PRO-LINE HOME IMPROVEMENTS

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I am new to Angie's list and thought I really needed to comment on this company and their poor workmanship so others don't get scammed like I did on my windows.  Beware of this company!    I don't recommend them at all. 
Chuck (sales guy) came to my house to present options for my new windows and because he did a great job, I decided to hire and use Pro-Line for the replacement windows.  I sent in a 50% deposit for the work to be started in May 2003.  The work was scheduled for an 9am start time however no one showed up or called to say they were running late.   I waited and waited for another couple of hours and then called Chuck to find out what was going on with the crew.  He had to call me back.  He finally told me no one was able to reach the crew who was supposed to perform the work.  Now its around 2pm and still no workman.  Finally after speaking with Chuck again for the third time, the crew showed up at 4:30pm.   Three men came and started ripping out the old windows to replace them with the new ones.  They were in a big hurry and were very careless.  When they started installing the new windows they ripped three of the new screens,  didn't  put in enough insulation around the windows, and because they showed up so late in the afternoon were unable to finish the job.  They would have to come back to caulk around every window.   It was only 8pm.  This all seemed too hurried and odd, so I approached the guys to ask some questions.  I smelled alcohol on their breath and realized they were DRUNK!  Now I understood where they were all day, at a bar in Chicago drinking when they should have been working on my windows.   I was really angry and frustrated at this point since I felt like I was being taken advantage of as a single, female, and a new homeowner.   They left and I started looking at the work performed on the inside which included the window stools, aprons and stops.  What a mess, nothing was straight, big gaps were showing, and each window had ruff edges.  I had to call Chuck again to find out what is going on with this company and their poor workmanship/professionalism.   Neither Chuck nor the owner, Dave offered to come to the house to see the work until I forced the issue.  In conversation, Chuck slipped and mentioned that he saw the workman return to the shop late that night and also smelled the alcohol.   Chuck finally came out to see the work and agreed it was really bad so the workman woudl have to come back to redo the job and caulk around the windows.  I told him not to send the same guys as I didn't trust them to do the job.   After all of this, I finally go to speak with Dave, the owner and he was a real jerk.   He didn't offer anything in compensation for the shotty work and even threatened to put a lien on my house when I told him I wasn't going to pay for this kind of work.  When I mentioned contacting a lawyer, he finally conceded to  fix the inside and offered me a whopping credit of $275.00.   Looking back I should have cancelled the work with them and used my resources to get someone else to complete the work.   Chuck should have been working for someone more reputable as he was a good guy and tried to fix the situation.  He is a good sales guy.  
This review is also in response to a recent energy audit performed on my house and no surprise, the worst area is where the air comes in around all of my windows due to poor insulation, bad caulking on the outside and no caulking around the insides of the windows.  Take my recommendation and don't use this company it will cost you more in the long run!   

I couldn't be happier and would hire them again.

The contract and promise from Pro-Line Home Improvements was to replace the rotted wood on the fascia, soffit and chimney before covering this exposed wood with aluminum siding. As agreed, we paid half at contract signing.  The job look great after completed except for the garage fascia and soffit noticeably were not straight / level.  The owner, Dave Ashley, requested the remaining payment, and he promised to come back to fix the mistake.  After we paid, Dave and his team never returned to fix the garage siding, and he never returned any of my phone calls.  Even worse, after 6 months, pieces of the fascia and soffit started to fall off.  Again, Dave did not return any phone calls.  Therefore, I had to get on a ladder and replace the siding several times over the next few years.  Also, I noticed that the rotten wood underneath the siding was never replaced, and I had to replace both the wood and siding.  One time I got on the roof and I found that certain fascia wood was exposed, rotted and never sided since this part was not visible from the ground.  I learned 3 valuable lessons: never fully paid the remainder of the contract until the job is thoroughly inspected and completed; make sure I have quality references of older jobs (not jobs just completed); and try to be at the job site a majority of the time.  It's people like Dave Ashley that make consumers not trust the majority of good contractors.

Existing fascia and soffit was deemed good and not needed to be
replaced.  In the process a new light was installed that I bought, a few
loose roof shingles were repaired, and my window shutters were replaced
at no additional charge.  The work was performed in a timely manner,
cleanup was good, and the workers were courteous and professional.
It's been almost a full year since the work was done and the siding has
withstood all types of winds and weather with no affect.

 I am happy overall with my entire experience from beginning to end.  The estimator was prompt, the work was done as stated, and the price was reasonable.  They also replaced a few missing shingles even though that was not explicitly stated on the proposal.   I was grateful for that.  The only complaint I have is that the color of the replacement shingles was not as good a match to the originals as I would have liked, but I can live with this.  I would definitely use them for future work.

They were good. They were prompt and did a generally good job. It is a professional organization and they did what they said they were going to do. Their price was probably a little bit higher.

The installation and scheduling went fine. I do have some concerns about seepage as there are bugs that I can visually see in on the skylight glass.

