Management / Subcontractor issues: Company used 3 different proj mgrs of the course of the remodel, spanning less than 1 year?s time. These three PM?s were not employed by Corbett at the same time, and employment did not overlap, other than one short transition period. This repeated lack of continuity caused many issues, and communication gaps, some that still exist at the end of the project. Of note, one of these project managers was the owner?s son, who had intentions of assuming ownership of the company provides further insight to the ongoing management problems within the company. The PM's were stretched too thin, working on several projects at the same time, and this causes many delays in the completion of the remodel. This information was provided to me by one of the PM's This lack of attention by the PM forced me to personally check multiple times daily on the remodel progress, specifically during the subcontractors? working day, to ensure the proper steps were being completed. This process noted several issues, and was able to answer many of the subcontractor?s questions immediately, and avoided many other issues. The original planned duration time for completion was 120 days. The actual duration was 165 days, 45 additional days for the certification of occupancy from the city. Also, this does not include the completion of the final punch list, which took an additonal 8 months time to complete. During these 8 months, the builder did not communicate for a 9, 7 and 6 week stretches despite being informed of the open items to be completed. I recommend having a completion penalty clause in the contract, for any remodeler. There were several changes of subcontractors during the remodel. These include the painters, Trim installers, masons, and several workers of other subcontractors being removed due to poor performance.
Financial / Contract Issues The financial / contract process was an onerous process to navigate. The contract was written vaguely, and this vagueness used by the owner to support the positions that he chose. In the negotiation period, the owner, used words like ?will do right by you? and ?want you to be delighted by the results? as his ploy to obtain customers. In hindsight, there is nothing like getting everything in writing, and there is never too much pre-investigation and education that can be done. There were seeral invoices received with overcharges, and attempts made to charge for items not needed, or not to be charged to the customer. These errors totaled in the thousands of dollars that I caught in the process. The owner was belligerent in his response to being questioned about these charges and reverted to belittling the customer in his responses. I strongly recommend keeping track of all charges, and requesting backup for all subcontractor charges.Invoice Concerns / Issues:Builder performed different methods of billing, based upon builders desire to collect money. (commencement vs completion)
- Contract was to bill at commencement. This practice was not followed by Corbett.
There were invoices issued before completing work, as was his standard practice earlier in the project. until it appeared that he was running into cash flow problems.When the builder was informed as to his inconsistencies, builder accused customer of not having the cash to pay the bill, and threatened to stop work, vs trying to work through the situation. The cash / loans were previously secured, and there was no time that cash flow an issue for the customer. Would highly recommend that the invoice plan be altered to include a significant completion payment. This would help to provide a motivation to builder to eliminate the 34 weeks of absence noted above.
Building / Invoice components: There are a five items to note in the category. Two items involved the hardwood floors, the need of drainage work, lessor grade of steps, and the allowance delta's.The first item dealt with the completion of the hardwood floors on the first floor of the remodel. The contract stated "the new hardwood flooring will be finished to match the existing hardwoods". By the letter of the contract, this was completed. However, in the process of matching the existing, the subcontractor created an off-color stain line where the he stopped the refinishing. Corbetts' response was that the homeowner had the opportunity to pay, as a change order, to complete the refinishing of all hardwoods on the first floor. This is true, however, the PM, during this discussion did not indicate the severity of the off color stain line, and the quotes provided by the sub (Designer Floor Fashions) where, at a minimum of 200% of going rate, and maximum, 460% of going rate. Corbett allowed / agreed to this estimate and forced the owner to make the decision to spend the greatly overpriced expenditure, to obtain satisfactiry results. Given his earlier statements of ' to provide an exceptional remodeling experience', and his statement that this situation (leaving the off-color stain line would never happen again, despite his 30+ years of experience for this company, Corbett is nothing to reticfy the error. The same sentiment was voiced by the owner of Designer Floor fashions, despite this being his full time occupation. Given the reported level of expertise from these individuals, this is a totally inexcusable situation, and their subsequent refusal to accept any level of culpability for the end results, is, in my opinion, negligent, and a highly troubling sign for future customers. that sets the Corbett Design Build team apart as a company. We cannot predict all potential problems, but we can guarantee that we will address the issues and work diligently with our clients to expeditiously make things right for the client'. In this situation, the quote above could not be farther from the truth. This situation was completely foreseeable, as it was noted before the hardwoods were completed, and, in the end, Corbett refused to 'make things right for the customer' after the damage was done. The second item also involved the hardwood floors. After the new hardwoods were installed next to the existing hardwoods, there was a noticeable bump / raised section that was evident. This involved about a 2 board width of hardwoods that went across the entire are where the old and new hardwoods were joined. This issue was raised to the PM after the raw hw's were installed, and weeks before the h were sanded and finished. The customer was reassured tby the PM hat the problem was noted, and that it would be fixed ? that the finished product would not have the problem. After the hardwoods were finished, the bump/ raised section was still present. Again, the customer raised the issue with the PM. He was in the process of resolution, working with the appropriate subs, when he was fired by Corbett. Subsequently, Corbett declared that the floor was within acceptable standards, and refused to accept any culpability for the situation, and denied / ignored any requests to address. These actions are in direct conflict with the quote above. Also, the quoted price to fix these two errors above was over $5000. The nextt item was Corbett?s recommendation to install two french drains and a sump pump in the work area below the new screened in porch. During construction, before the porch was completed, there often would be standing of water in the area, often being several inches of water. At this point, Corbett took the initiative to contract a water specialist to quote the two french drains and a sump pump. The quote was over $2500. Since the area was being us