College City Design / Build Inc

Finally made a schedule when asked, but schedule was blown in the first two weeks, a project projected to take 4 months took 10 months. Said that they only worked with long term employees and few subs. They subbed ALL of the work and never follow-up to inspect. Framing had to be redone in at least 2 spots to actually install both the siding and deck. Ended up calling back every sub multiple times to fix things, as going through College City was a waste of my time. Siding and roofing was a joke, had to call both back multiple times to actually redo gutters, drip edge and all places where siding met the roof - basics for good roofing and siding companies -- again all subs to CC. They did pay for the inspection I had done to assess roof work before and after redo, but that was a battle to get them to acknowledge their lack of oversight.

College City flunks out. This company was more like fraternity row. The level of disrespect and carelessness only continued to grow. The owner could have cared less about how his brand was being represented and instead blamed the homeowner for every failing of his project manager Buzz ( they only have 2 pm so you get a 50/50 chance of getting this guy.)On day one they caused the ceiling to leak because Buzz forgot the premise of the remodel. Then Buzz put the plumbing on the wrong wall because "he forgot". Then the carpenter installed things blatantly crooked and required three visits to fix. Then they forgot to have the painter come out until everything was installed, thus requiring three sessions to fix paint that was done sloppily or not at all. They has no idea when employees didn't show up without us telling them.Then they hung the lights upside down requiring another visit. When things were questioned the pm Buzz would blow it off, say he forgot or yell at me in my own home saying;" I don't care" over and over. Buzz then mistakenly sent derogatory texts to me that were intended to other employees about us. When I brought that to the attention of the company, they also couldn't care less that this is how paying customers are treated. When we thought it was finally over, the plumbing didn't work so an inspector and plumber needed to come out. The company tried to blame us until the plumber said it was most likely them leaving the drain uncovered during the project that caused the inevitable. Just another careless step by this company. When our concerns were expressed ,and rightly so, there was never accountability even though at time they would apologize. When we brought another tradesmen in he was disgusted by the sight he saw and the carelessness. So much for "treating us like we were the only one they were working with." Perhaps since out remodel wasn't bringing in as much $$ we were not as important? When my mom fell on their tart breaking her hip, we learned from the caregivers that they should have been able to take it down each night, but chose not to. They were told at signing not to smoke on premise due to severe allergy ( epipen) and they did it anyway because Buzz for got to tell anyone. The list goes on.Perhaps they shouldn't take on more clients than they can remember. MY advice is to skip the college boys and go to the professionals.

College City cannot stand behind their work 16 years later. If you do not want to worry about if your home will be safe in 16 years, do NOT choose College City as your builder. We chose this newer builder (started in 2002) after we canceled a contract with another builder who we learned was not solid and would have issues with our home down the road. Unfortunately College City is the same and will not work stand behind the contractors they choose to do the work on your home. Because of this we are now stuck with mold in our walls of at least half of our windows (so far as this is where we can see evidence without removing trim/framing). We closed on our home with College City as our builder on 11/20/2003 (one day before they became accredited with the BBB on 11/19/2003). We thought there was an issue with our windows early on as there was mold on the window extended jamb/stool (bottom window ledge/board touching the vinyl window to the casement (decorative frame). They came out, assessed and told us there were no issues, we had quality windows. I remodeled our main floor bathroom a year ago. I tried to bleach and sand the mold away. It just would not go away. I decided to seal the wood with an oil base poly to lock in the mold (safe). Then last weekend, I'm remodeling my daughter’s room. I decided to remove and reframe the window this time because I knew that sanding the wood to remove the mold would not be effective. Unfortunately, there is black mold around all four sides of the studs and on the vinyl. I immediately stopped work as our son is very allergic to mold (allergy tested/confirmed). I left two voicemails for Darin Pavek at College City. He returned my call. The discussion included a summary of our home and situation. I offered to send pictures, Darin dismissed my offer, asking questions and taking notes like type of window (brand and vinyl) and trim is birch (they charged us for maple, but installed birch as it’s cheaper –whole home!). Anyway, I asked for help with the why this would happen…Darin danced around moisture and the wood got wet…very dismissive of humoring that there was an issue. At one point he told me it may be moisture that marked the wood at one point…no necessarily mold. I told him I know what mold is, it’s black, thicker towards the outside of the home, and peppered/speckled as it grows further towards the inside of our home; not wood that was wet at one point. Hindsight, he was never interested in helping in the first place as he did not want to see the pictures…instead said I don’t know it’s mold. Darin then said there is no warranty on the home 17 years later, so he does not know what to tell me. I told him I was not asking for a dollar, I was asking for root cause as he is the expert, not me. He said he was thinking about how to help me. I said then help me understand what caused this, what is wrong. He mentioned not having the home wrapped –it was and an air-to-air exchanger was required then too, which we run all winter. At one point he mentioned R factor of the windows (efficiency to protect against inside/outside temps). I said there is nothing wrong with my windows. The windows are warrantied for 20 years, I sure would not expect to find mold outside the windows after only 16 years. Darin told me the technology now is different and better. I asked if he was saying everyone on my block and who built with them over 16 years ago would have mold too because the quality was not there then and it didn’t make sense as the homes are not that old. Later I asked who installed my windows? He said “that was 17 years ago, we don’t have any records from that long ago, don’t store them that long.” We don’t keep records?!?! He then told me he was going to let me go. I asked Darin if his new customers would be concerned that College City cannot stand behind their product/installers 16/17 years later and know that their home will be safe from mold, life threatening risk. I asked him to help me understand, told him I would never want someone to feel the way I do right now and all potential College City customers should know to choose a builder who will choose a quality installer and stand behind their product, their brand, their livelihood. It does not get more personal than your family and knowing you have a safe home. College City will not stand behind their choice of installers, reputation and will dismiss your concerns, even health related risk.

