BAB Construction LLC

This was a very good experience, and we are pleased with the results. Bruce did exactly what he said he would do, for almost exactly the cost he estimated (no small feat for a job of this size). Great individual who truly wanted to "do the right thing". Bruce Bergstrom (BAB) was referred to us by a neighbor who had his add on garage built by BAB and was very happy. I believe BAB normally does mostly framing, but he also does some garage and other jobs on occasion. The entire attic is storage (which was Bruce's suggestion and not much more $). I designed the floor plan and fixture/electric layout myself, but had Bruce offer suggestions in places. Bruce did the exterior sketches, and he referred all sub contractors. Budget: We ended up within 1% of original estimate! I tracked all costs as we went. A number of items went overbudget (some due to us adding in things), but an equal number came in under budget to offset them. Expensive job, but overall cost as he estimated. He billed us about monthly as we went, with no high up front costs. We paid him promptly as a result. He always included copies of receipts for all materials he purchased. We purchased most fictures and interior items ourselves. Quality: He is top notch, especially on the framing that is done by his own crew. He picked excellent subs in nearly all cases. the painter was a bit slow and got sloppy at the end, but not too bad. Had some issues with the driveway work at the end (done by a good friend of his), but Bruce was not involved in that part of project, and always offered an unbiased opinion. Great choices on the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and flooring. Still having some trouble with the HAVC unit in the garage/workshop side, but the contractor is standing behind the unit completely, with no hassles. Did a major tear up of existing septic to add on 2/3 to size and new tank. Cleared a lot of trees and grading. All done by same company that later stumbled on driveway, but this early work went very well. Major SANFU by concrete company when they supplied us a faulty mix (it never set up). Bruce stepped up (it was not his fault) and did all the interaction with concrete company, and did not charge us until it was resolved to our satisfaction. Ended up tearing out and re-puring entire foundation and floor! Time: BAB estimated up to 6 months, depending on any delays outside of his control (changes by us, weather). There was no committment in contract, but he did finish in under this time frame, despite concrete having to get poured twice (costing 1-2 weeks delay on it's own through no fault of BAB). He even fired the first concrete form/finish crew when they pushed him off on timing, and hired another one (that did a great job) without me having to do anything. Bruce was onsite constantly in the beginning, and as neede throughout. He more than earned his general contractor fee, which was a % of the total cost, but he agreed to cap it based on original estimate. That was a good sign of his confidence in his work. I know so many folks that have had horrible experiences in construction that I almost did not want to build this. Very glad to report that this went so well, and glad I did not try to be my own general contractor. I could not have put in the time Bruce did, nor the quality. Absolute stand-up guy, and I would hire him again for any project he was willing to take on. The building is beautiful, he made it look like it belonged with our main house. Many positive comments from our neighbors on how well it turned out.