Federal Contracting LLC

Federal Contracting, and Raul Vasquez in particular, was a pleasure to work with, to the extent that these things can be pleasures.  They were recommended to me, and I have recommended them to others.  Raul is about as good as it gets in this business.  He is relaxed in demeanor, but takes things seriously.  He's about as responsive as you can reasonably expect in the business, which is better than any previous contractor I have dealt with.  Overall, considering the amount of work they did, I felt the price was quite fair, and they do what I like: come in with a somewhat high (or at least, not a lowball) price, and then when unforeseen things occur, they don't nickel and dime on things.  They did work above and beyond and often charged little or nothing.   

 They took longer than we expected (3 months instead of 2), but that was largely due to us wanting things done right before we moved into the new house.  I believe in "cheap, good, fast: pick two", and I chose to forgo speed to some extent.  And I was willing to give them flexibility on some work in order to make sure things were done well at a good price.  

 Overall, the quality was good, often excellent.  The best thing about Raul and Fed Contracting is that they come back if you have problems and they address them until you are satisfied, even well after they have been paid.  If you have Luis G. on the job, you will definitely be satisfied.  I thought the biggest disappointment was the quality of the painting (something I'm pretty good at myself), but this was a relatively minor beef, and Raul made sure I was OK with things.  Their work on the bathrooms, basement remodel (including all wood and studwork), attic flooring, etc. seemed top notch.  There were a few mishaps with some misunderstandings of the work.  In one panic situation (where the crew did more than I was hoping on a door replacement--and thereby was changing some outside work which would have violated association rules), Raul was on the phone with us late on Friday night and came out on Saturday (with his crew) to ensure a satisfactory resolution.  You can't assume with this level of remodel things won't go wrong--they will, but with Fed Contracting, I was confident they would get resolved to my satisfaction.



  Particularly important if you live in Fairlington:  Raul and his crew are among a few that KNOW Fairlington.  They know what unique things to look for and what the associations allow and don't allow.   

 We will use them again when we remodel the kitchen...for sure.

Raul Vasquez and all of the Federal Contacting team were excellent to work. They replaced original wood siding on a breezeway, so that it was restored to its original condition and looks exactly the same and then they painted the siding. The workers were there every day until the job was completed, and it was done on schedule. They did a fantastic job!

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Highly recommended. My complete kitchen and entryway remodeling project was handled superbly by Raul and his team. Great project management (Raul) and a real attention to detail by all involved made the outcome better than expected. It was done on schedule and on budget. The professionalism and communication by the team truly makes Federal Contracting LLC stand out in an industry plagued by a mediocrity. A very good company!

Raul Vasquez came and looked at a home that we were considering purchasing and gave us a general idea that our renovation ideas were feasible. After we settled on the property, he and his team started immediately. They demolished the kitchen, bricked up a window in the kitchen and created a door in the dining room, where a window had been. They created an interior window between the kitchen and living room for a more open feel on the main level. They installed our kitchen in record time, rebuilding the floor to make it level and doing a beautiful job on the cabinets, tile floor and backsplash. They pulled up all of the old carpet throughout the home, then sanded, stained and sealed the floors. They helped us find a good roofer, then installed tunnel lights in the roof to create some lighting in the upstairs space. Federal Contracting has excellent craftsman for woodwork, floors, brick laying, tile and more. Every step of the way, they were fast and meticulous at their work and did a really great quality renovation!

This project was mostly funded by an FHA 203k rehab loan, which included specific requirements on the scope of work performed and the method of payment -- specifically, both we and Federal Contracting were required to work with a third-party HUD inspector, who assisted laying out the scope of the main contract and then was responsible for making intermediary and final inspections to release funds for work completed from an escrow account. Federal Contracting's willingness to work with this unusual arrangement (and their experience with other 203k contracts) was one of the reasons we selected their bid over others, in addition to their competitive pricing and our general impression of the company. The 203k loan required that we have a signed contract with our GC prior to closing on the house, which took place at the end of April 2011. Based on Federal Contracting's estimates, we expected the bulk of the work to be completed by July 2011, and we were scheduled to move in by mid-July.

Since the kitchen renovation was both the majority of the contract and the work that would have the greatest impact on the livability of the property during the project, our first step was to settle on a kitchen design while they began the demolition. The demo work, the floor refinishing, the structural work on the subfloor and reinforcement in the ceiling, and the plaster repair (and, later, the exterior brick work, drywall, painting, and new rear steps, as well as the installation of the cabinets) was all done by Federal Contracting directly, and this work proceeded quickly and was of high quality.

The design of the kitchen began in May 2011, but working with the subcontracted kitchen designer took longer than we expected. Although we settled on a cabinet line, finish, and countertop material within a few days, we quickly became frustrated working with our Federal Contracting GC (we worked with a project manager rather than the owner from the initial estimate) as an intermediary between us and the kitchen designer when we ran into problems with the cabinet layout. Our interest in maximizing the use of a very small space required us to seek out and consider creative solutions, but our ideas were not always communicated to the designer clearly or quickly. As a result, the design process dragged on for weeks, and at one point a second designer with a different cabinet line was approached and the process began all over again. (We were told that the second kitchen company would be less expensive and possibly faster, but neither of these turned out to be the case.) The kitchen was the last piece of the project finished, in October 2011, nearly four months after we moved into the house, and it was non-operational for almost three of those four months.

Unfortunately, our frustrations in the kitchen design process were repeated with other subcontractors who worked on windows, electrical systems, HVAC, and plumbing. In nearly every one of these cases, our choices, ideas, and questions were not clearly communicated to the subcontractors, and we ended up windows different from the ones we requested, a broken vent stack, and an HVAC unit ordered without our approval, which had to be sent back. We had originally planned to replace the hot water heater under this contract, but when we could not get answers to our questions about the unit ordered, we cancelled this service.

In nearly every case, Federal Contracting, LLC and quot;made it rightand quot; and we are very happy with the finished project. We were, however, disappointed with the time it took to complete the work and with the amount of design and problem-solving we ended up having to do on our own.

This was the best experience I have ever had with a home remodeling contractor. It was neither the highest nor the lowest estimate we got, but the price was fair and we went with Federal on the strength of recommendations from people we trusted. We were not disappointed. My biggest previous beef with contractors is that they never do what they say they are going to to when the say they are going to do it. Not so with Federal. They completed the project within the expected time frame. Unlike some others, there were never any long periods when they just disappeared. Once they started, they were there nearly every day until the job was done. They listened to us when we told them what we wanted and then followed up, getting the details right. I would recommend them to others without reservation.

Federal Contracting is truly as good as it gets. Raul Vasquez always goes the extra mile--and is as honest as they come. He responds immediately to every query--no matter how insignificant. Beyond that, quality matters to all of them. They came back to help us with every item we asked about--even after final payment. I cannot say enough great things about Raul and Federal Contracting. This company wrote the book on customer service.