Prompt Restoration Inc

I will shorten my version of the horrors I had experience with Prompt Restoration. I am willing to correspond with anyone who like to know more details. The only good part about them is them boarding up my house. I agreed to use them to restore my house as I didn't know of any other contractors, I was not in a position to think clearly after a fire, and I trusted them. It took them 8 months to rebuild a 1,400 square foot rancher home. They used contractors for all the different aspects of the construction. Each contractor did a poor job with many visible problems. I even had to have my home inspected in order to catch everything that needed to be redone correctly. My project manager never explained why it was taking so long and why there would be weeks and noone was there working. I even pointed out items on the insurance list that needed to be done and his words to me was why didn't I tell him sooner. I don't think that was my responsibility. He even told a contractor that I personally hired for landscape work that he knows that they could have done my house quicker and better. This contractor agreed to go to court with me if I had decided to go that route. I tried contacting the owner of the company and could never get through. Also, obviously they teach the assistants to lie because I would get the run around from them. Not once did anyone ask me how I was doing, we understand your frustrations, and this is how the house is progressing, and this is why it is taking so long. The company works with fire and flood restorations. You would think that they would be more sympathetic to the plight that families like mine are going through when experiencing a flood or fire. It would have been nice to receive a friendly phone call from them without me having to contact them first and just checking on how we are, how we are feeling about how the house is going, etc. Here are a few of the problems I had with them: My kitchen cabinets were put up and the screws were not on the studs, so if I had filled the shelves they would have fallen of the wall. They are also crooked. I have a hole that has a plate over it that shows above my stove where they tried to put an outlet. I have a hole with a plate in the ceiling of my laundry room. Not sure why that was there. One of the shower's handles would keep turning and the water wouldn't shut off. The tub would not block up so it can be filled up. The thermostat was placed off center on a while so it is impossible to decorate that wall. They used the original wood from a bookcase that was outside in the elements for 8 months to rebuild my bookcase. My ceiling was taped and it was never sanded so it showed through the paint and the paint was cracking. My bathrooms was not done with the proper type of bathroom paint. No vent for my stove. The list goes on. I am available to discuss this with anyone who is considering Prompt Restoration.

After a house fire in February, the very next day a rep from Board Up, a branch of Prompt Restoration, arrived and did a wonderful job of boarding up the house, restoring electrical service and broken plumbing from freezing that night. Since this rep was so wonderful, kind, and understanding we opted to go with Prompt Resotration for the rest of the process of returning our home to what is was prior to the fire. Within a few days a crew was here to start mitigation and clean up. They were fantastic. and answered our questions and worked around us as we sorted through the mess for our belongings. About six months later the restoration was finally started. At first it went smoothly, but went downhill from there. The project manager was nice but not experienced. There was a great deal of confusion among the crews as to what was to be done, some work was poorly done, there was no continuity between different crews (electrical, plumbing, painters,etc.), and we had to call them back to rectify problems many times. The flooring was the biggest issue. The bath floor had to be completely reinstalled and the living room flooring (laminate) kept buckling. The painters also did not use drop clothes and we have lot of paint and joint compound splatters. I would not recommend them for anything except the mitigation and clean up.

