Shamrock Enterprises

Repair successfully completed.

Great, any Minot issues were quickly fixed. Great crew

unknown

They were a preferred contractor from my insurance company. Their estimator showed up on time and provided a description of the work needed and sent it to my insurance company, which sent me a cost estimate. The work crew showed up for the follow-on appointment and worked steadily. I briefly observed the work in progress, which was complicated, since they had to take the gutter down to work on the eaves and then reattach the gutter. The eaves looked good when they were done, restored to their appearance before the problem developed. There was one thing I wanted them to do to complete the job (I had to leave before they finished the job, so I checked it later) and they came back and did the last item. The cost of the completed work was the same as the original estimate. Their workers and office staff were courteous and responsive whether by phone, email, or in person.

unknown

unknown

This was a terrible experience. This company is totally dishonest, and they refuse to respond to my calls and e-mails regarding the items they left unfinished on the job, or issues that arose a mere six months after completion of work. For example, they left cable wires coming out of our wall with a hole; the shoe molding is coming off the wall; the grout in the shower was already cracking; the ceiling where the new plumbing went in was leaking and now there is a big water stain. 
Not only was the project manager during the work dishonest- he would continually mislead us on timing, or blatantly tell us what we wanted to hear, despite it being a lie. Furthermore, when talking to the sub contractors who did the actual work, they were so unhappy with Shamrock, and they were paid literally nothing, while also being fed lies by the company. Thus, we are going directly to them to do future work. 
After calling several times to complain last year, they sent someone out, as the project manager for our job had left the company. The new person was supposed to be "extremely professional." However, when he met with my husband, he tried to tell us that it wasn't their fault- that the leak, for example, had nothing to do with their work. Nevermind the fact the leak was in the ceiling, which had been totally removed and re-built, along with the new plumbing for the new toilet. He implied that he could come back to fix the other, smaller items, but alas, he never followed up. 
Thus, I have been calling for the past week to get these items fixed. Kim, the office manager said someone would be in touch, and on multiple occasions throughout the week told me someone would contact me by COB. And, of course, nothing. No word, no emails, no calls. I even sent her the pictures of what needed to be fixed. We have cables coming out of a hole in a wall that is in the bedroom of our soon-to-be nursery. But, I cannot even get an honest response, or any response for that matter. 
I plan to file complaints about this company where I can- starting with the Better Business Bureau. 
I cannot figure out how these people think this is how one runs a business. 

For your own good, I RECOMMEND THAT YOU AVOID THIS COMPANY!
Our insurance company gave us a choice of either the money or a referral to a reputable contractor who would perform major repairs.  Instead they sent us to Shamrock.  This contractor was "to sit down with us and make sure we felt comfortable at every step of the way through our recovery process."  All of this followed a dishwasher flooding incident resulting in damage to two full floors of our home.  We lost our kitchen cabinets, wood flooring/carpet on main level, ceiling/walls and carpet in basement (along with the basement kitchenette following further damage during water mitigation).  Since we had considered an eventual remodel at a later date anyway, we decided to attempt a recovery and remodel at the same time.  We asked our Shamrock-assigned General Contractor, point-blank, in person, and together, "Can you help us recover and remodel at the same time while keeping our money and the insurance money straight and above board?"  He said he would, but he did not.  In fact, when he told his boss that
the delays in our project were caused by the items on our change order, the only two additional things he could cite were the removal of the bulkhead and additional hardwood where carpet used to be.  
We didn't realize until nearly three months into the project that Shamrock was not going to act as our overall project manager--my wife had to do that.  She coordinated with the subcontractors.
Here's what we got:
-       Workmen from Shamrock fighting in our house and yard
-       Obscenities discovered, written in black marker on the framing in the kitchen following demolition (Does it matter who wrote it?  What kind of person leaves foul graffiti for the homeowner and children to discover?)
-       Regularly unscheduled Shamrock subcontractors showing up without notice, without the proper tools, without any
paperwork
-       Subcontractors walking off our job because of poor communication from Shamrock about the work scope so the schedule was a constant mystery for us
-       Days without communication from any level of supervision plus misinformation about how to prepare for some teams of subcontractors plus surprises over and over
-       A torn-up kitchen for over four months and strangers in and out of our home all summer long.  (Damage occurred April 29th; the kitchen was usable again by August 20th and the relationship between them and us completed mid-October.)
-       Pressure to accept shoddy workmanship which was constantly rejected 
Here?s what we didn?t get:
-       A good estimate before work began.  I didn?t know how much this job would cost until the end.  I?m not talking about a rough estimate, I had no idea!  Even on the day we signed the insurance check, we were presented a different total cost than we had discussed the day before!
-       Someone to coordinate all the subcontractors?which meant we struggled with problems such as our under-cabinet lighting was the wrong kind for our cabinets, and our faucet was much too large for our sink, so we had to buy $300 in additional molding and installation plus a new $200 faucet to replace the original new faucet.
-       A signed contract (Be careful about this one--it makes it hard to sue when there is no contract to hold them to.  But when there workers show up at your house, ready to work on your kitchen that has been delayed for weeks, what are you going to do?!)
-       People we could trust to help us repair and remodel our home
-       Communication about the process, the paperwork, the subcontractors, the things that were happening on site, and the permit requirements in Fairfax County
Here?s what we lost:
-       Our spring and summer were lost because my wife had to be on site every minute of this project to answer questions asked by subcontractors.  Nothing was ever on paper except for the cabinet placement which was done incorrectly.  After demanding that
the cabinets be hung per the cabinet salesperson's design, Shamrock's response was, "I'm here to talk you out of moving those cabinets because I wouldn't have even noticed."
-       We spent over $1,000 with a Professional Project Manager to help us get the work moving and the subcontractors managed on site.  My wife had to do things like take our children to school physicals so we had to have someone on site if she wasn't available.  We were frequently taken by surprise by who would or would not show up to work.  My wife was constantly stuck at
home in an effort to keep the work moving best she could.
-       We paid over $350 to bring in a close family member from out-of-town to help my wife. She became completely exhausted from trying to balance our family and the recovery/remodel while I was on an unavoidable business trip for my job in the military.
-       Over $500 on unreimbursed food expenses because we had to eat out for so long and the insurance only covers a percentage of that cost.
-       And finally, it cost us $75 for the home warranty call that revealed that after everything was done, that dishwasher wasn't even hooked back up correctly! 
 
