Gale Contractor Services

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This company was a subconractor for Sunrise Window Services who's name we got from the Energy Star folks after they identified some work that should be done to save energy costs on a house we bought in 2006.  Gale Contractor Services laid a vapor barrier on the floor of our crawl space, which they ran up the walls of the foundation and covered some of our vents.  They also detached the HVAC ducts that were held up off the ground with metal straps in order to get insulation around the ducts.  They left garbage in our sump pump recepticle, they didn't attached the insulation under the floor properly which also fell down and covered the vents in the crawl space and instead of using the metal straps used to hold the duct work off the ground, they used the same nylon twine they used to hold the insulation under the floor of the house up to raise the HVAC ducts off the ground.  Of course the twine broke and the ducts were laying on the ground for years before we discovered what a crappy job they did.  We went to sell our house and the home inspector identified the shoddy work.  When I contacted Sunrise Window Services, they told me Gale did the work and gave me their phone number.  Their estimator Amy, acted as if they would do the repairs but then I had to call and email her 4 or 5 times and every time she responded, it was to say she needed to talk to inspector directly or she need to see our repair addendum, then it was that she needed to track down the original bid and the last excuse was that she had to write a repair ticket that management would need to approve before she would agree to send a crew out to fix the job.  Still no luck on this and my repair period is running out which is exactly what she is hoping happens - that I hire someone else to fix their horrible job.  The blatant delay tactics are maddening because she already wasted a week and a half of the time I have to get these repairs fixed.  
This company is completely unethical.  If you want someone who stands behind their work and actually does quality work, do NOT hire these guys.

Gale Contracting performed the work as a subcontractor to Sunrise Window Service.  They didn't properly staple the insulation up so it fell and covered up the floor vents in our crawl space.  The visqueen vapor barrier also was run up the walls of the foundation and also covered the vents.  They also detached our HVAC ducts that were held up off the ground with metal straps in order to get insulation around the ducts. When they were finished laying the insulation, rather than using the same metal straps to raise the ducts, they used nylon twine - the same twine they used to hold the insulation up under the floor boards.  When a home inspection revealed the shoddy work, their estimator came out and looked at the job and admitted it needed fixing, but kept putting me off by saying she needed more information from the home inspector.  Then she asked me for our repair addendum.  Even after talking with her several times over a 2 week period, she tells me she has to get "approval" on a repair ticket before she can send out a crew.  It's clearly a tactic to put me off because we are on a deadline to get this work done.  If you need a company that does QUALITY work AND is willing to stand behind it, DO NOT use these guys. The work clearly was done badly and they refuse to fix it.

They were friendly, honest, and very helpful.

The original job appraiser came out and checked under the house and made an initial estimate of 1800.00 for 80% removal and repair. The initial schedule was for the work to start on Tuesday October 8th which was actually earlier than originally quoted from the day that half of the payment was made.. However the crew was booked finishing a different job that day and were not able to arrive until Wednesday. The crew was a 2 person team that showed up around 7:30 Wednesday and did an initial inspection of the insulation and the ducting and believed that they didn't have enough ground cover for the job. They worked until Wednesday afternoon and took away all of the removed ground cover and damaged insulation that day that they could. The needed to come back the next day so it was more than a single day job. The second day they
 started early again and were able to complete the entire job and replaced all of the cround cover and about 60% of the insulation especially in the north part of thehouse where the most damage was.
There was an additional charge for materials and labor of about $250 to complete the job which they did a great job of reinstalling the insulation that was still there and interweaving it with the new insulation they added. The ducting was repaired extept for one junction. I had an inspector find that and repair it, Now I am ready for winter and feel very good about the state of the house and underneath it.  I owulod use Gale contractor Services in the future.W 26th Court

It was a good experience. There were some minor communication issues, however the work was completed to our satisfaction..

The estimator, Sam Monzulla, was thorough and meticulous with his estimate and provided me with various options for my consideration.  I had a delay with starting the project because I decided to replace my roof before doing the insulation work.  So when it came time to sign the contract, Sam came back out to re-walk the job to make sure we were in agreement about what was to be done.  He brought one of the job supervisors with him to discuss a few minor issues related to the existing (improperly installed) insulation.  i.e. do we remove the existing and start over or try to work around/fix what was done before.  We decided to remove and start over.

The job took a little longer than expected, but the crew that did the work was very professional, friendly and did a great job cleaning up.  

The bid was extremely competitive.  I am looking forward to a warmer, more efficient house how that the cool weather is setting in.

Highly recommended.

I was very pleased with them.  They were reasonably priced.  They were very punctual.  They cleaned up after themselves.  They were very friendly and trustworthy.

It didn't cost me anything because it was a package and rebates. The people that came out and did it for us were fine but I had trouble with the salesman in giving the right paper work file to get my money back. They were the cheapest price but you may have to go a mile in getting the correct paper work done. I wouldn't say it's a hindrance but if I was signing up for that I would want to know what the best price is and if the work was done well. The salesman needed some prompting.

