Custom Built Design & Remodeling

VERY POORLY. The lack of response from the beginning should have been my first indication that they were not a company I should hire. It took sending them a second email inquiring if someone was going to contact me, since that's what it says on their generic email response. I finally received a call from Michael Foley about 5 days later. I had about a 25 minute conversation with Michael to discuss about our deck repair needs. As he tried to inquire exactly what services we need from Customer Build, I explained that we are interested in getting quotes for possibly three stages: small (repair), medium (repair and update), and large (repair, update, and possible addition to the deck). I explained to him that my husband and I have ideas but we're unsure as to which direction we were going to take. That's why we had wanted them to come and discuss the options. Michael and I set an appointment (7/28 between 4:30 pm - 5 pm, due to another appointment he had). Fast-forward to 7/28. I had called Michael about 3:15 pm, to inquire if he was still planning to come between the agreed times. I mentioned to him that I hoped it was closer to 5 pm, due to the fact that my husband was running a bit behind schedule. I informed him that should he come closer to 4:30, and my husband and I are not there yet, Bob will be there to meet with him. Michael had asked who Bob was. I let him know that he is a dear family friend, who is very familiar with what we are looking regarding our the deck projects. Michael, all of a sudden, became very suspicious as to why we would have Bob there. He asked again why he needs to be there. Ignoring the rudeness of the question, I told him that Bob is a close family friend, whose opinion my husband and I value; and as I had explained, is very familiar with what we're looking for with the project. I also assured him that as agreed upon, my husband and I will be there - we might just be running behind schedule. Unfortunately, my husband's delay caused us to come home closer to 5 pm. As I was approaching our house, I noticed a car driving away from our house, and I saw Bob shaking his head. When we approached Bob and I asked if that was Michael driving away. He said that it was. Naturally, we inquired what had happened. According to Bob, Michael seemed very annoyed that we weren't there. Bob reiterated to him the situation and let him know we were on our way. Bob continued saying he showed Michael the areas of repairs we needed on the deck and possibly what we were thinking, in terms of updates. Per Bob, Michael didn't really ask questions. Apparently, after 10 minutes of being there, Michael's associate arrived. According to Bob, he was the "salesman" of the team. We asked Bob if this associate asked questions, he said that he didn't. After about 30 minutes, Michael indicated that he didn't think Custom Build will be able to help us with the project. Bob mentioned that all Michael focused on was that I told him that I would be there and I'm not. Needless to say, my husband and I were a bit confused, considering I called him ahead of our appointment to explain the situation. As soon as Bob was done going through what had happened, my phone rings and sure enough it was Michael. First thing I did was apologize for being late. Being commute traffic, it was hard to go at a faster speed. Michael responded by accusing me of not being truthful. He mentioned that I didn't keep our agreement of being there, when he came. I reminded him that I called him 1.5 hours ago, and said that there was a possibility of us being delayed. Then he hurled the next accusation saying that I am just not trustworthy. He accused me of lying to him about who Bob was. Michael indicated that Bob did say he was a family friend, but he does some maintenance work for us. Of course, I was taken aback with his vile accusations. He proceeded to question why Bob was even there and kept reiterating that I had lied; therefore, he didn't think Custom Build was going to work with us. EXCUSE ME?!?!? Needless to say, my anger was immediate. I responded with, "How dare you of accuse me of being untrustworthy and a liar? Is this how you treat all your potential clients? I called you with appropriate lead time to let you know we may be running behind. I explained to you who Bob was to us and how we value his opinion. How dare you! To show you that I'm a person of my word, I will pay the consulting fee of $250 for barely 30 minutes of your time. Expect the cheque in the mail!" Michael tried to say that it wasn't necessary to send a cheque and he would not cash it, if it came. I told him I don't care if he will not cash the cheque, but he will still get paid for his time. I told him again I don't want him accusing me of being a person, who doesn't know how to keep an agreement. I mailed him the cheque. Needless to say, our experience with Custom Build is a VERY UNPLEASANT one. I have never been so insulted and called a liar by a potential contractor. Michael Foley was basically so paranoid with Bob being there. Michael couldn't get over the fact that Bob was there to start the meeting. He probably thought that Bob was just there to fish for opinions and suggestions, and then we will have Bob do all the work, which couldn't be further than the truth. Just so the people reading this review understand, Bob is over 70 years old and was the one who suggested we get estimates for our project, including this company. He was there to guide us, in order for my husband and I come to a decision. Bottom line, NO on Custom Build.

Everyone at Custom Built was phenomenal to work with. They were very professional, detail-oriented, and strong/timely communicators. We'll certainly be reaching out to work with them again on future home projects, and would recommend their services to others.

Mike Flory came to the house in early June and gave me an estimate of $2500.00. I gave him a down payment of $1000.00. He said the company was very busy but would fit the job in when possible. In early October, the job was begun. It took the better part of 3 days to complete. Everything looks very good. I am satisfied with the work. I do think it was pretty expensive but I guess that is typical.