The kitchen is done, but the emotional toll and misery we suffered made it simply miserable.  We communicated our dissatisfaction with Mr. Jim McLaughlin, the owner, but he failed to respond in any way.  Surely, he doesn't mean to run a business like this one is run.  He has no idea of all the challenges that my wife endured at the hands of his employees and subcontractors or he would never have ignored her or us. 
After requesting compensation for what we can measurably account for and being met with silence, we are seeking legal advice. 
Let me be clear:  in my opinion YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY AVOID THIS COMPANY! 

They damaged my driveway when delivering roofing materials.  Dented and scratched a new HVAC system I had just installed after I asked them to cover it before throwing shingles off the roof.  Workers did not check out with us when leaving our home after repairs for a walk around, this caused us to have to do some clean up.  Used our bathrooms and clogged our tiolets and did not tell us this occured. 

While the subcontractors hired by Shamrock were good, the project manager was not. We felt that he often lied or provided us with bad information. He was also not a good communicator, particularly when no one showed up for days, and the project ran way past the time frame given for completion.  

Overall the quality of the work was very good and they were very responsive to what I wanted done.  We did run into issues with permits for the work.  The proper permit was not pulled which caused the work to be delayed several times.  The contractor did pay for the the second adjustment to the permit out of his pocket which was nice.  Despite the project taking longer than expected I would look at hiring them again.  They were very clean and made sure to limit dust and dirt getting into the rest of the house.  Every night they cleaned up the area which made it possible to live in the house with minimal disruption, even during construction.

I called Shamrock Restorations as the result of recommendations from our insurance company. Martin Young the Project Manager came to the house and determined what needed to be done to temporarily secure the roof. Two Shamrock Restoration employees
arrived climbed onto the roof, shoveled off the snow and ice in the effected area. They then placed a tarp over the effected area and nailed it down. When high winds started to stretch the tarp they returned and retailed the tarp. If I ever have a problem like this again Shamrock Restorations will be the first company on our list to call.

We could write pages on the issues we had with getting this project completed, but here are the highlights:



- Contacted Shamrock on May 5, 2013.  They took five months to complete the job.  Should have taken less than a month to order the parts and complete the installation.



- Original project manager failed to keep us updated on what was going on with our project and lied about having ordered materials.  Installation scheduled for July 17-18.  No show for installation.  Project manager claimed the door had come in, but not the sidelites - impossible since the door and sidelites are one unit.  Company owner acknowledged lies in an e-mail on July 21.  



- After we contacted the company owner about the problems we were experiencing, he assigned the division manager to take over supervising our project. 

 

- Installation rescheduled for August 7-8.  Employees arrived, but without all parts.  The division manager went to Home Depot to get a storm door, but they didn?t have a new one in-stock in the color we specified in our contract.  Division manager took a returned door that was missing numerous parts and put it on the front of our house.  When we asked why he hadn?t ordered a new door in advance, he said that ?is not our process.?  We faced yet another delay to wait for all the replacement parts to be ordered and installed.

 

- We contacted the company owner, who came out on August 28 to look at the project.  We were still waiting for the storm door

parts at this point and to have some painting completed.  The owner said they would install a brand new storm door and agreed to upgrade it at no additional charge.  The new storm door was installed on September 25.



- The project was completed on October 7th, when the division manager returned with the manual for the storm door and to install plugs in the screw holes in the front door trim and to paint these.

 

- The workers who did the actual installation were courteous and professional.  Their professionalism and work ethic prevented us from giving the company an F rating.



- The completed work looks good, but at an extreme cost of hassles ? delays, excuses, poor communications, deception, and ultimately a sense of deep frustration.  We don?t mind paying for quality.  However, a straightforward door installation should not take five months, $3,100, and constant oversight by the customer to correct management oversights. Ultimately, we got the doors and sidelites installed but our experience prevents us from recommending this company to others.



- For our five months of trouble the owner took $304.14 off the original price of the project.  This amount includes the difference of $175 in the price of the upgraded storm door from the original in our contract and 4% off the total contract.

I thought they were absolutely fabulous. One great thing about them is the project manager, Martin. He was great to work with and was always accessible by phone and email. There were many nights that I would think of different things that could happen and I could email him right then. He always emailed me back right away. He took care of everything, including getting the permits. I think he went to the courthouse about 10 times to get the permits for the bathroom. And he did all of this with a smile on his face.

I purchased the cabinets from Home Depot as well as the granite. They are very good. They are not cheap, but I didn't shop around so it might be normal for this area. They used a sub-contractor for the work.

It was a pleasant experience. Shamrock was very punctual and professional. This was an insurance covered repair so it took longer than I'd have liked but that was not Shamrock's fault, it was the insurance company holding things up. The repairs they made looked great and the overall price was fair, not good, just fair. I'd recommend them to anyone looking for general work and repair, I was very pleased with the results.

Excellent, see above.