Renovation MD

unknown

We had a small existing deck with a roof. The deck was in poor condition, so we had Renovation MD tear it out and replace it with an expanded deck, which was also covered and then screened in.

The workers were professional and courteous and did a good job. They made an effort to clean up at the end of each day and when the job was finished, there was very little detritus left in the yard.

The roof addition looks great and matches seamlessly with our old roof. The paint and other materials also matches up wonderfully.

Overall, we're very happy.

The initial quote was $26,000 and there was no overrun. The job was completed at that price in a timely fashion and with the high quality materials identified in the proposal.

unknown

unknown

The initial job was done extremely poorly.  There were trowel marks, seams, uneven mud, and lose tape everywhere.  We also discovered that they did not nail in the corner bead anywhere.  We called them to come back to evaluate and fix all the drywall problems.  They sent someone else to re-do the job and it was done only slightly better.  Now 4 months later, nearly every seam in the walls and ceiling are showing and tape is coming off.  There are bumps, trowel marks and uneven finishes everywhere including around every light switch. This is the worst sheetrock finishing job we have ever seen!  We cannot fully describe how poor of a job this company did. In trying to contact them regarding them coming back to fix the work, we had to contact them numerous times before ever recieving a phone call back.  This happened every time we had to have them come back.  All in all, they had to redo their inital job 3 times.  The 3rd time, they hired an outside contractor to do the repairs.  Now over a year after they initially did the work, the seams are worse than ever.  Not one person returning to do the job right, did so.  We will have to hire another company to come back and completely start from scratch.  We had to repaint the entire basement 3 times now because every "fix" job had to be "re-fixed".  The only thing I will say is that the company did agree to give us a check for $500 to cover the cost of the paint and labor to repaint the basement. We specifically hired this part of our finishing to be done by a "professional" because we wanted to make sure it was done well.  In the end, we should've saved th $2600 and done it ourselves.

I tried to call him 3 times and email him through Angie's List and he is ignoring my calls.  This door goes straight outside and so I have a door that anyone can walk right in.  So this needs to be fixed as soon as possible.  I am at risk without having a door on that will stay and lock.

unknown

Workers showed up as scheduled, were professional, cleaned up every day.

