Kern Company LLC

I’m a bit floored by the bad reviews. Kerry is a gem and so are his sons and the guys who work for him. He’s a genuinely super kind person and did a fantastic job on our full basement reno.

I wished I had read previous Angie's List reviews on this contractor as our experience was all too familiar with that rated so poorly by a previous reviewer. This job went well … until it didn’t…. The sheetrock and the ceiling were very well done; the floor tiling job was completed poorly - and then dealing with Mr. Kern turned out to be the most difficult experiences we have ever had with any remodeling contractor. I have correspondence and photos of the issues with the floor and two professional tile installers to validate our issues with the work. It is costing us an additional $1800 to have the floor torn up and redone and we now have to find someone else to complete the rest of the work. Miscommunication or poor workmanship can occur with any job, but our main reasons for this review relate to the unwillingness to even discuss options and to work with us to correct the situation and complete the job as promised (rather than discuss, Mr. Kern indicated he was "too busy to deal with this" and would rather just not complete the job), but the primary driver of this review was the hostile and intimidating manner in which Mr. Kern presented himself. I have never provided this type of review before but felt compelled to comment on this situation.

He took care of everything. From taking up old flooring to framing, tile work, sheetrock, taping and painting. Always showed up when he said he would and didn't leave a mess or any construction garbage.

unknown

Strictly a "mow and blow" operation. They left steps, paths and driveways unswept so the property became messy looking, even though they were repeatedly asked to clear them.
They did the very minimum and weren't responsive.
I got the feeling they were stretched, and just whipped through as fast as possible. No one ever checked in with us to see if our needs were being met. (They weren't)

The projects did not go well.  An overall score of F is given because the timeline and interactions with Kerry Kern were so poor.
My family's safety is of the utmost importance, of course.  I mention that because our final meeting was done under such duress and with so much intimidation by Kerry Kern that we felt it best to have the police at our house!  More on that in a bit.
Kerry Kern's adherence to our contract was poor.  Deviations (change orders) were supposed to be a signed, written order.  But Kerry added them to the next invoice and demanded payment.  We did not have an opportunity to understand the cost of changes until payment was requested.
Quality - The quality of work was actually fine.  Kerry's brother, Kent, did most of the work, was professional and a good craftsman. The sub-contractors provided adequate results.
Cost - The initial cost was fair (not the highest or lowest bid) and we planned for a bit of an overrun, knowing how projects can go.  But there was one substantial cost that was not anticipated: the footings for the porch.  It was beyond the capabilities of Kern Co., so we were handed off to another company.  Because of lack of coordination between Kerry Kern and this other sub, there was confusion and extra cost because Kerry did not not participate.  It was not even clear to the sub, whom Kerry uses from time to time, that Kern Co. would not be pulling a permit.  I'm glad the sub was good to work with when the matter of the missing permit came to light months later during final inspection.  
Scope - The scope had to be reduced because of how poorly the project was going.  We pulled installation of flooring from the project.
Schedule - Terrible, just terrible.  Kerry Kern promised a two month project, one for the porch and one for the bathroom.   Our two month project took five months!  We could have accepted a 50% delay, but 150% was too much to bear.  Only excuses for delays with vendors and subs were offered as excuses.  The contract has language to complete work by July 30, but the wording allowed us no recourse (lesson learned).
Communication - This was poor, too.  It was difficult to get a hold of Kerry.  His voice mail was often full.  On the occasion we could connect by phone only a few subjects could be discussed before he was either out of time or seemed too frustrated to continue.  Email was not an option, although we urged Kerry to work with us in this way.  Much of the communication ended up being routed through Kerry's worker, Kent, as this was Kerry's direction.  But the issues with the contract and "deviations" mishandled.  And issues, especially with the plumbing of the shower , were left to stew and boil over rather than Kerry taking a breath and dealing with them reasonably.  We felt bad for the plumber especially, as he caught the brunt of an issue that Kerry, or several other people, could have caught.  Not being a plumber or a tradesman, it took us a while to understand that the wrong valve was ordered.  
Professionalism - Kerry was aggressive, not only with us the homeowners, but also with most of the sub-contractors.  Vulgar language was used as well as shouting.  Some of these we heard first hand, others we heard the other side of the phone call, other reports were directly from the subs.  Two or three of the subs said they will never work with Kerry Kern again.  Kerry Kern even chose to give the inspector an earful.
We trusted, and still do trust, Kent.  I would not hire Kerry again, for anything.  Good riddance.
About the last meeting, the one that a police officer got to participate in, Kerry was adamant about receiving final payment before the terms of the contract called for it.  He was threatening, perhaps beyond using just legal means.  Each previous payment was provided on time and in accordance with the contract.  The final payment ended up being about $13,000 and was supposed to be "upon final completion of all work."  The final inspection had yet to occur and ultimately did not pass!  There were still some unfinished parts as well.  Unfortunately, we felt so pressured and so ready to be done with Kerry Kern, we decided to give him a check, in the presence of the police, to go away.

Perfect.  Two day install of a complete front yard after a major front porch renovation over the summer.