VINTAGE RECONSTRUCTION INC

Quality of work was great. Had a couple issues with the people they contracted work out to. Leon was very helpful when working with my insurance company.

Had some trouble reaching out to them to schedule the work once I gave them the first deposit.

The person on the phone does not know how to answer questions very well. She doesn't know the answers and is not helpful in finding them. Once they delivered the shingles and had it on the roof (and we had paid the first half of the cost as per the contract), they could not get give a straight answer as to when the work would begin. Vintage's work was guaranteed as they have a relationship with my insurer, so I would use them again for a job like this. But I did not feel that treated my as a priority in terms of making sure I understood their timelines, nor did they effectively communicate their availability.

Had water damage from a second floor washing machine that over flowed.  Vintage was recommended by my insurance adjuster and I was told the only company that my insurance company guaranteed in my area.  I went ahead and chose this company thinking that since my insurance company guaranteed their work and approved their services, I would be making a solid decision.  I was wrong.  Leon showed up to review the estimate the claims adjuster had quoted and found discrepancies.  Leon stated that the water extraction team caused damage to the carpet that could not be re-seamed because of how wide the cut was and that I needed to contact the insurance company so an allowance could be made to replace the carpet.    I notified the claims adjuster, who then called the water extraction team that they would be responsible for replacing the carpet because they cause damage to the carpet.  The water extraction team showed up at my home to look at the damage of the carpet and were disputing that they caused any damage.  The owner of the company and I looked at the carpet seem and noticed that  a second cut was made to the carpet.  He swore that his guys would only make one cut to the carpet and that this is all that is every needed.  He stated that it appeared that "someone" had cut a piece out of the carpet.  I explained that myself and my husband did not touch the carpet.  He stated that maybe it was the contractor so that the contractor could get more money for the job.  I was dumbfound because seemingly Leon seemed to be a good guy.  I complained to the claims adjuster regarding the situation and that I didn't care about a he-said-he said situation and everyone was pointing fingers; I just wanted my home fixed.  The claims adjuster told Leon to go ahead and do what needed to be done to the carpet.   Leon sent out his painter, Fernando, who showed up late to my home the first day and then proceeded to tell me that he needed to show up as early as possible to get the job started.  I told him the earliest everyone would be awake, showered and out of the way would be 8 o'clock.  The entire few weeks that they worked on the job, he always only ever showed up till after 9 am.  Once day he left his nephew at my home all day, both myself and the nephew thought he just left to get supplies, but when he returned, he did not have supplies. I tried to remain positive about the whole thing and Leon and I decided that I could repaint the bedroom any color I wanted and I would pay the difference for the paint and second coat.  I chose a blue and a gray  from Fernando's color sample chart and gave the number and the name to him on a piece of paper.  He went to purchase the paint and painted my room.  At the end of the day, I went to inspect the completed job and my walls were blue and white.  I asked him if he would be painting the walls gray the next day and he informed me that he thought the job was done and that the colors I gave him were white and blue.   The gray color was called Online and he misunderstood and thought I found the color "on-line".  He then proceeded to tell me how expensive the paint was and all the labor/time/money that went into painting the walls the wrong color.  I apologized to him, but gave him a copy of the paper I had handed him outlining the color name and number letting him know it was his mistake.   He said he would make it "right" and as he walked out, I attempted to shake his hand, but he kept walking, not making eye contact with me again.   The next day he came out to make it "right" and the paint job for the gray was poor.  They got paint on my brand new blinds, the carpet, trim was poorly done, paint splotches on the ceiling and on the base boards.  They had also replaced the sheet rock on the ceiling and it was not floated correctly.  We had to complain again to Leon and the claims adjuster.  Of course Leon kept telling me "we guarantee our work" and to me at this point, he was putting dirt in a box and just guaranteeing to me that I had a piece of dirt.  The job dragged on...there were other areas that were quite up to par and eventually everything came out looking alright.  At this point, it was time to pay Leon and complete the job.  During this time, there was money "moved around".  There had been $400 allocated to replacing a sink in the half bath from water damage, but Leon and I decided that he could just apply paint to the area and I would be credited $400.  There were also some Ikea shelves in the master closet that had water damage which was allocated $800 for replacement.  I went and bought the shelves out of pocket so that was $800 credit to me.  There was also money allocated to cleaning the carpet and the tile, which Leon's crew did not do, but I cleaned, so that should have been credited to me.  Also, I owed Leon for some "upgrades" like the color change to the master bedroom, as well as, the flooring in the laundry room was supposed to be sheet vinyl, but I had extra tile from the rest of the house so I asked Leon to have them install tile/grout I already had on hand and I would pay the difference for the labor from re-installing sheet vinyl to installing tile.     I  and my husband asked Leon for an invoice outlining all these extras and credits.  He said sure, but once the job was completed, his office called me requesting I sign over the initial insurance check of about $3000.  I told them that I was waiting on an invoice because the full $3000 was not all theirs because of the Ikea shelves, the 1/2 bath cabinet, etc.  Leon got on the phone and proceeded to tell me that I just needed to sign over the money to him because I owed him $7000.  He said he had cash flow issues and needed to pay his vendors and I would get any money owed to me on the back end after the insurance company released the second check for all the extra adjustments.  I refused and told him I did not owe him $7000.  I had already given him my deductible and wanted that invoice for the credits for money owed to me. I  called the insurance adjuster and  I asked the adjuster if this was an unreasonable request and he said "No, just not the norm" and I told him that maybe this guy needs to be giving invoices so he knows where his money is coming/going to avoid all the cash flow issues he is having.   I finally get an email from Vintage with the invoice, money owed and money credited to me.  I told him I would provide him with a certified check for the money minus all my credits and that this would mean the 2nd check was his in full.   He was not happy about this either, and when I asked him when he would be by to pick up that check, he told me to leave a $2000 check under the front door mat.  I refused (I mean who leaves a check for that much money under the door?) and told him that I would be home, please send someone to get it and to please call me when someone was coming by.  He told me his wife would be out.  I waited until 1 pm and no show/no call so I left the house.  Of course she shows up when I leave.  The 2nd check was finally mailed out and I had to co-sign so Vintage could cash it.  After of about 5 weeks, this whole ordeal is over.    I will say that the vendor they use for flooring was excellent and probably the only part of this ordeal that was not screwed up.  The vendor used was Pride Floors and they did a good job.

