CROWELL CONSTRUCTION & REMODELING

After the paying a $10.000 deposit he showed up only about 4 times within a 3 week period and wasted my time and worried me that was going to take off and disappear with my $10,000. He would hardly ever make or return calls  I had an expert building consultant look at his work and he said that it was being done incorrectly, using the wrong type of wood, poor measurements and vertical beams were not attached at the top. Finally Mr. Crowell returned to me but only to ask for even more money! I refused to pay & told him he was unreliable and an expert consultant deemed his work very inadequate. He became belligerent, denied everything and tried to intimidate me into paying him even more money!. I demanded a full refund, He got very angry and scared me He told me not to do a bad report on him on Angies list. He only very reluctantly returned 2/3 of my money. The next contractor had to tear out all of Crowell's work except for one board! I never saw the other $3000 Crowell owed me for a refund. It was a nightmare.

The quality of work was good just took longer than expected.

Eric did a fabulous job. The work was completed in just 6 work days, and he cleaned up the work area every day. We had full use of our washer and dryer the whole time. He did quick work of moving out the wall and re-installing the closet door. He jackhammered the closet floor and installed a drain, as well as piping the water heater pan into the drain. Getting the drain pipe outside required a lot of work since that area is below grade - but he accomplished the work very quickly and cleanly. He also replaced a leaky faucet in our laundry sink. Upstairs, we had a hole in our hall closet where the previous owners had installed a box holding a tv for the adjoining room. He ripped out the box, patched the wall, and also closed off the wiring serving the TV box - bringing it up to code. Everything was done on time and very professionally. We had good communication except for one hiccup at the beginning. He did not show for the first estimate appointment (that's why the B in responsiveness). We decided to give him another chance to come out and submit an estimate and are very glad we did! We will definitely call him first for any future work.

We were not happy with Eric Crowell. The biggest issue was the floor. We told him that the tile we were using was relatively new. It?s a product by Congoleum - it?s similar to ceramic but it is not ceramic. We told him the name of it. He told that he would go out and research it but he really didn?t. We originally contracted to have the old floor removed. He talked us into just putting down a new underlayment and then installing the tile. When the time came to put down the tile, following the manufacturer?s directions, he used up a gallon of adhesive on about 70 sq. ft. which should have covered 200 sq. ft. He didn?t really understand how to lay the tile, and the underlayment he used was not appropriate for that tile. It was supposed to be a very thin coat because it reacts with the back of the tile. He came on a Friday and put down about 8 tiles, and on Monday, they were still moving. The other issue we had was punctuality. He would call and say that he was coming at 9, and would then call in the morning and say that he would be late; he would come at 10 or 11. He started the job on Tuesday, November the 13th. They took out the wall and reframed it, which was fine. When he came on Wednesday, he stayed for about 2 hours, and he left early saying that Wednesday was his ?early? day. He came on Thursday, all by himself, and he got some work done. I had to help him move the appliances to put down the tile on the floor. On the Friday, he came when they were starting to put down the floor, and was late again. He got a phone call after sometime. He said that he had an emergency and would be back in an hour, and was gone for 3 hours. Fortunately, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because he had only put down 8 tiles. The following Monday, when everything came to a head with the floor, we asked him to take off the tile, forget the floor and finish the wall. We contracted somebody else to come and do the floor. We were concerned that Monday when we said that we didn?t want him to continue the job. At that point, he didn?t even have the drywall up. He went out and got the drywall, came back and completed the drywall. He came back on Wednesday and Friday and finished the wall. The work lasted 13 days. I had no kitchen appliances for 13 days that worked besides the refrigerator in the dining room. He was always friendly and cooperative, and he did a very good job on the wall. His responsiveness was good too. It was just one little thing after another and it just got compounded. After the first day, he always showed up by himself. I think he may have had 2 or 3 other jobs going on at the same time. We had an issue with the price. We had agreed that the price for doing the wall would be $625, and it would be $800 to remove the old floor and install the new. This was not inclusive of the material because we had bought that. I paid half the cost of the job initially, which was $875. I told him that I would split the cost between the $625 and the $875, and he wasn?t willing to do that because he said that he did the prep work for the floor and all that. I told him that I was paying someone else to come and tear it out. At that point, I was just happy to have him leave. The price seemed good initially but I don?t think he was being fair with us with the other part of it. I would not use him again.

