KEYSER CONSTRUCTION INC

Before hiring Keyser Construction, I requested a estimate from Brandan Keyser. I walked him around the house and showed him what I needed. Knowing what he had charged a neighbor for the same thing, when the estimate came back double that amount, I figured it was because he would be doing twice as much. However, it turned out there was still more to do, and he said it would cost more. I assumed that since he was doing the same thing for a third time, it would cost three times as much as he had charged the neighbor, but when the bill came it was close to being 5 times as much. Prior to receiving his bill, I had asked for his card thinking I could use him to remodel my kitchen and baths. But, considering how far off his estimate was from what he actually charged, I would not use his services again or recommend him to others.

They were great!  Very professional and prompt. Brandan was very patient with me as I took some time to make my final decisions.  Eric is somewhat of a perfectionist and did a great job on the backsplash!  I was very happy with the outcome and would definitely recommend them.

Pros:
Meticulous to detail, great builder

• Very clean and orderly
• Great tile work
• Great wood work
• Brandan wants to do a great job
• Because they completely botched the job budget-wise, they did let us take on a few things to reduce the cost as we were already nearly $10k over. (i.e. painting, changed flooring to time/materials because we had the flooring, etc.)

Cons:
Did not effectively represent upfront cost buckets, real costs, cost adjustments, cost differentials, etc. We had shared prices for materials several times with Brandan and asked that he include them in the budget, before the contract was signed. They were not included and we did not realize this because we couldn't get a full confirmation on what was included in the breakdown of the sections completely. In turn, we had a misunderstanding of what was included in several significant cost items.
Brandan was not forthcoming on communication. He said he had an accountant and that she was out of the office. That is why we had so many issues apparently because he was trying to do this by himself and it didn?t make sense. Four weeks post demo, he hired a new accountant, Morgen, who made him completely change billing systems. While, for the better, we had to go back
through all the original documentation and cross check as it was laid out differently.  He had eluded that they had worked together
but they confirmed when asked that this was their first time working together.  Morgen did make things make sense so I would not move forward without an permanent accountant as part of his team.
Brandan did not disclose allowances also needed to include 20% markup until Morgen was on board a month after we started working together, which pushed everything over budget. Brandan was with me while we were making selections and we talked about things fitting into the budget, but no mark up was mentioned, or that fact that somethings weren't actually included. He also shared final invoices with me (tile, fixtures) and there was no mark up listed or mentioned that the total, was not actually the total.
When making decisions, did not notate that there would be more charges to use differ materials (difference in using a central exhaust fan, etc.). We essentially made the assumption that he would provide that guidance. He did say upfront that he manages the budget, but that was not the case, until Morgen joined (which was too late on all the ordered items).
Have to press him on the timeline/not forthcoming (said glass was ordered, but it wasn?t measured so add on an extra 10 days, etc.)
Project took twice as long (instead of 6 weeks, nearly 13 weeks). There was a 2 week back order on a bathtub and then it got rejected so we, the homeowners, scrambled to find another (unfortunately for us, more expensive tub) that was in stock and it still took our contractor a whole other week to pick up and put in, even though it was ready.
The time management was not good. There were weeks where it was quiet. We had vacation planned and some trim was done, but no measurements on glass for the shower, so we were another 1.5 weeks out with nothing to do in between b/c it didn?t get done.
Their plumbing/supplier was not reliable, which I hear is pretty common for the industry. I just wasn't expecting to be the one to try to push things forward. When we had to reorder for misplaced items (contractor accidently threw an item away)/wrong item (the wrong shower arm was orderd) and kept telling us different delivery dates, which was a waste of time. After a waiting a week post expected delivery, we, the homeowners, ended up finding the items in stock elsewhere.
The contractor was rarely onsite. I work from home part time and thank goodness because I was there to answer some questions and stop things from going in the wrong place, i.e. the skylight. When we had our steam shower glass put in, the contractor never came, nor did he answer my text message (his preferred communication). The main glass manager wasn?t there to kick off the
job either, just two subs, and I was glad I was there to answer questions. Caveat, the glass job turned out really great. It would?ve been nice to have some communication that they were coming and that the contractor was not.
Questions to be sure to ask:
We had their external accountant join in after a month and was very detailed. I am not sure all the miscommunication would have happened if she was involved since day 1. DO NOT SIGN WITHOUT A WRITTEN STATEMENT THAT THE ACCOUNTANT IS WORKING WITH YOU. And she gives you a detailed budget.
 
