POLLI CONSTRUCTION INC & EXPERT PAINTERS

We started with an estimate from Sam Gervais for 80-100 hours and an estimate of $8-10K for the tile to be replaced in the shower stall and on the tub surround. This was also including painting the entire bathroom, venting our microwave, as well as recessing the outlet behind the stove. This seemed reasonable. I only had the # for the contractor who was on site. He let me know there was some inactive black mold when they removed the old tile. He recommended I leave it as it was "inactive". How he can tell, I am not sure. We opted to have it removed. He said it would be an additional 2.5 days of work + materials. We were absolutely OK with this if it means getting rid of the mold. Fast forward to them installing the tile. We confirmed they could use the 12X24 tile. Less grout lines and less chance of future issues, was our thought. I also specifically requested a 1/16" grout line since the tile was rectified, as suggested by the salesperson at the tile company they sent us to. This would give it that nice spa look/ feel.(*be aware that if you use their tile company and go through their house account and pay cash- their contact allows for them to upcharge the tile 35% on your final bill) The tile was installed crooked and some edges were sticking out. I sent Andrew Ward a text that the tile was not going to work for me, and I wanted him to re-do it. He messaged me 2 days later and told me that it was too late, as he already grouted it and I would have to pay to have it all ripped out and re-installed. This should have been one of several red flags with this company. When it came time to install the shower door that was pre-purchased (same size as the old shower door) I was told that I purchased the incorrect door size after it was half installed. Come to find out, when he removed the backerboard from the mold issue he didn’t build the wall back in to the correct measurements so there was now a gap in my floor tile and a half installed shower door. We had been communicating with Benjamin Todd, the field supervisor. I had to reach out each time, with no answers to any questions. He is famous for telling me, “I understand” but dropping the ball time & again. It finally got so bad that I had requested a conference call with both Sam & Ben to figure out how to fix the shower door issue. Neither of them brought any real answers to the table. I had suggested adding a return so we could salvage the shower door. That is what they ended up doing. They send an entirely different person and pulled Andrew Ward off this project. The replacement, Jermain said that Andrew was in over his head and did not ask for help when he should have. This is a huge issue that we now must live with. I could not be more specific in my emails to Polli Construction. The shower door was installed incorrectly and had started to stress fracture at the initial site of install. This became worse and worse each day. I notified Ben, who left us hanging for over 5 weeks with no reply. Again, we had to reach out. We finally called a glass company to install a new door to meet the specs of the mismeasurement fiasco. We then found out that the shower drain was leaking into the basement bathroom and we called another company to fix the pipes and another to fix the ceiling, since Polli Construction was so unresponsive. Fast forward a few months, yes, this is still an ongoing issue. We get a call from Nate Meloney, the Chief of Operations. He specifically stated in the first 3 minutes of the call that he was the “end all be all and that this was going to get resolved today”. This led to me asking him to come on site to see the work for himself. When he arrived, he had Ben with him. Ben clearly did not want to be there, and Nate eluded to that fact. Ben did not say 2 words while he sat at my dining room table. I ended up showing Nate the bathroom, the hundreds of emails reaching out to Sam & Ben, which they never showed to Nate before the meeting. I also had pre-printed photos from all stages of the work that was done. (I am happy to email them to anyone who would like to see any or all stages of this project). Nate finally sends the bill, which we have asked for 5 times. It is now set at $30,000.00. I have requested several times to receive a breakdown of the labor rates, which I have still not received. He deducted $1500.00 for the quality of work. He also added in and removed the rates to add the return to try to fix the shower door and disguised that refund as a concession. This is not nearly enough. I still get angry when I see what the tile looks like and all the time & effort that my husband and I have had to put into this project over the last 11 months. Including, time off work, extra days taking our dog to daycare so he would not be in the way. We signed the contract with them in December 2019. Remember this was just a tile install and I am still fighting with them 11 months later. I still have no idea how this job was estimated at 80-100 hours but came in close to 400 hours. I spoke with Nate this morning 11/21/2020 about my counteroffer to the invoice and he told me they are prepared to take this to court and fight it out there for as long as it takes. I made the request for Stephen Polli to come see this work himself. Nate said he will text me Monday with a few available times. To be clear, they never vented the microwave or recessed the outlet behind the stove. I took that off the table when they went over on hours. Please take our advice and look elsewhere for a more reputable company. Polli Construction is not worth the headaches or the outcome. You can reach me at 802-999-6031, if you would like more specifics or photos. I am happy to share so no one else gets taken advantage of.

