June 12, 2015The client engaged our firm to develop a design for substantial renovation of the first floor and lower level prior to his occupancy of the vacant dwellingIt was mentioned a bit later about a home inspection that was done by others and asked if we would be interested in
making some repairsBeing a building contractor, we agreed but did not have details of the report at that time or know what the cost might be for this additional workWe verbally gave him a DESIGN ESTIMATE of $2,to $3,and he signed a design/drafting agreement with a $2,deposit to get the plans startedThis is a contract to design and develop a buildable plan based on customer inputArchitectural hourly fee was clearly stated and agreed.While he mentioned a initial ballpark figure of $100K for the renovation it was never indicated to be an absolute figureWe explained to him that only once a design is complete could we compile estimates from our suppliers and have sub-contractors estimate their workRenovating an old home is not like building a new home, there are unknowns related to plumbing tie-in, heating capacity, electrical modifications, even demoltion/removal of the existing parts of the structureWhile design was under way the customer added numerous features and expenses to the project such as converting an unfinished area to finished with plumbing/hvac/elec, redesign and adding a large soaking tub to an existing bath, and replace entire kitchen cabinetry ,tops, flooringWhile not urgently needed, he chose to add total roof replacement and total painting inside and out to the project costOnce the customer agreed to the final design, plans were issued and contractors visited the job site to evaluate their involvement in the projectBids were compiled, material take-offs were done and estimates formulated to finalize a total cost for the project based on the customer’s material selections and specificationsA final cost for the project could not be projected in advance for all the renovation work described and additional requests madeAll the above mentioned work was performed over a period of several weeks and involved meetings at our office and several at his home with three staff and eleven different subcontractorsTotal cost to the client of $2,for which $is still outstandingFiguring the manpower and hours spent, the cost to our firm exceeds the amount billed the customer and we only try to recover our expenses and not profit on the evaluation and estimation processWe feel our firm gave this client an accurate estimate to complete his project in accordance with his wishesWe listened to the customer to provide him the design and features he desiredThe value of design plans, sub- contractor contacts/estimates and cost proposal the client now has in his possession is substantially greater than the amount he paidWe are certainly sorry he had a misunderstanding of procedures, since we strive for customer satisfactionWe feel his complaint against our firm is unjustified and should be removed by the Revdex.comThank you for your consideration,
John ** B***
We hope the information provided to the client will give him the breakdown needed to make decisions regarding his proposed project. As I remember, the initial area of concern was the covered wood deck being converted to living area which involves heat/ac, framing, insulation, electric tie-in, drywall, custom glass, trim, int/ext finish, etc. We indicated this alone would likely use up over half of his ballpark budget. The next area was the basement renovation involving major plumbing, heating, framing changes. If he limited his desires to these areas we may have been in the area of the $100,000 ballpark he envisioned.
The requests for additional work followed as described previously. The added work naturally raises the cost of the project substantially and should be obvious that it would be beyond his initial ballpark at this point. It was pointed out he could proceed with certain facets of work now and do others later as he saw fit. In fact the $259,000 that is being mentioned is a culmination of various work requests over the time period and is broken down by individual line items for this purpose. Since the design plans were about half finished, it would be senseless to stop in the middle and give the client nothing for his money. So it seemed like the best course was to finish the design process and provide him with a workable design plan.
I would like to conclude with an apology. I’m sorry for the misunderstandings that occurred.
Best Regards,
John B[redacted]
June 12, 2015The client engaged our firm to develop a design for substantial renovation of the first floor and lower level prior to his occupancy of the vacant dwellingIt was mentioned a bit later about a home inspection that was done by others and asked if we would be interested in
making some repairsBeing a building contractor, we agreed but did not have details of the report at that time or know what the cost might be for this additional workWe verbally gave him a DESIGN ESTIMATE of $2,to $3,and he signed a design/drafting agreement with a $2,deposit to get the plans startedThis is a contract to design and develop a buildable plan based on customer inputArchitectural hourly fee was clearly stated and agreed.While he mentioned a initial ballpark figure of $100K for the renovation it was never indicated to be an absolute figureWe explained to him that only once a design is complete could we compile estimates from our suppliers and have sub-contractors estimate their workRenovating an old home is not like building a new home, there are unknowns related to plumbing tie-in, heating capacity, electrical modifications, even demoltion/removal of the existing parts of the structureWhile design was under way the customer added numerous features and expenses to the project such as converting an unfinished area to finished with plumbing/hvac/elec, redesign and adding a large soaking tub to an existing bath, and replace entire kitchen cabinetry ,tops, flooringWhile not urgently needed, he chose to add total roof replacement and total painting inside and out to the project costOnce the customer agreed to the final design, plans were issued and contractors visited the job site to evaluate their involvement in the projectBids were compiled, material take-offs were done and estimates formulated to finalize a total cost for the project based on the customer’s material selections and specificationsA final cost for the project could not be projected in advance for all the renovation work described and additional requests madeAll the above mentioned work was performed over a period of several weeks and involved meetings at our office and several at his home with three staff and eleven different subcontractorsTotal cost to the client of $2,for which $is still outstandingFiguring the manpower and hours spent, the cost to our firm exceeds the amount billed the customer and we only try to recover our expenses and not profit on the evaluation and estimation processWe feel our firm gave this client an accurate estimate to complete his project in accordance with his wishesWe listened to the customer to provide him the design and features he desiredThe value of design plans, sub- contractor contacts/estimates and cost proposal the client now has in his possession is substantially greater than the amount he paidWe are certainly sorry he had a misunderstanding of procedures, since we strive for customer satisfactionWe feel his complaint against our firm is unjustified and should be removed by the Revdex.comThank you for your consideration,
John ** B***
We hope the information provided to the client will give him the breakdown needed to make decisions regarding his proposed project. As I remember, the initial area of concern was the covered wood deck being converted to living area which involves heat/ac, framing, insulation, electric tie-in, drywall, custom glass, trim, int/ext finish, etc. We indicated this alone would likely use up over half of his ballpark budget. The next area was the basement renovation involving major plumbing, heating, framing changes. If he limited his desires to these areas we may have been in the area of the $100,000 ballpark he envisioned.
The requests for additional work followed as described previously. The added work naturally raises the cost of the project substantially and should be obvious that it would be beyond his initial ballpark at this point. It was pointed out he could proceed with certain facets of work now and do others later as he saw fit. In fact the $259,000 that is being mentioned is a culmination of various work requests over the time period and is broken down by individual line items for this purpose. Since the design plans were about half finished, it would be senseless to stop in the middle and give the client nothing for his money. So it seemed like the best course was to finish the design process and provide him with a workable design plan.
I would like to conclude with an apology. I’m sorry for the misunderstandings that occurred.
Best Regards,
John B[redacted]