Even Construction

I had had the wrong man for the wrong job, that is, on remodeling work I had done before I met Marc Even. Marc has a history of specializing in over-the-water homes which require excellent quality and sturdy construction. An architect referred me to Marc, possibly because of the interesting challenges presented by the style of my home. He was punctual, never missing an appointment, and the job went as fast as could be hoped for; although it still took 4+ months, faster would have meant shortcuts I did not want. We had scaffolding put up, and Even worked hard to complete that work rapidly to minimize the rental cost. His subs did good work and his referrals, such as to the stone counter place (3CM) and flooring (Cascade) were excellent, as well. Occasionally his own guys could slip up in my view, such as in top-nailing cedar siding or starting to install windows that were made with the wrong frame (corrected). Much of the time he was there himself to supervise and participate. We have a challenging home on stilts, and unlike with other previous projects, I did not have to call the engineer out to halt or reverse shortcuts; Marc didn't take any. We've been in our home for 36 years, I've had a number of contractors, and I would use Marc again.The only person I'd rate higher is an older fella we had in the early '80's who actually made small models of what he was going to do to make sure the engineer's specifications were going to work; I don't think I'll find that (or have the time for that on a larger project) and this fellow couldn't have handled some of the 1200# beams we've had put in subsequently. On the other hand, Marc does have a lot of resources to get difficult tasks accomplished. I also had the feeling as we went along that he was sincerely trying to save me money on some of his recommendations and search for subs. His pricing was fair and I could actually understand his billing with only a couple of clarifications, and I had no complaints. He found one problem with the house, and corrected it at a very reasonable price. He is honest. and he is sincere about wanting to do good quality work and to have his projects come out well. There were only two items on the bullet list (which, compared to other projects I've had is amazing), and one of them was done just last week, about the time that was anticipated 4 months ago when the project was essentiailly completed. He was not absolutely perfect, but was agreeable to correcting those minor problems I had found. Finally, he and his folks were really good about looking after our dog. With respect to my rating, I had to give him a "B" somewhere, and I really didn't know where to put it.