BBC Construction

Two sides of our house were damaged by a hail storm in Sept. 2005. Our house is sided entirely in smooth clear cedar, run vertically. The boards are custom cut tongue and groove. This work was done well by The Gopher Co. Sept. 2006 the other sides of our house were damaged by a tornado. This time we hired R.P.Vogel Co. due to a friendship with the previous owner who was in the process of selling the company to his project manager Bob. We were just trying to "throw some business" their way. R.P. Vogel began the work in May of 2007 and completed it in about Sept. of 2007. Within about two weeks the tongue/groove siding began to separate as if the wood had not dried adequately prior to installation. We immediately notified R.P. Vogel and in the Spring of 2008 they came out to inspect it and agreed with us that it was not acceptable. The contacted their supplier Shaw Stewart Lumber who supposedly sent someone out to also inspect the siding. We were never given access to the Shaw Stewart representative or any paperwork of their finding or agreements with R.P. Vogel. We were told by Vogel that Shaw Stewart had agreed to replace only the siding affected but would not pay for labor of tear off and re-install. Three times we had to wait while Vogel ordered more and yet more wood at different times rather than ordering it all at once. They would get to the bottom of the wood pile and use short pieces rather than ordering more immediately. Some areas look like a patch work quilt. When they did get the two sides re-sided, they filled any gaps they had with wood filler which did not take the stain. On a very large portion of a side near the front door, the stain bubbled because they applied it too early in the morning and then the sun warmed it so they came back a couple of days later and used a circular sander to smooth it out. We were not home but the circular pattern is so clear cut into the cedar that it is obvious what they used. They then stained over the scarred siding and told us it was GOOD ENOUGH !! I was told the same thing when I complained about the wood filler not taking the stain and having any seams or gaps so blatantly obvious. Curiously, they had not used any wood filler when they initially installed the siding in 2007 nor had the Gopher Co. used any on the other two sides of the house. The color and workmanship differences between the sides Vogel did compared to the Gopher company is striking. My husband and I have both called and even gone to their offices in South Mpls. but Bob Kress is never in and never returns our calls. They simply ignore us since we don't owe them any money having paid them in full after they completed the siding the first time in 2007. I would advise anyone to NOT hire this company. I would not even have them build a dog house for me! These are despicable business practices and I am sure that they will be out of business in no time. Fortunately we have Angie's list to warn other homeowners.

When I complained about a certain problem I noticed, he asked why I didn't call right away. The workers were very pleasant. The owner was the problem. After the contract was signed, it just went down hill from there.

They had to be fired from the job and I had to hire lawyers to do it. I had to hire other engineers and contractors to correct and complete the work.

He was very responsive. I hired him to do the work.

Estimator was on time and followed up as promised. Bid a bit too high for our budget.

Vogel's crew was polite and easy to work with, unfortunately the painters were terrible and we asked Vogel to fire them, Vogel violated the contract, Vogel backed his painters and defended them, we took them to arbitration through the BBB and the case was ''settled.'' Would not recommend this company to anyone for any reason. Vogel is a smooth talker and seems easy to trust at first. The company logo is ''putting character into contracting'' - I reminded him that there are more than one types of characters. I joined Angies List specifically to enter this report. I will not read the company's response as there will be a lot of spin, just what I've already experienced with them. I'd be happy to talk with anyone about my experience, as I likely won't be included on their list of previous customers.

They came and did estimate on our basement remodel. It took a couple weeks to get the estimate, and when I told them it was just too high, they came back with a lower estimate. We ended up not using them because of cost restraints; however, they were pleasant to work with and tried their best. If money were no object, they would have been hired.

They went more to code and put on "plywood" on for the roof we have on our house. I respect that they follow the rules and regulations by the city and follow them. They do a tremendous job. They also had someone on their staff that was able to do a small job for us.

THE WORK THAT I HAD DONE WAS VERY WELL DONE. I REALLY ENJOY MY NEW DECK AND I APPRECIATED RP VOGEL'S ABILITY TO PROBLEM SOLVE ISSUES WHEN THEY CAME UP. I LIKED WORKING WITH THE COMPANY AND THEY TREATED BOTH MYSELF AND MY PARTNER WITH GREAT RESPECT. TWO CRITICISMS: FIRST, THERE WERE A FEW TIMES WHEN IT WAS UNCLEAR WHEN THEY WERE GOING TO BE WORKING ON A PROJECT. SOMETIMES THEY WOULD BE UNABLE TO CONTINUE ON OUR PROJECT BUT WOULD NOT INFORM OR FORGOT TO INFORM US. IT WAS A LITTLE FRUSTRATING. SECOND, THEIR BIDS ARE NOT VERY SPECIFIC AND THERE WERE TIMES WHEN THEY WOULD FORGET AGREEING TO CERTAIN SPECIFICS. I NEEDED TO KEEP TRACK OF ITEMS THAT WE HAD AGREED ON. WHENEVER WE DID HAVE A DISAGREEMENT IT WAS SOLVED IN A PROFESSIONAL MATTER. GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF TIME AND MONEY THAT THEY SPENT ON THE PROJECT I WAS SATISFIED WITH THEIR WORK.

