Brookins Construction

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We found Brookins Construction through another list site for home improvements.  The reviews were fantastic.  What we experienced was much like the reviews here on Angie's list for this company.  They were very professional, explained why we should go with them, what they would do, worked with us on what we wanted done.  At first everything looked great.  I was informed how the screens would go on to cover up most, if not all, of the staples from the previous screen that the builder used.  The screens ended up being put on differently and all of the staples from the previous screens were in view.  Brookins painted over the staples.  Originally we had trim pieces covering the edges of the screens, Brookins did not replace these until we insisted it be done, since they were there before and the staples needed to be covered up.  When the trim pieces on the screen porch were replaced it was about 6 months after the initial work was done.  The boards on the deck are already completely dried, so they can be painted right away or stained etc, we were assured this by Brookins.  My husband noticed most of the deck boards were placed crown down and pointed this out to Brookins when they came to review the work.  He was told since the boards are dried before installation that this wouldn't be a problem.  Of course it is a problem and the edges on most of the boards are bending up.  You can feel almost all of the deck boards when walking on the deck.  It feels like walking on a bunch of tiny speed bumps.  I again pointed this out 6 months later when they finally came to put the trim work on the screen porch.  I told them I was not happy with how that felt walking on it and they should be replaced.  The gentleman, who looked like he would much rather be on a golf course than working, ignored me and just said the boards are dried before they are put down so they can be crown down.  This was a very bad decision hiring this company.  I am not happy at all with my deck.  Every time I walk on the deck I am reminded of how we went with the company that seemed most professional when really it was just a bunch of talk and they probably wrote their own reviews on the other site where we found them.  We should have looked at angie's list also and would have seen consistent problems with their work and wouldn't have even called them.

Overall, the rooms are much better than when the project started. Big however: the project took almost two months longer to complete than was originally planned, some of the subcontractors who were hired were not well supervised by the general contractor and did substandard work. There were several-approximately 17 total weekdays when work was supposedly scheduled and no one showed and no call was made. The floors in both the office and bedroom are not exactly what was on the contract. The windows in the master bedroom and bath are also not what was discussed. The time frame was slipping by and I think the decisions on some of these items were made to hurry up-at a cost of quality and "Exactly what the customer wanted" and signed a contract to receive. I have since found a couple of electrical items that should have been changed, ie, too many lights on a single circuit, too many outlets on a single circuit, no gfci breaker on the outside outlets, and an outlet which has the upper disconnected from the lower. This electrical contractor was hired through the general contractor, however this billing was separate. There were problems with the custom cabinets built into the bathroom-wrong size doors and drawers. The contractor and subcontractors did not originally pull all of the correct permits for the county in which the home is in. After a failed electrical and plumbing inspection, the proper other permits were pulled. Upon completion of the final inspections, their sub contractor refused to finish connecting the water heater to the propane tank. I had to hire a separate company to complete the install. The general contractor did take off the cost of hiring the separate company from the final bill. They also did not originally install the correct size of custom bathroom sinks & counter tops. The general contractor did take off the cost of the replacement, correct sized sinks from the final bill. The project was started on Jan 21, 13, with a six week timeline~first week of March 2013 for a scheduled completion time frame. The project was completed on June 7, not to include the 2 weeks of order time for the correct sinks. Those were replaced on June 16.
  All in all, I think the general contractor did not have the quality workmanship on hand to complete the project as specified and in the time frame agreed. The contractor and project manager are very nice guys; but nice does not equal high quality work and on time completion as expected from a highly word of mouth recommended contractor.  We did pay as agreed every single time when asked, even made full payment on a milestone when a portion of that milestone was not completed. When the final bill was received on June 19, we received a message from the contractor asking (politely however) if we had sent the final payment. The check had been sent the previous day- which was 5 days from receiving the final bill, to include a weekend. Since my wife and I are very busy and travel with work, I really should not have hired out a job as large as this without being able to supervise myself every single day.

After getting an initial estimate for several projects, we decided we wanted the wood floors and ceiling fans the most.  
We provided a sample of the original product with brand and make used for the existing wood floor in the kitchen and dining room and they were able to match the sample.  Once the product arrived, the team of installers made quick work of laying the floor.  Unfortunately, they did not have enough flooring on hand to complete the job.   They had to wait for the factory to ship more to complete the job.
The ceiling fans were installed on the last scheduled day of the project.  Two of the fans were defective upon arrival.  We were not contacted by the contractor to discuss the issue.  We had to discover the issue ourselves.  Once we contacted  Brookins Construction, they said they would take the defective fans down so we could return them.  We purchased the ceiling fans ourselves.  After getting replacements, they again were quick to install the new fans.

Poor communication skills.  We take responsibility for some of the problems. They did not include items that I specifically said I wanted included in the job, it was not put into the contract.
They were very punctual at first. Then the more we paid them the more they would not show up.  They still have not corrected items from the punch list. We call they say they are coming and don't show.
They ruined the grass in our yard by leaving construction waste on the grass for weeks.
fFinish work is rough even after they came back to fix it.
Workmen turned off heat by accident. When we had to pay for it to be fixed we found out that it was just a switch that was turned off under the house.
The cable was turned off regularly.
Overall they are nice guys. I wouldn't have them back for another job unless I wanted to wait triple the estimated time.
Still waiting for the repairs to be made on the punch list (this is Mar.)

We did not have them do it; he came by to give us a quote and was very good. It would have been good but we chose a different person. My husband did these negotiations and I think it was really the price; it was a couple of thousand dollars more than the other person. The other people also had a coupon that gave us further discounts. Both my husband and I thought he was great and would like to have used him but the price differential was so significant. He was great; he called us and followed up. He brought stuff and gave a very good presentation.

They gave the best price and did a good job. The only negative was a delay in the final details of the project.

I am extremely pleased with the attention to detail, and that Scott knew what to add (without me asking) to give the porch a polished, finished look.  Scott visited our home, then worked up a detailed quote outlining what would be done and specific costs.  Work crews were nice, I felt comfortable with them around my two small children.  Great job cleaning up the site.  Any concerns, problems, or questions I raised were addressed immediately and resolved to my satisfaction.  Would hire them to build my porch again, would also hire for other projects around my home.