AXIS BUILDING & REMODELING LLC

I had an extremely bad experience with this contractor. The original intention was for me to provide the financing and for Allan Middendorf to perform the general contracting and complete all work needed to renovate the houses. I had the following problems: Middendorf did not estimate costs accurately, or manage according to budget. On my first project he estimated repair costs at $20,000. The final repair costs were approximately $37,000. For the second project he estimated repair costs at $40,000. By the time the total budget amount was spent, the project was only 40% complete. At that point I fired him. Middendorf provided a reasonable schedule and immediately proceeded to ignore it. He did not use the schedule to guide or manage the job. Both projects were many weeks behind schedule. Our first project was 95% complete, needing only the final walk-through and minor repairs. It sat empty for three weeks before I finally stepped in to complete the final walk through and schedule the repairs. I then had to meet the inspector for the final inspection myself because Middendorf was simply too busy to see this project through to completion. Middendorf did not communicate effectively. I had much difficulty reaching him by phone and he rarely returned phone calls. He would often say ?I?ll call you right back? and then not call for 2 or 3 days. The subcontractors were equally frustrated by his confusing instructions and lack of communication. When problems came to my attention, Middendorf consistently blamed his employees, subcontractors, or material suppliers. When I spoke to these individuals personally I consistently got the same response: either the problem was caused directly by Middendorf, or the problem was a result of lack of communication, or miscommunication by Middendorf. I told Middendorf that one of my biggest frustrations with him was the endless stream of excuses about why the projects were over budget and behind schedule. He did not take responsibility, but instead excused his lack of performance on everything from his personal schedule to childhood trauma. I sat down with Middendorf for two hours and described the problems in detail. Although he expressed regret and promised to improve, he did not. I regret being taken in by Middendorf?s enthusiastic, and apparently sincere sales pitch; he certainly didn?t deliver on his promises.

Axis scheduled a walk thru within a couple days of calling. I explained what I wanted done and they very knowledgeable. They had great suggestions on design and layout and stayed within my budget. I was frequently kept informed on the progress and time lines. The people working in my home were courteous and professional.