I cannot recommend this contractor. There are both positives
and negatives to my experience with him, and while everything turned out okay
in the end, it was a process to get there. I?m writing this review so anyone
considering this contractor can weigh their options carefully.
The negatives:
1 - The worst part of my experience with this contractor came when he asked me
for a large advance on a scheduled payment that was not due until the
completion of the project. When I denied him the money requested as it was not
a part of our agreement (the agreement and payment schedule which he created),
he got angry with me, became aggressive, and argued with me about it. I could
not believe how unprofessional and inappropriately he behaved! This situation
caused me much stress and anxiety and when he failed to get what he wanted, he
told me ?I?ve never had any trouble getting any other customers to give me
money when I asked.? This tells me that he does this all the time! Buyer
beware! You should never give a contractor funds before they are due in your
agreement which I learned the hard way with a different contractor. I feel
strongly that this contractor owes me an apology for putting me in that
position and I have yet to hear any apology for any of the negative situations
that occurred on this job.
2 ? This contractor has poor organization and management of
his jobs. We would see workers coming every day for a few days, and then nobody
for a week because he was putting the workers on other jobs. It was not because
of weather once they enclosed our addition or any other circumstance outside of
his control ? it appeared to be just poor management and disorganization with
multiple jobs going on at once. He would give projected timelines for when
certain aspects of the project would be completed, but was not able to meet
them consistently. I believe our project (building an addition onto our home)
was a little too large for him to organize and complete successfully in the projected
timeframe and may be one of his largest jobs to date. I?m hopeful that he
learned something through the process as I?m sure we did.
3- As a result of the poor management noted above, the job
that was supposed to take 45-60 days for completion instead took 8 months to
complete since they had to stop for the winter. Even if they hadn?t had to stop
for the winter, it would?ve taken 4 months instead of the 1.5-2 promised in the
agreement. Anyone who has had their house torn up for any amount of time (particularly
during holidays!) knows that this is an incredible inconvenience and adds a lot
of stress to your life.
4 ? Outside of our agreement (for free), his workers poured
a small concrete square for our hvac unit to sit on. The problem was that it was
terrible, crooked, and slanted toward the foundation of the building. When I
addressed it with him (and it was obviously terrible work), he looked at it as
if he couldn?t see the problem until my husband got a level out and showed him
how bad it was. Nobody needs crappy work ? free or otherwise. The positive is
that he did eventually remove that and provide a proper replacement.
5 ? If you enter into an agreement, I suggest really looking
closely at your agreement and having the contractor explain each item in detail
to be clear on what you are being asked to provide and what they are providing.
I found that the wording at some places of the agreement was not clear, and we
wound up having to get items like the insulation we wanted - AT OUR COST. Who
doesn?t include insulation in a plan for a building addition?
7 ? In addition to my above mention of the contractor
requesting money when it was not yet due, he also tried to get me to pay the
final payment when all of the work was not yet completed. No doubt, he thought
I might have forgotten what was left to be done after the winter, so he?d try
to do as little as possible to get the remaining money. When I told him I
didn?t want him to do the final work and I would not pay him and I?d find
someone else to do it, he insisted upon doing it claiming that he does not
leave any job behind. Perhaps not, but he may take forever to complete it at
your expense and inconvenience.
8 ? My husband had to install our network connection and do
some other things himself. The electrician only ran the line up through the
wall, so my husband actually had to install the jacks and plate. How many other
customers are going to do that? And, was there an apology, a thank you, or a
discount we received for having to go get those materials and do that
ourselves? NO.
9 - The contractor liked to remind me that he did so much
work for free (because he offered to!), but never remembered that we also
installed the network ports which we should not have had to do, and then we had
to repair and repaint the entire interior wall they broke through to create the
doorway from one room to the other. My husband had to put trim around the
alcove leading to that door because the way they did it, it looked a little
?Alice In Wonderland? and was not straight from one room to the other nor up
and down the wall. If they would?ve put a little more care into it, they
could?ve gotten it right.
10 ? The contractor?s motto to me throughout the process was
?No job is perfect.? Is that what you want to work with?
11 ? I was slightly concerned by the fact that he had
different people coming from all different places to do work. The foundation
was done through a local subcontractor(who took forever) and had to be torn out
and redone. The hvac was done by a few guys who obviously worked for a company
in Bucks County, but were doing our work as a side job on a Saturday (which had
us waiting around from 1pm-9pm that day from the time they were supposed to
arrive to the time it was completed ? a complete waste of a weekend day). The
carpet was done by some poor guy who came up from Delaware to do the
installation after work hours in the evening. These things are just another
aspect that made me think this was poorly organized and not entirely a
dependable company.
12 ? And, finally, I learned that the agreements this
contractor puts together are not in compliance with state law. This is a bonus
for the homeowner as you are not legally obligated to pay him if his contracts
don?t contain certain required information. I paid him all that was owed, but
reluctantly as I felt there really should?ve been a penalty for dragging our
job out for as long as it was. I will be sure to have any future contractors we
work with include a penalty for such issues.
The Positives:
1 ? The work did finally get done even though it took
forever (and he offered no apologies or discount for our inconvenience).
2 ? The work that was done was acceptable and passed
inspections (as he felt the need to tell me repeatedly).
3 ? He did communicate constantly throughout the process
even when I became difficult and disagreeable after the inappropriate financial
request he made.
4 ? When his concrete/cinder block person screwed up the
foundation work initially, he did have his team tear it out and replace it
rather than trying to pass it off as acceptable.
5 ? The subcontractor he used for our outdoor patio paving
stone installation seemed to work to a different standard and take pride and
try to do