1st Choice Carpentry

unknown

Mr. Laursen and his girlfriend Crystal Mushero came to my home and gave an estimate to install a metal roof on my home.  They spent a lot of time talking and bragging of the great work that Steve and his crew do and about how busy and desired he was as a contractor.  After the estimate Steve asked me to sign a contract.  I did sign the contract but he did not give me a copy of that contract.  He asked for a deposit of $2500 to purchase the materials and get started.  We got a rainy start to the summer and that delayed the start of the project as well as my boyfriend working nights that limited the start up.  The crew arrived on and began the work on 6/1 and did not quite half of the roof.  They let half way through the day as it was a very hot day.  The following day, Crystal arrived at my home and explained that she had pulled her crew off the roof the previous day due to the heat.  She complained several times that the company was not making a lot of money off this project and that the materials were very expensive.  She asked for more money to pick up the rest of the materials.  I wrote her a check for the remaining balance.  That was the last time I saw Crystal.  There were many promises made by phone as to when they would arrive to finish the job and none of those promises were followed through on.  My boyfriend ran into them at an area business and asked when they would be back and they made more promises.  Again they still did not arrive to finish the job.  I have called them multiple times...both Steve and Crystal and have returned no phone call back from them.  I have since heard from other customers of their that have had similar issues with this company and with Steve and Crystal.  I have begun legal actions against them....my lawyer has called and received no call back and I have sent registered mail to them that has been unanswered. 
Please be cautioned that these two are very smooth talkers and don't appear to mind taking advantage of anyone willing to trust them. 
This particular address lists them as 33 Water Street in Milford, but they move all over and seemingly where ever they need to move to to avoid getting confronted by the clients that they have taken advantage of.  They stated their address as Lincoln when talking with us and receive their mail at a P.O. Box in Lincoln.  More recently they have advertised as doing business in the Waterville area so they may possibly be living down there.  BEWARE!!!!!  They could be anywhere!!!!!!

I contacted Steve Laursen to discuss a new garage and breezeway we wanted to add onto our home.   He got right back to me and we set up an appointment to meet to draw up a plan.  Steve arrived at the scheduled time and we took measurements and discussed the layout.  He said he would have a drawing to show us soon. On April 16, 2012, I wrote that I was looking forward to Steve's drawing with the changes and mentioned that in the recent storm we had noticed that some shingles had loosened and blown off the new roof.  Steve replied the next day that that was what you get when you try to save a buck by not stripping the roof to the sheathing.  He asked if we were available that weekend.  I wrote back on April 17, 2012 to inform him that I had received his bid and to say we were not available that weekend and could we reschedule for the next weekend?I did not hear from Steve for approximately 4 weeks.  During that time I called several times with no luck in getting a return call.  Finally, Steve's wife called to say that Steve was away due to a death in his family.  She then asked about the garage addition and I told her he would have to speak to my husband about that.  We had decided to accept other estimates for the garage/breezeway work due to his non-communication.Steve called finally and gave us a date that he would come to repair the roof on the barn.  He came when he said he would and repaired the roof himself.  It was sometime toward the middle of May, I believe.Steve completed the roof repair and did a quality job as he always does.He did not get the garage/breezeway job.

Steve (the owner) was prompt returning my call the first time and came across immediately as competent and trustworthy. Communication by email was also prompt and effective.  His quote significantly undercut the one I already had.  We agreed on specifics, he provided a clear contract, I signed it, paid the 1/3 up front and we got started.  His crew was competent and obviously very experienced and got everything done in a day (as requested and promised) except for the last few caps which were unavailable because they had already bought everything the local retailers had in stock.  This was late Friday, so they had to wait for the local supplier to order and receive more caps.  They were back on the roof for just a couple of hours on Tuesday morning to finish, then gone completely soon after that.

The final result was exactly as desired by me and promised by him, including thorough cleanup of all debris from the work.

It doesn't get much better than that.

The job went very smoothly. Job was completed in less than 3 days. We had some rain and this delayed the process. Steve; the owner, was very informative with all of my questions. He showed me the correct way to install architectural shingles. There were no shingles at the end of each row that had a tab showing less than 3". By that, I mean the chances of a short strip coming off (via wind or ice/snow) are slim. I've heard of some home owners complaining (with other contractors) of finding these little strips outside around their homes. NOT WITH STEVE. He did it right! If the shingle had to be shortened up in the run of a row; it was done -  CORRECTLY! I had a bad design on my walkout basement - doghouse roof. The roof was up too close to my bathroom window and the step flashing was installed wrong. The window had to come out and new studs -  plus sheathing, had to be reinstalled. Its fixed right now. Steve corrected the problem " the right way " and now all is good. GREAT JOB! 
His crew did a excellent job with stripping the roof and with the cleanup around the my house. They did not waste any time during the work performed. They jumped right into it and got it done! All pleasant guys to talk to as well.
Overall - A pleasure to do business with. Very knowledgable and competent with his work. He knows his stuff! Thanks Steve!

We had a rough start to what eventually turned out very well and to our satisfaction.  The job was scheduled to start  between Monday and Wednesday, July 18th-20th.  No one showed up that whole week and we received no phone call.  I finally called that weekend to see what was going on and was told the owner had a family emergency and was away.    On Monday, the 25th, they came to leave their equipment and set up scaffolding and said they'd be back tomorrow to start.  Tuesday came and went and on Wednesday I called to see when they would be starting our job. I was told they were enroute and would be there shortly.  They finally arrived around 11:00 and got to work.  Unfortunately, it rained off and on most of the day and as the afternoon wore on, the rain got harder and harder, making it dangerous to go up onto the roof ( it's about 40-45 ft. high at the peak)  They knocked off about 3:00 saying they would make a goal to get here by 7:00 AM on Thursday.  They arrived about 8:30 on Thursday and got right to work.  The two roofers were organized and worked well together, moving right along.  They worked all day with only a short break while still on the roof, for a quick snack, and much later, they stopped for lunch.   They worked until 9:00 PM and finished all but two small pieces of fascia wrap, picked up most of their equipment and cleaned up the area as best they could in the dark.  They said they would return in the morning to finish and clean up the rest.  They returned around 10:00, finished what remained, loaded their equipment and  cleaned up the premises.  While on our job, all the workers were courteous, respectful and tolerant of our dogs, who love people. We are extremely happy with the quality of this company's work and will definitely call them back again in the future.