Foster's Construction and Roofing

Re: Foster's Remodeling & Construction, Phil Foster (Owner)
Purchase Price: $37,630.00 (I have paid for all but the disputed amount.)
Disputed Amount: $4,074.25

Foster?s Construction bid was $27,000. During 3 months construction, I was repeatedly hit up to sign change order agreements under threat of Foster's walking off the job and/or filing a lien on my home if I did not. This was their go to threat throughout the entire job. This project was done for the comfort of my fiancé who is terminally ill with Lou Gehrig's Disease/ALS. When owner made errors, he charged me extra to correct them and insisted I sign change orders to reflect changes. I did not change from the initial design concept. I gave him pictures of what I wanted and he said "no problem" but then later would say, "Oh, no. That costs more."

Owner offered to pick up materials for me at cost plus tax, but I was billed a heavily inflated price. I was told I was being charged the actual price of the items/services plus tax. He billed me for the supposed cost of the item plus 8.25% tax, but actually he had already heavily increased the price and THEN charged me an additional 8.25% TAX ON TOP OF THE INFLATED PRICE. This was not agreed upon and is not in our Contract. I have repeatedly asked for the receipts so I can reimburse the CORRECT amount of materials/services I was overcharged. Owner refuses stating "proprietary information".  The following is from an email from owner showing he listed the prices as the actual cost plus tax:
??fixtures for master bath that I need a check for tomorrow to complete the project?..
2 ? P trap @$167.00 each $334.00
1 ? shower fixture?$524.00
1 ? sink ?$359.00
1 ? fixture?$492.00 6 ? supply valves @$78.00 each $468.00 6 ? supply lines @$22.00 each $132.00 2 ? 36? support bars@ $112.00 each $224.00
2 ? 24? support bars @$93.00 each $186.00
2 ? 18? support bars @$84.00 each $168.00
Total $2,887.00
Tax 8.25% ($238.17)
Total with tax $3,125.17?

As the details above show, Owner told me I was paying the actual cost of the item, plus tax. There is no mention of ?mark-up? pricing or ?overhead? expenses in the Contract.

I have paid cash for all but $4,074.25 of a $37,630.00 project which includes $10,000 in so-called "changes"- most coerced by owner. I am awaiting job completion and material receipts so final bill reflects the correct amount. Additionally, owner demanded payment on 10-2-13 stating job is done. However, 2 mirrors in my bathroom were never installed as required by Contract. Foster?s secured the wood framing for the mirrors directly to the wall despite directives that the mirror was to be under it. Part of cabinets are not stained. Awning taken down during job was not put back up and in still lying in my yard. Final walk-thru was never done as Foster?s walked off the job on 10-2-13. Job is NOT done.

Owner used harassing and bullying tactics. He talked ugly about me to the person helping me care for my fiancé. Owner told my house guest that I tried to run him over when he was harassing me by blocking me in my driveway. Owner told my house guest that he was going to call CPS because my children?s rooms were messy. Owner told my house guest that he would call the Humane Society because I leash my dog when we are not supervising her. Owner?s wife accused me of mistreating my fiancé. I could not believe that a company would behave in such a harassing, slanderous, and unprofessional manner. 

On 10-1-13, Owner texted me demanding final payment even though the work was not complete. The next morning, 10-2-13, I returned to my home to find Owner in front of my house waiting in his car with his wife, arms crossed, red faced, demanding money.  I told him that he would get paid upon completion of the job. I told him I had to leave for a meeting and could not meet with him then. I told him I would not pay until the job was complete. He was furious. I went in my home and upon coming out and trying to leave my property, Owner was standing in the middle of my driveway blocking me in and giving me no way off my property. I told him I was late for my meeting and I had to go. I told him I would not be paying him until the job was COMPLETE and it was NOT COMPLETE. Owner continued to stand in my driveway demanding a check for the balance due in full even though the job was not complete. He refused to move. I ended up having to drive over the grass strip between my driveway and my next door neighbor?s driveway to exit via my neighbor?s driveway and was late to my meeting.  Blocking a person in like that legally constitutes ?harassment?.  

On the way to my meeting, Owner?s wife called harassing me about payment, accusing me of not wanting to pay. She threatened to call the D.A. and put a lien on my house. I told her I would not pay until the job was complete and I had received the requested actual receipts for materials. Foster?s worked another full day on 10-2-13 after the above incident and finished everything except for the mirrors (I later noticed raw wood which should have been stained was not, and an awning they took down is still lying in the grass/backyard from when he walked off the job.)

