PAUL BAUDER CONSTRUCTION

Takes your deposits and then shows up sporadically after several phone calls with unprofessional, unqualified people to do the job. Took over 3 months to do two small bathrooms and tiles are uneven and walls and trim have to be re-done. Do not use. He makes promises and grooms the homeowner into believing his spiel. His excuses are numerous. Basically disappears when things don’t go right and moves on to scam the next naive homeowner. Start of job was delayed weeks then found out he was arrested and in jail for scamming someone else! He keeps doing estimates and taking money from unsuspecting out of area clients.

I had my entire roof replaced and they did a great job. It took a day or two longer than they originally specified because of the weather, but there wasn’t anything they could do about that .

Paul came in and did everything we agreed upon. Very professional and his crew were polite. I would highly recommend using Paul and his crew for any work.

Horrible, never completed, was supposed to 6 months ago. Extremely unresponsive.

Paul started strong and performed all rough in work well. Drywall crew was sub-contracted, and they did a good job. Note: I placed a performance bonus on timely completion of work. The problem started with the electrical. Our township code calls for arc-fault breakers to be installed in all new work circuits. His electrician was also his framer and utility man. He got it wrong (3) times. Final sign off was just past incentive time, but I went ahead and paid the performance bonus anyway. We discovered a problem with the toilet immediately. It flushes, but continues to cycle for more than 30 minutes. We finally unplug it to stop it. Calls to Paul to sort it out go unanswered. We finally contacted the manufacturer and they have given us recommendations on what to try. Based on our description, the toilet was installed improperly. Looks like we're headed to court.

A kitchen remodeling project that started on a positive impression that is ending in frustration we hired Paul Bauder Construction for a kitchen remodeling ( extending the wall and new cabinets). We had obtained several quotes but Paul's was more reasonable and he was one that followed up in a quick manner ( getting back to us with an estimate and answering our questions). Having already done remodeling, we were impressed with his promptness and follow thru ( phone calls and stopping by). We decided to go with him. Scheduled to start in May 2012, Paul decided to start earlier ( March) since the weather was nice ( easier to dig for the foundation). We felt confident that this remodeling would flow smoothly. Paul was stopping by every morning to give directions to his workers. While he indicated that we had time to select our cabinets, outside construction continued. But we became aware that this was not the case. timing was everything. Paul was rushing to get the job moving fast and done and that was the beginning where we felt like pressed. We also found out that some details in the original layout had to be modified (contrary to what Paul had indicated in the beginning): a bearing wall had to remain, after being installed, we realized that the allocated window size was too small for a kitchen so we had it changed ( of course at a additional cost). All along, we were looking for cabinets with the layout dimensions given to us. We visited several places since a full kitchen remodeling is not something you do everyday nor do you change cabinets every so often (like painting a wall). At times, we felt like perhaps we were dragging the project. Turns out, we were wise since the original layout dimensions were incorrect ( and even subsequent ones). Certain things could not be modified as Paul had thought and indicated to us as no problem. Had we had bought the cabinets based on the original kitchen dimensions or even later on, we would have been stuck with them ( since we purchased them ourselves and not thru Paul - in order to get some financing options from a store that Paul recommended to us). Finally we decided and ordered the cabinets. Since it took 4 weeks manufacturing, Paul and his workers went on different work sites. When the cabinets arrived, we waited a week as Paul had to finished the other site prior to coming back to our kitchen. The cabinets were finally installed, top and bottom. The kitchen was taking shape. We compromised and accepted on certain things that could have been done more professionally ( molding, perpendicular refrigerator panel). Next was the granite counter top. Although included in the estimate, we had to pay for it directly to the seller ( they prefer not to deal with contractors). We advised Paul of this and indicated that we would adjust our final payment to him ( granite was more and Paul would reimburse the difference). The day the installers came to install the granite, Paul or his workers were on another site. Much to our disbelief, the base cabinets were not leveled. One section of the counter top was 1/2 " higher to the other and not leveled ( we have a U shape kitchen with a stand alone stove/oven in the middle). we called Paul to advise him of this and his reply was that this is normal and the granite installer usually shimmy up the granite. This was not what the installers were telling us. The cabinets were not properly installed. After telling Paul that his presence was needed, he agreed to come but seemed annoyed to have been disturbed. The granite was finally adjusted not by Paul but the granite installer ( I would recommend them). In no instances did Paul accepted that the cabinets were not installed properly. Our mistake was not to have Paul fix his mistake. When you have installers, contractors at the same time, you need to find solutions fast and on the spot. Kitchen was almost done. For a while, we sensed that Paul had no time for our remodeling. It took more than 5 weeks to have the cabinet hardware ( a single knob) installed. We also had emailed him a list of our concerns and things remaining to be done, but never obtained a reply or acknowledgment. It was always us calling or trying to contact him. Quite different than in the beginning. After multiple calls, Paul, himself, came to install the knobs one day.For being new wood cabinets, Paul found ways to drill the holes with a sense of hurrying up. This resulted in more than normal wood splintering and a very unprofessionally done hole done in a factory assembled sliding cutlery tray drawer ( something we upgraded when purchasing the cabinets). When we pointed this out to him, he said that it was not his fault that the hole was drilled not in the middle of the panel, but Kraftmaid for designing a poorly thought drawer. We began to have heated arguments with him. Plus, that day, as his workers were on another site, Paul had to leave precipitately when the last hole was done to bring materials to them in order to finish their day. I guess he had not anticipated that it would take him so much time to install knobs. He left the kitchen in a mess with all the wood drillings and contents for my wife to clean up. We were dumbfounded to see a boss leave a site in such condition. Only then did we noticed how careless Paul had been to drill the holes correctly. We then came to a decision to have him skip having them install the back splash (included in the estimate). We just wanted him to finish various adjustments plus cleaning up and not waste any more time chasing after the work. 4 months later ( October), we were still waiting for Paul to settle the difference between what we owe him ( last installment) and he owes us ( difference for the granite allocation and whatever works he did not performed ( back splash). Letters, emails, telephone calls were not returned. Finally after hand delivering a letter to his house, were we able to get a response. Instead of accepting responsabilities and certain difficulties, it was us who delayed the remodeling and made it complicated, per Paul. How dare could he say that! During all the construction, we worked our schedule to accommodate him. Being self employed, I worked more from home just to be present to answer questions from his workers, giving them a hand to move things.. He also had the gall to submit additional expenses such as framing a small wooden door for a hole in the basement foundation that they were required to do, installing under cabinets lights ( which were not included in the estimate and which we installed ourselves), additional floor tile works done ( due to his worker having removed more tiles than necessary when removing the old cabinets). Paul was nickel and diming for anything he could find. Enough being enough, we filed a small claim case in December 2012. We're waiting of the outcome. Our experience with Paul Bauder Construction has lead us to say that Paul is seeking as many jobs as he can. Sure his estimate can be on the low side but whenever he can save, he will do so ( example : no need to a whole wall, paint whatever is showing - leave the unpainted-unprimed sheet rock - save on paint and labor.). Recently, with the cold weather, we noticed more drafts than normal. Do we have adequate insulation inside the walls and ceiling? Also, after the works is completed, he submits additional un-warranted cost adjustments, without previously advising his client. You must be very prompt with payment to him but it is not the case if a refund is due. Paul's impression of a methodical and follow thru contractor diminishes over time. He is always right and does not accept his own mistakes. We realize that remodeling is different than a new construction, but when you make a mistake or "f..up", you fess up to it. After having done several remodeling our our current house and previously, would we recommend Paul Bauder Construction? NO ....

