers will be much lower than desirable. The work just wasn't up to the level of what the neighborhood homes list for, and buyers expect, before Harvey hit.

The master bathroom is a total mess: the vanities are in and only partially primed, but nothing else was ever done in there. No sinks, wall lights, no shower (its drain is clogged with debris), tub sitting in my garage, etc. The kitchen has the cabinets installed, but the carpenter building them decided he didn't want to do the staining or putting on the protective clear coat. So the counter tops aren't installed, which means there's no sink, no running water, and no appliances in until that step is done.

He may not be a "storm chaser" in the technical meaning of the term, but that level of work sounds very much like a storm chaser. I hope you had everything in writing that was supposed to be done, that makes pursuing legal action against the d-bags much easier. Any paperwork you have, including receipts for materials, helps. I saw enough of this kind of fraudulent shenanigans after Katrina, this really raises my ire to see it going on again. If this contractor or any of the subs are state-licensed, I'd raise hell with the state agency that licenses contractors. Raising hell with city and county agencies, if they exist, is also a fine idea. Wish I could do more to help, I really hate seeing anyone going through all this extra garbage after going through a storm.

[golf_lover44]

Well, it's taken me over a week to figure out what's missing through the process of elimination. All of these are 16 oz cans, opened from the bottom.

• Lone Star - Has "Banners of Texas independence #1 of 4" and a white star in blue oval on back.
  
  Lone Star Light - has "Banners of Texas independence #4 of 4" and a Texas flag oval on back.
  
  Lone Star - Has "Don't Mess With Texas" in big letters on back.
  
  Lone Star - Has "Banners of Texas independence #4 of 4" and a blue star in white oval on back.
  
  Old Style Light - Has "Old Style Light Salutes Chicago's All Time Greatest - Mike Ditka" on back.
  
  Old Style - Has "2009" on front; "Local Lore of the Friendly Confines #5 of 5" on back.

If anyone ever runs across any of these, in very good or excellent condition, please let me know. I'd be interested in getting replacements for my collection.