unknown

Home was poorly constructed in 1999 by College City. They attempted to fix the issues in 2004, but did not do so according to code. House is now 40+% full of moisture in the interior walls. Wife has come down with severe mold allergies and home is rotting and full of ants. Paved family will not do what is right to remedy the situation.

Everything went very well. 13 windows and 3 sliding doors were put in in one day. Roof done in one day. Siding was done quickly. Had some minor issues that were resolved immediately. Great to work with.

College City provided some design options, some preliminary sketches, and a pretty comprehensive budget. We ultimately chose a different vendor but were pleased overall with College City.

We bid 5 contractors for the job and decided on College City based on our belief that they would provide the best service and quality. While they weren't the lowest cost, the bid and design proposal process were very professional and were far superior to the other bidders. Overall, we are very happy with the final product. Regarding the various elements of the project, the window replacement, construction of the porch and design updates, painting, and stone installation were outstanding. We ran into a few bumps in the road related to the quality of work provided by College City's siding subcontractor. To College City's credit, after seeing the mistakes made by the sub, they replaced the subcontractor and ensured that all the issues were resolved. The entire College City team were great to work with, especially Jeremy Hussey (sales), Jennifer (designer) and David Pavek (owner) . We recommend College City and would use them again.

Dale from College City came to our home to meet with us and get ideas about what we were thinking of doing. We met with him for at least an hour. He said he would get back to us with plans drawn up from a cabinet company. He got back to us in a week with a detailed estimate and cabinet plans. After thinking about the relative high cost of completely changing the kitchen we decided to some remodeling on a much lesser scale. I called Dale and explained my change in plans. He understood and was very gracious as to our plan change, gave some directional tips and wished us well on our project. The estimate he gave us was very good, however, we just decided we didn't want to spend that much money at this time. I would recommend the company to anyone looking to remodel their kitchen at what I believe was a very fair cost.

I easily admit I am not an easy person to deal with. I am very detailed oriented, controlling, and have low patience. I was very impressed with this business. From the start, Jeremy met with me on time and listened to everything I had wanted. Produced a basic bid with very realistic allowances. (Meaning he did not put down cheap materials to increase the favor of the bid.) The contract was straight forward and very detailed of expectations on both sides. They had an amazing interior designer (Jen) helped me pick out materials and guide me through the selection process. We started work on sept 17 and our job supervisor David P was there often over seeing things. I got a weekly email from him on what they had completed and what they are doing the next week. I believe we finished all the fine details in June which was a bit of a delay but that was because of very poor weather in the start of the project. When dealing with a large remodel it's unrealistic to expect perfection and no hiccups. I expected a nightmare but every problem we ran into (there are always some!) was quickly addressed and worked out in away that I was completely satisfied. For instance my siding started to bubble so I sent a text to David and he was out the next day looking at it and got people out to work on it. In terms of price, I feel I got what I paid... probably more. I would have been under budget but I decided that while I had a trustworthy company out I was going to do more to my home. I could go on, but I think pictures speak for it's self.

Almost painless--very good! They were professional, communicated well and were on time!

Parts of the experience were great, other parts not as great. The estimate, design and selection process all went very well when working with their estimator and designer. Once the project started our experience with our project manager was not as good. Communication was spotty and deadlines were missed. We did not care for one of their subcontractors whatsoever but most of the subs were good and easy to work with. In the end we enjoy our remodel very much and the design is working well for us.

They priced in the middle of the bids. They did a good job of informing us of when things were going to be happening. They let us make the choice on things for our house.

The project was about $100,000. It was on budget, on time and they kept a clean environment. We are very happy with the outcome.