Carl Slate Contracting

Awful. I fired him. Negligent work and charged for work not performed. I had to pay someone else to not only finish the work but to fix the work done negligently by Carl. For instance non galvanized nails were used, nails were not driven in, support beams were over cut, there was no sealing between the foundation or brick and the framing, joists were not secured, etc. Carl didn’t provide services and supplies in the contract yet would not credit me. He was a condescending bully.

everything was done according to agreement. very good communication. work met all expectations. crew was professional. courteous and highly skilled. great experience.

We only had the one bathroom and it was taken out to put in the new one. Mr. Slate knew this was an inconvenience so they rushed to finish the job as quickly as possible. There were bumps along the way but Mr. Slate and his guys were always fast to make everything work. I could not be more pleased with our new rooms

Very well/excellent

Great. Mr. Slate is an experienced contractor and it shows. He runs a tight crew and keeps in contact with you during the construction. Mr. Slate is elderly but that does not stand in his way.

He had great ideas such as a coffered ceiling, screened windows over the exterior doors and a trap door to preserve the steps to the basement. The bedroom addition is wonderful. It fits the rest of the house so well that the inspector asked me where the new rooms were. The kitchen project also went well and we think Carl does a great job. We continue to use him for projects on our rental properties.

Once again, we were not disappointed. His head carpenter Doug now mostly supervises the jobs for Carl. Carl is an older gentlemen and cannot get around like he used to, but his experience and knowledge is impeccable. As long as you give Carl and Doug exactly what is is you are wanting, they deliver. We couldn't be more pleased with the new much needed playroom and bathroom. They started the project in the hottest part of the summer so it took a little extra time just because they couldn't be up in the stifling attic for hours on end until they were able to get the drywall in and the space air conditioned. But we are thrilled with the new spaces and have nothing but respect for Carl, Doug and the guys. His subs were professional and also did a great job. Thank you Carl, Doug and Brian.

Always been happy with the results. Hire him!

Mr. Slate and everyone working on my project were very polite. They went out of their way to make sure all our questions were answered and finished the job in a timely manner. We would definitely have them do work for us again. The quality of their work was excellent.

Third time we have hired Carl, very nice gentlemen!

I am very happy with the work that Carl Slate and team performed. They delivered on everything that was agreed upon and expected of them. In a couple instances I think they went above and beyond to help me out. They also were very punctual and professional, and stayed in good communication with me throughout the project. I have recommended Carl to friends already, and I will certainly use them on projects in the future.

In our opinion Carl Slate is a horrible contractor. In hind sight we feel that we should have hired someone else. When we first met with him we thought that everything would go well because he had been in business for so long. The problems began when he wanted to refuse to give us a contract that our bank required. He finally relented and gave us a contract which had to be reworded a few times because he insisted on a large down payment. This was red flag #1. Our bank advised us against this. We finally were able to get a contract that we agreed upon but we feel that we should have had a more detailed contract. This is a lesson we have learned for next time. The terms from the bank were that draws would be available every 30 days. He chose to wait a longer amount of time. We feel that he chose to do this because they were behind schedule and he wanted a larger payout. We feel that Carl thinks he can dictate everything that goes into the project and that we would just have to deal with it. We repeatedly had to tell him that we would be deciding what went into our home. When we had to correct or change choices that he made without communicating with us we always stayed within budget even when we decided on choices that he said he couldn't afford. In our opinion he made lots of excuses and sob stories to try to influence us. In our opinion he tried to rush things to get them done faster rather than concentrating on quality or our wants and needs. Because of this several things had to be redone. Specific issues and problems: Paint - Our walls were painted flat sheen without consulting us. We would have preferred semi-gloss because we have small children and need to be able to clean the walls. Our entire house before this project was painted semi-gloss. When we wanted it fixed he refused. The cabinet doors were not removed before painting causing them to have to be repainted because of missed spots. Hardwood Floors - We made arrangements to be out of the house for 5 days while the hardwood floors were installed and refinished. When we returned they had been stained a completely wrong color even though we had given Carl the stain color and the Minwax stain number. We believe that a "chemical etch" was done on this first finishing because of the very strong smell when we expected the entire floor to be finished. When we agreed that the floors had to be redone Carl refused to cover any cost for us to vacate the house for an additional amount of time even though the subcontractor that he had hired was responsible. When we returned after the second finishing of our floors we were satisfied with the color. We do now have chatter marks or waves in our hardwood floors which we are not happy about that we decided to let go because we did not want to have any more conflict with Carl. The last item was that there was a dummy plug installed next to our bathroom sink that was never discussed. We were expecting to have fixed but has not been. When I contacted Carl about this he said that his contract refused to fix it. Near the end of the project we feel that we were treated in an awful manner. He repeatedly threatened to sue us or place a lien on our house when all we were trying to do was make sure everything was done to our satisfaction before the final payout. He even had a person who said she was his lawyer contact us and a voicemail, which we still have. We feel that he rushed and bullied us into paying before we were completely satisfied. When we were arranging for the final payout we asked Carl to provide a list of the subcontractors he used so that we might contact them ourselves if needed which he agreed to. We have not received this list. When I called Carl and asked him why he had agreed and not followed through he said, quote" That was before I got my money." He also said that they do work for private individuals and do not do work without him. We find this hard to believe. We also fear that the warranty that he says he provides will not be honored. In conclusion we are mostly satisfied with the end result of the project but we feel that it was a nightmare the entire time. We would definitely not ever recommend Carl Slate for anything and would advise others against using him. We were very pleased with the subcontractors that did the cabinets, tile, electrical and plumbing. We feel that the guys who work for Carl directly are very nice people and in our opinion may be working for the wrong person.

