Madison Construction Inc

They use subcontractors to come in and do their work for them. Initially, they had a nice, approachable guy working with us to understand exactly what we wanted. He seemed to be progressing nicely, if a little slowly, all the while keeping us very much up to speed with the decision making. The transparency and understanding of our budget constraints was very much appreciated. Apparently the deliberateness of his approach wasn't to Madison's liking. They made a switch. Without much explanation, they sent a different subcontractor and accelerated the rate at which our porch was being remodeled. There was alot less transparency or acknowledgment of our limited budget. With each passing day, they seemed to recommend that we do more and more - replacing pillars because they were rotten, etc - all the while failing to offer less expensive/invasive alternatives. Midway through the project, we got our first bill. $4,000 and 50 hours of labor all just to level cement on a porch! Unbelievable. When I suggested withholding payment b/c a.) the porch was still not done, and b.) that 4k seemed outrageous for the type of work they immediately threatened legal action and stopped work. When I relented and paid the 4k, they then sent me a subsequent bill for an additional $2,000 and 18 hours of labor. I paid it, and that's where our relationship ended. What makes me so disappointed with their work? 1. I got the sense that the folks back at the Madison HQ were trying to optimize the margins on this job, and undermined the first subcontractor's effort to provide good customer service. They disagreed with his approach, preferring to make decisions about my house from their office in Hyde Park. They removed him from the job. And in the end, they came across as a cold, corporate entity that values profits over relationships. 2. When I voiced disappointment in their work, they immediately threatened legal action. Who does that? Who squashes the potential of a longer term business relationship by playing the most aggressive card possible? 3. After I paid them $6,000 and opted out of any further work, I asked them for the contact information of that first subcontractor. He had a familiarity with the job, and would be well positioned to pick up the pieces. They didn't respond to my request - leaving me with a job that was 60% done and the proposition of training someone else up on what would need to be done and how they could use the on-site materials. That strikes me as incredibly petty.

We were referred to Madison, by our Real Estate Agent. We called to set up a consultation to get an estimate. On the morning of the appointment, they called 15 minutes ahead of time to let us know that they were running a little late, which was very nice (many companies we've dealt with don't call until the actual appointment time to say they are running late). We met with Gary Knight, and Gage Cole, who were both very professional, and gave us some pointers about how the project should be approached. They spent some time looking at the property, establishing what our budget and priorities would be, and then let us know they would get back with us. Ultimately, they decided our job was too small, and not a good fit for their company.

It went very well when we were working on it. It was an old house that needed to be brought up to all the new building codes. There was no easy answer, but he gave us several scenarios. When called, he always called back, usually the same day. He kept in constant communication with everything, giving me updates. He went beyond his scope or work and found out about the calamity law and informed me.