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"Thorough and detailed job done."

"We had a hot and cold experience with SunCrest. When John, the owner, came out to give us an estimate of the work, he was on-time and full of ideas for us. This was the third or fourth estimate that we had received for the work.
When we received the quote, he was responsive to our questions and timely. We selected SunCrest based largely on the reviews on Angie's List and the price. John had initially said that the project would be 4 weeks in total. We ran the quote past a family member who are in the business and they felt that pricing was fair but the payment schedule (25% at agreement, 25% at the start, 25% at the inspection and then 25% at completion (which turned out to be after the final state inspection)) was a little aggressive.

Things went downhill quickly:
We were told that the work would start in the middle of January. When we heard nothing from them for several weeks, we were at first concerned. We were told that we would have a walk through prior to starting with his team as a transition from him to his project manager. We had asked for a revised set of drawings that took several weeks to get (one week John had been out of town which is understandable). Finally on a Thursday in early February, John asked us if we'd like to start the next day or the following Monday.

Demolition was quick and the initial framing was done in just a few days. We had asked up front about being cognizant about the water issue and wanted the walls wrapped to prevent any water from seeping back into the drywall and this was something that they had previously not thought of doing. We had to gut the basement previously due to mold and then needed to waterproof the basement prior to rebuilding. There were weeks that went by without any progress made and no communication from SunCrest. We'd check every day to see what was done.

Additionally, we started asking from Day One about amounts of materials needed, dates for ordering etc... We received a call the night before our shower plumbing needed to be installed asking us where it was. We were never notified of what we needed (nor knew what it actually was) so I needed to scramble to order parts and have them overnighted to ensure that they were installed in time. We continued to ask for the necessary materials and amounts and finally about 2 weeks before we needed everything we were given the list. We had to rush to get the necessary materials. They did provide us with contacts at Ferguson's and the Tile Shop which was helpful. I never actually got the answer about how much flooring I needed (thankfully I guessed correctly). I had to call John the evening I went to order the tile about the necessary amounts. They work with the Tile Shop often and should know their ordering schedule but given the delay in when we received the amounts, I needed to place my order in Tyson's and then go down to Springfield to get it since they had a later shipping date. We over ordered based on their recommendations and while we are able to return the tile, I have three half used bags of grout and other things that I will never be able to use.

There was miscommunication between John and his PM about the "included costs" which we ended up having to pay for that was never specified in the contract. John had planned for 6 total lights and his PM looked at the contract and assumed that they were responsible for all lights and allowed us to state where and how many lights we wanted and we ended up with 15 (a costly mistake).

They did work with us when we decided (after learning of the necessary amount of tile needed) to completely tile the wall around our fireplace. The finished product looks great and they were most proud of that wall. However, we had asked several times during the process about the necessary codes for the fireplace. Did we need a hearth? Did we need to ensure that there is proper spacing? etc.. We ended doing the research and AFTER the floor was finished they offered (with about 12 hours notice) to put in a hearth but never actually provided the necessary information. We decided ultimately to pass but we had given them 3 weeks to provide an answer.

SunCrest made assumptions about things and didn't always check those with us. From the start of the project, we asked that a closet that had been two separate spaces remain separate, we ended needing to remind them and continue to hound them until the very end. Additionally, we had asked several times over about putting shelves into one closet to act as a pantry (which had been relayed to John during the initial discussions) and we happened to get a call from the PM who was purchasing supplies for the closet at Home Depot and he had said he was planning to put a bar up in the closet so we needed to stress again that we wanted shelves in there and had planned on that all along.

The crew would arrive at odd times (which again is understandable given that they are working on multiple projects etc..) but often we wouldn't know when and how long they would stay. I had my alarm system go off on a few weekends since I didn't expect them to be there. There was even miscommunication between their various teams. The floor layer would show up after 4 pm and work until 8:30 or 9 at night as they didn't schedule his time correctly.

Towards the end of the project, we ended up having weeklyish calls for a progress report since they were so far behind and so bad with communication.

Given their multiple delays in the project, they were gracious enough to paint the basement at their cost.
Overall, after 13 weeks (I think there were 8 weeks where nothing was actually done), the basement is finished. It took them a little extra time to get to the final punch list items due to a delay with a light that needed to be ordered last minute (and I paid extra to assume speedier delivery since I had thought that they would finish it sooner). Even then, they failed to show up when scheduled.

Overall we are happy with the final product but the effort to get there and needing to stay on top of them for what seemed like everything wasn't worth it in the end.

UPDATE: After the storms that blew through in early June, we had new leaking in our basement through a window.  This wasn't SunCrest's fault but John and his team was quick to come out and remove the damaged dry wall, allow it air out and then reinstall and finish the damaged area. It has been a long saga but I am certainly glad that they are willing to support clients after the fact."

"After having some pretty bad rains in the Baltimore area and my tenants informing me that the basement was leaking i searched out a few different companies and found MJ Home Services they have incredible reviews everywhere. Melissa was great and so were the guys that did the work. They sent me pictures over throughout the entire process and everything was done through email which made it so much easier for me. So far so good there's no leaking and my tenants are extremely happy . I would definitely hire MJ Home Services again."

"The job went great. Professional outfit. Willard seems to have a great relationship with the DEQ which makes cleaning up environmental issues go much easier.
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"The representatives were courteous and professional completing the work within a reasonable amount of time. They quickly identified the problem and worked to resolve it to our satisfaction. The cover on the master bath outet was cracked by the contractor who either did not notice the crack or failed to mention it. Overall, I appreciated the work and would have Sam and Sons return for future electrical repairs."

"The crew from ACE was on time, and as I was not able to be at home during the job;  Jim set it up that his crew would call me 45 mins prior to finishing,  so I could get home to pay them.  It worked out great!   The lawn and beds are totally free of debris.   Thanks to all at ACE
Larry P"

"Andrew and his crew have always done an outstanding job for us.  He looks at every project with an eye towards drainage and keeping water away from the house--which was important in our case.  Andrew also goes above and beyond and recommends options that are cost saving.  Most recently, Andrew created a landscaping project for us in a very wet spot of our townhouse patio.  We had a general idea of how we wanted it to look, and Andrew provided an exceptional option for cost savings in placing a circular stone slab down.  The quality of work is consistently outstanding.  We would recommend them for any project you have."

"The job was finished quickly and the construction debris was cleaned up. The basement was cleaner than when he showed up. The next time we had a major rain I got some water in the basement again. Steve came back as soon as it was convenient for me. No problems since then. His guarantee was real, there was no charge for rhe come-back.
I will be calling to have Steve come back to expand the drainage system when I have other work done that exposes another section of the basement.

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"Everything was done perfectly. Mark responded to my call and quickly got the necessary new pond skimmer. Installation was done very professionally and on a very timely basis. I've been relying on Pond Doctor for several years now and have always had an outstanding experience. I highly recommend them for all pond maintenance needs."

"The painting looks wonderful (and I'm very picky).  They were able to get everything done quickly and efficiently.  We are really happy with the finished product.
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