I am a small roofing & waterproofing subcontractor. A MN based contractor hired my company for services on a public project (rest stop owned by WISDOT). The state did not require a bond on this job. The contractor had failed to meet manufacturer warranty requirements and we are the company who handles warranty issues for MN and surrounding states. The inspector marked the defects that needed to be fixed to spec before the warranty could be issued, but did not supply how many (each/lf/sf). We sent an estimate to give pricing for each type of service. It stated that this was not a complete estimate and the final bill would reflect that. The owner was onsite and was aware of the scope of the project. They didn't pay the bill upon completion as required. It took 3 months to get the check and it was only for the amount of the estimate. We have never had non-payment from a client and didn't realize that we had POSSIBLY missed deadlines for the preliminary notice. I did send the intent to lien notice as required. When I read up on liens in WI I was under the impression that in this instance I wasn't required to file the preliminary notice. The notice of intent was sent within the required time frame and I have 10 days to file/send the actual Lien. However, I have also been warned that if I file the lien without having met all the requirements then I open myself up to litigation which I do not want to do. I need to be sure I can file this lien or what recourse is available to me if that is not possible.