Kraft Construction Co

I had problems with the job done. Had to call them back about it. I would not recommend their cabinets.

It took 10 weeks for them to complete the remodel.

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The foyer was the problem area, the floor tile (24x24in) was installed incorrectly. The floor Kraft put down was no where near level, tiles had what is called lip-age where the tiles at the grout line are not level with each other. I asked Kraft to replace the floor but they were not willing to do that. They removed $3,000 from my bill and told me they would replace the tile and grout as those were priced as one item on my contract. They delivered the replacement tile 2 weeks late with NO grout. I have email message that we said tile and grout but now they say the grout is not included. While a tile installer that I have used in the past was removing the tile he found that none of the thin set was installed correctly. Over half of the tiles were removed in one piece and there was no thin set on the back of the tiles (looks to be have been mixed too dry). The rock board under the tile that Kraft also replaced also did not have the thin set mixed and installed correctly, there was only some nails around the outside of each board. I had to pay someone else to have the vanity/granite/plumbing removed and reinstalled, this should have been Kraft's responsibility. There were 2 scratches in the vanity, Kraft replaced the door which is now fine but the drawer they tried to replace the front which took almost 2 months to get did not match the color. I finally asked them to put the old scratched one back on and leave. They also had to replace the vanity mirror 3 times. Ugh I had Kraft do a complete remodel of my master bath about 2 years ago. I felt they did a very good job at that time, otherwise I would never be a return customer. Now I worry about the quality of work in that bathroom along with the other full bath they remodeled.

unknown

Continued from "What did the provider do" -- 
Kraft came back out, pulled out the untreated wood sitting in mud and replaced it with treated wood.  Then Kraft did a slight re-grading of the surrounding ground to meet code after flunking building inspection. Actually, after work one evening, I went out there and spent hours digging dirt away from the structure because I felt that Kraft would just half-do the job and I did not want the project to fail inspection again.  Shouldn?t Kraft have known to do this with their experience, in first place?  
I also asked Kraft in writing whether or not the exterior doors were treated as promised in the contract, but Kraft never gave me a response.  So, I put in more unnecessary time and expense hunting down the manufacture of the doors in the new structure to try and figure out whether or not these doors ? or any portion thereof, were treated.  I also pointed out to Kraft that the metal flashing on the outside double-door is sloppy and has large gaps, but I was told that?s how it will stay.  There was an unsightly bit of chipped wood stuck jammed in one of the door frames and sticking outwards, and I asked Kraft back in October about it but they were not concerned.  Yesterday (December), by happenstance, someone who viewed this felt sorry for me and to avoid injury, fixed it for me right there on the scene.
I agreed to paint everything, but that will be impossible to do the way that Kraft left the project.  The treated wood needs to dry and season until Spring of next year, and Kraft said that for this reason, they could not caulk right now.  They will come back to caulk they said, but not to make the structure paint-ready.  To get the structure paint-ready, would require me applying some type of compound and heavy sanding, to minimize all of the knots and nail holes in the exterior treated wood.  There is even a large dent in the framing outside, which no amount of putty or compound could hide.  Photo attached.  Even though Kraft could not caulk the treated wood connections, they did not even caulk the areas where they removed and restored portions of my existing 60-year old ceiling/roof to install fire wall planks required by the Building Inspector.  They left large gaps and crevices in the ceiling-to-roof connections that had not been there before, and I did not see that problem until beginning the paint job.  So, I bought exterior caulking myself and climbed a ladder and did the caulking myself.
This has been the worst experience I have had with any contractor in the 20+ years that I have owned my home.  I am disappointed in Kraft beyond words, and they know this from all of my letters, emails, and conversations.  For $22,000, I think that what Kraft left me with and how Kraft treated the project after I signed the contract, does not square with this price.  I wonder if Kraft may have looked at my neighborhood?s decline and felt that they could get away with half-doing things or maybe they felt that I did not deserve what I had paid for.  I don?t know.  I am just very disappointed; feel Kraft over-charged me; and feel Kraft has not been honest with me.  Although Kraft apologized to me for the issue with the wood, etc., they would turn around and continue to remind me of just what little regard they had for me as a customer.  Kraft sent me a text message on October 26th telling me that I had passed the building inspection, when I had really flunked the building inspection that same day ? and I only found that out by not trusting Kraft?s text and calling the Building Inspector myself that day.  The project did eventually pass inspection on October 29, 2015, but at this point my confidence and trust in Kraft Construction had been completely lost.  When Kraft tore out the untreated wood and replaced it with treated wood ? as should have been done in first place, they somehow damaged the electric connections and had to come back out to have that fixed.  I was glad to be done and was going to leave it at that, except for the fact that everyone that visits me now, is seeing this project and telling me that I probably got taken advantage of by Kraft.
Finally, I arranged for a contractor to come to my home to examine this stuff and give me an estimate on finishing it.  I have paid to have exterior siding put up in the Spring on the exterior project, and this contractor will take care of siding on the outside door fame as well.  I am paying $2,012 to have another contractor finish the project that I had trusted Kraft to professionally complete for me.  In total, for this small project, I will have paid $24,000.  This is the most absurd, costly, labor-intensive, experience I have ever been through, and I hope never to have to go through this again.  Once I signed Kraft?s contract, Kraft treated me like they did not need my business and treated me as though they had a disdain for even having taken the job in the first place.
Very, very disappointed.
Photos referred to in this review will be uploaded as allowed.

