Providence Construction Services

The drawing I Received was not exactly what I was expecting. I was looking for a larger layout that I could use to visualize the proposed changes better. Price was also higher than I anticipated.

We paid for "Big Deal" to get a plan to remodel our master bath. We met with Mr. Schindler, who was pleasant and professional. He was delayed in getting a drawing to us. He let us know it would be two weeks late. However, it was not until 5 weeks after we met with him did we receive our plan. Further, in the plan he moved a wall 1 foot, which engulfed the door to our bedroom making it impossible to enter the bedroom and thus, impossible to enter the bathroom. I wrote an email back to Mr. Schindler and received not response. We did not pursue further and considered the spending of $60 a waste and will not be participating in Angie' Big Deals in the future. We also won't be going to Providence Construction Services for any of our bathroom(we have three) remodeling needs.

Estimate to do a bathroom was $34,000 without any special finishes. Clearly too expensive for my taste

AWESOME. That kind of sums it up. Fran was great to work with. They did a stellar job.

To summarize: Do not use Providence Construction Services. The work was slow, sloppy and disorganized. The contractor did not complete the job. The contractor was difficult to work with.
Here are the details. The initial visit from the owner of Providence went well. We had known the owner casually from church, and he said he could use the work. His quote was competitive and we thought he would give us a good product. We wanted to purchase Ikea kitchen cabinets, which he had never installed before, but he was confident he could do the work. He was given installation guidelines and an installation dvd to review before he started construction. We provided a CAD drawing of the kitchen with dimensions, and a sketch of the overall space. We were given a contract to sign, and we did. An initial schedule was provided allowing 4 weeks for all construction of the new spaces to be demolished and re-built.
We were never given a copy of the signed contract. After 8 weeks of construction, the project was still not complete. We never received schedule updates. The site was not cleaned unless we cleaned it ourselves. The base cabinets were not ready for template even though he knew in advance the date that Norwood Marble and Granite was coming out (and he promised the cabinets would be ready). He did not layout the cabinets correctly, and we had to go back to Ikea to purchase replacement cabinets for the cabinets that he damaged by drilling into them incorrectly. Things were out of square, walls were added that we did not have on the plan (and we were not asked to approve prior to him building them). The details were neglected. He sent his helper away from our job to start another project. He came late most days (8:30/9) even though start time was supposed to be 8, and left most days at 4pm. He took off the day after 4th of July, even though he was running behind schedule. He became defensive every time we asked questions about how work was going to be completed. He argued when we pointed out work that he did wrong - not following the drawings we provided. EVERYTHING was at least 1/4and quot; off.
We paid 2 draws on the project totaling $18,000.00 plus $1,175.00 in extra charges to the plumber and electrician. We were given 2 bills for extra work due on receipt even though our contract terms were 1/3, 1/3, and balance due upon completion. When we questioned the extra charge of 9 hours for framing and drywall of a 5' by 9' wall (which we observed only took 3 hours at the most because the electrician was here at the same time to install an outlet on the wall), he refused to question his helper who performed the work. He packed up the materials and tools and left the job. We found out later that the sub-contractors had been paid in full for their work. The electrician came back and finished the job. We had to pay a new plumber to complete the plumbing because the plumber did not return our phone calls. Providence Construction sent us a bill for an additional $2,500.00 because he is choosing to ignore the contract and changed it to a and quot;time and materialsand quot; bill, charging us for drill bits, saw blades, and other materials that he took with him to name a few of the items. Then he charged us as if he paid the electrician for the extra electrical work, when in fact we paid the electrician directly for that work.
We had other carpenters came through to give us estimates to complete the work. We were told it would take at least 40-60 hours time and materials to finish the work. And no one could start for at least 3 weeks. My husband is handy and had tools, so he took apart the cabinets, fixed the walls and floors, and then finished the installation. I painted everything. We went back and forth to hardware stores and Ikea buying items to finish as much of the job as we could. The reputable contractor we hired to finish the work we can't do is available to start in September. We both took a week off from work to get our kitchen ready for the second countertop template appointment.
Providence Construction left a family of 4 with an unfinished space - no kitchen, no powder room. Here is a detailed list of the work he didn't do:
-unfinished plumbing
-unfinished electric
-no gas line for the range
-no heat in the new space
-cabinets not level with shims sticking out everywhere
-walls not square
-flooring not finished or trimmed
-no base trim
-window apron installed too wide so the faucet could not be installed
-no vinyl siding around the newly installed smaller windows, just exposed wood
-the exterior frame and sash still in place, not properly removed when the new window was installed (just plywood filling the gap between the new window and the old sash)
-storm door taken off and laying on the deck outside
-exterior door jamb cut at the bottom (needs to be completely replaced now)
-100 year old wainscot ripped out on a wall that was not to be touched (he didn't repair it)
-a gash in our refrigerator cabinet end panel
-trash thrown in a knee-wall
-100-year-old trim around our dining room door ripped off and thrown out (which he didn't need to touch)
-no kick-plates or cabinet trim
-no knobs on cabinets
-no range hood
-no toilet or sink
-no dishwasher installed
-nothing painted to completion - walls and ceiling were only primed

A floor plan with an estimate was provided a few weeks later.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that I purchased. It was supposed to be a full set of plans and I got a little drawing. It was like a hand drawn thing that you see drawn on a napkin. It wasn't anywhere close to what I expected. He said he got overwhelmed with it. It took 3 weeks from the time he came to get the design. It was nothing special; it was something I could have drawn. They were nice. He was on time getting here but way off in getting me the drawing. They are way overpriced on their quotes.

He cleaned up well, and did quick work. Quality of the work was pretty good. Would use him again. On time, and very professional.

Update:
He was supposed to come back to take care of a toilet seat that was installled wrong. He never came back.

He did a good job. He could have balanced and re-enforced the fan, but it was done well.

Went fine. Quick, prompt.

Went very well. Very happy with the results.

The project was completed on time. He keeps you informed of the progress. Next and clean and honest.

The company arrived on-time and finished before the estimated time frame. The garage was clean and the ramp looked great. I am looking forward to starting another project and will definitely use their services again.

Everything went great, very clean and dependable.

Fran does amazing work. He is prompt, courteous, professional, and left my kitchen clean when he was finished for the day. His time estimate for the work was very accurate, and you can't even tell there was a build-out above my cabinets for nearly 60 years.