The Craftsmen Group

I hired The Craftsmen Group to demolish a bathtub and build a shower stall in its place. BEWARE: TCG may bill you differently than their pricing model suggests. That’s what happened to me. I agreed to let the work start without an estimate. This was likely my big mistake. Try to nail this down before you are charged in a way and an amount you don’t understand. A subcontractor was used when I was led to believe TCG would be performing all the work. Fixtures, hardware, and tile were very modest and basic. Remodeling projects are stressful enough without being surprised by the total when an updated invoice finally arrives. And when the deceit is perpetrated by someone you trusted, well… that’s a really low blow. Ultimately, I dismissed TCG before the job was completely finished but after the shower was functional because I didn't want to pay them one cent more than they had already billed me.

We live in a 100-year-old home with the original wooden front door. We hired The Craftsmen Group to address three problems with the door: (1) removing a metal mail slot (a later addition) and replacing with wood so we would have a completely solid door; (2) adding weatherstripping so it wouldn’t leak cold air; and (3) “reattaching” the molding around the edges of the recessed panels because it was pulling away (noticeably) from the main body of the door. Terry Allbaugh, president of The Craftsmen Group, came over, looked at the door, and recommended taking the door down, sanding it to bare wood, and repairing it. Then, when it was rehung, adding the weatherstripping. We liked his suggestions and hired him. Of the three separate jobs, the first was completely successful. The second was done acceptably; there is still ,sadly, a fair amount of cold air still leaking in, although it is better than it was. It seems odd to us that it couldn’t have been completely sealed, but that’s a minor concern compared to the third aspect of the work. We had—and still have—no idea how one reattaches the molding to the frame, but since Terry didn’t seem troubled, we presumed it wasn’t a particularly difficult job. His people completed the work, we had the door painted, and the job was over. (We should point out that because the door and its frame are a century old, it’s no longer plumb. It’s a very heavy, solid, door and it took several visits to hang it exactly right so that the locks could be worked easily. To their credit, The Craftsmen Group came back several times so that this issue was addressed to our satisfaction.) We were done. We thought. It is now a bit over one year later and the molding has again separated significantly from the main body of the door again. Since it’s the front door, it is immediately noticeable. And ugly. It looks as if they never even did any work on it. At no time did anyone even so much as suggest that this was a risk. I wrote the company a descriptive e-mail (including several pictures of the work a year later, attached to this review as well) and said, “I understand that repairs may deteriorate over time, but this is a year later and it's even worse than before you came. What would you suggest be done?” I sent that e-mail on January 21. A week later, still no reply. I sent the e-mail again on January 30 and on February 1, got a note from the office manager: “I passed your email along to Terry. I will make sure he sees it. We apologize for missing the 1/21/18 email. Terry will get back to you shortly.” Another week passed: no reply, no call, no visit. We understand that things happen; emergencies come up. But two full weeks without a response? I sent an angry e-mail the third time because I was angry. Is this how you deal with customers? Finally, in response to the third e-mail I got the following explanation: “Terry has asked me to write you back. He had (2) management level personnel leave the company the past few weeks. He is overloaded at the moment. He will get back to you when he can to set up a time to meet with you to examine the door.” No apology; no explanation why this wasn’t sent at the beginning? That was February 12. As their last communication said, “He [Mr. Allbaugh] is overloaded at the moment. He will get back to you when he can to set up a time to meet with you to examine the door.” I said that there was no need to contact me; that I had sent pictures and that they could drop by whenever it was convenient for them. Since it’s the front door, no one even need be home. Another month has gone by. No response. No e-mail. No visit. Nothing. Is this how you deal with people who paid you to do work for them? Is this how you stand behind your work? I don’t know what happened and frankly I don’t care. I wasn’t told that this might happen so either it’s not a risk (in which case, what’s going on?) or the work was done so poorly that it didn’t even last a year. Would you want them to do it again? Given their nearly complete lack of responsiveness, I don’t trust them to repair what they didn’t do right the first time and couldn’t be bothered to stand behind. If responsiveness or making sure things are done right (the first time) is important to you, I’d go elsewhere. I will. $250 was a pricey lesson, but I don’t need to be taught twice.

