Get matched with top home builders in Covington, VA

"as advertised"

"Beware of Dollman construction, also doing business as Essential Improvements in the Roanoke, Virginia area and beyond is a company to avoid. They employed somewhat dirty practices in my opinion and while it may not be the fault of Dollman himself, the guy I was dealing with was Tracy White, design consultant. Ironically, he's no longer with the company. If my situation had contributed to that, Dollman made the right choice in getting rid of him. While I have copious notes as to what happened here, for the sake of the review, and my fingertips, I'll do my best to keep this brief. I was looking to get a workout building built (16x20), concrete flooring, walls, lights, etc. Tracy guesstimated they could do it for within 65k while several of the others I had gotten quotes from were north of 80k. His confidence gave me confidence and that was my biggest mistake. He wrote up a very quick design contract/commitment where I had to provide a 5k deposit and if they came in above 65k, I'd get my money back if I didn't want to proceed. I signed it, this was my second mistake. The agreement I signed didn't have enough parameters written in, just that they had to deliver a workout room / building conceptual design for a project within a 65k budget. A couple of months went by and I had met with Tracy White and Jimmy Dollman once to go over the initial design, after my signoff the quote would be provided. Jimmy was unaware that we had this agreement and the budget was 65k and it was never brought up in our face to face meeting. We just discussed the design, changes I would want and some recommendations he had for me. Price was never brought up but the quote would be coming. Some weeks later Tracy asked if he could stop by with the quote and I of course was fine with it. He came over empty handed, I invited him in and he told me it was going to be 92k. I asked him why, he said that it would have been 65k base cost with no profits if they were to do it for themselves. The 92k was because of the distance between them and myself. I told him it was odd because he had confidence they could do it for 65k. He nodded and then said that he didn't want to tell me over the phone, text or email and he felt I deserved a face-to-face meeting. I reminded him of the agreement, he said he had it but took a picture anyway and said he'd talk to Jimmy about returning my 5k. Within that same week Tracy reached out and told me that he spoke to Jimmy and was told that they can do the project within 65k but obviously some things would change. I told him not to bother and just refund my 5k. He responded with things along the lines of "you can't expect us to work for you for months for free" and "the 92k was because of all the things I wanted". That's simply not true. This left me feeling gutted because at this point I didn't want to use them anymore and what would this design look like? No walls, lights, ceiling or roof? I had some options, but I wasn't going to chase it too hard, however the route I decided to take was to email Jimmy Dollman directly, take accountability for the mistakes I feel I made, mention that I felt Tracy didn't communicate openly or honestly with me, him and/or his team. There was some lapse in communication beyond me and my control. I proposed that he refund $2500 to me because I didn't want anything for free, however I still wanted the agreement to be upheld with honesty and integrity. Dollman never replied to my email but in a separate email communication with Tracy asking where this magical 65k quote and design was, he told me that he spoke to Jimmy and understood I wanted $2500 and then to terminate our relationship. I told him I still wanted that if they were agreeable. He said they were and I'd get the check within 2 weeks After 2 weeks I didn't get the check, I called Dollman, I spoke to someone else there, gave her the background and forwarded the emails. It was at that point I was told that Tracy was no longer with the company. That's a small victory. I had to followup again after Labor day weekend 2024 and they finally sent out the check, it's deposited in my account and while I'm not happy, I'm content. Beware of these dirty practices and keep your head on a swivel. Go with a company that doesn't require a design agreement. Get a detailed quote without that and go from there."

"Terrible customer service experience over a job that took twice as long as originally planned. I left messages for weeks and weeks for management to call me back. When I finally did get a manager on the phone they were argumentative and unapologetic about my frustrations. It seems like this company has too many customers and not enough staff to serve them. Very disappointing-- especially for a local company."

"It was fabulous. They were absolutely the best. They were professional and timely. The work looked fabulous. They did a great job. I have no complaints."

"From Start to finish the F&S Team did an excellent job. They were very professional, friendly and courteous. They showed up on time, did quality work (to include the two subs) and ALWAYS kept us in the loop. F&S even finished the entire job early. Most impressive."