THE WORKERS WERE EFFICIENT, HARD WORKING, AND IT WAS CLEAR THAT THEIR PRIORITY WAS TO DO WHATEVER IT TOOK TO MEET MY EXPECTATIONS. ANY TIME I HAD QUESTIONS, THEY MADE SURE TO ANSWER THEM WITHOUT MAKING ME FEEL DUMB. THEY WERE FRIENDLY BUT ALSO MADE SURE THEY ATTENDED TO THEIR WORK. ALSO, THEY WERE VERY CONSCIENTIOUS AND CONSISTENTLY CLEANED UP AFTER THEMSELVES. LAST, THEY ALSO CONSISTENTLY CHECKED IN WITH ME TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING THEY WERE DOING WAS WHAT I EXPECTED.

JOHN WAS ATTENTIVE AND THOROUGH WHEN HE CAME FOR THE ESTIMATE; WE FELT GOOD ABOUT HIM AS HE WAS HONEST AND NOT PUSHY. THE BID WAS MUCH HIGHER THAN OTHERS THUS WE DID NOT GO WITH THEM. HE DID FOLLOW UP TO UNDERSTAND WHY AND WISHED US LUCK.

THE ROOFING WAS DONE BUT THE BACK PORCH ROOF WAS OMITTED. WE HAD INTITIALLED IT ON OUR COPY OF THE CONTRACT. WHEN WE ASKED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE JOB WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE PORCH ROOF, THE PERSON IN CHARGE VERY RUDELY STATED HE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT IT AND DIDN'T HAVE THE MATERIALS SO THEY WOULD DO NOTHING. THEY BROKE OUR METAL AWNING OVER THE FRONT STOOP BY THROWING A LOAD OF SHINGLES ON IT. AND I KNOW THIS IS A SMALL DETAIL, BUT THEY ALSO COMPLETELY TRAMPLED OUR FLOWER BED TO AN EXTENT THAT SEEMED UNNECESSARY IF THEY HAD PAID JUST THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF ATTENTION. A YEAR LATER, (WE WAITED BECAUSE WE DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO DEAL WITH THEM AGAIN) WE ARE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE GETTING THE PORCH ROOF DONE AT A REASONABLE PRICE SUCH AS IT WOULD HAVE COST WHEN WE HAD THE MAIN ROOF DONE. TWO CALLS AND PROMISES TO ASSESS BUT NO ACTION SO FAR. THE ONLY REASON WE ARE TRYING TO USE THEIR COMPANY IS TO SAVE AROUND 500$ OR MORE--IF IT WORKS.

WE ASKED RP VOGEL TO GIVE US AN ESTIMATE ON SIDING OUR HOUSE. WHILE IT IS A BIG PROJECT FOR US, IT IS APPARENTLY INSIGNIFICANT TO RP VOGEL. FROM THE RECEPTIONIST TO THE ESTIMATOR (JOHN FINAZZO), IT SEEMED AS IF WE WERE BOTHERING THEM TO GET A BID. THEY TOOK THE LONGEST TO GET BACK TO US AND WROTE THE LEAST COMPLETE PROPOSAL OF ANY OF THE COMPANIES WE SPOKE WITH. WHILE THEIR BID WAS TECHNICALLY LOWEST, THERE SEEMED TO BE SO MANY ITEMS MISSING THAT WE DID NOT TRUST THEIR JUDGMENT TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND USING THIS COMPANY UNLESS YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED AND HOW BEFORE YOU EVEN SPOKE WITH THE RECEPTIONIST AND YOU INTENDED TO SPEND A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY.

RECEIVED CALL 2 DAYS PRIOR TO APPT- GOOD. CALLED DAY TO SAY ESTIMATOR WAS RUNNING LATE- GOOD. ESTIMATOR COULD NOT GIVE ESTIMATE DAY OF- UNLIKE 2 OTHER CONTRACTORS- BAD. ESTIMATE WAS VERY HIGH FOR WORK TO BE DONE.