I got five estimates. Crowell was the lowest that included everything I wanted to do (There was one other company lower but he said he couldn't give me a full bath; a requirement). I was actually surprised with as much as I needed done, that the estimate came in as low as it did. The negotiated contract price was never waived from (like oh I forgot to include xyz in the contract so it's going to be more; a favorite pastime of some contractors). I was kept in the loop the entire time so I knew what was going on and where things stood. Everything came out beautifully and I'm very happy I did it. I'm also very happy I went with Crowell. I would absolutely recommend Crowell to anyone looking to get remodeling work redone.

I called Eric a week ago, told him what i needed,he said no problem and we set a date.I had all the moulding and corner pcs.,and spacers all painted and ready for them.theyy arrived this morning,set up the mitersaw and started work immediately.Wow was i impressed,beautiful work,made suggestions where moulding would end going into the hall and how to end the moulding .Well jimmy made these great end pcs.,from the moulding to put at the ends.They puttied the very small nail holes(used brad nails,which makes a very small hole)in the moulding,caulked.A very professional finished job.Plus they were friendly answered my questions,gave suggestions as they know the ins and outs of crown moulding.They cleaned up completely after themselves,and put my china cabinet back where it belonged and 2 corner tables.What a team,they were greatttttttt.

Initially, we were told that the job would take about two weeks once the windows were obtained instead it took about two months to complete. Some of the delay was due to weather but others were due, we were told, to Eric not having someone else to work with him on the job. There were three consecutive weeks in which we were told he would be finished and each time he was not finished. The majority of the windows were installed well but the replacement windows looks incomplete and unprofessional. The door he replaced still sticks. We pointed these out to him but he explained it away. In terms of the plumbing we had to double check to ensure the leak was fixed although he said the plumber fixed it but when we checked it the leak still existed. Our contract also included replacing a cracked window which was not complete and he decided that he could not find a proper replacement so we had to deduct the cost of this window in the final payment.

The young men that they sent were very nice and helpful. They were also very cooperative. Their pricing was reasonable. Since the timing didn't matter they just came and went doing the different projects, calling me before they came out. I would use them again.

The job went extremely well. Not only did the work begin and end on time, Eric was a pleasure to work with throughout the project. My wife has a keen eye for detail and workmanship and was extremely pleased with the quality of the project. Eric not only used our ideas, but also suggested some of his own such as a built-in bookcase so as to hide some plumbing from the upstairs. As with all projects there are some bumps in the road and ours was no exception. The electrician that worked with Eric had unexpected illness during his phase of the work, however Eric enlisted someone else to finish that phase of the project within 24 hours. I enjoyed working with Eric and have recommended him to several of my friends and family who have also had the pleasure of working with him. I would not hesitate to use Crowell Construction & Remodeling for any need that should arise

We are writing to recommend the general contacting services of Eric Crowell, Crowell Construction. We hired Eric and his talented carpenters to build two additions to our Towson home: a kitchen and family room. Since our house is nearly 100 years old the project was complex and needed to be approached thoughtfully. I never imagined that four months later when all was said and done.. that my husband and I would be sad to say good bye to Eric as he moved on to another contracting job. Not only was Eric good natured and cheerful he was completely trustworthy. We had very few surprises and Eric brought the project in on time and on budget. These days with financial pressures as great as they are many contractors could be tempted to under bid and then over charge. It is during times like these that Eric Crowell should be your top choice. Mary Sue and Bill, Towson, Maryland

All of the projects that Crowell Construction and Remodeling has done for my family have gone on schedule and have been completed without additional cost or issues that delay the completion. Eric Crowell's ability to understand the project and serve the customer's desires made each of the projects a success.

Overall we have been very pleased with the work. He is also honest with the price and what we should expect and also punctual each day he is scheduled. He also notified us up front that Wednesday would be a half of a day to spend time with his family. His work is very good and we have been using him for the last six years. We would recommend him to others and would not shop around for any other contractors. He has also been very accommodating with our budget and considerate with the time frame and the weather. His main goal is to make sure you are satisfied with the service overall.

It was really great overall. The first job took just a few weeks from design, estimate, permitting, footers, structural work finishing and cleanup. If you need something done HONESTLY-this is he guy you want helping you. No games, no hidden costs, just straight work from a very good guy. Let's help to keep companies like Crowell Construction in business through these tough times.

Eric is more than just our contractor. He has become a friend and adviser when it comes to home remodeling. He was and continues to be honest with us regarding price, timing, and any issues that could arise. Eric remodeled our basement last November and we have hired him back this year to put a 1,000 square foot addition on our house. The basement was a complete mess and Eric made it into a fabulous living space. The basement was chopped up into three different areas and very unusable. Eric built a wall for storage and laundry areas and left an area for entertaining and relaxing. Our addition is in the framing stage and is going very well.