VASS CONSTRUCTION INC

Started off well, then midway through the first phase of the project, after 12 weeks of unsupportable delays to pour the concrete for the main part of the renovation, Mr. Mike Vass sent me an email saying he could not honor/complete his contract. He further stated he was "shutting his company down to a non-status". I have since been contacted by subcontractors who have not been paid, although Mr. Vass was paid. Mr. Vass responds to neither emails or phone calls.

On April 22, 2012, we hired Vass Construction to build an addition to our home. Initially, we received a proposal for the complete project, and after a number of changes and discussions, we opted to work in phases and paid $6,500 for the design phase. On April 30, 2012, we had to fire Vass Construction because they were not fulfilling their end of the contract with the integrity we expected. The most egregious example of this breach of integrity was the unauthorized changes to the drawings submitted to the Reston Design Review Board. First, Vass attempted to change the quality of products used on a fixed-price contract, and second, without our knowledge, Vass Construction changed a key component of the addition (a garage door to pair of exterior doors) claiming that the custom door we required was unavailable, which was untrue as I found several garage door options quite easily. Vass then stated that the reason for the changes was to keep the cost to within our budget. However, since he quoted our addition inclusive of the garage door at $1200 (I priced them at $580), this too was untrue. After waiting weeks and missed appointments, we received a refund of $1,795, and are left with architectural plans from Vass that cost us $4,705. These same plans were not accepted by the Reston Design Review Board (DRB) because of a faulty roof design. In addition, the drawings were of no value to several other contractors we spoke with, so we are forced to start over. Michael Vass says we had a communication problem with his architect, Humberto Vazquez, from Studio HTO. However, after paying for drawings that Vass and Studio HTO claim took 33 hours to create but which no other company can use, we were taken advantage of yet again. Vass will most certainly tell his side of the story, and telling stories is his one true talent. However he positions his version, the facts are what I?ve noted above, and I have every claim well documented. There are so many highly rated contractors, and you the cost of choosing the wrong contractor is so high, so please do your research. Vass labeled my wife and I as disgruntled customers because ?we didn?t trust him to fix the problems?. He claims that the drawings submitted were unfinished (hard to imagine a structural design flaw after ?33 hours? to create). Fortunately, we fired Vass Construction early on, which limited our losses. Michael had explanations for everything, which often passed responsibility on to his architect, Humberto, even citing differences in culture as an excuse. Since Vass was as dishonest as Humberto, the cultural difference argument didn?t work. Beyond the issue of the siding and the garage door, there was a lot of discussion with Vass Construction on the roof design, as I had concerns about the design and potential problems with water run-off. Michael Vass took the time to educate me on why the roof had to be designed a certain way. However, Humberto then convinced Michael that the roof should be designed differently. It became difficult to determine who was in charge. Initially, we were told that Humberto would be doing the drawings of our home, but subsequently, we then learned from Humberto that he would actually build the addition; unfortunately, none of that was communicated with us, and ultimately, the confusion between them ended up in a roof design that could not work. It is true that we pulled out without allowing them to correct the design plans to meet the Reston DRB approval, but we came to realize that we made a mistake in choosing Vass Construction and they would continue to disappoint us so we had to cut our losses. Given their reaction, were are so pleased to have terminated our agreement and not lost more money or worse, suffered an inferior design and build. Subsequent to our experience, we learned that a neighbor of ours had a bad and much more costly experience with Vass. We wish he would have posted his experience on Angie?s List because it absolutely would have caused us to choose a different contractor and would have saved us time, money, disappointment and a delay in our project. Given the power of the consumer with tools like Angie?s List, we can hold contractors like Vass Construction and Studio HTO accountable by ensuring that they only earn our business after being honest and delivering quality service. Don?t chose a contractor based on their ability to ?sell? you as this lesson cost us as noted above. Rather, make them prove it by getting good customer ratings. We are also submitting a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. As stated, Michael will tell his story and no matter how he spins the story, he cannot refute the fact that we paid for 33 hours at $125 per hour for drawings that failed to meet the DRB requirements because of a faulty roof design, and other contractors have stated as grossly inadequate. I urge you to act with caution as Michael is dangerously likeable which makes the ultimate deception more disappointing. In the end, we were willing to pay a fair price for services rendered to the point that we ended the contract. Michael should not have grossly inflated the hours to develop the architectural plans. He certainly missed an opportunity to be fair and equitable which matches with our entire experience.

Years of house settling caused leaks in living room windows (where living room is cantilevered out into backyard). Vendor provided competitive bid and selection was based on construction experience vs. standard windows installer in case problems crept in (as they usually do). Two major problems with this vendor: 1. Inexperienced team - nice guys, but they were frequently late/no shows and seemed unsure of steps ahead. 2. Questionable quality - windows installed are not perfectly square in frame, lolly columns not placed properly. While Mike Vass was very knowledgeable, the execution was left to a young inexperienced team. They were frequently late (starting with being 3 hours late the first day) and work was less than stellar. Nice guys when on the job, but the punctuality was unacceptable (several no shows!) having to work from home on construction days. A 3 day project turned into a 30 day [duration] project. Whenever I called Mike, I ended up getting called by the on site manager who always had an excuse handy (truck broke down, another project, dog ate my homework). There were structural issues with the house which Mike figured out when the windows didn't fit. This required the lolly columns be installed. They suggested a single lolly, but then put in two without any rationale. OK, better safe then sorry. However, the 2nd lolly column was placed by the team where Mike himself said it would provide no additional support. After careful review, the windows are not quite square in the frame which was custom made/installed. Only noticeable upon close inspection, but noticeable nonetheless.