Sturm Builders Inc

We have had a rocky relationship with this company since work began on our neighbor's unit over 13 months ago. Since work began, in addition to the obligatory dust, fumes and constant noise, we have had to evacuate our house in the middle of the night due to a gas leak in our neighbor's basement (which we could smell on our third floor), one of our common walls was punctured by their workers (we're going to fix it ourselves b/c we don't want the crew in our house), gutters were removed allowing the common interior gangway to flood, common doors have been left open or unlocked all night and the radio has been an ongoing source of contention and antagonism. We actually hired Sturm ourselves when we were told that we would have to replace our water service b/c our neighbors were doing work (still not sure how that was our problem, but we went along with it anyway since the main was very old). In the planning phase, we decided to have our side hand trenched because it was cheaper than directional boring. On the day work began, the crew told us that they could directional bore for the same price as trenching because damage to the sidewalk would be less and would offset the cost of boring. We agreed and the work proceeded. The work was completed on a Friday and the inspection would not happen until Monday. The project manager decided that rather than wait for the inspection, that he would photograph the work for the inspector and fill in the holes. Well, on Monday, the holes were re-dug and filled again b/c apparently (and not surprisingly) photos are not an acceptable substitute for on-site inspection. While we passed inspection, we were suddenly presented with a bill that was $400 more than originally agreed upon (since we split the total cost (about $13,000) with our neighbors, that's actually $800 more). We were never given an itemized copy of the charges and strongly suspect that this additional charge was due to the cost of re-digging/filling in the holes for inspection. We are currently requesting a more detailed accounting of the charges from Sturm. All this aside, we have had an ongoing problem with the conduct of the Sturm crew. Since work began, the loud and constant noise of radio playing could be heard through our common walls on a daily basis. Requests to turn it down only resulted in a temporary abatement. In the summer months, the radio outside was so loud that we could hear it in many of the rooms our our house. After asking many times to have it turned down with limited success, we finally requested that the radio be turned off outside for the duration of the work next door. They agreed via email, yet it is still a problem as we now hear the crew verbally mocking us, the radio is still on, we suspect in an effort to antagonize us. The project manager has actually questioned our veracity in describing the volume and seems completely unconcerned that his crew has created a nuisance for us and our children. We have tried unsuccessfully to involve the owner in this--they are very hands off (could be part of why this project is taking so long) and have not responded to our calls. We have warned that the next step is to call the police, a threat which we will probably have to go through with. Fortunately, this project looks like it is finally going to wrap up in the next couple of months and this will end. In short, I would not hire this company under any circumstances unless you want to get totally ripped off and really infuriate your neighbors.