BZ Construction Inc

Outstanding siding installer, and the same can be said of their tiling and masonry expert. The electrician did a good job with the light at the back door, along with the exterior outlet. I will need to have the electrician come back to fix the outlet inside next to the sink, because it is not working. The phone jack was only wired to the back of a plastic outlet cover, rather than to a metal box in the wall, like our other phone jacks. The owner Ronen has a lot of experience in his field and is knowledgeable about his trade. He is creative and it shows with his ideas and his work. Sometimes it is hard to reach the owner, either the mailbox is full or you have to leave a message. If you can't talk right away, usually you can get in touch later that day. If there is a need to have one of the carpenters to be used at another job site for an emergency, please let the homeowner know if they are home and tell them when they will be back. I will also need to have one area on our roof repaired. A small section of roofing board underneath the shingles must have broken off, measuring about 10 X 15 inches. This can be seen when in the attic, I found this problem after removing a couple of empty boxes. The owner knows about the electrical issue above and the roof. He informed us that he will fix these two areas soon.

At first, things went well. We collected estimates from approximately 8 different companies, and Ronen's was the most thorough. His price wasn't the most competitive, but we were impressed with the references and professionalism of the quote, so we went with him. Very quickly on, however, problems started occurring. The first was when I asked him to drop off the samples of the plank so that we could pick the color. He dropped off a sample book for a different brand of siding. When I called him and told his this, he said and quot;it's all the sameand quot;. I pushed back because we specifically wanted to use Hardie Plank and had read negative reviews about this other brand. He then seemed to change his story, and said he had to find the samples for the Hardie Plank. When we picked the color, he pushed us to select a different color. I have no idea why. We decided to stick to our original color choice (we stated all along we wanted the color to be as close the existing color as possible, so our choice should have not been a surprise). He started the job before the plank had been ordered. I questioned this, but he said it would arrive in time. Well, it didn't. So we had the siding removed from one side of the house, yet there was no plank to be installed. He originally said he would take down the scaffolding and begin work on another side of the house, but then he apparently changed his mind (despite the estimated three weeks of waiting time for the siding to arrive). We asked him to begin work on another side of the house, but he did not want to remove the staging. I pushed, but he would not do it. We then continued to have problems. On day 2 of the job, with the siding removed, Ronen suggested that we need to install PVC board and a skirt installed above the foundation, below where the siding is installed. His quote for this was $3968. This seemed outrageous to us. Ronen insisted that we needed something. We suggested using an aluminum drip edge. He did not think this was a good idea. We pushed, and that's what we went with. It ended up costing us $550 for this (still overpriced in my opinion), but certainly much more reasonable than $3968. Then Ronen pointed out that the painting of the downspouts was not included in the contract (this is technically correct). He quoted us $378 to prime and paint 6 to 8 sections of connectors and downspouts. According to his pricing scheme, his painters are priced at the same rate as his construction crew ($50/hour). Additionally, he wanted to charge us $26 for a quart of Benjamin Moore paint. Keep in mind that some of this paint was being purchased by the gallon because it was the same color being used for the trim! Even Benjamin Moore paint doesn't cost $100/gallon.
Additional issues we had with Ronen:* He said he was unable to have a spare key made for the lock he put on our bulkhead door. I was able to get one made at the first hardware store down the street.* Communication between him and his crew was not good. In one case, window trim had to be redone because of a lack of communication. We found ourselves having to manage the project instead of Ronen managing the project.* He was not available to stop by our building to discuss issues until 9:30 or 10 AM. However, when we were collecting bids he told us he couldn't meet with us in the morning because he was on job sites. Now that we were a job site, he still couldn't meet with us at a time that didn't require us to take time off from work.* Every decision we needed to make, many of them expenisve decisions, had to be made on the spot. He was not organized enough to foresee some of these decisions (like the drip edge), nor could he be flexible and have his crew work on something else. Everything felt very rushed and last minute, including obtaining the work permit.*He was resistant to our choices, even simple ones like the color of the plank, but also more costly decisions like using a $50 alumnum drip edge instead of a $4000 solution.*The project dragged along. Work didn't start until after 9 AM many mornings. The plank wasn't ordered ahead of time (despite our $11,000 deposit). What was supposed to be a 6 week project became a 10 week project. Yes, there were surprises under the old clapboard, but there was a lot of waiting around for the new siding to arrive and plenty of days that didn't start until after 9.*When we were dissatisfied with his flat rate quotes for additional work, he was very resistant to do it on time and materials.
To further elaborate, here is a letter we sent to Ronen:I am writing to voice our frustration about the verbal agreement for the work on the side of the house. First, you had assured us that by going with your flat fee for the replacement of the split boards you would put extra men on the job to make sure the work was completed by the weekend and the side would be covered with tar paper. You have not fulfilled this obligation: the 3rd floor has not been papered over. I pointed this out to the crew before they left in the evening and they claimed that there was not much likelihood of damage from rain due to the overhang. However, we agreed to the flat rate so that there would be no chance of damage from rain. If Sunday’s forecasted thunderstorm causes water damage because the facade was left exposed, we expect that you will take care of repairing the damage. Second, we are frustrated about experiencing another instance where there is a significant discrepancy between your estimate of how long an add-on change order will take, and what happens in reality. The first instance is that it took far less time and materials to do the fire-damaged wall than what was paid for. The second instance was with the drip edge. There is real frustration on our part about this. I understand that it is often difficult to estimate precisely how long it will take to do a job. That is why we have preferred to do these add-ons on a time and materials basis. I fully understand how the added burden of bookkeeping on your part and the timekeeping by your crew makes you reluctant to do work on a time and materials basis. Having said that, when you are unwilling to do things on a time and materials basis, we have to rely on and trust your estimates as to what direction to go. It seems as though your rough estimates (which would, supposedly, be what we might expect to incur on a time and materials basis) are very high, and your offer for what you would do the job at a flat rate, are still also high. I know that there is still work to be done next week on the change order job of dealing with the old wood on the Street side (for example, the window sills) that will take time, and that you spent time picking up materials and disposing of the old planking. And I now understand, following our recent phone conversation that you had to buy 16 sheets instead of 12 sheets of plywood. However, we are aware that plywood only costs $19.95/sheet and there are still two complete sheets downstairs. Even after taking all that into account, this still seems as though it will come significantly short of your rough estimates of the job for both the old wood, sills and insulation ($4300 plus $680) as well as what you offered as a flat rate ($3500 plus $500). It's frustrating to be encountering these discrepancies after we've voiced our concern before. Because your estimates and flat rates are far exceeding the actual cost of the work, presumably in part because you (understandably) do not want to take a loss, it would seem to be beneficial for all parties involved to do the work on a time and materials basis. We might come to trust your expertise more if the rough estimates are closer to the actual final cost, but, at this point, there is a strong desire by the condo association to do all future work on a time and materials basis. Third, when we are required to make decisions on the fly -- as what happened with both the repair of the weathered boards and again with the insulation on the Elm Street side -- we feel we are further left vulnerable to your estimates. For example, when you were on your way to the hardware store as we spoke

