Wooddell Builders Ltd

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We are very happy with Don and his team's professionalism, courtesy, and attention to detail during the project. The work was plan out methodically, and went as schedule...barring weather situations which invariably will happen. Any questions, or concerns were immediately handled. We would recommend him very highly to our friends and neighbors.

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I was happy with the outcome. I got what I wanted.

Our garage was built nearly 7 years ago by Don.  Several years ago, we started to have mold appear above the garage door - which we frankly didn't pay much attention to...and we would wash it off when it would reappear. Finally my stepfather (who is a contractor) noticed it, he did some inspecting and realized Don did not have the vinyl siding installers put flashing over the garage door. So, when it would rain, water would seep in above the door - and we started to see from the inside that it was rotting the wood.  My stepfather drew us detailed explanations of what the constructions standards are - and we called Don to see how he could help us resolve this. Seeing as our garage was not that old, even though our warranty was expired, we figured he could at least help us determine the appropriate solution. We had to call him several times before he returned our call - he stated he believed it was not mold that we saw, but a material they used that was disintegrating under the siding. We disagreed and asked him to come out to see it. After again calling him several times, he reported he had been to see the garage. He was then very defensive saying it was not his responsibility to fix this since our warranty had expired. He continued to deny that what we were seeing was mold, and stated that flashing was not necessary to protect the wood from rain. He would no longer return our calls and was not helpful in the resolution of this problem. My stepfather helped us fix our problem - which was indeed rotting wood.  If we had not fixed this problem, we would have had a serious rot problem that would have begun to impair the integrity of our garage door support. We did not appreciate Don's inattention to this - as a responsible businessman who wants his clients to recommend him, he could have helped us fix this problem. It cost us less than $100 to fix - and I am sure his labor could've fixed it much faster than it took us to fix it ourselves (2 days) - because clearly it was poor construction - whether he was aware of what his subcontractors were doing or not, we are not sure. But, we expected him to be responsible to a former customer to help resolve our problem. Please be aware if he has built your garage recently and follow-up to check that your siding is actually protecting your wood from the rain. I have plenty of pictures of the moldy wood I would be happy to share to support this report.

I had an excellent experience with Don from the beginning, and later with his crew as well. Don was unfailingly professional, courteous, and responsive throughout. He provided references to other garages he had built in my neighborhood. Took the time to sort through various options with me in preparing the contract. Worked to help make the new garage fit my needs and the limits of my yard. Once the demolition and building began, he was careful to advise all workers on the site about priorities important to me, such as the protection of a large hemlock tree I didn't want damaged by heavy equipment. He visited daily to check on the progress and supervise workers as needed, and was easy to reach when I had questions or concerns. The workers he hired were themselves also professional and respectful. The heavy June rains slowed progress a bit, but once that ended the garage went up quickly and looks beautiful. I'm quite pleased, it's so much nicer than the old one and improves the look of my home immensely. Don was conscientious enough even to come back after the final payment had been made to personally take care of some loose ends, fix a small depression left in my neighbor's side yard with topsoil and grass seed, and to fill in with dirt where settling had occurred around the garage foundation. I was most impressed with his attention to detail and quality. I would highly recommend him to others.

The garage project did not start very well because the back hoe operator accidentally broke my gas line when digging the footer which resulted in a lot of other complications. It was March and the temperature was consistently in the low 50's and without heat or hot water this could have been a big problem. First I want to say that it was not Mr. Wooddell or the backhoe operator's fault that the gas line was severed. Premier (gas line locater selected by Columbia Gas) did not mark the existing gas line correctly and therefore the backhoe operator did not know that he should not have been digging at that location. Neither Premeir nor Columbia Gas have taken responsibility for this, but Mr. Wooddell immediately said that he would pay half of what it would cost to get the gas line fixed and service restored to my house. I am still trying to get Premier or Columbia Gas to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their use of less than proficient personnel, but the fact that Mr. Wooddell paid half of my $1000.00+ repair bill speaks volumes of his dedication to the customer and customer service. Upon completion of the garage we had a couple small issues regarding a loose light receptacle and the fact that the downspouts on the gutters were too long, but Mr. Wooddell immediately had one of his men fix the receptacle and not only cut the downspouts to a more appropriate length, but also supplied splash blocks at no extra cost. Mr. Wooddell tirelessly answered all of our questions and addressed all of our concerns throughout the project. He and his workers did an outstanding job on our garage.