Smooth operation, no snags, they do good work.

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Carl and his crew were very easy to work with. I made a number of changes and additions to the original plan and they accommodated without any issues. Additions turned out better than I imagined. In total the changes added approximately 600 sq feet of living space to the home. The project began in October and took about three months the complete. I was impressed with how quick for the amount of work. He did a great job, would use again!

We have used Carl before to convert a carport to a garage so were comfortable using his services again.  Brian, Doug and Carl were on time whenever we asked to meet, even for a 7am appointment at my house.   Between the three of them, they were always available to talk and cover work done for the day and plans for the rest of the week.  There were times his team needed to meet with us face to face and that was a challenge since we both work.  Their area of expertise is structural and basic to complex subcontract work.  They did a wonderful job building the porch and master closet.  They had good contacts to complete the tile, electric and plumbing work for the master bath.  I do suggest you meet with all sub contractors to insure everyone is on the same page.  I was not too impressed with the plumber and made my concerns known to Carl post project.  Carl, Doug and Brian are eager to start and complete projects quickly since they are paid a lump sum and not by the hour, their only hold up will be the work they have to contract out.   We completely trusted the team to come and go at the house while we both went to work during the day.  They are concerned with meeting expectations and pleasing their customers and will do whatever they can.  We did have another large name brand contractor bid but Carl's price was better.  Twice now we have used his team and both times they have never gone over their estimate, this last time they came in under.  We have more work to do on our house and will look to them again.

It took 2 days to complete the project, when they said it would only take a day. There were 3 men working on the floors. They cut the water off and did not cut the water heater line off. My water was not heating. They broke my storm door with their power gun. They also used old plywood to put down on the floor instead of going to purchase new wood. They used underlayment instead of plywood in the kitchen, which is against code. They did not clean up well either.

First of all, he will talk your leg off!  Second, they are not prepared with tools and had to borrow some of ours.  They messed up the crown molding and woodwork where they added the wall.  The drywall they used didn't seem to be the correct thickness, so he used a lot of mud to make it work.  Also, the finished job on the drywall was very bad.  Lots of "holes" and uneven.  Hard to see before painting.  They left the hardwood floor guy "Roland" to finish putting on the shoe molding.  It was too long, but he put it on anyway without cutting it to fit.  It extended beyond the door frame.  
These were very nice guys, very polite, but I would never use them again.  Carl had an answer to everything I questioned and telling me they know what they are doing.  "Butch" who installed the drywall began to sand it after letting the mud dry, in order to smooth it over.  He didn't use the proper sander, one with a bag to catch the dust.  Everything was full of drywall dust from the mud they used, even after he decided it wasn't a good idea to use that particular sander.  Another guy came to finish the drywall, but he didn't sand it down either.  He used a scraper to smooth it and that's why there were uneven places and small pin holes.  
Like I said, nice guys if you want to listen to Carl talk your head off and tell you all the wonderful reviews he gets, but I wouldn't recommend them and would not use them again.

Let me first say Carl and his crew are top notch! Carl and Brian came to my house to do the measurements and get an idea of what we wanted to do. I got an additional 4 different bids from 4 different contractors. Carl was not the cheapest but he wasn't the most expensive either. The thing that won me over was Carl really knows construction. When he called to give me a quote he also used his 50 plus years of experience to direct me on what we should do with the project. After we agreed on price, Carl and his team were at our house the following week. My wife and I were dreading this project because we have had some bad experiences with contractors in the past, but to my surprise Carl and his team did exactly what he said they would do. They were professional and respectful of our space. I have always heard "you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with"...Carl has great people working for him. Doug, his master carpenter, is the absolute best! If I had one piece of advice, don't judge a book by its cover, Carl may be older and he might not get around like he once did, but he and his team exceeded our expectations.

