Best Investments Siding & Windows

I know time has passed since this work has been completed, but yet again, another thing has reared an ugly head- the patio cover leaks and that company is no longer in business... So I cannot remain silent any longer! And water is seeping thru the floor from a leak above!!!!!!!!! In August, 2012 I approached Stan Knickerbocker of Best Investments (BI) regarding a remodel of my master bath. After a lengthy and positive conversation, I was convinced he was the one to do the job. After all, I was a return customer and had been pleased with prior work. It turned out to be a remodel of the master bath and bedroom and addition of a new covered patio. I was so excited about the projected outcome. There was no negotiation of price, I would have been fine with whatever he told me- I knew and trusted him. Work began the first week of September, 2012 and I gave my house key to him. After all, he was the "contractor" and I trusted him to be keeper of the key. I was told the patio cement would be dyed and then sealed. The cement was not dyed- it was stained and when the last crew blew thru, there were chunks missing in the cement that of course are not dyed. The contractor never could get those people to come back and repair this. I was then told that this is something that "I will just have to live with" (BI's favorite words)! Repeatedly I was told that in the shower cement board would be used up the walls and that there would be a liner under the pan, over the bench and half way up the walls under the tile… NEVER, NEVER would there be a leak or problem with that shower. I am so glad to have followed my inner feelings about not letting that tile person back into my home because he was simply going to re-grout the shower. See Item #5 below for further discussion re the shower... this was yet another untruth. The contractor did not want to be available to let whatever crew happened to be working at the time into my home. He made it perfectly clear to me that he was ‘sick and tired of having to drive to the house to let people in’. Twice that I know of, my house key was left outside under a flower pot on the far side of the house so that whoever needed to work could gain access. The only reason I know this is because I happened to be home when someone was unlocking the back door to my house!! I am not a contractor but would think part of that job description would include keeping track of a house key and making sure it was not left outside while the homeowner was inside sleeping. Not only that, I returned from a 2 week stay out of town and they had left the back windows wide open. Clearly, there were safety issues they should have addressed. After the 3rd crew came thru (trust me, they were so not happy with having to redo someone else's work), they were finally out of here in January, 2013. When I last spoke with Gerry Gerald, I knew after our conversation that there was no way I wanted those people to ever be in my house again. His parting words to me in March, 2013 were, "I told Stan not to bring any more of his friends to me, they just cost me money." I did manage to tell him that it was not my fault he hired the wrong people to do the job. Clearly, he did not care that I was a return customer! I had to hire/pay someone else to clean up after Best Investments and because of the fiasco involved with the people they hired, I still worry every night that the beam might fall in, the electrical might catch fire or the roof on the new addition will leak (I was told to just keep an eye on the new ceiling and if I noticed anything to let them know)- Really??? Below is a list of what I had to pay someone else to correct and will upload photos in order of the list below... (1) Prior to purchase of the vanity, the Contractor had the complete specs in hand for the unit to make certain all would fit according to his plan. Once again, due to lack of communication with his crew, next thing he knew, the plumbing had been placed in 2 spots that the plumber thought best?? When it was time to place the vanity, the Contractor called to tell me that the 2 bases had to be reversed because the plumbing was in the wrong place and would not fit because of the drawers. After it was installed, I went to open the drawers and they would not open, they were hitting the door facing to the bathroom and closet… He simply shrugged his shoulders and said that I could just pull the drawers to the side to open them. Those have been repaired. If BI had known what they were doing (or perhaps just cared), it would have taken them the same few minutes to fix this problem that the company I hired to repair them did- simply remove the front of the drawer and move it over a fraction of an inch and replace!! (2) The new back door was misaligned to the point it would not lock properly; they damaged all the new hinges and I had replace them. (3) The trim was not properly lapped at joints nor was it sanded or faired. (4) The door casing on the new closet did not touch the ground; however, the opposite side did. (5) The remaining pictures were taken when the decision was made to investigate the tile grout in the shower floor. In the first weeks of use the grout was coming out and the floor felt spongy. After the tile was dry, you could step on the shower floor and water would squish up from the gaps where grout should have been. When the tile was removed, blue foam was found. It appeared to have a black water barrier and fiber mesh applied to either side. However, under that, it was found that no liner had been used and the concrete was saturated with water that had gotten past the foam board. Upon removal of all the foam board from the floor, it was found that the metal ring which was ‘assumed’ to connect the foam to the drain was on top of the flange and not compressed within it. The water had gotten into the walls so the bottom two feet of tile and foam wall board up the walls and over the bench were removed so the studs and floor under the bench could be left to dry. The decision was made to install a standard cement shower pan with a three-stage liner and where the foam wall board had been removed, replaced with Hardie cement fiber board. As can be seen, clearly, there is no liner over the bench... You can see how the cement is wet after the tile is removed and no liner... No liner under the tile and you can see where the floor is wet after the tile was removed... The shower was the biggest disgrace of all and I will never get over that one! LAST, I WAS NEVER GIVEN ANY WARRANTIES FOR ANY OF THE WORK... but then what would be warranted?? I have photos of every step of this entire process from start to finish. So here we are June 1, 2016- where the patio is connected to the wall is causing leaking in the master corner of the addition and I simply cannot keep quiet about these folks any longer.

Replacement windows purchased at a great price after putting it of for several years. The price wasn't the lowest, but it was a great value considering the quality of the window.  Unfortunately for this review, I moved about eight months after installation so can't weigh-in on long term quality. However, I had no problems in the time after installation, but did reap the benefit of lower utility bills during that time, and even had neighbors comment on how well they looked.