They did great work. They were one of the few companies that kept all their appointments on time. They were pretty clear about when they were going to come, and they got all the work done in the timeframe that they said they would. Their communication was good. I was very happy with the price and the job. I would use them again in the future if necessary.

I was happy with them not having a problem taking the shakes off. They didn't break anything. They seemed to be very professional. There were 2 guys that were here doing the work.

They arrived on time and preformed the task quickly and cleanly.

They were very professional. They were able to do the work very promptly. They showed up for the job and did it quickly. I was satisfied with the work. They had very good communication and kept me informed.

They were quick, cleaned up after themselves and installed a bat frame around the crawl space access door. They sent me my insulation credit form for my taxes in the mail right after the job. Easy to work with.

I have had a lot of contractors at my house in the past 12 months. This was by far the worst experience. The crew had to come three times to get my crawl space and heating ducts insulated correctly. They made a mess entering a basement window and broke an overhead light. I had to double check and question all of the work or it would never have been done correctly or completely. All of the crew members were nice, but attention to detail was not their strength nor was their ability comprehend conversations about the work (not) being done. It took 3 weeks to get the rebate paper work done after being bounced back and forth between the sales guy and the office and then having the wrong information on the rebate form (saying the R value in my attic increased from 18 to 20). I got a break on the original price for being inconvenienced, but much less than I thought it should have been considering all the time I had to spend inspecting the work and crawling under the house.

Outstanding service. Kevin was very prompt in coming out for a quote (while another company I called gave only a phone quote, and a third didn't return my call.) He offered advice on what insulation should be the priority. Based on this advice we chose not to spend the money to insulate the walls. He sent two teams to do the work within 3 days of the quote. The two teams worked independently, but at the same time and finished the work very quickly. Our crawlspace is extremely tight, but they did the work without any additional charge. Clean-up was good and they were very conscientious about not damaging any of our furniture. Kevin will begin the paperwork for me for energy rebates, which will bring the net cost down to about $700 for the entire amount of work! I would definitely recommend Gale!

This was a two day job, starting in the crawl space and continuing to the attic. Two men arrived as scheduled, worked all day both days and then it was done. They cleaned up after themselves and were very respectful of my property (they had to go through my bedroom to get to the attic).

The crew was over two hours late and when I called I was told that they couldn't get a hold of them so I was going to have to wait on them, but I had a meeting that this made me an hour late for. The 2nd crew that was to install the air vents the same day as the insulation never showed up, but did come the next day. I had to send in my own Energy Trust paperwork, which they have been the only company to make me do this. Other companies send it off for the client. When I asked for my invoice I had to call in 6 times, which I got someone very rude twice. One was sent on the 5th call, but was wrong, so I had to call back to get another one sent, which took 6 hours to receive after the employee telling me that their payroll was more important than writing a number on an invoice and sending it off, which probably only took about 2 seconds. I do not feel they are responsive to their customers and don't care about how they treat them.

Very well. Were quick to respond, did bid quickly. Bid same amount as final bill. Were able to come within a few weeks of initial bid. Did work in one day. Did a great job. I would use them again. Helped us with the energy trust rebate paperwork.

They came out, diagnosed, and ordered part. They returned and installed the faulty part. I had no more gas leak.

Our rep was Paul Vehrenkamp. He provided us with some of the worst customer service I've ever experience with a contractor. I had to call him several times to get questions answered about the estimate, as he would almost never return my calls. He sent the wrong crew to our house on the day the work was to start. The crew was not experienced in removing siding, and were only going to do the attic. No one from Gale called me to explain what had happened or to give me a date when the other work would start. They only completed 2/3 of the work in the attic. We called Paul three times that day and never got a straight answer from him. I called back the next day, still no answer. The next day I called and left a message that we didn't want Gale to continue the work due to poor service. I also called the office and spoke to a manager named Brett about my experience. He said he'd talk with Paul and get back to me. A few hours later, Paul called me and said he was sorry it didn't work out.

We called Gale Contractors for an estimate for attic insulation. Nils promptly came to measure and inspect the existing insulation. His estimate was much better than one from another company. We were able to schedule the work within a few days. The workmen were very careful when they entered our home and they placed materials to protect the walls and corners from any scuffing by the large hose that was used to blow in the insulation. We were happy that they also placed weatherstripping around the attic hatch. The job went smoothly and the cleaned up everything before leaving. We already can tell the extra insulation is helping our home feel warmer and the furnace works less often.

The company representative was prompt for the estimate. Their crew also came promptly and added the light sheilds and added the fiberglass. The price seems high, but perhaps that is the going rate.

Paul Olson was very helpful. He helped me with the Oregon tax credit and Energy Trust rebate for rental property. The work was done quickly and well. It was summer season and they were busy and had to do the job in two sessions. Again (this was the second time I used Gale) their accounting department billed me and demanded payment before the work was complete. I suggest you make sure they understand that payment in full comes with work being done in full!

The crew was prompt and did the job quickly.