unknown

unknown

I give RenMD an overall grade of D because of the unfinished items. If everything was completed they would have received a C. 
My initial feeling was that RenMD was not qualified (unable to produce photos of previous kitchen work). However we were running out of time and needed to get it started.
As we got closer to spending 25K it was clear the job was not going to get done?Even after eliminating some major items like countertops, kitchen island, pantry shelving and the 20+ items mentioned below. 
Job was canceled before completion. A list of unfinished work is detailed below. To be fair, I had RenMD put new siding on additional (approx 100 sq ft) location above the addition, which was not part of the bid.
Overall quality was less than expected (new floor boards move up and down, new wall corners not square, some not even close). It?s hard to judge the finish work since most of it was not performed.
PREJOB:
Initial meetings went well, staff was cordial and able to discuss what was needed, but did not produce anything as far as a plan or any vague attempt to convey any details of the project. No finalized plan: No drawings, no blueprints, no sketches covering the details of the project (outlets, lightboxes, what?s removed, what stays & goes).  We received more drawings and plans from other contractors who didn?t get the job. The lack of a plan was a continuous burden throughout the project. Many decisions had to be made on the spot when client just happened to be there. These decisions were rushed and reduced the overall potential of the project. 
In retrospect, I think RenMD was just going to go in and install cabinets over they old drywall, leave the outlets and do a minimal amount renovation. 
CONSTRUCTION:
Ren MD is paid by the hour. There is no incentive for efficiency and accountability. Client pays for mistakes, oversights and poor materials planning. Example 1:There is no incentive to prepare a materials list and consolidate trips to the store when client is paying for these supply runs. For the duration of the 4 week job there was an average of over 1 Home Depot run per day (15 minutes to the store + 15 minutes back + shopping time, all at $50/hr. Example 2: RenMD accidentally cuts a water line. Client pays for it to be fixed (then re-fixed with copper and solder). From the time of the original cut, clean-up, repair, rework there was potentially 3-6 hours in that situation alone?all of which is client paid. 
We are very disappointed in RenMD and finding inadequacies on a weekly basis that eventually needed to be redone by client. Here are some of them:
Trim Removal: Poorly handled trim, which is going to be reused, is scratched and thrown in a pile in the garage. Instead of keeping them organized and marking where it came from I have to pay someone $50/hr to figure out where it belongs, sand out and finish any scratches that originated from them being thrown into a pile. This goes back to hourly incentive and efficiency. Client had to organize and stack trim.
Materials: Client paid an additional 10% on all materials, including cabinets & shelves and anything that was picked out by client prior to job start. That makes RenMD responsible for making sure the materials are correct when delivered. This was not done and resulted in a series of costly mistakes that prolonged the project and resulted in rework by RenMD, and later by Client.
RenMd had the cabinets for at least a week in storage. No one checked to see if they were 1) the right size and, 2) if they were damaged. Two of the major cabinets were the wrong size, another was damaged, and several doors were damaged. Reordering cabinets added additional waiting time and ultimately additional costs of reworking already completed tasks (moving outlet, relocating gas line, delaying shelf placement). The new cabinet that replaced the broken cabinet is .25 inched taller that the rest which created problems for the counter that the client had to install.RenMD tried to fix broken cabinet with glue but result was not acceptable. RenMD replaced cabinet at no charge.
Floating Shelves: Shelves were sitting in the kitchen for at least a week. Nobody checked to see the specified mounting requirements. All shelves required a specific number of contact points with the framing as described in the instructions located in the box of each shelf. In order to obtain the minimum required contact points areas in the framing behind drywall had to be reinforced, which was not done by RenMD. Client had to remove all the drywall (15? x 8?), reinforce studs, then re-sheetrock, mud, and finish. Client paid an additional 10% of the total cost of those shelves to RenMD.
Floor Sanding: There are 12.5 hours of floor-sanding time logged in and the floor was far from done, not even close. I think they rented a flat vibrating sander instead of a drum sander. Floor had to be finished by client using a drum sander. It took my wife and I about 8 hours.
SMALL THINGS:
Outlets: They reused many of my old outlets. A 25K kitchen and they didn?t get a new $2 outlet that didn?t have paint all over it?  Nails: I had to continually pick up nails in my driveway and yard. There was no effort on their part. I don?t think they own a magnet. Still finding nails. New framing over the foam: New roof framing has been nailed over the exterior foam, not sure if this is correct but was assured this is OK. 
UNFINISHED WORK:
Client was left to finish the project. Here?s a list of the items that had to be done after reaching 25k:
Remove NEW North drywall and add reinforcement for 6 shelves and hood.
Re-Sheetrock N wall, tape, sand, mud, etc
Sand remaining unsanded walls on N, W, and E walls
Mud and sand to finish
Install window trim
Attend to 1/2 East wall (move cabinet, install outlet for kit light, mud, sand)
Prime walls, Paint All
Install Stove
Hood install
Shelves install (required tearing out N wall to add shelf reinforcements per shelf instructions) 
Install NW cabinet and SE (replaced) cabinet (RenMD offered to do the SE cabinet)
Relocate RenMD installed kitchen drain (too high), repair drywall access location
Relocate RenMD installed gas line to accommodate stove being flush with wall (RenMD installed 1st time in wrong location, moved it over, still incorrect. Client moves third time)
Purchase and Install counter top
Purchase and Install sink
Install dishwasher
Install final trim on windows x4
Varnish Window trim
Install floor outlets
Install final 6? floor board on west floor 
Sand Floor
Stain Floor
Finish Floor
Make Shelves for pantry
Make Island
Insulate under bay floor and cover with plywood
Install, and finish sheetrock in basement
Finish entry stairs (install trim, sand finish)
Reinstall front floodlights

unknown

They were quick to respond and very nice. They also knew we had a limited budget and were very willing to work with us to stay within it. We are very impressed with their work.

The door required an arch filled in and turned into a wall, which was a bit complex. Renovation MD was fantastic- they asked all the questions I didn't know to ask, were prompt and courteous, and the work met my high quality standards. I would recommend them to anyone.

I was worried about contracting with someone that I didn't know, but these guys knocked it out of the park. Showed up the same day as I called for the estimate, gave a firm committtment on the date of start and completion that factored in our needs, and completely lived up to there committments. Work done was fast and very high quality. Strongly recommend them again to anyone in the Lawrence area. Will use them again in a heart beat.

The first time that we used them, they were favorable but the second time that we hired them, it was definitely not a favorable experience. They had problems with their work. They first said that they would repair the damage and they then ended up charging us for the time to repair the damage.

The dry rot with the fascia board was on the second story. The bad area was cut out, replaced and caulked to seal it.
The end caps were completely removed, replaced and caulked.
The garage window was badly rotted but we did not want to replace the window because we have some custom stained glass integrated with the existing window. Also, it is a garage window and just not worth spending that much money to replace it. Renovation MD was able to replace the damaged area making it look like new while maintaining the existing window. They also painted and trimmed it out to match the other windows on the house that had been replaced 15 years ago.
The entire trim on the house, which there is a lot of it, needed some scraping and a fresh coat of paint. It all looks great.
Renovation MD handled everything professionally and were very punctual. They actually started the job ahead of the original schedule and finished in a timely manner.
It is nice to work with a company that handles themselves in such a professional way.

They were really professional. They were fast and efficient. They are really good people.

A+

The chimneys on our home needed to be resurfaced. We had the materials which Renovation MD used to do the work. The chimney stacks are tall and sit two stories high. They brought the proper equipment to access the work area and to complete the work in a timely fashion. After completing the chimney resurfacing, they installed a new cedar rail on our front deck, attached a custom made trellis to our stone fireplace exterior and raised two logs onto stone pillers at our property entrance.

I had a good experience with them. They communicated very well. I would use them again.