Very bad.  I would never recommend anyone do business with Leon Grivel or Vintage reconstruction. Vintage was hired to repair damages as a result of a water heater malfunction in my garage attic, garage and laundry room. The water heater valve failed to shut off the water heater which permitted it to shoot water uncontrollably into my attic, inside all of my garage, electrical panels, drywall, plugs, personal items, and into a small corner of my laundry room.   After 3 months of attempting to install drywall, tape, float, texture, paint, install attic ladder, Vintage failed. I contacted Leon Grivel, the owner dozens of times, to no avail.  As a result of them working in my home, including the laundry room which is attached to my kitchen, one of their employees stole a gun, from my kitchen, which was reported to the police and Leon Grivel. I later found out a expensive bracelet and necklace were also stolen from my bedroom upstairs and a backpack lawn blower was stolen from my backyard.   About 3 months later I was informed that this was not the only time Vintage reconstructions employees had stolen, I was notified by  Kenny Hope, a previous a/c subcontractor for Vintage Constuction that he too had hired Leon and Vintage to do work in his home.  Mr. Hope advised me that an expensive camera was stolen from his bedroom closet.  Leon Grivel and Vintage Reconstruction replaced the stolen camera after threats of a lawsuit were made by Mr. Hope.  Additionally, I was notified by Mr. Hope that he was aware of several other customers of Vintage recontruction who had similiar experiences and results. Mr. Hope stated he would be happy to talk to you about his experiences with Leon Grivel and Vintage Reconstruction.  The workmanship on the work Vintage's subcontractors did in my home was bad.  They could not match the existing texture, apply mud properly, had tape lines showing, applied texture partially down walls that did not need to be textured, leaving large, noticable lumps of unmatching texture throughout my garage, texture clumps on my baseboards, overspray, damage to my new $1500.00 washer.   
 
I had to hire another contractor, Eastco Construction, who had to remove all of the work that Vintage had done and completely start over.  Eastco came to my home, took pictures of the substandard workmanship, gave me a quote, began and completed the work about 1 week later.    The owners son Chad Eastman was a very nice and honest estimator.  He explained that some areas would not be perfect due to the poor job that Vintage had left.  All walls, ceilings and baseboards had to be sanded to remove all texture so a new texture could be reapplied to match my existing texture. Chad left me feeling that Eastco would do the best they could to correct a bad situation.  Eastco was referred by my insurance company. Vintage did not qualify to be on the referral list for my insurance carrier, he was referred by my agent who insured Leon and Vintage.  My agent too has stated that after seeing the substandard work, problems and conduct cause by Vintage, he too would never refer Vintage or Leon Grivel again.

I ultimately ended up paying for Vintages bad job and Eastco's correcting the job.  Vintage and their attorney took me to small claims court to collect for the incomplete and substandard job.  Vintage won in court as a result of knowing the bayliff, court clerk and judge.  Once the judge decided the case, Mr. Grivel and his employees were hugging all of the Precient 2 courtroom staff and Judge Walker in his Court.  Perhaps Judge Walker should have recuted himself from a case where he was friends with the Plaintiff.  The courts conduct was way out of line. 

This information is for your use only and is not intended to be reprinted, shown or given to anyone outside of Angie's list employees or company without my written consent.  It is not intended to be published online or print or any other format for Angie's customers to view.  I am providing information to hopefully help you prevent others from having problems or issues with this company and it's owner and employees.   I am expressing the facts as they have happened to me and all of the information above is true and correct.   I will be more than happy to supply you with witnessess, affidavits, etc.,  that can confirm whatI have written to prove truth and accuracy.  Please email me if you wish to discuss further.

Vintage Reconstruction did a pretty satisfactory job for me. There were a few things that they did that wasn't up to par, such as the painting. It was a messy and unprofessional paint job all around. However; the ceilings that were replaced were done correctly and I liked the attitudes and work ethics of the crew. This work was covered under our insurance.