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"We paid Matt at Family Ties Contracting over $35,000 to renovate our downstairs apartment in an agreed upon maximum of three months. The problems began early, with delays to the start of our project, but we cut him slack because one of his employees was injured in an accident. Not long after, we began getting bills for extras that 1) were already detailed in the contract and 2) were never signed off on. We were clear with Matt from the beginning that we wanted a space that was up to code, it wasn't till months later that we discovered he never even pulled a building permit - is a big "no no" where we live. Our local inspector did not seem happy about this and, in the process of inspections, we discovered other work that needed to be done to bring the apartment up to code, adding to the cost of our project. The problems continued when Matt began to refuse doing work that was clearly in the contract, from small jobs like installing the kitchen sink, to big ones like adding sheetrock to the ceiling to meet code, which was the first thing listed in our contract. The quality of the work was poor, we ended up having to hire a second electrician to install the correct type of outlet for our washer/dryer and a second plumber to fix a leaky sink which was installed. When the project was "finished" it was a mess (see pictures below). Worst of all, the project wasn't actually completed for 11 months - 8 longer than what was in our contracted, which resulted in the loss of a years worth of rental income. We were *constantly* calling them to come back and fix mistakes over this time, with varying degrees of success. To top it off, the owner apparently began spreading rumors about me and my wife because of the difficulties. I wouldn't have even bothered writing this, until I became aware of that. Overall, a totally unprofessional experience. We have spent over $52,000 so far and we are having to finish up by hiring outside contractors. We feel like we were screwed by Family Ties Contracting. It's not just the money and the poor results, but the stress and frustration made for an overall terrible experience."

"Recommendation: Foster Custom Kitchens, 212 S Albany Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. Andy Foster phone 607-272-8102 It is rare that you experience a truly ethical business person who stands behind his products and service. My experience would be unbelievable if it didn’t happen. Seven years ago we bought new kitchen cabinets from Andy Foster. After one or two years of use, we experienced some lack of quality and I began calling the cabinet maker for some advice but never received an answer to my messages. I continued to call the cabinet supplier over the next several years with no satisfaction. Foster Kitchens designed and supplied the cabinets but didn’t manufacture them, but Andy agreed that the quality should have been better. Since we dealt with Andy Foster, he made the problem go away, at his expense. We had three wood craftsmen working in our kitchen these past few days, one of which was Andy Foster, correcting someone else’s poor workmanship. No matter whether a company is an IBM or a locally owned business, things don’t always go 100% right. How those businesses correct the problems, is what makes the difference. I want everyone to know about the ethical business that Andy Foster of Foster Custom Kitchens is running in Ithaca. If you ever consider a new kitchen, Foster Custom Kitchens is the only place to go. Mel & Mollie 107 Simsbury Drive."