Went very well. Guys know their doors.

Superb. Ron measured and remeasured to insure his work was perfect and it was. He blocked the inside surface of what he was drilling to avoid splintering the wood as his bit came thru. And he cleaned up as he worked leaving us completely satisfied. Workmanship and professionalism does not get better.

Suburb carpentry at a modest price. The workmanship was meticulous. Ron is as professional a craftsman and can be found and a completely decent and honorable person. I have never seen better. I want the Craftsman Group to do any carpentry I need.

Terry came out right away and went above and beyond to get the work started even sooner than I could have hoped. Bruce is a true craftsman and communication was great throughout the entire process. Both projects were done within a week. We could not recommend more.

Excellent. They are true craftsmen---knew how to do things that "handymen" would never have identified or known how to fix on our doors. They now work flawlessly. Prompt, professional. Will use them again.

It went very well. It took about 6 hours to do the service, which included getting the material from lumber yard, cutting the material, and fixing the door jam. The quality was good, everything fits well. The price was a little high, but I was happy with the end result.

They did a great job and I would not hesitate to contact them again.  With our project, proper installation is pivotal since the 7'x8' cabinet can fall and do damage if not properly installed.  Plus, given the stained finish, I wanted to make sure that whomever showed up was highly experienced.  They did a great job.  Scheduling was easy and the price was fair for the work done.  My goal was to get someone with real woodworking experience  and I found that.  I would not hesitate to call them again for anything.

unknown

We had a lower hallway and basement bathroom that was usable but not very attractive.  The hallway had poor lighting, walls not framed well and therefore felt smaller than it was.  The hallway also had very unattractive paneling rather than drywall.  Our biggest issue was the bathroom.  It was basically a shell with a sink and toilet in a cement brick room.  It had a "shower" which was a plastic box with the water coming in with some rigged up welding that looked and was ready to explode.
We knew this needed to be updated when we bought this house a couple of years ago.  So we decided this was the year.  We had a few contractors come in and quote, all saying the same thing "well-here is a quote, but we won't know until we open it up"-basically making sure we understood more change orders than we know what to do with.
On a recommendation from a neighbor, and then checking here, we decided to ask Terry and his company, The Craftsmen Group, to come in for a quote.  Terry was very knowledgeable and was extremely detailed to get a quote together.  He came back a couple of times and when he gave the quote, it was detailed to the penny.  We knew exactly what each step would cost, where there was estimates for things we would need to pick out (sink, accessories, tile for the shower etc.).  It also included cost for "possible issues".  The price was within our budget and we felt most comfortable that this would be very close to the final cost, with minimal change orders.
We were more than impressed with his team!  They had great ideas to save cost and design the bathroom properly.  My wife works at home and her office is off this hallway and right next to the bathroom.  She was extremely happy with the way they worked as quietly as possible and we knew exactly when and for how long there would be cutting or banging that she would need to work around.  We had rules we wanted followed (no smoking, time to start/end, we have a child who naps in the day-they were quiet during those times), even while clearing out the garbage, NEVER one issue!   
We would HIGHLY recommend them for any project!  We will be using them for our next project as well.

unknown

Fantastic experience.  Terry and Michael were responsive and attentive to my ideas.  They made the project run smoothly from beginning to end.  The carpenters were outstanding.  They cleaned up thoroughly after each days work; they were polite and involved me in the process.  I am thrilled with the result.  I would highly recommend the Craftsmen Group for anyone looking for high quality, custom build carpentry projects.

The entire staff of the Craftsmen Group was great from beginning to end. Heidi responded quickly to my initial email trying to arrange an estimate to replace a loose floor board on my front porch. Terry came by to inspect the floor board. He was very upfront about their fee structure, the work that needed to be done, and the potential complications. Kurt did an excellent job replacing the floor board. After dealing with another local handyman/contractor who missed deadline after deadline on this project, it was refreshing to encounter a local firm that values customer service and commitment to the community.

It went badly.

Terry was thorough, meticulous, punctual, offered great insight.

Work went well. Got it done before our guests arrived, looks great.

