ISW Custom Builders

We contracted with Brian starting late 2021 to build an addition on to the back of our house. At first, everything seemed fine. He and his crew would come over to the house to discuss our plans and to sketch a plan for the addition. Once we agreed on a plan for the addition and made our first down payment on the project in early 2022. He kept on making promises on when he would start the project, but didn't break ground until July of 2022. After he broke ground, he stated that things would move fast and that he was anticipating a completion date of Sept 2022. That date came and gone. Then at one point, after the the addition was framed and enclosed, he stated that he was going to focus on other outside projects and only come to our place when the weather was bad. Our project was constantly on his back burner. We were promised that the addition would be finished in time for Thanksgiving that year - again a promise that went unkept. The project was close, but not completely finished. Our addition wasn't completely finished until Christmas time - a whole 5 to 6 months after he broke ground and three months after promised. When everything was said and done and the addition was "ours", he stated that there would be a 1 year warranty on the addition - for defects caused by shifting. Well, a month after it was "handed" over to us, we reached out stating that there was major leaks in the window framing that would only be noticed on a cold winters night where the wind is blowing crazy. I walked in the new bedroom wondering why it was so cold - the heat was on but couldn't keep up. Brian was notified, but was instantly told that we were crazy and that the window fine. Needless to say, the rest of that winter, we had to have the window taped out in order to keep the heat from escaping. In the main area, the tiling job seemed subpar - where tiles would break and click when stepped on and we had noticed that on our new deck, the cement had cracked in the corner where the support beam for the deck was. It took him more than 2 to 3 months to come over to look those items as well as address the drywall shifting that we had experienced. During this time, he also determined that the window was defective and that he would have the window dealt with. He had a guy come over to mud things up and sand, but never came back to paint. It was another 2 months before Brian himself came over to redo the tile and paint the seams that were fixed. Things seemed like they were going well, until we kept on inquiring when the cement deck would be fixed. We would try texting Brian directly and he then claimed that he would text us back - no texts were received. So in July of 2024, I started a group text thread to keep all of the honest people honest. He told his assistant at the time that he tried texting us, but we never got back to him, yet when she texted us, we would respond right back - make it make sense. When I finally was able to talk to him on the phone, he said that he didn't see the need to make contact with us when he didn't know or didn't have a timeline for us. To which I told him - contact us anyway so we know that you at least got our message rather than just blowing us off. How does one conduct business without making contact with their clients. Keep in contact with them even if you don't know. He finally sent someone over sometime in Sept of 2024 to pour the concrete on the section that had cracked. Last contact we had with Brian was October 23, 2024 when we had notified him that the support beam had fallen during the storm the night before and was inquiring when he was going to finish it up. Well, we're midway into March of 2025 and we still have yet to hear back from Brian. Granted, we are luckier than most people from some other reviews that I have read. Our addition is water tight - we do have a corner that needs to be re-insulated, but the overall headache of dealing with someone who blows you off because they're concentrating on outside projects (which I get) but then doesn't get back to you regarding a timeline on when we could expect our project to be deemed worthy enough to his attention. I've held off writing this review until I knew that we would no longer have any other contact with him, but felt obligated to write the review once I read other customers most recent comments. I guess what I don't understand is how you can go from having 5 star reviews in 2021 to 1 star reviews a couple of years later? Make it make sense. Save your sanity, go with a contractor that is willing to keep to a timetable and communicates back with you on a frequent basis.