Craftsmen were punctual, showed up every morning and worked swiftly. They were professional, personable and meticulous. I'm very happy with the time frame, the cost and quality of work. I will definitely use Carl's team again.

I hired Carl for the second time and I plan to hire him for all future jobs requiring contractor services!

During the cold winter season I unfortunately busted a pipe. Luckily the damage was contained inside the garage and water did not penetrate the interior of the home, but the damage in the garage was extensive. The work Carl did included pipe fixing/replacement, extensive drywall replacement, painting a two car garage and installing hi loft ceiling racks.

From the minute my insurance company advised I could hire any contractor of my choice, I immediately called Carl! I explained to Carl what had happened and he sent his plumber the next day to fix the broken pipe. Within a few days he provided a quote for the rest of the damage, and within a few days he was on the job considering he had a full remodel job going on at the same time.

As luck would have it, I busted another pipe. This time was located in front of the house where the main water pipe is connected to the water connection. Carl and his boys fixed this pipe as well.  

As I stated on a previous feedback quote, Carl is an older gentlemen but he was a first class crew! Both Doug and Brian are extremely good at what they do.

I highly recommend Carl to anyone needing a seasoned, trustworthy, reliable contractor who provides good quality honest work! 

I have hired Carl on TWO occasions. I first hired Carl to extend a balcony over the living room space. This extension added a floor/ceiling over the living room space and creating a bonus room/loft upstairs. This job required extending the balcony, attaching floor joist to the existing load bearing beams, laying down the plywood, adding electrical outlets to the newly created upstairs loft and finishing it off with painted floor boards. I received a few job quotes and Carl was not the lowest of the quotes, but not the most expensive. 

From the minute I met Carl and his boys, I knew Carl was the chosen contractor. I went with my gut and based on his lengthy experience. Carl has been around the block a few times and is a straight shooter when it comes to quoting jobs and making sure the job is completed within the quote. Carl and his boys are trustworthy individuals. Carl had the keys to the house since I traveled constantly during the construction. 

Yes, Carl is an older gentlemen who directs his first class crew. Doug and Brian along with his electrical subcontractors did a phenomenal job. Carl went the extra mile to make sure I was satisfied with the job.

I highly recommend CARL SLATE to anyone looking for a trustworthy, honest, fair priced contractor who delivers quality work!  

I was extremely pleased with my experience in working with Carl and his team.  Anytime I embark on a contracting project, I always feel like I am rolling the dice in trying to find a contractor that is honest, dependable, does great work and who stands behind his/her word.  I can truly say that working with Carl was all of that and more. 
His price for the work was extremely fair.  The craftsmanship is great and the job was completed on time and on budget!   The
most impressive thing about working with Carl is that he is honest and trustworthy.  He cares about the job, but even more about the people who he is working for.  His team, especially Doug and Brian are great guys as well.  Carl, for not being a spring chicken, was on the job most days, directing his boys and making certain that I was happy with the progress and work.  I can truly say that I trusted him and everyone who worked on his team in my home.  I took a couple of vacations during construction and did not hesitate to trust him when I was away.  My home was secure and kept tidy. 
Another great characteristic is that Carl was always available, and in fact, proactive about letting me know what was going on today and what was planned.  I never had to "chase" him down. 
I plan on having some additional work (kitchen remodel) in the upcoming year and I absolutely know who I am calling.

When we decided that our small home that we built 10 years ago was just too small for us and our teenage boys, we decided to take a leap of faith and look for a contractor to put an addition on our home. We were worried that we would have a terrible experience like we did with our original builder, who went way over budget, took a year longer (yes, I said a year!) than planned, and who in the end we fired and ended up finishing our home ourselves. All-in-all a nightmare for us! So suffice to say, we were very leary of "contractors," but at least a little wiser.
We interviewed 3 contractors and liked Carl the best, despite his age. For us this was almost a de'ja vue because the contractor that built our house had been in a wheelchair. My husband and I looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh at ourselves that we were definently crazy, and prayed that history wasn't repeating itself.
Happily this was not the case. Carl and his "boys" did a great job on our home at a very fair price. Carl stuck to his original estimate despite a couple of major unexpected hiccups. He was very professional and pleasant to work with and we couldn't be happier with our new home. Let's just say, a total opposite experience than our original build. Thanks Carl, Doug, and Brian (and the rest of your crew) for making our dreams come true without losing all my hair in the process!
- Katherine, Paul, Alden and Jonah