SUPERB JOB. OWNER RICK VOGEL WAS VERY WILLING TO WORK WITH US AND WORK WITHIN OUR BUDGET TO GIVE US WHAT WE WANTED. ROB OUR FOREMAN WAS VERY INSISTENT ON GIVING US WHAT WE WANTED. HE CALLED FREQUENTLY WITH UPDATES AND WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT LEAVING THE WORK SITE CLEANED. VERY COURTEOUS AND FRIENDLY. ROB DID AN EXCELLENT JOB.

THE PROPOSAL DID NOT INCLUDE MANY COSTS WHICH WE ARE NOW BEING ASKED TO PAY (ELECTRICAL WORK THAT WAS CODE REQUIRED AND OBVIOUS). THE PROPOSAL CLEARLY STATES THAT CHANGE ORDERS ARE NEEDED ONLY DUE DEFICIENCIES IN THE HOUSE HIDDEN AT THE TIME OF THE ESTIMATE. THESE CHARGES DO NOT FIT THIS DESCRIPTION. THE PROPOSAL DID NOT MENTION SPECIFICS LIKE TYPE OF WOODWORK, DOORS, AND HARDWARE WHICH WE WERE TOLD WERE GOING TO MATCH THE EXISTING STYLE. THE ESTIMATOR, BROOKS, SAID IT WAS JUST A NORMAL PART OF THE JOB TO MATCH THOSE THINGS. WHEN I VOICED MY COMPLAINTS TO TIM HENNES, (THE CUSTOMER CARE REPRESENTATIVE, AS I UNDERSTAND IT) I RECEIVED NO APOLOGY, AND NO EFFORT TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION. HE SIMPLY STATED THAT PROPOSALS LIKE MINE ARE THE REASON BROOKS NO LONGER WORKS FOR THE COMPANY. ADDITIONAL NOTE: I SPOKE TO DEAN AND BOB AND WE CAME TO A AGREEMENT AND THE MATTER IS NOW CONSIDERED RESOLVED. DEAN AND BOB WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL AND HELPFUL.

THIS WAS A LONG PROJECT AND WE DID NOT FEEL WE COULD COUNT ON THEM TO GET THE JOB DONE TO OUR SATISFACTION. I THINK THE COMPANY HAS GROWN TO FAST FOR THE QUALITY OF THE WORK TO CATCH UP WITH THE DEMAND.

THIS HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE FOR WEEKS. THE CARPENTERS SHOWED UP TO WORK ON THE ROOF AND ASKED TO BORROW MY LADDER. IT GOT WORSE FROM THERE. SHORT HOURS, LONG BREAKS, WORKING ONLY ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK, NO COMMUNICATION, WRONG MATERIALS, UNRESPONSIVENESS TO OUR CONCERNS, ETC. A TWO-DAY JOB HAS NOW STRETCHED INTO 2 MONTHS AND IS STILL NOT COMPLETE. THEIR SALES DEPARTMENT IS EXCELLENT! I WAS TAKEN IN. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU.

GEORGE FROM THEIR COMPANY CAME AND SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME GETTING THE ESTIMATE TOGETHER AND TALKING TO ME ABOUT THEIR SERVICE AND ABOUT ROOFS. I FOUND HIM VERY HELPFUL. I DID NOT GO WITH THEM, BUT THEY WERE A CLOSE SECOND. I WOULD BE VERY COMFORTABLE HAVING THEM DO OUR ROOF. (THEIR BID WAS THE LOWEST OF FOUR I GOT.)

I HAVE NEVER HEARD BACK FROM THEM. MY PHONE CALLS HAVE NOT RETURNED AND I FEEL MY TIME WAS WASTED. BUSINESS MUST BE GREAT FOR THEM THAT THEY DON'T NEED MINE. LEARN FROM THIS AND DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME.

MY BAD EXPERIENCE WAS WITH BROOKS. PERHAPS SOMEONE ELSE WOULD HAVE BETTER FOLLOW THROUGH.

A+ PERFORMANCE OVER 9 MONTHS DURATION OF WORK. UNRESERVED RECOMMENDATION.

A NEIGHBOR HAD RP VOGEL DO HER PORCH ADDITION, EXTERIOR UPDATE AND ROOF REPLACEMENT AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THEM. TWICE IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, THROUGH THEIR WEB SITE, I HAVE SUBMITTED A DETAILED REQUEST FOR AN ESTIMATE AND HAVE NOT HEARD BACK.