Preferred Builders Of Texas

Would like to start with the fact that this company is the reason I signed up for Angie's list (and I really wished I would have before I signed the contract). We signed a contract with them in March 2012 and gave a $4,000 deposit which was cashed the next day (the only thing they did on time). Someone was supposed to come out the next week to measure everything to finalize the drawings, did not happen and had to call several times until someone arrived. Waited weeks for drawings to review, never received them, again had to call the office several times and leave messages for Scott Le Blanc (the sales person). Finally had to demand to speak to the manager/owner Mark Feinhandler, he promised we would get results going forward. Did not hear back about the drawings we needed to see before they were submitted to our HOA, finally two weeks later we receive a letter from the HOA that the plans were rejected. Once we saw the plans they were not done to our request. Continued to go back and forth with Mark Feinhandler about getting plans done correctly, with no results. I requested a refund of my deposit and scheduled an appointment with Mark Feinhandler at his office, I showed up and Mark was not there, I asked to have the office call him and I finally got him on the phone. He refused to refund and said he would make sure I spent at least $20,000 in legal fees if I sued him for a refund. After the weekend I tried to give them one more chance as I had already lost $4,000 on a $11,800 job. I asked and they agreed to send me the drawings for approval to be resubmitting to HOA, once again they sent directly to the HOA and the plans were rejected. I finally received a copy of the plans, they had changed them completely showing I was going to have to remove and raise three windows in my house ( which would have been a huge expense). At that point I decided that it was too great of a risk to let them work on my house and that it would be better to lose the $4,000 deposit (after reading the reviews on Angie's list, I know that was the right decision) so I filed a complaint with the BBB. They currently have 22 complaints in the last 3 years with 9 either unresolved/unanswered by the company. The company has no integrity, no ethics, no morals, and obviously no customer service. They are dishonest liars. I STRONGLY recommend that one uses their services, please do not get yourselves in the horrible situations that so many of us did - as you can read in all reviews.

They charged me for flooring that they did not do, they remodeled my kitchen instead, but did not put down tiling. At the last minute they had me buy a sink. I did not know I had to buy a sink. They did not tile the sunroom like they were supposed to; they poured concrete over the old concrete. My roof is leaking when it rains, and I asked him several times to fix the roof but never fixed the roof. And he would fix it for 3300.00. They left live wires in my home when I have grandkids in the home. It’s just a mess!!

Very poor work throughout the whole project. We only stuck with them as we'd paid a deposit. Their planning was poor we did not see any decent engineering drawings for example. They did not plan and organize there work effectively. Workers would turn up and ask my wife what they should do. Somehow we got the job done but then the problems started. They used the thinnest brick supports they could get away with which sagged and the bricks cracked. The worst thing was they didn't slope the sun deck so water held up on it and eventually got into the mortar that seeped down the sides of the deck leaving stalegtites hanging from the deck. Also the deck wasn't sealed to the house so rainwater got in and poured out of light fittings below creating a dangerous situation. We asked them to come back to rectify and were basically lied to. They must have given us 6 different start dates to come to fix it but they were just buying time Then we had a letter telling us the owner of the company was going bankrupt. To make a long story short we paid another company $13,000 to put right their wrongs. I would never use them again or recommend anyone using them.

AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS!
We signed a contract with Preferred Builders of Texas (Also operating as Preferred Remodelers of Texas and United Cabinets) on 1/31/2012 and started construction 4/20/2012. The builder promised a 3 week project without weather delays, 6 months later (1 week of poor weather) we have an unfinished project of average quality.They will be very polite to your face, but consistently fail to deliver on what they promise. The only thing this company can deliver is an excuse. Every step of this project has been a battle to get them to complete. Multiple calls to the owner (Mark) and salesman (Scott) go unanswered. After it became evident that we were not making progress, we started documenting all of our conversations, phone calls and messages. We literally have pages and pages to document our efforts and frustration with this builder.
 
When we interviewed the salesman, he said that their contractors work exclusively for them. This is not the case, as most of them work for multiple builders. It was difficult to get anyone to show up and when they did, rarely was the work completed accurately or on a timely basis. The framer/roofer, painter, gutter installer and plumber did good work. The electricians had to come out 3 times to get the work done right. Each time, someone different showed up. The brick masons arrived without enough bricks to do the job, as Preferred Builders gave them the wrong dimensions for the columns. Luckily I had extras that enabled them to complete the work. We waited weeks to get the fireplace completed. First they could not find a plumber to run the gas line, then waited on the stone masons. We picked out the stone well in advance and had to remind our salesman multiple times on what we picked out. When the stone finally arrived, it was not what we selected as the salesman waited too long to place the order. We paid an additional $4,500 above the initial estimate to install a toungue and groove ceiling. It looks okay, but the attention to detail was poor.  Now we are still waiting for Preferred Builders to fill the hole in the side of the fireplace (for the gas shut-off) and repair fireplace hearth where the mortar has cracked. I will have to repair our attic stairs and fence that they damaged as well.
Overall, this has been a terrible experience. We chose this builder as the salesman definitely had building experience, as well as good design ideas. They were not the cheapest builder that we interviewed and he showed us numerous examples of other work they had done. We believed they could do a satisfactory job, but were clearly wrong. Save yourself money, time and heartache...do not use this builder!

UPDATE #1: Preferred Builders sent a man out to fill the hole in the side of the fireplace and fill the cracks in the mortar. Unfortunately, I had to threaten a BBB complaint to resolve this issue. After a few months, we have to reseal the concrete.

UPDATE #2: We have tried for several months to get Preferred Remodelers to reseal/stain the concrete patio. All we received were empty promises that they will get the work done. These people are true professionals at stalling and lying. It is very unfortunate that these people are still in business or even allowed to operate.

We had some "discussion" over the design, but I deferred to their expertise. The cover looks great and functions great. No leakage around the edges, provides excellent shade and drains properly.

We had a little slow star agreeing upom yje style of the covered porch. However, once agreed upon the quality and professionalism with which the work was completed was great. Unlike a previous porch cover I had installed. Even after the outrageous rains there was no leaking around the perimeter of the porch. The 3# insulated porch cover keeps much of the summer heat off the house. They did a great job. The price was far more reasonable than the other bids I received.