Why is the judge being do dismissive about my small claims suit?

I recently took a contractor to court for what I believed to be substandard carpentry and painting work he did. The boards he used for flooring warped in a few months and in the areas he painted, the paint flaked and peeled. The contractor returned several time to do remedial work, but I felt that painting over already peeling paint and prying up boards and trying to reposition them instead of replacing them was not adequate to permanently fix the problem. The boards are still warped and the paint is still flaking. I took numerous photos to show the judge. At the first hearing, the judge let the defendant go first, then when I tried to say something, the judge stopped me. Finally the judge asked me for a statement. I pulled the photos I had printed out and she said "I don't want to look at a 10 page report!" However, she did look at one photo and said that the boards looked even to her. The contractor also added that roofing work I had done subsequent to his job made the boards pop up. The the judge told me that I have to get more contractors to say the lumber wasn't warped by the roofers. I feel like the judge is favoring the contractor by listening more to his side, not looking at all my evidence, and making me obtain professional opinions when I thought teh photos would speak for themselves. Is this normal court procedure? Of course, I'm in the contractors turf because I had to go to his town to file the claim where the judge is an elected official. If she finds for me, the contractor might not vote for he, but if she finds for him, she loses nothing. What can I do strengthen my case?