The work took over 3 months to complete.  The mason for the fireplace charged $$ more than the estimate without consulting the client.  When the carpenters finally arrived, the work was efficient and very nicely done, lots of compliments to the 2 carpenters...that's where the good stuff ends.  I had to find another mason to finish the foundation work...the one working with the Craftsman Group didn't have the time, and the estimate I received from him was not to fix the foundation problem, but to line it hide it behind a face brick finish.  All in all, management was terrible...all I heard was, "it's a small job...never done a deck before...etc." If they didn't want, "the small job," they should have make that clear instead of taking 3 months with countless phone calls of apology for not doing what they agreed to do within a reasonable time period.
PS The roofer has never called back to replace an incorrect flashing around the chimney (which the Craftsman Group removed and discarded by mistake while refinishing the chimney).

This was a tricky project in a summer home that had not been well taken care of by the previous owner. Several joists on the south side of the house had significant water damage. The floor of the house had settled significantly under the kitchen and in the living room below a patio door. The patio door no longer moved properly and there was a large gap at the top because of the sloping floor. 
Terry, the owner of the Craftsmen Group personally reviewed the situation and worked closely with his lead carpenter to assess the situation. Terry developed a plan to carefully raise the floor beneath the kitchen and attach a ledger board along the south wall, which would support new joists sistered-in with the existing joists. This work successfully raised the floor of the kitchen and also improved the operation of the kitchen door which did not close properly because of the settled floor. Additional work was done to remove tile in front of the patio door and repair rotten joists that supported the wall around the patio door. This work was coordinated with a firm that replaced the patio door so that the supporting structure around the patio door would align properly. Terry also arranged to have someone come in and retile the area inside the patio door as the original tile had to be sacrificed to finish repairs in this area.
I was extremely pleased with how the work was handled. The thought of jacking up the floor underneath a house was worrisome to say the least, but they handled it with aplomb! The kitchen door is functional again, the floor beneath the kitchen area is at its original height and the patio door works like a gem.
I recommend this group for any serious structural issues you may have with your house. They also do remodeling, which I'm sure is done with care and pride as they show with all their work.

The Craftsmen Group was quick to respond to our request for an estimate.  The representative who came to look over the project and present the estimate, appeared knowledgeable and instilled confidence.  The one who did the work was punctual and completed the work in the estimated time.  He did a good job of matching the new wood with the existing cabinet fronts.  The result is good, and we are happy with it.

Good work, finished on time and on budget.

From start to finish, I could not have asked for a better crew. They were polite, punctual, and obviously very knowledgeable about their craft. They took pride in the work they were doing, and completed it beautifully. They were organized and cleaned up after the job was done.A most pleasant construction project and beautiful outcome!

The Manager Terry Albaugh was very thorough in estimating the projects and obviously very experienced both as directing his assigned crew and as a full home builder/renovator.carpenter himself.
An important ingredient of their work was attention and response to details.

We are extremely pleased with the whole experience. Terry took plenty of time with us (before we hired him) to explain the whole remodeling process. He is very up front about pricing, and always checked to make sure we understood how much everything would cost. He also offered alternative ideas and ways to keep costs within budget. He struck us as very honest and trustworthy--a professional who wants to do a good job and make customers happy, not to get the most money out of a customer. Once we  began work, his team was there every day right at 8:30 (which we much preferred to 7:30). There was hardly ever any down time, so the job progressed pretty smoothly from start to finish over about 8 weeks. His colleague, Jesse, is an excellent carpenter; he was able to frame arched entrances in the new walls which exactly matched others in the house dating from 1925. Visitors all exclaim that the arches look as if they have always been there--you can't tell they are new because they match so well.Terry was on site himself most days, and was very responsive to our phone calls whenever we had a question or concern. He and his workers and subcontractors were all very polite and nice to be around. They cleaned up after themselves every day, and did their best to minimize dust in the rest of the house.The only (minor) complaint I can think of was that the plumber was sometimes difficult to schedule, and wanted to come in on weekends and evenings to complete the job. It was a slight inconvenience, but not a big deal.Our kitchen is wonderful! We love it! I absolutely recommend the Craftsmen Group as excellent and trustworthy contractors. We would hire them again--in fact we will for the next project.

They were excellent at problem solving and very honest.   Their professionalism made them easy to have in the house.