Build It Boys Construction Reviews (%countItem)
Build It Boys Construction Rating
Address: 276 Clark Rd, Onalaska, Washington, United States, 98570
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We are out over $40k cash and now have the threat of liens on our house due to his non-payment of subs/vendors. Contractor initially omitted line items in our contract and then after we signed it, he added more line items like plumbing, added framing & electrical. He asked for 50% up front and continued to ask for weekly payments until we did an audit of the account and realized we had overpaid. When we asked for a line item detailing what each item went to he said that his company was in an audit time and couldn't provide it. We did a complete audit and paid $183k and only $137 was completed. December 27th, our window contractor knocked on our door for payment despite my check clearing in November. They also never paid the electrician for the $13k of work they did. Since they left the job and won't return our money we have hired an attorney. John M's initial attorney no longer represents him as he said he was filing for bankruptcy. We contacted that attorney and he has never called us back. Thurston county inspector came out and said that our roof was installed incorrectly, the drain we have in our floor was also installed improperly with no venting and the flooring they used in the upstairs was sub-par (not as thick as what the plans called for) from what was on the plans and what was bid. (Build it Boys forgot to add a drain for the sink so now we will have to do without). There are countless missteps with this contractor and John M lies as to what is really going on (Windows, concrete, sink, contract, billing, etc.). We have now had to hire other contractors to finish the work as we have a leaky roof, siding that is incomplete, no French door, garage door, no plumbing, no trench for the electric or plumbing, and no insulation or drywall. Our French door and greenhouse openings for the door were erroneously framed too small. We are now having to pay the vendors even though we already made deposits and he is refusing to give any of it back.
We are so very sorry to hear about this and truly sorry that you feel this way. As an A+ Rated Revdex.com Business and multiple service award winner, we take this very seriously. For clarification, true insight, and where we are allowed to legally our company is completely willing to provide absolutely all communications and documentation on this project (permitting, legal, text, email, etc.) to the public or anyone at all that would like the entire story.This is a very simple case of a customer attempting to not pay for added work, change orders, etc. and trying to place the blame on the contractor. This is precisely why we sign contracts. A section of that contract states and, is further reinforced by the laws of the State of Washington, that we are allowed to stop work if we do not receive payment in a timely manner. This is what allows us to place liens and judgments against non-payers affording us the opportunity to recoup losses in instances like these. We work on a very simple basis: time and material. We charge for our time and the material we use. As mentioned above, the documentation can all be provided showing that our contracts state precisely that. The hours, material, etc. billed so far on this project is for work ALREADY completed compiled largely of numerous change orders requested by the homeowner’s wife. When we asked for payment on these (over the course of almost two months) we continued to do work but kept getting stiff armed about that money. When another phase of project came to close we asked for that payment and the past payment we had not yet received only to be told they were not going to pay. This is where we stopped work and reached out to our attorney for legal guidance. We would love to address all of the elements of the complaint but, in short, the information put forth there by the customer is completely inaccurate. Once again, all information and documentation can easily be provided showing that we worked the hours we charged for (we use a Geo-Fenced / GPS tracking tool from our accountant) and we charged for material used. That is all. Finally, we sit here as a family company trying to figure out how to work during this COVID-19 Crisis when people and governments tell us to stay away from others. This coupled with trying to find a path forward as a company in this ever-changing landscape around our neighborhood and the world now is very scary prospect for us. Yet instead of doing that, we are all here collaborating to respond to a person who has berated our employees since day 1, has constantly tried to add work without paying for it, and even stopped us from obtaining our tools and materials from the job-site after we stopped work for non-payment. This crisis is devastating to our business but, together, we would have weathered it. This crisis AND customers that refuse to pay because theirs stocks dropped is not only devastating, it is a company killer. We expect that we aren’t the only company going through this right now. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each and every small business in the U.S. at the moment. They are hurting because of this crisis, and more things like people not able to pay are going to continue to happen the longer the economic impact lasts.Tell us why here...
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
The facts remain that the Thurston County Inspector indicated that we would not pass the framing inspection due to an improper roof install, incorrect drain venting and additional interior frame work needed. Sub-contractors were not paid despite my 50% deposits or progress payments such that liens on our house were threatened. I have since paid the electrician and the window sub for their work despite having paid you already. Paying double for windows is quite the opposite as "not paying for added work, change orders etc" as stated in your initial response. I also paid to fix the roof and bring it up to code - also a double payment. The list goes on, our front door was not framed properly so that had to be corrected and it looks like the one into the greenhouse was done inaccurately too so we will have to fix that. I have since contracted for a new garage door and paid in full for it - another double payment. So to say that "This is a simple case of a customer attempting to not pay for added work, change orders, etc. and trying to place the blame on the contractor" is outrageous. Clearly we are not alone since the local lumberyard has a lien against your bond for non-payment of supplies.