We contacted 5 garage builders based on the list, of which only 3 responded to requests for estimates. We chose Wooddell even though he was the 2nd lowest bid because of his extensive experience in this neighborhood, thorough knowledge of Clintonville code and permit procedures (we have a corner lot which has special setback requirements), and a long-established work crew. The job began as soon as weather permitted at the end of winter. Don Wooddell (owner) handled all permits and paperwork seamlessly. His crews were on time and worked fast on all phases from demolition to final finishing. Including weather delays, job took approx. 10 weeks total. When there were questions or issues, Don was immediately on the matter, and we had no problems. Only complaint is that after the job was done it was clear the electrical subcontractor did not properly back-fill the trenching work (it sank 6 inches), and we had to re-do it ourselves. Mr. Wooddell is immensely experienced, responsive (he always returned calls quickly and was easy to reach), extremely professional, and overall made this big job go very smoothly. His crews were always on time and worked fast, leaving only the usual construction site traces-I've seen jobs like this do far more damage to the yard and surroundings. The finished garage is beautiful and exactly what we wanted.

He did an excellent job. It took longer than expected because it was over the winter We are thrilled with the new garage. They tore down the garage in November and worked around the weather when building the new one. He was on time when he said he would be here. The price was really good compared to other estimates.

They were very professional, came out, and did the job in a timely manner. They addressed any concerns that I ran into.

Don Wooddell, the company owner, was at all times professional and prepared. He arrived to assess what we were interested in having built with a list of references in hand, pictures of design options and able to provide costs for options not included in the original design. He always returned my phone calls within a few hours and always was responsive to any questions. All of the subcontractors used were courteous and completed the work in a clean and professional manner. We asked for some additional electrical fixtures to be wired by the electricians, which resulted in a misunderstanding on the amount billed to us. Mr. Wooddell never hesitated to state that he would resolve the issue with the electrician and the appropriate bill would be sent to us for payment. We have no complaints. We added two feet to the concrete pad next to the garage and added an extra window--both at the last minute, which Mr. Wooddell was able to accommodate. We are very happy with the results.

WE RAN INTO ZONING PROBLEMS AND HE WAS WILLING TO GO TO THE CITY TO GET A VARIANCE, BUT WE DECIDED TO RETHINK THE WHOLE PROJECT. HE SENT US A CHECK WITHOUT BEING ASKED, MINUS A MINOR CHARGE FOR HIS TIME AND FOR THE FILING OF THE PAPERS. HE IS VERY MUCH A CLASS ACT, VERY PROFESSIONAL.

DON WOODDELL COORDINATED EVERYTHING VERY QUICKLY. THIS INCLUDED DEMOLITION, BUILDING, AND ELECTRIC. THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE TOOK ABOUT 5 WEEKS. WE ARE VERY PLEASED.

DON'S WORKERS WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL AND BUILT EXACTLY THE GARAGE I WANTED. IT TOOK A BIT LONGER THAN I EXPECTED BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH THE WHILE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WOODELL BUILDERS.

DID OVER AND ABOVE WHAT WAS EXPECTED. TOOK LONGER BECAUSE HAD A LOT OF RAIN, AND HAD TO WAIT ON THE SERVICE DOOR.

FROM THE BEGINNING, DON WAS VERY RECEPTIVE & BARGAINED DOWN HIS PRICE TO FIT OUR NEEDS (ALL BIDS WERE SIMILARLY PRICED, BUT HE WAS WILLING TO COME DOWN TO OUR CAP). DON WILL ALWAYS CALL BACK, AND HE IS VERY RESPONSIVE - BUT YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO CALL HIM TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON. WE FOUND THAT THE WORK ON THE GROUND TOOK A LOT LONGER THAN WE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT (ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE SUCH WET WEATHER), BUT ONCE THE FOUNDATION WAS LAID THE REST WAS DONE VERY QUICKLY. WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH THE FINAL PRODUCT!

THEY CAME OUT AND GAVE ME AN ESTIMATE, I TOLD THEM THAT I WANTED TO START WITHIN TWO WEEKS AND THEY DID. I TOLD THEM THAT I WANTED IT TO BE DONE IN SIX WEEKS AND IT WAS DONE IN FIVE. THEY WERE CLEAN AND DIDN'T CHARGE ME WHEN HE UNDERESTIMATED HOW MUCH GRAVEL HE NEEDED TO EXTEND THE DRIVE WAY. THE QUALITY OF THE BUILDING IS EXCEPTIONAL.

I HAD THREE ESTIMATES AND THEY WERE THE LOWEST. THEY WERE PROMPT AND FINISHED SOONER THAN I HAD ANTICIPATED. THEY DO NOT WASTE ANY TIME ON THE JOB. CONCRETE AND ELECTRICAL WORK IS SUB-CONTRACTED OUT.

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