We hired Brian and ISW based on referral from a mutual friend who had been on the police force with him. In March, we signed a contract and put down a $15,000 deposit to build our dream home. Brian assured us he could take us through the design process and have our house enclosed by the end of November. From the start, we asked if there would be a 3-D walkthrough and were told it would be included. Throughout the process, we were frustrated by poor communication and accountability. We made 5 or 6 changes on each set of plans only to receive plans back with 2-3 of the changes made. It took us pointing out a door at the bottom of an open staircase four times before it was finally removed. In early July, I received a call from Brian stating it would be an additional $2,000 for a 3-D walkthrough. The plans were finalized in mid-July, and we did received them without the walkthrough. We called the draftsman and learned the cost billed to ISW for the plans was just over $2,000. Within a few days or our plans being finalized, we were informed ISW's two other projects were months behind, and contractors were refusing to work with Brian due to late payments. We decided we could not move forward and terminated our contract. Brian called us several times, blaming everyone else and taking no accountability for the delays. He stated in email he would send a copy of the bid package he claimed to have prepared, but this was never delivered. We requested a copy of the percolation test he claimed to have done and never received it. Throughout July and August, Brian stated he would return the unused portion of our deposit but never provided an amount or receipts. Eventually, he stopped responding to emails and did not reply to the Better Business Bureau when we filed a complaint. We were fortunate to get out of the situation without hundreds of thousands of dollars sunk into a leaking or half-built house. Save yourself the time, money, and heartache—go with a different builder.

ISW Custom Builders & the owner Brian Podwinski were massive disappointments to work with. We hired ISW to complete a home addition to add a "sport court" / home gym, and they consistently let us down. I'm a SBO and have worked with hundreds of contractors nationwide for the past 3 decades. I've seen the worst of the worst, and also know how to ID a quality contractor. I don't expect perfection, there will always be hiccups, but it's about how you respond to issues - and Brian is the worst I've ever worked with in terms of overpromising, not following through, hiring bad subs, negligence on critical areas, and being a pathological liar with a fake smile. We wanted our project to work very badly to establish a long term relationship as our regular builders - my company designs home & commercial gyms. Because of that, I gave Brian many chances to make things right, and had constant patience for their issues along the way. There was huge potential for them to build all of our future projects and they lost that chance. Negligence on the roofwork caused major flooding on all 3 levels, the final grading channeled water towards the addition leading to more flooding in the gym & basement. Not to mention the dozens of corners they cut to save a few bucks, such as using short pieces of siding instead of consistent lengths and a splicer in the middle - we now have head seams in about 15 spots on a major exterior wall. We're still missing vent covers. Using people who had never painted to attempt a 2,000 sq ft project with 20 ft ceilings. Botching our flooring install - b/c they had no experience with carpet. Failing at a poured countertop 3 times. The addition failed inspection 3 times. Every single ISW staff member (other than Brian), has quit the company since our project in 2023-24. 7 different people. Find the term "s*** show" in the dictionary and ISW is the definition.

I am writing this review because we based our selection of builders off of what we read on this site. Sadly, what we experienced is NOT what former customers had experience. Our 16 X 23 addition started in Feb of 2024 and so did the draws of money. We were promised completion would be done within 6 months. We are almost a year in and it still isn't finished, although livable. Brian is very good at telling you what YOU want to hear but broken promises will follow on a weekly basis. All work is SUB CONTRACTED, nothing is done by ISW except for bringing materials to site however most of that is also delayed. We encountered water damage due to subs not covering our roof. Brian does NOT check on sub's work so you must pay close attention to everything. Money is the motivator NOT quality or performance. Save yourself the stress DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY. Do your homework, check all references and also check the Better Business Bureau. I would gladly share more but this site is limited on words.

I was extremely impressed, first of all, with how personable Brian is. He’s up front about costs and answers any and all questions right away. His employees are also skilled and happy to answer questions as projects are completed. Finally, the craftsmanship and level of efficiency in completing the project were both very commendable. I would highly recommend Brian and his crew.

They did awesome work. It was perfect.

Brain was amazing to work with and did an awesome job on our deck! I would definitely hire him in the future.

Brian and ISW was great to work with from start to finish. Very detailed in his work and had great ideas to truly make it a custom basement. Would recommend anyone looking for any work to be done to give them a call!

Working with ISW Custom Builders was easy. They answered every question that came to mind and walked me through step-by-step as the job went along. Brian and his crew were great to work with and we will be using them again.