Nelson Herrera has been through his fair share of trouble over new windows installed at his home more than two years ago. The project turned into a big source of frustration for him.
“It’s just been a fiasco,” Herrera said.
Herrera says he signed a contract with Madaris Siding and Windows of Florida in 2014 and gave them a deposit of $12,500 to install 13 windows and 3 sliding doors.
“The contractor came in within like a week or so, started measuring the windows,” Herrera said. “Within 2 to 3 months, the windows showed up, a lot of windows, all of them, but no permit.”
Herrera says it took the company about a year to finish the job. And during that time, he says he kept asking for the permit and always got the same response.
“I got the runaround,” Herrera said. “I’m trying to be in good faith, let them install the windows thinking this guy sounded good and it just never materialized.”
But it wasn’t until February of 2016, when the city slapped him with a code violation notice, that Herrera realized there was a problem.
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“They had seen a permit was applied for, it was never fully issued,” Herrera said the city told him.
It turns out the windows installed were not approved for use in high velocity hurricane zones like Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Frustrated, Herrera asked us for help.
“I see you guys on TV and I’m going, ‘give it a shot, what have I got to lose?’ Herrera said.
State records show the company is no longer active in Florida. We tracked down the owner, who’s still doing business in Georgia and Tennessee. He initially told us he wanted to help Herrera fix the problem, but later stopped answering our calls and text messages.
So we turned to the City of Coconut Creek. Chief Structural Inspector Sean Flanagan says because homeowners are ultimately responsible for the work done on their home, there is a pending code violation case against Herrera.
“We don’t feel that Mr. Herrera has done anything maliciously, so we’re trying to help him get resolved all of his issues,” Flanagan said.
Herrera isn’t facing any fines from the city for now. Looking back, he wishes he had done things differently.
“You do not walk into my house without a permit,” Herrera said, adding that he would have asked to have seen the permit before allowing any work to be done.
The big issue with the windows Herrera had installed is that they haven’t been tested for use in hurricane zones. He’s hoping to work with an engineer who can analyze the windows and see if they would meet that rating. This city is optimistic that they’ll be able to reach an agreement, but won’t know for sure until Herrera re-applies for the permit and submits the engineer’s findings.