We--a five-unit condo association sharing a colonial era house--had a fantastic experience with BZ contracting. Initially brought in to do a small to moderate roof job (replacing a portion of our roof), they ended up finding our roof in terrible condition, fully rotted, and missing some very basic attributes such as ice and water shield. So what started out as a quick one-day job morphed into a week long emergency roof replacement. Throughout that very hectic time Ronen was incredible: remarkably accessible, detail oriented, and flexible. He also had a great eye and was able to point out things that needed immediate repair versus things we could wait on. He spoke with and met with me for literally hours (in fact he told my neighbor I called him more than his wife). In spite of my persistence he was never anything but attentive and good humored. The worksmanship was great, and the level of detail was really unparalleled. For example, he and his crew took hundreds of digital photos of the work as they did it, including the condition our roof was in when they found it. This allowed us to not only really understand the process, but also have documentation for our insurers since in our case a significant source of the damage was a result of our previous roofers. I should also mention that we had a complicated financial situation because we had thought we would be forking over a couple of thousand dollars but instead had to pay for a full roof replacement. Ronen has been very understanding and allowed us to work out a payment plan that is manageable for us. BZ also has a "one stop shopping" element because Ronen's staff is pretty huge and he has all sorts of specialists...i.e. instead of a company that puts a "generalist" roofer on the task of rebuilding a chimney who may or may not have a lot of chimney experience, he actually will put an experienced bricklayer on the task. It's things like this that really set the company apart. I have already recommended him to a number of people and I know I will be calling him again for work in my own unit.

I had asked several people to come in and give me estimates. Ronin was very personable and scientific about his estimate. He measured surfaces, explained the differences in materials as far as cost/quality/esthetics go. He spend a good 40 minutes looking at my home before giving me an estimate. The other contractors on the other hand spent less than 5 minutes, and didnt seem to give an empirically backed estimate.

