marv watson
1/5
I would give this business a minus 10 if it were possible. Let me preface this review by saying that the actual work performed was, for the most part, acceptable. The end result looks great (we had a second floor addition); the process was one of the worst experiences of our lives. Everyone expects construction to be a horrible experience, but this could have been so much smoother were it not for the child-like behaviour and absent-mindedness of the foreman/contractor, Nick Engleman.
He started off nice-as-pie, willing to accommodate our needs, offering to do a few extra things to bring our dream to fruition. At the outset, we were 2-3 months pregnant, and he assured us the job would take 4-5 months, with a projected end-date around October; baby was due in November. Not something to recommend, doing construction while pregnant, but we wanted to do this before the baby. The construction was finally finished in February.
We were advised by Nick that we could live in the house during construction; we realised that would slow down the job, but better, financially, than finding somewhere else to live.
Here's a few bullet-points, for brevity’s sake;
1.We received a lump-sum estimate; when asked for an itemized estimate, Nick went ballistic; literally pounding his fists on the table, yelling at my wife (who was home alone), reciting how many Masters degrees he has, how it was an insult to ask for this. My wife called me in tears, she had to eject him from the house.
2. We requested 9ft ceilings on the upper floor with him; when his crew started the framing, we measured it, finding they had done 8ft ceilings. Mortified, we spoke with him and he blamed us for approving the drawings. We are NOT experts in these matters; naturally we trusted him and his architect. He eventually relented and added a sliding door for us at no extra cost.
3. As part of the work, we installed a new kitchen and new flooring. He had initially said, verbally, he would install any flooring. When informed we had purchased ceramic flooring, he flat-out refused to install it, saying it was too expensive.
4. The plywood base sheeting, underneath our newly installed flooring, was installed with nails instead of screws. When questioned about this, he first insisted screws were used, then changed his story to “we used special nails”. I have been under the house since, and can confirm normal nails were used.
5. The contract he wrote clearly states he would change the flooring in the “existing building”. He flat out refused to switch the flooring in the existing bathroom.
6. Despite knowing our predicament and timescale, when we complained about being behind schedule, he said he “would make some time up”, NOT ONCE in 9 months did he send his crew on a weekend.
7. When removing the existing roof, his crew ripped out the existing electrical wiring (kitchen, dining room). Later, he informed us we'd have to pay for EVERY LIGHTING SOCKET in the same areas, INCLUDING the sockets which were ripped out. This was to cost us over $2000.
8. Without asking our permission, his crew used our carport as their trash pile. He refused to have the debris hauled away in a timely manner. I think it was emptied three times in 9 months.
9. On a heated phone call with him, he put his wife on the phone with us. Instead of acting as an intermediary, she insulted and argued with us.
10. He had all-along informed us that we would need to be out of the house for a few days. .This was actually FIVE WEEKS. While our daughter was born.
11. In our new bathroom, he refused to add a small backsplash on the new sink (6 sq feet), claiming “it’s not in the contract”.
12. Nick had proudly flashed his contractor license when we first met, but NOT ONCE did he lift a finger, that I know of, on the job site. ALL the work was done by his crew.
13. We recently changed our tankless water heater, affixed to an area which was re-stuccoed during construction. The stucco worker WENT AROUND the old heater, so there was a gaping hole in the stucco, covered only by the heater. Unbelievable.