MIRRORS NEVER INSTALLED - I have been left with a mirror-less master bathroom and I have no idea how to address the problem since Foster?s secured the mirrors? wood framing directly to the wall and did not leave a way for me to have the mirrors installed underneath the wood frames as instructed.  (The mirrors were to be placed BEHIND the wood framing, like a picture frame.)  Foster?s instead secured the wood frame directly to the wall, not leaving any room behind the wood frame for the mirrors. Foster?s was supposed to hang the mirrors and I was only required to pay for the mirror material --not the installation of the mirrors. The Contract specifically states that Foster?s will ?install mirrors:

From Contract:
?Build out vanity area per customers specs, including framing in wall, building cabinet, finishing wall with concrete, veneering concrete with customer selected stone, trim out cabinetry with stain grade material, install mirrors, finish all stain grade cabinetry, (minus thecost of the stone material, sinks, plumbing trim outs, mirrors) $810.00"

 Owner made multiple mistakes throughout our project but always insisted the mistakes were not his fault.  Owner always finds a way to blame someone else for his mistakes.  Many of the so-called ?changes? were things I ended up having to pay extra for Foster?s to re-do correctly.  Foster?s made many mistakes which ended up costing me more money, such as the following:
1. Installed a door backwards  (widened for wheelchair) and insisted I pay an additional $65 for him to turn door the correct (original) way or he would not change it.
2. Installed plumbing for service bar sink on the wrong side and installed the electrical outlet for refrigerator on the wrong side (They were to be installed like in the picture I gave him.)  Owner refused to correct the mistake until I agreed to pay him another $145.00. 
3. Incorrectly made service bar counter depth oversized to accommodate his plumbing error and then charged me more for ?oversized? granite countertop.
4. Painted a room he was told not to paint.  (Fortunately, Owner did not bill me for this.) Foster?s has refused to come back to complete the job and has still never done a final walk-through. There is also stain on the rock wall around the wood mirror frames as they obviously secured the wood frames to the walls (against my directions) and then stained them, causing stain to get on the rock. Owner left me with a problem I don?t know how to fix. Owner repeatedly told me he was losing money on me. He blamed having received an ?F? from a different

First of all, Phil is a "first class" service provider that is customer focused and listens to his customers. On several occasions during the job, we made changes to the original requirements that were quickly comprehended and incorporated into the job which improved the overall results. Phil also is constantly making suggestions and open to using parts or material that you already have in order to save costs where possible. As for timeliness, his crew was always on time and took the extra time to clean up after they completed their work each day. They also prepared work areas by using plastic to prevent construction dust moving into other areas of the house. As for the crew, they were always presentable and were always conscious of keeping noise levels to a minimum during the construction. Special thanks to Zeke for his attention to detail and always taking the time to make sure that everything was back in order before he left the job site each day. As for overall satisfaction, we could not be happier with how the final result turned out. Thank you Foster's! BT and JJ

Foster Construction came out and made notes of everything I wanted to have done and promptly provided a quote.  The quote was fair and when I had questions about specific items on the quote, a full explanation was provided.  Once I was able to set the date with my schedule, Foster Construction worked with me to get that date on their schedule.  As it ended up, they started the work a week late, BUT, flexibility on my part was fully explained to me prior to the date being set.  They cannot control the weather and rain had set them behind on the job prior to mine. 
The work went exactly as it was explained to me and quoted.  Once they had the fireplace down rotted wood was discovered.  That material and labor raised the total amount a little bit more than the original quote, but they don't have x-ray vision to see behind walls and I somewhat expected it and was pleased that Phil pointed it all out to me and explained what needed to be done to fix it.  They framed out and installed a new window for me where the fireplace used to be   The removal of mortar on the floor was a bear to get up but Phil's crew knocked it out quick and then floated a leveler on the floor that turned out awesome.
What is really impressive about Foster Construction is that they explain to you what it takes to get something done and they do whatever it is that you decide upon.  They were extremely respectful, polite and genuine.  They had a big job to do for me and kept the areas clean and safe.  Now that I've seen firsthand the quality of work Foster Construction does, I plan on having them do my kitchen remodel.  If trust counts for anything, I can say I definitely trust Foster Construction to do quality work in a timely manner with a fair price and the highest professionalism!  Highly recommended for any size job.

