This is an initial review. If the situation improves, I will revise my rating. As you read the below, keep in mind this is supposed to be a one month job. CEO/President is Mr. Carmen Pretopapa. Contract sign date: Sept 10, 2019. Estimated start date Oct 10, 2019 & completion Nov 10, 2019. I paid $11,000 at contract signing. (Of note, the DPOR license number on the contract is off by one digit, assume this is unintentional). The goal was to make my house look identical to the same model one block away. CEO suggested I travel to Frederick Block, Brick & Stone to select brick and front stoop materials, and an employee at Frederick Block immediately recognized a photo of the example house brick as “Cortez.” CEO and lead mason Franklin came to conduct a “walk-around and final measurements.” On that day, Franklin asserted at least twice to me and CEO that the brick veneer project required a cement footer, but CEO dismissed this. I queried CEO several times about this later, but he said this was not necessary. On Oct 8, 2019, I wrote another check for $11,000 prior to start of work, per contract terms. Soon thereafter, four pallets of Cortez bricks, a long steel “L” beam, bags of mortar, a pile of sand, and a dumpster were delivered, taking up both sides of the driveway. On Oct 14, 2019, the crew cut and bolted an L beam to the front foundation, removed first floor vinyl siding, and put up Tyvek. Then, mysteriously, they didn't return. I called repeatedly, but no one responded. Finally, in frustration, on Nov 1, 2019, I drove to their office at 26 Fairfax St, SE, Leesburg to ask why no one was working. CEO stated “to protect me and him,” he determined the project needed a building permit. He said he’d hired a structural engineer, who unfortunately passed away, and was waiting for word on a replacement. I reluctantly signed a blank Loudoun County building permit. After waiting for a replacement to be designated, CEO gave up and hired another structural engineering firm. An engineer came to the house Nov 11, 2019 to collect data needed for the permit. The permit was approved Dec 12, 2019. CEO notified me the crew would resume work Jan 2, 2020. (Meanwhile I had begged them to remove the dumpster since no one was working; a car was trapped in the garage since Oct 8th. The dumpster was finally removed November 18th. ) The masonry crew worked Jan 2 and 6, 2020, digging a trench ten feet deep. On Jan 6, they also removed siding from the north and west sides of the garage and the front door surround (pediment & pilasters). The next day, the snowstorm that closed the Federal Gov't arrived. The front door and wood sheathing had no protection from the elements, but the piles of clay were covered in tarps! I requested a barrier such as orange snowfence, which would be reusable, be installed to ensure small children that lived behind me and across the street from falling into trenches. Two rows of caution tape were installed. The masons laid narrow cinder blocks on Jan 10 & Jan 12; this was promptly approved by the County. On Jan 17, 2020 the crew returned to fill in trenches to within two feet of the surface. At various dates in the interim, an employee came to transfer the pile of spreading sand in my driveway and yard (wrong color) into the dumpster. After another gap in no work, I requested a meeting with CEO Pretopapa. I was told he was no longer involved in my project, and had turned it over to General Manager Nate Hill. I met with Nate and another employee to come up with a revised schedule (the first since the contract version and something I’d requested for months). When Nate laid eyes on the property, he stated it needed to be cleaned up (since there were 4 x 8 sheets of plywood lying in the yard and equipment scattered about. He stated OSHA regs would be followed on this job. He even said the driveway needs to be powerwashed. I was ecstatic. Sparky installed black plastic sheeting (not my choice of color but better than nothing) over the front door area and exposed wood sheathing. Nate sent a draft schedule Feb 17th, asked for my input. I added more detail (such as key milestones when county inspections would be required, after receiving the County’s advice). I added we need to amend the contract to reflect current status since items are no longer valid (for example, the contract stated no permit required, the schedule was outdated by months, and the structural engineer’s drawings need to be made a part of the contract). I also added an item to the scope of work as compensation for five months of delays: the crew would furnish and install, at no expense to me, bluestone pavers in the area in front of the steps, in the same pattern as the front stoop. The masonry crew did not work at all in February 2020. To his credit, on Feb 27, a cold and windy day, an employee removed vinyl siding on the upper story. Unfortunately he threw my shutters into the dumpster, saying they were damaged. They were not. I pulled them out and took photos. The lower level 90” shutters were carefully removed by the crew on Oct 14, 2019, and I had washed and tediously repainted them in a custom color approved by the HOA. After being thrown in the dumpster, they were definitely not reusable. That was the last straw. March 10, 2020 will mark six months since the contract was signed for what CEO originally stated would take 30 days. Even accounting for bad weather, this is unacceptable. The last few days, I’d been sending photos of my house to Nate, Sparky, and Carmen so they could be reminded of what the neighbors and I are forced to look at every day. Today, I decided to put their business sign prominently in front. Mysteriously, sometime today it disappeared. I guess they are embarrassed, too. At this point, I am out $22,000 and not one brick has been laid. I put off major home renovation projects such as this until I had retired so I could monitor the work. If I had foreseen this company would do nothing for four months, I would have postponed retirement from September to January. That’s not only four months lost pay, but other projects I have planned (including a contract also signed in September for new vinyl siding) are being delayed by the inaction of this contractor. Looking at my house now, it is no surprise that some in the neighborhood think it is vacant and condemned. After six months, I hope Mr. Pretopapa or Mr. Hill will move my project to be at the top of the company’s priorities, and we can both move on with our lives.