ADVANCED RESTORATION TECHNOLOGIES

After almost 2 months since the initial visit to the property, we still did not have a contract. They were padding the bill with items and work that did not need to be completed. When we attempted to speak to the company about why the estimate was so off, we were told we had no idea what we were talking about and did not know how to read the estimate. They were rude and condescending on the phone and via e-mail. We had to get our insurance company to mediate between us and the contractor. We had to remove the fallen patio ourselves and had to pay to have the debris removed. Yet they were still trying to bill us for 3 hours of demolition that was not needed and replace windows that did not exist. Our insurance company finally removed them from the job and we hired our own contractor.

This company was recommended by my insurance agent when we were in need of both emergency cleanup and remodeling services due to a basement flood. Our experience with the emergency cleanup was great-the owner came immediately to assess the damage and a crew promptly arrived with equipment to get our basement dried up. The problems began with the remodel process. The flood happened in June; there was a several week delay in getting someone out to provide an estimate for the damage (which was 4X the insurance claim adjustor's estimate). Once the estimate was prepared, we did not receive it for over four weeks despite our calling and asking for it. We signed on to have them complete the work as they were recommended again by our agent and we needed to get the work done. Once papers were signed (in July or August), it took the company until November (yes, November) to start and complete the work. We called week after week from August to November and each time was given a promise that the work would begin in the coming weeks, but it never happened. The support staff seemed highly disorganized-they lost our paperwork on several occasions-and the person overseeing our project (the owner's brother) was also very disorganized. The work, once it was completed, was of good quality. The carpentry was done by the company's own men but the painting and carpeting were subcontracted. We were happy with the final project, but ARTec never did call once after the work was completed by the subcontractors to follow up. We haven't heard from them since. Overall, the biggest problems with this company are tardiness and disorganization.