COUNTRY CLUB BUILDERS

unknown

Let me start by saying that not every job can go flawlessly. If your contractor ever runs into trouble during a job, I hope that you are using Country Club Builders. They completed our kitchen remodel two years ago and that job went exactly as expected. Not so much with this bathroom, but the end result was worth the wait, and Country Club saw it through to completion.

Country Club Builders was neither the highest or lowest price contractor we interviewed, but their business model far exceeded other contractors' business models. To begin, they met with us to discuss what we wanted. They made helpful suggestions that led us to modify our original vision. After coming in with their bid, they worked with us to shave off a little of the cost by letting us do some of the demo. My impression is that they don't usually offer this as an option, but because they worked with us before and knew our work ethic, they were willing to work with us. We appreciated that extra effort.

After we accepted their final bid and signed the contract, we began meeting with their materials suppliers. We weren't required to buy our plumbing fixtures, tile, and so forth from their suppliers, but if something with the materials goes wrong during the job, Country Club steps in and handles everything directly with the suppliers. The customer doesn't have to get involved.

The initial demo, window installation, framing, plumbing, waterproofing, and drywalling went well. They tiled the shower area and it looked great. The crew was highly skilled and knew exactly what they were doing. They were careful to present design and fixture placement options to us rather than just install items in standard locations.

The bathroom walls were also being tiled about four feet up and topped with decorative tile and marble chair rail, which made measurements between the wall and the shower tile a bit more complex. After the tile installer got around the entire room, he discovered that there had been a measuring error that necessitated tearing out the bullnose around the shower and some of the tile.

This mistake started putting the project behind schedule and short on tile. At that point, we felt like the tile installer started rushing to make up for the lost time and reusing materials that maybe should have been replaced. At the end of that day, we inspected the rework and weren't satisfied. After texting Country Club Builders that night, we were told that the installer would make it right. The next day he removed some of the tile and replaced it again. Country Club Builders' priority is for their customers to be happy.

Because we were short on tile, they ordered more tile, but went ahead and grouted what was done so they could begin what they could of the finish work. The supplier provided a new type of epoxy grout that Country Club Builders hadn't used before. To be sure the instructions were clear, we actually heard the crew call the grout company to verify how to mix and use it. The grout turned out to be quite problematic. It was sticky, greasy, and difficult to work with, plus the grout haze was almost impossible to remove. It took an extra bucket of grout, but they were able to grout what had to be done before moving on to other finish work.

After the extra tile arrived, they installed it and proceeded to grout it, the decorative tile, and the chair rail. Much to our dismay, the oily grout stained the marble chair rail. Country Club Builders took pictures of it to the supplier and they admitted their liability in mismatching the grout to the tile. They supplied new chair rail tile and different grout that perfectly matched the color of the original grout. Country Club Builders removed the original chair rail and replaced it with the new. After grouting the new chair rail, it looked good. They continued to struggle to remove the grout haze left by the original grout on the wall and floor tiles. (Two months later, we're still removing grout haze that was missed.)

To make up for the additional lost time, it was our impression that the crew rushed a bit with some of the finish work as evidenced by sloppiness and lack of attention to details that they were more than skilled enough to have completed perfectly on the first try.

We are sure that Country Club Builders had to have lost money on this job because of the grout debacle created by the supplier, but they saw the job through to the end and made sure we were satisfied.

We wouldn't hesitate to use Country Club Builders again after experiencing their efforts to make a difficult job right for us.

the above work has a 5 year warranty. On May 19, 2013 we had a major rain storm. Water literally poured in two of the windows and the patio door. We contacted the owner via text and voice mail on that evening. Two weeks later we got an e-mail from his office asking us to call. At that time we were told they would be out to take a look at the problem and would call us a few days prior. It's now June 17 and I had to call them again to remind them we still have a leak issue. My 67 year old husband has been up on a ladder trying to caulk the windows. The patio door is still leaking. When I called them today, they said they would be out at the end of this week or maybe next week. They are VERY unresponsive. We did have a dispute over what they charged us to install the patio door. We did pay in full however the day the work was completed. We were told at that time that if we didn't pay the full amount ($500 above quoted price) that they would not honor the warranty. We did pay the full amount and complained to Better Business Bureau. This made Country Club upset and I think we are paying the price for that now by the lack of responsiveness. At this point, we want water tight windows and doors!

As promised, workmen showed up everyday on time. They were courteous, clean, and we were comfortable having them in the house (unlike other companies in the past). They hung plastic sheeting over all areas not involved and provided a zippered access to the clothes closet. They worked outside or in garage, when possible, to decrease mess, dust and noise inside.
Steve Atkins is very easy to work with. There are always little glitches in remodeling but he promptly fixed or changed anything that didn't come out as we expected. We never had to argue about anything. He had very practical and experienced ideas for us. The companies he deals with are all first rate and great in helping us decide what plumbing, tile etc. to use.
As usual in custom jobs, it takes longer than planned, but well worth the wait. Steve is a pleasure to work with and came every day to check the job and answer questions. He is a very responsible builder and easy to work with.

After purchase of a new home, I needed part of my basement remodeled. Country Club Builders was prompt in coming out for estimate and gave an accurate estimate. They made sure they knew exactly what I wanted and made several helpful suggestions. The work began as scheduled and except for some unplanned bumps in the road (never know what you might find when you tear down the walls) the remodeling went quickly. Any problems that came up they dealt with in a professional manner and I am very pleased with the space they have helped create.