When our house caught fire in January 2011, Prompt Restoration Inc. showed up along with other companies. Their rep was polite, unlike other companies who got in our face and tried to make us sign papers that we had no idea about. So they came in, boarded up the property, hauled out the junk and helped us salvage a number of things and put into their storage. So far, so good. We were told storage would cost us $100 per month. Then the insurance company paid them to do a "scope of work" detailing the dollar amounts to replace the damaged property. Since it was March til the insurance company actually approved the maximum amount (216,000) allowed under the policy, we decided let PRI do the rebuild, since it would be another number of weeks til we could get a quote from another company. We tried getting references for this company and there were very few out there. Only one name they gave us checked out. Another was an employee of the company. We worked very hard with them to come up with a detailed contract that represented reality, eg. sheetrock instead of plaster, shingles instead of slate roof, redesign of the roof to eliminate hard to duplicate details, redesign of the bathrooms and kitchens, etc. It took a lot of back and forth. They contributed some good ideas and helped us fit it into our budget. They were flexible in allowing us to purchase some of the materials--appliances, etc. But we never got any layout drawings to approve and some assumptions were made that later became problems. We finally signed a contract in the middle of July that said they would complete the project six months from the date of the permit. Anxious to begin, they started demolition in July and laid OSB subfloor upstairs (and almost got a $900 fine for doing so). We insisted that they not lay any more OSB, as we heard bad things about it, and the contract indeed stated plywood. But we left the upstairs as it was. August 23 the permit came through. The roof was still covered with a tarp, but by now had a gaping hole in it. We requested a new tarp, but they refused, saying there was no insurance left to cover it. Another $500 it would take. Along came Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. They did put a new tarp on, but the damage had been done. The inside of the house was soaked for days and mold was growing everywhere. Both sets of steps ruined. All the OSB subfloor had swelled at the joints. Next thing you know they are laying new interior walls over top of moldy subfloor. Then wiring appeared. They never gave us layout drawings to approve or asked us preferences of outlet and switch placement. We just had some extra time and ran the wiring that was required by code, they said. But this is not what most contractors do. There actually were quite a few things they could have avoided if we could have had an intelligent discussion first. The response to the mold was appalling. As it began to dry out, one of them commented, "I don't see any mold." And they said they would just bring a floor sander to level out the ridges in the uneven OSB subfloor. And we will spray a sealer over the wood and it will contain the mold. We researched this and this is not acceptable mold remediation technique. You do not lay new wall plates over moldy wood. We finally issued a stop work order. (A day later they were still frantically trying to remove moldy wood from the basement that should have been removed right after the storms.) They are certified mold removal company. They should not have needed us to point out the fact that the whole house needed treatment, and not just superficially. So they treated the whole house and replaced the OSB with plywood as stated in the contract. But they said we would have to be responsible for mold treating the basement for about $6,000, since it was constantly leaking water and would allow mold to grow anyway. We reluctantly agreed. Later we had the insurance company come in and re-evaluate the mold treatment job in the basement. They found it to be insufficent and we had to get another company in that uses baking soda blast instead of palm sanders to remove the mold from the wood. (PRI didn't even remove the nails and pipes and ducts. How could they possibly have removed all the mold? Yet they sent a paper saying the house passed inspection. Hmm.) Now it is December 2011 and we are wondering when they are going to the waterproofing job in the basement. Then their generator got stolen. So they told us for an additional $1600 we could have them put in temporary electric power. Stunned that they never envisioned doing this from the beginning, we refused. What were you planning to do in the first place, we wondered? Windows weren't ordered til January 8. A number of miscommunications there. Then when they came, there were some surprises--two windows filling a space where we had discussed three, etc. And the installers chipped a number of the corners off. Really stood out when they put up the blue siding, but what could we do? Front door supposed to have been ordered before Christmas. Not in until March. Siding came second week of March. Sat for a week because the installers never knew it was there. The siding was HardiePlank siding and the subs they hired to install it did not know all the proper techniques to install it. We had to stop them because they had not installed flashing around the first few windows. Made them tear off and redo. Front roof shingles on lower roof are sloppily laid. Had to stop the siding guys midway because they had not put in the proper attic vents. Had to buy them from Home Depot ourselves because PRI not around. Also noticed the roofline is uneven due to one of the roof joists being a half inch out of line. Bad miscommunication on the style of framing around the windows. Lack of attendance on the job a huge problem. They make their living off responding to emergencies, not sticking with big jobs til they are finished. Our project coordinator once told us he has about 30 houses going at one time. No wonder things went south. Our notes indicate a week in March and a week and a half in April where no one showed up to work. Our neighbors commented that they would show up for a few hours and then leave. They were not impressed with this company. Our attic plywood went missing. Their people took it, but wouldn't admit it. A dumpster hit the neighbor's fence, damaging it. The company tried to deny it. They removed our metal back porch roof to work on the house. Later, when time came to reinstall, they said the had lost it. Never asked us what type of roof we wanted put back--it just appeared one day in July. We had to keep reminding them of things that were in scope--basement plumbing and electrical wiring, removal of all old pipes, the woodstove chimney. Permits ran out several times and they had to renew. We had to remind them to post the main permit on site. Sheetrocking began the beginning of August. Another mess. There were bowed studs, unfinished wiring and framing issues that we were supposed to discuss on a Monday, but they began sheetrocking on a Saturday. Luckily we caught them before they got too far. They stole items out of our garden while working. They worked fast and furiously, but made mistakes. Uneven wavy corners. Holes for switchboxes cut too large. Sheetrocked the basement when scope called for paneling. Painters were ok and trim carpenters were above average--communicative and responsible. HVAC guy seemed to know what he was doing. Plumber was alright. Electrician ok, but jumped the gun too much and had to redo. For example, put in a 150 panel when it should have been a 200 amp as per contract. The company that was supposed to help us lay out our kitchen cabinets was so lame that finally went to Lowe's and ordered them ourselves. These subs would have been much better off if they had a blueprint to work from. We could have approved the drawings, then they would not have had to make so many corrections along the way. We became the de facto job supervisors because PRI had a dysfunctional method of job supervision. Storage fees were a battle. We got a bill that was incorrect; it had to be corrected. Way overcharged. Then they billed us for $200 a month, but we insisted that the first bill was based on $100 a month, and that if there were a change in policy, we should have been notified. We basically felt that we should not pay for any more storage beyond the six month deadline for house completion. Around the beginning of October PRI wanted the third payment under the contract. But we had warned them in an April letter that we considered them to have been the main cause of delay and that we would indeed see to it that the $125 a day late penalty would be applicable to them. The project was 8 months past due. Our family is stuck in a small rowhouse, which we were going to sell, but now cannot. The insurance money we had to help with living expenses in the meantime is long gone. We calculated that about $17,000 in late penalties had accrued and deducted it from the third payment. This triggered a response from their lawyer and a meeting. The owner of the company declared that he was not going to pay any late fees and wanted to simply finish the project for the stated amount. We were prepared to negotiate and tried various proposals, all of which were refused. We then declared breach of contract and went with another contractor. PRI has been uncommunicative since, and we believe is holding our stored items hostage. Lessons learned: always get two estimates, even on big jobs; ask questions and never assume; do not underinsure your property; insist on several references and go see samples of your contractor's work; let your insurance company know how your contractor is performing.