He did a great job for us. He was advertising in our local paper and that's where we found him. He is a nice individual and was very professional and the people he had working for him did a nice job. I would rate him overall an A. We had no problems at all.

He was worth every penny.  The owner himself came and did the estimate and went through it.  If we have estimates from other companies, he would give us a better deal than the other companies.  He was easy to do business with and easy to contact.  He was always quick to respond to any questions I had.

Steve Polli showed up the day before after giving a neighbor an estimate. It was the same quote as mine.....he charged $43/hour for work, down from his usual $48/hr. He could come the next day. I was out until noon and when I arrived there were two young guys, one on the roof and one on the ground with 3-4 work stations set up (benches, saw bench, cutting station, etc) It seemed excessive as I have had dozens of contractors at my houses over the last 40 years. It turned out the kid on the ground was an apprentice and simply took orders for material from the guy on the roof. The guy on the roof spent considerable time in his work as the boards took nearly 1 1/2 hours to remove and after 2 hours, the first board had not been installed. (This was all happening at $86/hr, not $43 and the kid on the ground was spending more time playing with my dog than any labor. After 4 hours ($344) 2 boards were up and some work on a small corner was being addressed which I could have done in 1 hour but this took the two guys the same time (I was basically paying double time) After 5 1/4 (4:30pm) they started packing up with 2 boards still to go. This meant that the 1/2 hour to close and the 1/2 hour set-up the next day would be time that no work was done but I would pay for. (I confirmed that not a contractor around that leaves 2 boards un-done at 4:30pm and then comes back....he finishes the job that day. Normal time to nail in 2 boards- 20 minutes, tops) After they left and I saw the work, I call Steve Polli and told him not to return. I had 1/2 the job done for $445. (Would have been abother 2 1/2-3 hours or $250 to finish) Estimates from 2 other contractors confirmed my suspicions. The work should have taken 3-3 1/2 hours at an average of 30-$35 for about $125 total. (I supplied all material...most of the boards were already pre-painted for weather protection) The next day they arrived at my neighbors and I observed the same, inefficiencies and time consuming pattern, one guy at the work site, the other on the ground waiting for instructions. Many boards took multiple cuts and several trips all the way to the street and then back again to get it right. That job was just as time consuming and expensive even after several phone calls to fix what they still didn't get right. These are my direct observations, not second hand through the neighbor. I sent him a check for the 5 1/4 hours times $43= $225, but was rejected and told he'll see me in court. I was hauled in and the judge ruled against me as I should have stopped work ASAP (I wasn't home for the first hour) and determined that the work was not up to expectations sooner, not an easy task in the short time they were there and certainly not expecting that the work would not be finished in all that time. Polli Construction is overpriced and as you can see in Angie's List has a history of this kind of service, also confrimed from others who have worked with them. All this is entered into court records and even the judge said he was sympathetic but there was nothing he could do after the fact. That instant would have been in the first few minutes after they arrived. Please avoid the same experience I had.

He came on the day that he said he would, I was at work that day. It was finished when I got home. Instead of insulated rigid pipe, I got uninsulated flexible pipe draped just draped through the attic. The hole in the wall was about 6" in diameter for a 4" pipe. There was no insulation or means of sealing the gap, thus making a path for rodents and cold air into my house. I had to redo this my self.