The thing I was impressed with was that they never did anything without asking me exactly where I wanted it, how I wanted it, and if I was completely happy with it. I know that some contractors would have gone ahead and done what they thought I might want, and then worry later. They asked me about everything! We are so happy with the end result. After the job was done, a tile popped up in the shower, and I called, and the very next day they came out and fixed it. All the workers were polite and cleaned up every single day. They were always exactly on time each morning...never late. Eddie was especially great to work with, and he was the lead guy on the job. They completed the job on time, and with no budget overages, other than a couple of things that we decided on mid-project. When that happens, they give you a bid for the extra project, and you sign off on it before they start.

We received two bids for our kitchen remodel. Country Club Builders wasn't the cheapest, but we also extended our scope of work because of their thorough assessment of what would make our kitchen the best it could be.



Jim Atkins took care of the bidding process. He listened to what we wanted to accomplish and provided his professional opinion about our goals. He got back to us within a few days with his bid that included a thorough list of the work to be performed, an estimated cost for cabinets, flooring, appliances, plumbing, electrical, glass, windows, etc. He also provided a couple of alternatives for us to consider.





One of the most attractive things about Country Club Builders is the fact that they don't start a job until all of the materials are ready. Once they start a job, their project lead stays on the job until it's completed. They worked about 24 consecutive weekdays to complete our extensive remodel. They sealed the kitchen off from the rest of the house to cut down on construction dust circulating throughout the house and they cleaned up daily.





We chose to work with their vendors for all of our materials although we had the option to obtain materials anywhere. Steve Atkins, the company's owner, has a good relationship with these vendors. As a result, if there's a problem, he can do a good job of representing the homeowners' interests. We had two appliances and a couple of cabinet doors that sustained shipping damage. These items were immediately replaced. Overall, their vendors were easy to work with - especially Factory Direct Appliances, Top Master, and ProSource.





The total cost for this job was over $50000 of which about half was for materials and labor provided directly by Country Club Builders. We couldn't be happier with the job they did. We will definitely use them again if we decide to make additional changes to our home.

September 2014 update:We noticed a split in a rail in an upper cabinet and immediately notified Country Club Builders. They sent two men out the same day to analyze the problem and ensure that we weren't in danger of the cabinet breaking and falling. They showed us what had actually happened and added additional support. Problem solved. They truly do stand behind their work exactly as they state in their business model and contract.

The project was started on time but went longer than estimated. The delay was due to issues with permits, dealing with concrete walls and limited daily work window due to condo restrictions (limited worl hours and no weekend work). The final result made the delay worthwhile as the final results were wonderful. The bathroom turned out beautiful and the quality of workmanship was excellent.

Country Club Builders did an excellent job. Steve Atkins had a good relationship with all the suppliers and subcontractors, had very qualified employees and personally saw to completion of the projects in accordance with our expectations and in a timely manner. We had such a high regard for the quality of his work and the very helpful suggestions he offered that we engaged him to address areas beyond our original plans. We would most certainly use Mr. Atkins' Company again.

I had never done this large scale kind of remodeling before. Steve came over, talked to me, looked at the room and the pictures I had cut out of magazines with options that I liked. From those pictures, I had an idea in my head of what I wanted the final outcome to look like. I was not disappointed. From the suppliers that work with them, to Steve, to his workers, everyone helped to make it come together.
It took a little longer than planned, partly because of unforeseen plumbing issues, but I was very pleased with the finished product. I have the most beautiful bathroom in town. :)

Steve was wonderful. He came out to the house and listened as I explained the different aspects of the job that I had been thinking about and then was able to offer suggestions. Steve did give us multiple bids ranging from the cost of just staining and sealing the deck to replacing the whole deck with cedar, replacing the whole deck with composite, doing a hybrid of the options, etc. He was very patient with me (he never seemed annoyed by the number of follow up questions that I had). As soon as I had made up my mind on what I wanted we signed up the contract and his crews went to work. The men were always very friendly and hard working. Steve was very present, checking on the status and progress of the work and discussing anything that came up in the process (weather, timing, we needed to order a drain box, etc). The workmen were all very good to clean up before the end of the day and seemed to care about what they were doing. There was good communication all through the process and up through the last steps.

In comparison to the other projects around the house related to storm and/or hail damage this project has been a DREAM and we look forward to doing more work with Steve and his guys in the future.

They were very professional and responsive. They did a good work. If there is a need, I would use them again in the future too.

They always do an excellent. What's maddening is that they don't give estimates. They have done a variety of things for us and they do a very good job.

They have some extremely good workman, they do a great job. The first time we met with the owner he sat down with my wife and listened to what we wanted. He came up with a design and my wife made a few little changes to it. He is a great listener and follows through very well. We had a long narrow kitchen but now we have a long granite counter top that was able to be cut into one peice that makes it look great. Then new room turned out great. He came up with a couple of ideas used to store things that i would have never thought of. The bathroom is also great. They are a little small and he made them seem a little bigger with how he redisnged them. The new shower there is also great. He also offers a gaurantee of his work for 5 years.

We use them on a regular basis. We think their prices are reasonable but we never get quotes from anybody else. The job went great. Every time we use them they are reliable and clean up after themselves. They show up when they say they are going to. They are good on follow through. We even use them for small handyman projects because we know we can trust them.

We were very pleased and satisfied with his work. His price was very comparable with other builders and was quite reasonable. He was very professional. He really cared about what he was doing and was very punctual. There were some minor things that needed to be repaired and he had one of his men taken care of those right away.

Steve, the owner, is very good about getting back to you.