Ask for a spreadsheet budget breakdown before signing the contract. We only had the elusive contract numbers for a month before we got the actual visibility that was promised and it was too late for most things at that point. He did not guide us in any way if things were over, etc.
In the budget estimate:
What all is part of the FIXTURE budget (tub, shower, sinks, toilet, shower and tub fixtures, sink fixtures, toilet roll, towel holders. He
did not clarify this for us after several requests and unfortunately it was to include everything, including mirrors, light pendants, etc. for a very, very small allowance ($3,500 for all of the above). We were responsible when he came with us to pick out faucets
that were more expensive, but at the time, we didn?t realize, and he didn?t say otherwise to anything, that this included everything. And that the bath bucket, unlike the steam shower bucket, was all labor and not the bath itself. When asking if it was supposed to include things like, the toilet, after seeing we were over budget, he said he forgot to include that?
Does this budget amount include labor? There were separate buckets for labor, but then for some it was included and we found out after the fact. For example, the shower bucket included the steam unit, but the bath bucket was only labor and the tub was supposed to come out of fixtures.
Encourage mid point check ups for things like plumbing or electrical. We realized we needed ask them to do that otherwise we wouldn?t have found out until the end (if we went over, met budget or completely blew the budget). Traditionally Brandan said they would just bill when all done, however we had to change a few water pipes and needed to understand (general ballpark) if we were talking $2,000 or $10,000 more.
At the end of the day, we take responsibility for choosing the items, but if we would?ve had greater visibility, we would?ve done things differently. The bathroom turned out beautiful. Unfortunately it was all the miscommunication and lack of budget disclosure that made the project difficult.

Brandan was professional and thorough. 

Went well.  Happy with the results.  Total cost was not represented well in the bid.  Other contractors more thorough with total cost of job.

Keyser construction remodeled our Master Bedroom and Bath. Brandon Keyser, Jason Ball, and Al King were the BEST team to work with. They came up with creative , cost effective design alternatives. Gave feedback on ideas we presented (and made sure we didn't do anything to compromise the ultimate design), found economical solutions. The most important, they were FABULOUS to work with. Can't say enough good things about the team,the designs and the communication skills.

They did excellent work. They were very prompt.

They did a great job.

We have worked with Keyser construction multiple times over the last 12 years. I am an engineer, and very specific about the work performed on jobs at our home. Brandan Keyser is extremely conscientious and does things the right way to bring about an excellent end-product. I am always glad that I have a contractor that I can trust performing work in and on my home. Remodels and additions are invasive on normal life, and Keyser Construction has worked hard to keep us as a customers happy. Brandan Keyser also selects subcontractors that have equally high standards of doing business. I highly recommend Keyser Construction.

He had done excellent work for me for the past couple of years. He has excellent communication and he delivers as promised.

Working with Brandan was very easy - he and his team came over and helped me design what I wanted. I am very picky and had some specific ideas of how I wanted this to look. They were able to implement everything I asked for. When it came time to install, they were here when they said they would be and got the entire installation done in one day, so my downtime was kept to a minimum which was crucial for me. I've been using the new desk/office system now for about 2 weeks and I couldn't be happier. The quality of the work is impeccable, and they really paid attention to detail.

Their price was better than everyone else. Their quality of work was great and the fact that they kept a commitment. I would hire them again in the future and I do currently recommend them to other people.