We chose Paul because he had remodeled our master bath several years previous and we were reasonably pleased with it. His quote was also lowest. The project started well. Paul came by every morning to give the workers instructions for the day and inspect the previous day's work. We addressed any modifications or quality issues then. Although things seemed to move slowly at times, someone was by nearly every day. Then the problems started....one of the younger employees stole nearly $5000 in jewelry. (We're still dealing with the court case) Paul was very helpful with the investigation and agreed to deduct what we did not recover from insurance from the remainder of the job. However the project was slowed down significantly as I was reluctant to have anyone in my house until the culprit had been caught. Shortly after that Paul was injured...another 2-3 weeks went by with no work. Then major flooding happened all across the area, including into our newly drywalled basement. Paul responded quickly and remediated the wet drywall and made new baseboards. We contracted another company to install an additional sump. After that everything pretty much came to a standstill. We would go weeks without hearing anything. Someone would show up to work for a couple days only when I called to complain. Eventually it became clear that the cabinets and other finishes were not being installed because Paul was having "cash flow issues". In order to get our cabinets, we had to write a check from the remainder, directly to the cabinet company. After 7 more months of someone showing up only every 2-3 weeks for a day or two, we called it quits with the project unfinished and found a new contractor. the basement is about 95% finished. The bathroom is only about 60%. There is a bunch of touch-up/finishing touches needed all around. We are now paying again for the same work just to get it done. Turns out there are some quality issues too that need to be done over by the new contractor. Even if we didn't have the issues with the project dragging on forever and the money problems, there are other factors in my disappointment as well. They were very cavalier with the selections we had made regarding fixtures, etc. the cabinets look nice but are not the color we picked out. The bathroom shower faucet, toilet and trim style or color are not the right ones either. We caught several errors at the last minute too. The cream colored shower was almost grouted with grey. Wrong size sink was nearly cut into the new countertop. They also cut a hole in our brand new escape window well and very poorly patched it. It looks awful and they didn't call before deciding that they needed to damage work they did not do. Overall, quality was mediocre, communication/responsiveness was abysmal, project dragged on with no end and we were repeatedly strung along with promises that we were waiting for materials that had never actually been ordered.

PAUL AND HIS ASSISTANT WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL. THEY DID SOUND WORK.