As I expected, there were many more problems that were hidden beneath the old siding. We went through the 50 linear feet of replacement board very quickly. In addition to the bid, Pro-line replaced 99 lf. of exterior brick molding, a 12 by 2 28 foot floor joist, 64 feet of furring strip and 72 feet of 1 by 6 lumber. As the work progressed, we discovered that our three support beams for our front porch were rotted and needed to be replaced. It took four weeks to complete the job. Dave had predicted three weeks, but weather delayed the project about a week. Slavic and his crew came to work around 7am each morning and left after 5pm each day, taking very few breaks. The priority was quality work, so the tempo of the work was just what it needed to be. Slavic and his crew became a part of the fabric of our lives during the project. You can't help but like a man who take pride in his work. It was important to touch base with Slavic at the beginning and end of the day so that questions could be answered. Pro-line wants you to be happy with the job, so a small investment in time resulted in good communication and workers who were confident they were doing work that would not need to be redone. At the end of the project, Slavic encouraged me to report any defects in workmanship so that he could make them right. I took pictures of minor problems, and sent them to Dave. Slavic and his team came out the next day and took care of the minor problems. It's important to note that the "extra" costs on this project were all reasonable. I think that replacing three 6" by 6" by 96" beams placed on cement piers and wrapped in aluminum trim coil might be a chance for the dealer to gouge the consumer. This was not the case at all. I did not inquire about cost because, quite simply, they needed to be replaced. I was hoping Pro-line would be reasonable in their charges and the absolutely were quite reasonable, charging $450 for the job. I am very pleased with the results and happy that I've found an honest, hardworking contractor. I'm having my roof replaced in 5 years and I expect Pro-line will be my choice. I recommend Pro-Line enthusiastically and without reservation.

There was a design issue from proposal to finish ... but we love the finished product!

Great...they were quick, efficient and treated us well even though it was just a small job.

The prices were very reasonable for the work they did. However, I would recommend that if you have anything done by them, you should be at the job site to make sure everything is getting done the way you want it done. There was a couple of problems, but they responded to those problems and took care of them right away. Otherwise, the workers were very easy to work with and were willing to work with the customer to meet their needs.

I had no problem at all with them on anything. They came when they said they would and did a good job.

They were very professional and on time. They came out very quickly and got the job done soon. We were thankful because it had been raining a lot. Several others didn't even call us back.

I HAD THEM REPLACE PART OF THE ROOF ON MY COTTAGE AND THEY HAD TO COME BACK ON THREE ADDITIONAL OCCASIONS TO FIX LEAKS IN IT. THEY WENT UP A LITTLE HIGHER ON THE ROOF AND THAT FIXED THE PROBLEM. THEY WERE PLEASANT AND ALWAYS WILLING TO COME BACK. I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THEM.

Actually considering the bad experience we had inside our home, the roofing went quite well. Dave had a different crew for the roof and they did a great job. However, Dave used another crew for the gutters (the same one we had for inside our home) and we still are trying to get some gutter work done. Getting back to the roofing crew, they got the roof completed in a very timely basis and they cleaned up after themselves. The foreman of the roofing crew was very pleasant and easy to work with.

Estimate right in the ballpark, good communication and professional job. A+++!

Dave Ashley came out to the house and provided the estimate. After tweaking the proposal to compare to the three other estimates that I received, I decided to allow this company to perform the work. Customer satisfaction is not just a phrase this company uses in its brochure. The initial concerns that I had with the job performed were quickly remedied to my satisfaction.

Called on Sun. & left a voicemail, they called back next day & was very pleasant. I spoke w/Mike Grad. He came out within the wk., Mike sat & spoke w/me about the roof very professional & also like a friend, mailed a detailed estimate within 2 days. Had 3 others, but went w/Mike; signed a contract. Work started that following Tues.; Mike was great, very informative about the whole project. The 3 man crew was very nice & did great work, even took time to hear a suggestion from myself & a neighbor. With the reconstruction of my new front canopy, I didn't like the way it was going to be mounted to my porch. Had the crew stop, I got hold of Mike and he called the foreman on the site and they mounted it diferently to my liking without any problems. I was also having my garage torn down shortly after the roof being done & w/there being extra room in the dumpster. Mike left the dumpster for me for 3 wks. Made things much easier on me & my local garbage company. Thanks Mike & Pro-Line.

Having had major problems with the previous roofer who did work for me, I was extremely watchful of everything that needed to be done to my roof and gutter system this time. This was an excellent company who reinstated my faith in contractors. Dave showed up for the quote on time and had the work done as promised. His workers made my roof look 100 times better than it was even though most of the repairs were sealant and replacing shingles. It was nice to work with a professional company. They even got me a signed affidavit after they finished the work so I would have a legal document of work provided during my small claims trial against the previous roofer.

He came out as soon as I called him (very prompt), didn't make me pay until they were done, and completed the job the next day.

Very well. We are very pleased with the job.

Michael Grad was the contact I worked with. Mike was ontime for the initial appointment. He was willing to work around our schedule for the appointment and work. On the day of the work, the crew was delayed a couple of hours due to bad weather and a prior job taking a little longer. Mike was on top of keeping us informed about their schedule and when they would arrive at our house. Once they arrived, the work was done quickly and professionally. They also fixed a few other minor things on the roof while they were up there. Since the repair we have had no water leaks. I am very pleased with the work.

Dave was very professional. In his bid, he addressed the flashing concerns completely, where a previous bid did not. This was the reason for selecting Pro-Line. There was a problem in that the work was not correctly completed. I called Dave, who had his workers return the following Friday evening to correct their errors.

Very professional and accommodating. They originally indicated a several week wait before they could start, but actually started in a week. The two men who came to do the work were friendly, careful, and very professional. They also worked extraordinary hours to get the job done. The interior work had some surprises -- like when it turned out the termites were active, and not history as Terminix had said. They accommodated our schedule to return as soon as Terminix treated the area so the repairs could be made. They also were inventive about how best to do the job so that minimal collateral damage would becaused, the repairs would look as perfect as possible, and yet not incur additional costs to us.