T ROBERT'S CONSTRUCTION

I had a terrible experience with T Roberts. The owner is impatient and easily annoyed. I have been told by others that for the work performed I paid at least 30% too much (including contractor charges). Many portions were farmed out the cheapest possible subcontractors (a landscaper did some of the gravel sub-grading work) Costs were cut throughout and this was a major trend. Some work was performed to a very low standard including: - breezeway wall portion is out of plumb, creating a situation where the door can not be installed properly. Now trim is affected - garage framing measurements were off, causing a structural stud/nut to be left off and sitting next to the framing - more expensive materials were replaced with cheaper materials. This was discussed with me first but the owner was deceptive about the materials costs ("it costs the same thing") - Large gaps left in dormer eaves which would have allowed insects or rodents to enter. Instead of properly flashing the area they filled it with expandable foam which is visible from the exterior - To save money, concrete for the garage slab was poured on Saturday. Unfortunately it set up too early and they were not able to float it smooth before it set. So now I have the guy's footprints in my slab forever - No rebar or reinforcement was used for the concrete work. minimal sub-grading was used and it is already beginning to crack. - contract states Tyvek brand house wrap but less expensive Dow brand used - dormer windows were flashed with house wrap tape instead of standard flashing materials - design for garage was changed mid-project, causing a higher expense when it was learned he "couldn't do it" It took a long time to get started on the project and a long time to get anyone to show up. The only time any sort of urgency was involved was when it came to paying him. He also changed the contract to ask for the second payment before much work was done. I stupidly agreed to this (I learned quite a lot in this entire process) but all it did was leave me a hostage as I could not back out of the agreement or argue with any of the In short once the owner learned I had no intention of giving him further work, he began cutting corners on many things. In order to speed his removal I agreed to take a credit instead of some of the finishing work. The credit was nowhere near sufficient to cover the remaining work that was needed. The entire contract was written on one page without a bill of materials. The owner's own subcontractors were constantly berating him to me about how cheap the job was going and how little he knew about overall construction. To be fair, there are no major problems with the work (nothing is falling down). They also have a good sense of design and agreed to build a small deck included with the price. Overall though, the experience was very negative and very low value for the money overall. I would recommend to avoid this company like the plague, or be VERY specific about what you want and hope for the best.