Overall I am very happy with the outcome. We compared 3 bids total and by far this company met my expectations. The only downfall was the amount of time it took to schedule the install. No, we were not in any hurry to have this completed and it was not expressed during negotiations. We signed the contact in October and the install did not take place until the first week in December. I was actually about to email the owner when the contractor called to schedule the install since we had not heard from him since October. When we signed the contact in October it was estimated "about 2 weeks" I was fine with that since we needed HOA approval, and again we were not in a big hurry. But 'about 2 weeks' turned into 4 and second guessing our decision. But then again if you do good work you are in demand, so that is why I would not 'ding' their rating. But a heads up on time frame would havebeen appreciated. 
 Also, I liked that we could pay on a secure website with our CC information, that was a plus. 
The contractor was Domingo and he asked questions when I stopped by on my lunch break. He wanted to make sure I was pleased and aware of the decisions I was making. That was a huge plus for me as I hate when contractors do not ask questions if they are unsure. 
Bottom line, I do plan to call this company back for the second part of our project. 

This was a 3 to 4-week project, that ending up taking over 4  MONTHS.  Installers were great, but the
management was absolutely the worst. The sales person had underbid the job, and asked us to pay some costs up front, which was not part of the deal. Towards the end of the project they sent out the WORST EVER painters (subcontract).  I swear they were blind.  They ended up gouging our NEW wood Pella windows trying to remove the paint between the sashes.  What a disaster!!!  
We will never ever deal with these people again.   If they give you a low bid, BEWARE,  they will send out the the cheapest and worst subcontracts they can find, so that they will still make a profit.

We are very pleased with the work Best Investments did and would definitely use them again.

Best Investments performed "installation" of Hardie Plank Siding and "Double Glazed" windows.  They "over-rated" the quality of the windows  customer service,

Overall the project went great. The company was excellent in every step of the process.
I would definitely hire them again.

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The job went very well from start to finish.  The tearoff & siding crew cleaned up well every night before leaving. They arrived each morning about 7:50am prior to 8:00 am start. The siding portion took about 7 working days and the painting portion took 4 days to complete.
Overall my wife & I are completely satisfied with the quality & service provided by Best Investment Siding.

Went well. Contacted them, appointment was set at our house, they came out, brought samples, measured and answered all questions. Emailed us a bid that was quite reasonable.  We had researched this project extensively and new exactly what minimum specifications we could accept.  Windows were well within our specs and priced reasonably.  Installation over two days, due to number of windows.  Installers worked for the company and were experienced.  So far, no regrets. Would use them again, if necessary.  The company does not advertise too much, and I believe this keeps cost down.  Recommended by neighbors.
     
PS... Biggest surprise was reduction of outside noise levels.

Highly recommend! The whole process was great!

The crew showed up on time, and completed the job in less time than expected.

They are in the process of Hardiplanking our home at this time and Wow! What a difference!  The crew at the
home site has been so patient with our questions and paint choice decisions.  We appreciate their courtesy and
how clean they keep the work site at the end of each day.  They know their business and are doing a terrific job.

We had an excellent overall experience with them. Their price is competitive. They were very punctual, and very professional.

Everything went great. The prices were reasonable for the windows. They also had very good communication. The workmanship was great and they finished in a timely manner. They also have a good referral program.

I had 5 large bay windows and a double patio door that were installed with the house 20 years ago had been through 2 hurricanes.  They lost their seal and were foggy on the inside preventing cleaning. We have wanted to replace them for some time, but were hesitant since they were built in and it would require taking off some of our Hardie plank siding in the process.  We received 5 quotes for window and door replacement, but ultimately decided to go with Best Investments Windows and Siding because of the quality of the security window, the smaller window frame footprint, and the cost.  After placing the order, they sent out Victor, the installer to double check the measurements.  It took about 3 weeks to manufacture the custom windows, and they installed them in one day.They replaced and match painted all trim that had to be removed to install the windows and doors.  And they even helped me re-hang another existing door that was sticking due house settling.  Overall, I was impressed with the professionalism, punctuality and quality of the work they did and highly recommend them.  I would definitely use them again.

My experience with them was horrible and absolutely awful. I wouldn’t hire them again and wouldn’t recommend them to anybody else. The work wasn’t done properly and had to be redone later. The siding wasn’t right upon completion nor after they redid it after two visits. They came back twice, but it was still not done properly at the end. They did try to patch it up, but it was awful. If it would have rained, then water would have come in from everywhere. It would have probably got worse and not better even if they had come out 10 times. It looked like they neither took the time nor had the skills to do it correctly. There are visible gaps on the work done and it’s obvious that something isn’t right. So it wasn’t a good experience.

Very professional, held to schedule and did everything they said they would. Good work.

Terry Vaughan arrived on time for initial estimate. He was professional and had samples of the windows to be used and many pictures of previous work. He took his time and explained the process and different windows they could install. There was no sales pressure and we signed a contract and paid $300 down on balance in order to get the windows ordered. Several days later we changed our mind on some contract/window issues, and he came back out and made the requested changes with no questions asked! When promised, the windows arrived and were delivered to our back yard, and again as agreed and promised the crew arrived right on time to install them. The crew worked fast and was very professional. All crew members spoke good English and there was no language barrier or misunderstandings. Terry Vaugnan himself checked by the location during the install to make sure everything was going good and we were happy. We love our new windows, and our electric bill went down $100 a month.