unknown

It went very well.  They had good reviews and then I went and had them do the work.  They were very communicative and very responsible.  It was very good.

It went okay.  The overall service was fine with one exception.  The skylights developed a leak a couple of times and they were supposed to have a lifetime warranty.  When they fixed it the first time, there was junk up on the roof causing water to back up.  When it leaked the second time, they didn’t find any reason but they said they were going to contact the skylight manufacturing company and maybe talk to a representative, but I never heard back from them.  They didn’t really follow up to get that fixed even though it hasn’t leaked since.

We had worked with Kraft previously to replace our front porch (to essentially redo what a previous contractor had done - or actually not done) and also to put new siding around the entire house including plywood sheathing and Tyvek underneath. Kraft had also finished our basement. So as we have always been happy with their work, we hired them to undertake our kitchen and bath remodel. The entire project took a little longer than anticipated but that was not Kraft's fault as some of the supplies took a while to arrive and we had some unanticipated issues such as plumbing not going where the builder should have put it and a tile floor that my husband and I had out down a little too well a few years earlier (sorry about that !). Dan and Gary were extremely helpful during that time and made sure that we always had a functioning bathroom and a sink on the ground floor. They set up a pseudo kitchen for us to use in our front room and made sure that we had access to our refrigerator. I noticed that another reviewer had their project going on at the same time and made a comment that it had been delayed a little - sorry about that, it was probably because of our project. In any case, the Kraft folks were always extremely helpful and respectful of our privacy, especially as a large part of our house was torn apart. We grew to consider Dan and Gary as members of the family, especially my young daughter. We have cats that are escape artists and both Dan and Gary were very careful about coming in and out of the house. They always cleaned up after themselves each day and made sure to touch base with us on a daily basis so that we knew what was going to happen the following day or week. The price was comparable to other quotes we had received and was well worth it. Although we did go over budget for this project, Heidi was great at letting us know our budget and where we were under and over. Ultimately we chose to use more expensive tile, which was a decision on our part and led to the higher price (but we are glad that we did it). The really nice thing is that Kraft will quote a price at the beginning of the job. For our first two projects with them, we were under budget and received money back. I cannot stress enough how important it is for folks to go with a contractor who provides a price up front - our previous experience was with another company (recommended on the list) who charged by the hour and we ended up having to pull the plug after the cost ballooned and we ended up having to redo some of the work ourselves. So to summarize, we really had a great experience with Kraft and we would hire them back in a minute - well, I guess that we did do that two times already!