We purchased a home built 35
years ago and knew that some remodeling would be necessary. The kitchen was
small and outdated so that came first. Foster?s was recommended to us and when
we saw on his website that Foster?s was listed with Angie we were confident to
hire them.
Remodelling our kitchen
proved to have many challenges; water damage, termites, dated cabinets &
appliances, etc. Phil and his crew solved all the problems and we now have a
beautiful, modern,well lit kitchen that my wife is very pleased with. I would
recommend Foster?s to anyone for remodeling.

Phillip and his team did a great job taking over a challenging remodel for which my previous contractor had given up on and for which other contractors had bid too high.  They worked clean and left the site looking great with well-fitted doors and finally a bathroom that I can really be proud of.  Great job on a lot of drywall and painting issues.
They were tremendously easy to work with and went the extra mile of putting up with my rambunctuous basset hound who insisted on "helping" them with the job.
When I saw the great job that they were doing, I added on some additional isses which they tackled cheefully and efficiently.
Any home owner is wise to be concerned about the workers that they allow access to their home while they are away and I feel very confident in the honesty, integrity and professionalism of Foster's Construction.
I would easily recommend them to anyone else, and plan to use them from additional projects in the future.

The first contractor I called gave me a large quote to do the work and told me the entire living room ceiling would have to come down and that he did not know what was holding it up. He said all the furniture would need to be moved out and the chandelier would also have to come down. I was very worried when I spoke with Phillip. He worked me into his schedule, although he was working on a huge job. When he looked at the damage, he said that all the work the other contractor told me was necessary was not needed. He gave me a very low bid. Phillip climbed into the attic and checked out the damage and made sure the raffters were in good shape. He tightened up the sheet rock to better sucure the ceiling. Phillips workers took part of the sheet rock down and used plastic to keep the dust and insulation from going all over the house. They replaced the sheet rock and painted the ceiling. The paint did not blend well as the bid was to only patch and paint the different areas. Phillip had the painter paint the entire ceiling to make it look better in both the living room and kitchen. He knew I had several things, that I needed help with and he fixed those problems and did not charge me. I had new blinds installed and the area above the blinds where the drapery hardware had been attached needed touch-up work and he had his painter do that for me. One of his employees installed my living room blinds. I feel that I was very reasonably charged and that Phillip went out of his way to make sure I was pleased. The workers cleaned up after themselves. As far as being friendly and wanting to please, Phillip excells.

Right from the start of the job, the workers were meticulous in accomplishing the task at hand. Phillip and his staff were pleasant, personable, and very accomplished at everything they did. Wallpaper was removed only after the floors were covered, and the entrie mess was cleaned every day. After removal, I expected only the "damaged" areas of the walls would be "floated", but ALL the wall area was floated, sanded, primed, and textured in an extremely professional manner, well beyond my expectations. While this was going on, all the cabinets were sanded inside and out, doors and drawers caulked in all the seams, as well as the inside of the cabinets. Then, a high-grade primer applied, followed by additional sanding. Painting of the cabinets was just as professional as the application on the walls. Total cleanup at the end of the day was always pleasant and thorough. A crack in the ceiling which had been repaired twice previously but reappeared, was also repaired by his crew, They determined that too much weight was on the support beam causing the crack in the ceiling to reappear. They went to the attic, redistributed the weight-bearing area, and repaired and retextured the ceiling, not only the repaired area, but the ENTIRE ceiling, whcih was not part of the contract. Phillip decided that he would do that since it would always show if he did not texture the whole ceiling. We added painting of the walls, in both the living area and bathroom, which was not part of the original contract, and Phillip not only recommended colors, but also agreed to add a very reasonable increase in price, stating he "was pleased to do the work". Every aspect of the job was exceptional, and it would be extremely difficult to believe that anyone could show any displeasure with the work ethic of this crew, the work performed according to the contract, and their attention to detail. Even with the short disruption of our "normal activities", it is impossible to find any area of fault with this company. The honesty, integrity, and "can-do" attitude of this company goes well beyond what is expected. I have already recommended this company to several other people, and will be using him again.

Everything was great! I was really impressed with the commitment to excellent craftsmanship that was displayed. The Owner is a perfectionist and is very proud of his company's work. A high level of care was taken to minimize the dust and dirt. I could actually feel the good care that was taken. The painters appeared to be very committed and to know their work. They took a lot of care to repair the cracks properly and protect the floor, windows, etc.