CECIL CONSTRUCTION CORP

We obtained 4 estimates for this job and chose to go with Brad's because the price was the second lowest we were quoted and we were comfortable with him and felt he understood our goals for the job. He met us at Lowes to receive the signed contract. Per our contract, we were to supply all of the items for the room, he would provide all construction materials. At Lowes, Brad looked at some of the items we were considering and provided useful feedback. Brad gave us an estimated date he expected to begin the job and told us that he expected to begin work within a week or two of the date he provided to start work. He told us to begin purchasing our items and make sure to inspect each to make sure they were in good condition and ready to install. We were told to expect that upon completion of the job, he would conduct a walk through so that any issues we may have would be resolved before he left and final payment was due. *My husband and I wanted to have city permits for the work and if you do, you must make sure to say so. (All of the contractors we received estimates from, including Brad were willing to do the work without permits). Brad picked up our bathtub when it arrived at Lowes and delivered it to our home about 2 weeks before the job was initially set to begin. He told us then that the job before ours was running long and he would likely start our job about two weeks late but assured us he would obtain our permits in the meantime. Three weeks passed and we did not hear from Brad so we called him to check in. He said that he had not obtained our permits yet, the job began about 4-5 weeks after the date he provided when the contract was signed. Brad arrived on time each day (around 7:30-8am) and usually took about 30 minutes to discuss the status of the job and what he expected to do each day. We appreciated that he was conscientious to install our bathtub quickly, as we only have one bathroom. We were only without use of our bathtub for about two days. Because my husband and I work during the day, Brad and his assistant worked in our home without our being present, we provided them a key and they locked up each day. (I believe that he can be trusted to conduct himself respectfully in anyone's home without monitoring and this meant a lot to my husband and I). Unfortunately, midway through the job, Brad told my husband that he was going on a week long vacation with his family, a plan which we had previously been unaware of and which prolonged the job. When Brad returned the following week, permit inspectors began to come through. Brad complained to us constantly about the permit inspectors during our morning conversations, which is not the kind of thing you want to deal with when you are just trying to get out of the house to get to work in the morning. As the job progressed it was apparent that Brad had not sufficiently acquainted himself with the permit requirements in our city. Brad placed our vanity cabinet and vanity top and had to move it to comply with the orders of the inspector, at which time we learned that one of our walls crooked. The vanity top was set against the crooked wall and in order to comply with the permit a line of spackle had to be placed between the side of the counter top to fill the gap between the counter and crooked wall. The end look was certainly not what we expected and if unavoidable, it may have been nice to be prepared in advance. Brad worked at our home half of the week toward the end of the job. He told us that he would use the remainder of the week to stain our wooden bathroom door to match the other room and closet doors in our house. Brad told us that he would begin the following week installing the door. On the following Monday, Brad called my husband and said he would be arriving at the house around noon. Throughout the job, Brad normally left the house by 3:30 or so, well before my husband and I were home from work. When I arrived home from work at around 7pm, Brad was still in the house, putting the first coat of stain on the uninstalled bathroom door. I went about walking the dogs and when I got back home, my husband had just arrived home from work and said Brad was gone and told him that we should send the final payment. We had not done the walk through with Brad so I went in to the bathroom and looked at all of the things that my husband and I had been making note of which needed more attention (scuff marks on walls, thin paint on trim and on walls, uneven paint on ceiling and hardware that was not installed per our contract). I called Brad and told him that I would be happy to send the final payment and asked if he planned to return at some point to do the walk through. He seemed irritated and said that if he was coming back, it would be that evening (now 8:45pm). My husband and I, both just home from work had not eaten dinner yet and were surprised by Brad's attitude but agreed to do the walk through to get it over with. Brad came in with an attitude and when we showed him the few things we noted that still needed attention he was clearly annoyed. We were diplomatic and polite about our requests but Brad seemed to take it personally. In a huff, Brad said that if he was going to make the changes, he would do it right then. At about 9:30pm, he was done. A bathroom fan we purchased in preparation for the start of the job ended up being found unsuitable when Brad installed it, but because the job was not started on time, were were unable to return the fan for refund because the return period expired. Preparing to fill out the check for final payment I told Brad that I would like him that we were not able to return the fan because of the time that lapsed between the date the job was to initially have begun and when he actually began the work. I asked Brad to deduct the cost of the bathroom fan (about $100) from the final payment and he refused. I insisted that he consider it and provided him the receipt for the fan to show the purchase date, return policy and cost of the fan and told him he was welcome to keep the unit if he wished. Brad became extremely argumentative and inappropriate. He blamed my husband for not picking up on the fact the when he left earlier, he did not intend to return and said that if we wanted a walk through, my husband should have asked for it before. I reminded Brad that throughout the job he and I were the ones in communication on the status of the job at which point he looked at my husband and said something derogatory about the relationship between my husband and I. I provided him final payment, less the cost of the bathroom fan and he left. Needless to say, my husband and I were not happy customers that day, we were stunned at Brad's behavior as it was not representative of our experience to date. All in all, the bathroom looks okay and 8 out of 10. For the most part, we got what we expected in terms of the outcome. (The bathroom door wasn't stained to match the other doors in our house as promised (I think he only did one coat of varnish the last day and it shows.) Several months after the job was done one of the bullnose tiles around the inner rim of our bathroom windows was found to have a hairline crack. Per the contract, we called Brad to let him know about the cracked tile. We left him a voice mail message and he did not return the call for several days but when he did, he agreed to come out and replace the damaged tile. My husband and I are looking to remodel our kitchen now and my husband asked Brad to give an estimate on the kitchen when he came to replace the tile, Brad agreed. Our thought was that we know what to expect with Brad, his price is reasonable so we were interested in the price he would quote. We weren't sure we wanted to go there with him again but we were interested in the estimate at least for informational purposes. Brad came to replace the tile (no charge) and well done. When he was finished I asked him if he had time to give the kitchen estimate. In a confrontational tone he said he thought that we didn't like his work. I explained that it was not his work but the way he conducted himself on the last day of the job that we disagreed with. He declined to provide the estimate. (awkward!) My overall impression is that Brad lacks a certain amount of professionalism and maturity. He has difficulty receiving constructive feedback and when he does he will respond confrontationally. Clearly, we may have considered using him again because our experience was not all bad. There is a certain lack of forthcomingness and accountability that any new customer should be prepared for when working with Brad.