They were very efficient. They worked every day until the job was done. Dan was wonderful to have around and he paid incredible attention to detail. It looks fantastic, in no small part because of Dan's meticulous work. Everyone in the office was a pleasure to work with. Heidi assisted me in finding and ordering a faucet for a great price. They gave wonderful advice and guidance when I chose materials. Gregg helped me choose a beautiful backsplash using the perfect colors and textures. I get many compliments on my new kitchen. Everyone remarks on the high quality of the work. I would use Kraft again in a heartbeat. In fact, I already obtained an estimate on a basement remodel because I was so impressed with their work. The price was very reasonable, especially considering the extent of the work that was done and the extra time spent on unanticipated problems with my drywall. I am astonished at the recent negative reviews here. My experience was nothing but positive. I was especially impressed by their availability and rapid response to minor adjustments after the project was completed.

Kraft was great from the start.  I contacted many companies that didn't even respond to my request for a quote.  Kraft immediately responded and sent someone out for the quote process at no charge.  A couple of the companies that did respond charged just to come out and give the quote.  We received one quote that was much lower, but I worried about the quality that would be done at that price.  Of the others, Kraft was in the middle.
Due to my schedule, we wanted to push the start date back from when Kraft was able to start.  We were scheduled to begin October 7th, but they were behind in other projects and our start date got pushed back a week.  It was disappointing, but I know things like that happen.  When Art contacted me about the new start date, he was very considerate in making sure that it would work for us and was apologetic.  Since we only have one bathroom in our house, we had to find temporary living for us and our pets during the construction project.  We were promised the work would be done in two weeks.  I'm happy to say that it was.
Dan and Dan were the two men working on our project.  Any time they had a question about what we wanted, they would contact us.  It didn't happen often, but I was glad they made sure they knew what we wanted before they did anything.  They worked well into the evening and on the weekend to make sure they might the timeline.  Demo took longer than we were told, but our bathroom had tile in it from the 1950s.  They were heavy and difficult to get out.  The quality of the work done is great and, so far, we could not be happy with what Kraft did.  They aren't the less expensive company you'll find, but I believe when you are investing in our house, you want to make sure you go with a company that will do it right.

It was done almost a year ago now they did a good job, everything works well still. They completed the job with-in the time frame. I was very satisfied with the outcome.

We are currently going through the Angie's List complaints resolution process.
Our experience is that there was a significant difference between what we were told when Greg Hermes was selling us the project and the interactions we had with him and the Kraft employees and subcontractors during the project.
Our primary concern is that the floor tile was not installed properly, tiles are sticking up in places, there are lumps, sanded grout was used with marble tile which we later learned should not have been done, different grouts were used so that there is discoloration, grout was left on the tiles to dry and not removed, and in the end the entire floor was left with a thick layer of tile sealant which we had to pay another company to professionally remove. This is related to the project running over schedule. We were told it would be completed in two weeks. This was important as our house has only one bathroom. The project lasted more than 4 weeks.
When we voiced concerns we were told we were being difficult customers.
Also Kraft broke the contract to paint our trim and left the trim partially painted and with wall paint on it. The bathroom paint is thin in places and the primer is showing through. Next to the toilet there are drips roughly one foot wide by 8 inches long.
Kraft used subcontractors when we were told they would not. The subcontractor left gaps in the wall grout. The workers doing the job were not experienced with installing heated subfloors although we were told they were. In the end I had to purchase a different brand heating pad at the last minute. I also purchased a tool they needed to install the floor myself.
Kraft did not adequately clean and HEPA vacuum the dust in affected areas. Waste water from multiple tile saws was dumped on our front yard.
The final walk-through ended with my wife in tears.
We are asking that Kraft reduce the price of the project to compensate for the issues we have experienced.

