Attic Guys

In March, 2017, I hired Attic Guys to install an attic fan because I thought that a fan would help to conserve energy and keep the house cooler during the summer. Mike came over to inspect our house and to provide an estimate. After the attic fan was installed we experienced some issues with one of our bedroom lights. Our electrician determined that the attic fan was interfering with power to the light. The fan was disconnected and the bedroom light issue disappeared. We attempted to contact a manager at Attic Guys on three separate occasions. Each time we were promised that someone would return our phone call before the close of business. However, no one called us back. Finally, after threatening to contact the Better Business Bureau, Lew, the owner of the company called us to discuss the issue. He was professional and listened to our complaint. He offered to send his most experienced electrician to our home and stated that one of his staff members would contact us over the weekend to make the arrangements. Unfortunately, no one called. I still have a new, inoperable attic fan in my attic. After the attic fan was unable to be installed without interfering with our room lights, I began to do more research about attic fan installation which included inspecting the attic. I discovered that each end of our house has a gable with vertical pieces of wood that are spaced far apart. Essentially, the attic is ventilated to the outside in such a manner that an attic fan would be ineffective. This information would have been helpful when Mike came over to our house to provide an inspection and estimate. Instead, he chose to sell us a product that we didn’t need. I sent the owner of the company, Lew, an email with a picture and video of my attic space and asked him if an attic fan was necessary. He did not reply. As the customer who doesn’t have any experience with attic maintenance or attic fans, I feel that it was Mike’s responsibility to provide me with the information necessary to make a decision. I chose Attic Guys after reading multiple glowing reviews from Yelp and Angie’s List. However, after my experience, I would not hire this company again due to poor customer service, lack of communication, and unethical business practices. I would definitely not choose this company to install an attic fan.

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I requested an estimate via their website and received a call a day or so later. I described the project as well as optional items I was considering. The representative gave me price ranges for the various services and I requested a copy of those numbers via email. I never heard from them again, either by phone or email until, two months later, I begin receiving emails about how they enjoyed working with me and would appreciate feedback via their website.

unknown

This job was done in two phases.  The estimator was awesome - clear and much more thorough than the two other companies I'd contacted; he was the reason I chose Attic Guys.  Couldn't have been happier with the removal crew: on time, thoroughly professional.  We walked through the house to make sure all electrical worked before and after the job, and that there was no ceiling damage.  Result was a very clean attic, ready for whole-house rewiring, and a happy customer. 

The installation team, while it included many of the same players, wasn't as well-directed and rushed things.  No prior walk-through, and some minor damage to ceilings.  Not enough to go through a repair claim, but something that would have been spotted in a post-job inspection.  My fault for not insisting on it. All in all a decent job but not as impressive as the removal.

My real gripe and the reason for the B grade is with the billing and paperwork.  Multiple estimates and invoices, confusing billings for partial payment, and a final invoice that was undated, requiring follow-up so I could have something proper to send to the Gas Company for their rebate.  Ultimately, the total amount was correct, but it took at least an hour of my time and my own spreadsheet to reconcile everything and figure out what was what.

I'd use this provider again, but certainly wish that the installation phase and the billing were of the same high quality as the estimator and the initial removal team.

unknown

unknown

Attic guys were the only outfit we found that did both rodent cleanup and insulation installation. They did an excellent job of protecting the inside of our house from contaminants and were very quick and professional in their work. They even got through very small spaces in an addition to the house. They blocked off potential entry points to our attic, but had to ask them to put the mesh on the inside because they initially put chicken wire over the outside of one of our gable vents which was very ugly. After the work was over I found that they had covered one of our recessed lights with insulation, perhaps inadvertantly but a safety hazard nonetheless. Regardless, at that point it was easy to fix myself. We now have a clean attic and house with no rodent droppings, would definitely use attic guys again should we ever move to another equally decrepit, rodent-infested house.