I initially hired BZ Construction to put black granite on the surface of my fireplace, because it had white stucco on the outside, and did not look very nice. When it came time to measure the fireplace, we discovered that whoever built the thing did a very poor job. When the stucco was removed we saw that underneath it the fireplace was crookedly build using 2x4s and drywall. It looked like it was built by a drunk carpenter; whats more, there was a big hole to the outside of the house next to the chimney. Needless to say my wife and I decided to and quot;fix it properlyand quot; since it was already half taken apart.

Luckily BZ Construction had several skilled carpenters who came in the next day and reframed the fireplace, and repaired the chimney. I was so impressed with the quality of this job that i decided to not wait and hired BZ to put in the in-wall medicine cabinet which they did without issues.

A few days later after the granite was sourced and cut, it was brought over and put on to the fireplace in 5 large slabs. Again the work was done well, and now my fireplace looks very nice.

Also: Ronin stopped by every day his workmen were here to make sure everything was going well. On one of those days he noticed that my gutter's drain pipe became disconnected near the roof (about 30 feet) and offered to bring a ladder and fix it, which he did the next day for free.

His pricing is fair and the quality and professionalism is outstanding. He is worth every penny. As a side note my past jobs with him were amazing as well. He is a phenomenal roofer and redid my stone walkway too.

I received a lot of help from BZ in picking new fixtures, sinks, tiles, paints, etc. The contractor went with me in choosing the items. He has a good eye for design and I was pleased with everything we picked. He was also very patient with me in getting the right colors I wanted on the walls. The men who worked for BZ Construction were very professional and pleasant, always picking up after themselves after a day of work which made it easy on us living through the remodeling. The contractor was always reachable and responsive to my questions. This is the third time I used BZ Construction and can vouch for their dependability, the quality of their work and the good-natured, and knowledgible men who are part of the construction team.

We had sustained roof damage from Hurricane Irene in the summer of 2011. There was a large section of the main roof where the shingles had noticeably shifted. We had Mr. Ronen Zangi provide us with an estimate to fix the damaged portion of the roof, which we accepted. When he arrived to do the work, he inspected the roof and found that the reason for the shingles moving was due to improper nailing. It was evident at that point that the shoddy work, which had only taken place five years earlier had to be corrected. Further, after removing the existing roof covering, it was discovered that the boarding on the roof was brittle and had many breaks due to it's age. It was necessary to install half inch plywood over the entire roof in order to make the new roof secure.

During the entire process Mr. Zangi kept us informed, and did not pressure us to upgrade the work being performed. His workers operated professionally and kept the work site clean and free of debris.

The work required about 6 weeks. and they were on time and on budget.

See above. I had not expected to have to do this work, but am very grateful that the problems that were causing moisture in my attic were discovered and repaired before there was more damage. I thought the masonry work was beautiful. I would recommend them highly.

B Z Construction Inc

B Z Construction, are reliable, dependable, clean, polite, not the cheapest but you get what you pay for. They have done a ton of work on my house, re-built stairs outside, painting, repair and replacing doors, and are still doing more work. If they make a mistake they come right back and fix it, they are very honorable and I won't use anybody else as long as I live. I love them they are fantastic, and I highly recommend them.

They did a really wonderful job. They came up with an idea. They also did a stone work on the drive way to the garage and they did a beautiful job on that. It was kind of check of thing and at the same time they were doing the street work as well. Their price is little high but it is fine because of the thought, the consideration and the conversation they have for what works for you. One thing that I really appreciated is that lot of people had come and had a look at the job but they did a beautiful job of costing out at paper. They wrote everything down and it was really wonderful to look at. It was kind of easy to track things down for the job cost. Their price was reasonable. In terms of call back, show up they were excellent. Punctuality was fine. Their professionalism was absolutely wonderful. They are very thorough, very precise and care about the work they do. Their conversations and the way they manage things is very good.

Seamless - from conversation about what was best to do, to worktime, prompt, worksite, clean - no loud music! Courteous workers.

Came when they said, got right to work - quiet - did the job - cleaned up. No hassles. Excellent job on their estimates - write up clear and thorough. Cost comparable - would hire again, anytime.

Very fast. Spent more than initially planned but it was one of those old house issues where as they took off the old roof and siding they found more issues so we approved the additional work.

Ronen and his partner David are very knowledgeable and friendly. They do quality work. They can do all kinds of renovation indoor and outdoor. They will give you many options to choose from. They started and finished the work on time. It took them 5 days. The railing is set up to code. It looks very nice and sturdy. They were careful not to step too much on the perennials bed in the front of the house.