CRAVEN'S PAINTING

I had used Craven's in the past as they were recommended by one of my neighbors several years ago. They had done smaller jobs around my house and Leon had handled some interior and exterior painting. These jobs were done and done well and on time and on budget. I had recommended them to other's in my neighborhood and even got them the job of painting our neighborhood clubhouse and some repair work there as well. All went well. So when it came time to remodel my home I did not hesitate to hire Craven's. The issues started with Leon (Timothy Leon Craven / owner) putting Glenn Corbine on the job as his sub-contractor. This guy is a total B.S. operator. He talks a good talk, seems to know what he should be doing, and then cuts every corner possible. They did the demo on my bathroom, and over 2 months later... I have some tile laid on my floor. A 20% built shower that is a total joke. Plumbing that was being cut with no thought about how to re-run it properly. A "tub" surround that they put the tile on (expensive tile) that was not even properly sized to hold the new tub or the tub fixtures. (it all needs to be ripped out now!!) Glenn always had excuses for the slow work...money was tight. He said the Leon took 80% of the deposit money so he did not have funds to pay the labor guys. So I would front some money to help out. Then the slow work was due to other jobs they were working!! (i.e: other people he was ripping off) Sorry to say I had gotten them another job at a friends home. Making their FROG into a complete bedroom / bath. Well 6 months on that job and it too is not done, always the same excuses, and the work is junk. Glenn was constantly asking for money, and luckily we did not get in any deeper than the 2 of us already were. We called Leon several times about this, and to be honest I was totally surprised at his attitude. He kept saying it was Glenn's responsibility, but if it was a problem i could trust him to make it right. Well when we confronted Leon about making it right, he went right back to the "it's Glenn's job", and "I don't have the money to fix these issues". Bottom line I hired Craven's as my contractor, I did not hire Glenn Corbine. But I was pleased to fire them!! Leon will not meet face to fact to discuss this or even return calls or texts. He has taken paint deposits and will not return them or even discuss doing painting to "work" it off. It seems his company is in such financial distress they are just taking the money they can get from wherever and moving on. Funny thing in reading the other review on Craven's it seems that homeowner had the exact same issues. I already had a relationship with Leon and until this I thought it was a good one. But I find it interesting to read that Leon said he was going to fire Glenn after that job. Yet he put Glenn on my job and my friends job as well. Leon also told me he was going to fire Glenn after our jobs were done... I told him Glenn was fired...by me! So I have to wonder if it all is not some big scam now and if they are not still working together. So be careful, run do not walk away from these guys. My friend and I have had to hire new contractors to correct the sub-standard and not-to-code work that was done in both our homes and to finish these jobs. If you happen to need any addtional information I can be reached at 843-743-1851

AWFUL! These people had been referred to us by very close friends as a reliable/capable firm. We engaged them to assist us in assessing several homes that we were interested in purchasing. This allowed us to develop a sense of trust and confidence. When we finally purchased a home, we did so with the understanding that we would commit to significant remodeling (see above). This was a significant remodel and our first ever experience and as such, we asked Craven's if the job was within their scope of capabilities. We were assured that it was and examples were cited. Given that we maintain very busy schedules, it was also very important for us to be provided with a turn-key solution that was compliant with all codes and permitted appropriately. We were assured that everything would be to code, permitted and to the utmost in quality standards, going so far as to guarantee our 100% satisfaction. We agreed to have weekly meetings to assess the progress on Fridays at 1700EST. Upon contract execution on 8 January 2011, we were required to provide a $52,250 payment. Work was initiated and progressed very slowly. We engaged the Project Manager, Glendon O. Corbine, on an almost daily basis and were told that everything was fine and that we should "relax" and "breath" as he was pleased with the progress. Another payment of $35,100 was made on 28 January 2011 and we did so with the statement that we didn't want us or slow payments to impede progress. The job, per the contract, was supposed to be completed by 4 March 2011. As this date approached, we became increasingly concerned with the lack of progress. Corbine continued to offer assurance but the reality was evident - the job was not progressing. Of interest here is that we began to notice that quite a number of items (old and new) had disappeared from the work site. We addressed with Craven and the items "reappeared" on site the next day, with the exceptioin of the new, Baldwin brass kickplate for the front door. Craven assured us that he would pay for this in the instance that it was not "found" on site. Approximately 3 weeks prior to the anticipated project completion date, we engaged the company owner, Timothy Leon Craven. He was profusely apologetic and stated that he was going to terminate Corbine at the conclusion of the project. We assured him that this was his choice but that we simply wanted our house completed and safe. We were assured that this would be the case and that it would be ready for occupancy by 1 April 2011. He stated that Corbine was aware of our need to move from our temporary home on 1 April 2011 and had been working towards that date. We increased the level of scrutiny of the quality. Corbine became very frustrated by this stating that we were acting as if we didn't trust him and that we were contacting him too often. RED FLAG!!! As progress continued to languish, I began contacting the 3rd party vendors (appliances/granite/etc) and learned that no deposits/arrangements for installation had been made. The kitchen cabinets were installed very sloppily. Corbine assured us that trim would cover the "issues". I asked the cabinet company owner to take a look at what I deemed to be flaws in cabinet faces. He came to our home and his first statement was the he never would have put these cabinets in our home as they represented one of the lower end products. This was frustrating to us as we had been assured of top quality. At this point, we only spoke with Craven and were continued to offer assurances. We paid, via other contract, an additional $6000 for paint, that did progress...in a few rooms and on the exterior (new siding). Upon payment, I informed him that we did not want Craven's to install our appliances or complete the tiling/railing of the upstairs pation and expected this $6000 credit applied to the final payment. He agreed. On March 24th, I was on site, doing landscaping work on our property. Corbine asked me my thoughts on those items that had been completed. I was stunned! I stated that it was impossible for me to comment given the fact that so much of the project remained incomplete. Corbine later stated that his intent had never been to disappoint my wife or I and that he was not a liar. I consulted my attorney to assess options in the instance that we missed the deliverable date and was encouraged to contact our Town to determine the status of permits. We did so and an Investigator visited the project site. Corbine called me in a panic that afternoon asking if I had called for an inspection. I recounted my actions and was assured by Corbine that he would contact me later in the day. A Stop-Work Order was immediately issued and the Craven's team packed up their gear and abandoned the project. Over the course of the next few days, numerous efforts were made to communicate with the Craven's team to no avail. We have since engaged the Town, a licensed contractor and engineering firm to assist us and have learned that there are significant safety issues - electrical (wires in ceilings capped with electrical tape, outlets resting on insulation in attic) and structural (improper supports of staircase, joists that were cut by as much as 50% to allow for plumbing (code is 30% or less), windows installed that were not to hurricane standards, lack of proper support, etc (more to follow engineer's report)). Without the Stop-Work order, this job could have continued and we would have moved into a home that could very well have killed us due to fire/structural issues. We are using all available means/resources to pursue these criminals to the fullest extent of the law. Please, do not ever utilize the services of Craven's Painting and Remodeling, Timothy Leon Craven, Glendon O. Corbine or Shelby C. Trapnell.