I was given an estimate of this project to take a weeks time (I took off work) it took them two days and they promptly held out their hand for the balance of their money (which was hiked up by $200.00).  I was asked for more than half the original estimate up front.  I was left with two doorways "floating" 3" above a closed up floor that had not been leveled properly.  The floor (18' x 12')  was a good solid floor, but no effort was made to correct levelness of it. I had to have them back to improve the outcome.  They came back the following week and did just a shoddy, make do job that took them 2 1/2 hours, that could have been done the week before.  They made me ask them to come back. I am not happy.
I am an older woman and can't lift heavy well but I have experience in carpentry, finishing, painting, framing and tile set.  I have to contract out work of this size.  They replaced the floor joists with treated wood, but double stacked 1/2" plywood, 3/4" would have been better.  No moisture barrier, no insulation.  This 1/2" bare wood is approximately one foot to 18" above the "earth" crawlspace under the house. To correct the level, they made 2x2" "spokes" and covered with 1/2" plywood.  It sounds like you are walking across an empty wooden crate.  It's been about six weeks, no one has called to check to see if I am satisfied, happy or if I feel robbed.
I was so impressed with the broshure this company offered, beautiful homes that they worked on, "perfect work".  I wonder now if it was truly "their" work.

We were put under a bit of pressure when they gave us the start date and the delivery of a good vanity rquired 4 plus weeks and they would be ready for it before that.

We had Kraft add a sunroom to the back of our house.  They were flexible in that I wanted them to do the basic construction and leave the interior unfinished so I could do it myself.  They worked on it through a lot of bad weather and kept on schedule.   There were no big surprises or cost overruns that I did not expect.

The work from start to finish went as planned.  On budget, on time.  Dan lead field installation and performed all tiling.  He proved to be an ideal mix of "artist" and "engineer".  Any minor issue was solved cheerfully and professionally.  We chose floor and accent tile that was not easy to work with, and the results were truly excellent with Dan and Gary's outstanding effort.
Art, Greg and the front office delivered a very competitive quote, with realistic finishing allowances.  We were very pleased that the work was right on budget except for our additions to scope.  One supplier ordered the wrong fixture, and Kraft re-arranged their installation work schedule and worked out a resolution so that the original installation schedule was met.

Beautiful result! We are very happy and really recommend this honest and reliable company.

The work Kraft Construction Co. did for me was good. They worked with us and completed the project on time. It was quality work.

The sales service was great. The work was sloppy. As the pressure treated boards are drying they are twisting and bowing.Some boards are now touching each other on the porch flooring and others are as much as 1/2 inch apart. Many of the nails were never properly placed and are popping up as the wood is drying causing the boards to turn up on the overhang. They either did not use the correct nails or did not use enough nails. some of the nails were installed so close to the edges of the boards they actually split the wood. There is no uniformity whatsoever in the spaces between any of the boards and all the nails are randomly placed, many of them obviously not doing their job of holding things down. There were quite a few issues that were corrected upon completion such as boards that actually split under the pillars, door jam was shattered and replaced with bondo, one section of the flooring was uneven with boards you could actually trip over they were so uneven, house vinyl trim at flooring level needed some adjustment, but this new problem is not fixable as far as I can tell unless they start over. I expected much more from a company that has been in business as long as they have been. Some issues with clean-up too. They left nails on my drive way. Every single day they were thereI had to walk my drive and pick up what they left for the tires of my vehicles to find. I finally realized it was falling out of their work truck as they would get in and out or pull out tools.

The job went very well. The price was fair. They were prompt, and they got to it right away. They cleaned up after themselves every day. They went over every step with me about what they were doing. If I had any concerns, they came back the next day and took care of them. I was really pleased.

Overall, it went very well in spite of the constant rain and extreme heat last summer. I have absolutely nothing to complain about except a low spot in the concrete which collects water and mud, but other than that, we are pleased and believe this was money well spent.  The Hermes Brothers (Kraft Company owners) came over soon after we called to take a look at what we wanted done. They gave us an estimate which we felt was reasonable, considering what had to be done to accomplish this project, and then they took it from there. We gave them a partial payment every Thursday or Friday, and the whole thing was completed in a matter of a few weeks. It was a pleasure doing business with and getting to know everyone involved in this project.

I would give them an A overall. I would absolutely recommend them. I would use them in the future.