LAWRENCE BUILDERS INC

We hired Lawrence Builders (LB) in the Fall of 2016 for major renovations of our master bathroom and kitchen in our Rhode Island home. The initial thrust for these projects was our desire to replace outdated cabinetry. Below are the major problems we encountered, our concerns, some positive experiences, and our opinions regarding LB and our projects. Our intent in writing this review is to provide our honest opinions and experiences with LB’s business so our RI neighbors can have unfiltered information about the pros and cons of doing business with LB. We’re puzzled as to how and why the following issues materialized having worked with many other builders/designers on many other projects over the years: 1. Partial overlay cabinetry was selected for both the kitchen and bath without consulting us. We ended up having to pay for both our desired full overlay cabinets and half the cost for the partial overlay cabinets that were non-returnable (thousands of dollars). 2. Within days of turning on the water to the new toilet for the first time, we had a major leak from the area around the toilet. We ended up paying $8,000 out of pocket for the repair. LB initially agreed to pay half for the repair after inspecting the area where leak originated, but recently decided not to pay because they didn’t believe they were at fault (our side disagrees). We’ve decided to move on. 3. We requested that a bathroom faucet set that has a lot of sentimental and historical value to the home be re-installed. We ended up spending significantly extra for a vanity stone top, though desirable to us, did not accommodate the faucet we wanted to retain. We would’ve liked to have at least been presented with stone options that accommodated the desired faucet set. 4. We had multiple cracks in our newly installed kitchen glass backsplash. We first thought that they may have been from many people congregating in the kitchen area at one time at parties. However, a tile expert who visited our home thought it was more likely due to L-cuts that were too tight and a potential need for more flexible adhesives/caulks around the L-cuts. There have been no more cracks since LB’s L-cut repairs, even with two large house parties since the repair. 5. The dumpster left a gouge along two-thirds of the length of our driveway. We had to discover this on our own a few weeks after jobs were completed. We will be saddled with replacing our driveway. You can’t just patch a chipped stone driveway. 6. There were some very minor leftover jobs left at the end of the projects. Instead of withholding our last payment until these items were addressed by LB, we made final payment to LB assuming these punch list items would be resolved. LB never showed to handle these items or to fill in deep holes left by LB’s advertising sign after multiple follow up calls. We paid a painter and landscaper to handle these items. In writing this review, we wanted to be fair, truthful, and balanced. We didn’t want to lose sight of some of our positive experiences. LB’s owner Steve is a friendly and hard-working individual as are John and all the subcontractors and office staff (Lisa) who work with him. The visual beauty of the final work can’t be denied. Steve is green-conscious, responds quickly to most client communications, is calm under stress and also exuded a client-friendly vibe in the early stages of our relationship. We are not leaving our relationship with LB angry or vengeful, but sad and disappointed.