You stated in your response that you "would love to address all of the elements of the complaint,..." but neither you nor your initial attorney could provide such documentation. In fact, the last attorney of yours told us he was no longer representing you and that we should contact the bankruptcy attorney that he referred you to. We have tried to, but unfortunately we have not received any calls back.
You state that "This crisis AND customers that refuse to pay because their stocks dropped is not only devastating, it is a company killer", however, you stopped work in December prior to any crisis or any drop in the economy, but shameful that you would relate it to the pandemic that we are facing. And to think that we didn't pay when we have have over paid and actually have now had to paid double for either your mistakes or work that you just didn't complete is disappointing at best, but a disgrace to the contractor community who works so hard to be honest and hard working. We are hard working too and have saved 20 years for this garage only to let you dwindle it away because we trusted you. Shame on us.
Sincerely
The customer again is trying to get something without paying for it. The money paid to date DOES NOT cover the work done up to this point. Therefore, the customer owes us and a variety of other sub contractors money. Hence, the liens placed on the property. The county doesn't issue those because they are being "mean" or anything.
The money charged on the project thus far is for work completed. The hours logged are done by a GPS / GEO-Fencing app that works exceptionally well. In fact the company, T-Sheets has offered to provide information showing each of the hours tracked are 100% accurate. This can further be solidified by the fact that every one fo the dozen employees that worked on the project are also willing to testify to the validity of the hours logged. That noted, the hours are correct.
The other monies collected fall into a few other buckets: Material, Subcontractors, County Fees, Etc. Outside of the hours, the material for the project is completely accounted for as all of that data and audit of invoices was provided to us directly from out material providers. Same is true of the fees, etc. That noted, the material amounts are spot on.
Many of the subcontractors have been paid in full while others are still owed money because the ***'s refuse to pay for their change orders. The money that was paid as a "deposit" for subcontractors yet to do their work was redirected to pay for outstanding material balances and labor accounted for as mentioned above though this still doesn't account for the entire remaining amount still outstanding. Alternatively there are also many subcontractor phases that weren't even started yet like plumbing, mill work, garage doors, etc. We cancelled those phases when we learned we were not being paid. This also accounts for why there is no drain yet... or doors... or mill work for that matter because we aren't going to continue to add to our exposure by providing services and materials to customers that aren't going to pay.
Additionally, again we would like to point out that all of the county information is public record and proof that inspections were all passed under our watch and there were no "missteps." The upper floor inspection was rescheduled because *** made yet another change to the build and wanted to make her own handrail for upstairs. She did not finish it in time and the inspector came out for an inspection we scheduled. Due to the handrail not being there he asked to reschedule as it was a safety concern for him. This perfectly illustrates that any missteps in this process was not the fault of the contractor but the homeowner.
John and the crew at Built it Boys Construction are awesome. They built me a 6 foot tall cedar fence. I had several elevation changes that would normally make thing difficult but their craftsmanship was excellent and it looks great! They even provided me a free warranty in case the fence sags or shifts in any way. I would highly recommend these guys and will be using them to build a deck in the near future.
-Adam L
Olympia
We hired Build-it-Boys Construction to complete an extensive deck project with a drainage system in February of 2017. Permits were approved in June of 2017. The project took much longer than expected due to disorganization and inexperience on their part. The deck was completed and paid in full (approximately $150k) in October of 2017. During the final walk-through, three items were identified that needed to be improved. As of today, January 2018, Build-it-Boys has yet to fix the items. Most recently, the deck railing was being installed (by a railing company) and it was discovered that Build-it-Boys did not put proper blocking in the stairs to anchor the railing. (All railing types --glass, cable, etc.--require blocking. This is a MAJOR safety issue.) When asked about the blocking, the response from Build-it-Boys was, "We're done with that job." We are now going to have to pay another company to open up the stairs and insert blocking. Build-it-boys Construction has demonstrated unethical business practice and poor customer service.
In response to Mrs.’s complaint:
Once the permit was obtained in June of 2017, we were asked to wait a full month before beginning the project in order to allow another contractor to finish their landscaping project. The original estimate indicated approximately 1300 man hours to complete the project. This is the equivalent of roughly 15 weeks, or 3 and a half months of work. The customers added 20 change orders to the project along the way, all of which added to the time to completion. We were still able to complete our portion of the work within the estimated time frame.
The blocking for the handrail was supposed to be installed as part of the handrail installation, by the handrail company. To save the customer money, we installed the blocking in September, free of charge.
Build It Boys Construction has won many awards for quality and customer service. We pride ourselves in the work we do and always aim to provide the best service. We have many texts and emails from Mr. expressing how happy he was with the work we did and how great everything looked.
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
The response by the contractor is not accurate and omits important details.
1. The contractor did not have to wait "an entire month" to begin the deck project. Permits were received mid-June. They began work prior to the fourth of July, and took time off for the holiday on July 3rd and 4th. They were given the "go ahead" to begin framing on July 7th. On July 12th, they had to take a break as they were "waiting on a few things from permitting department."
On July 13th, I inquired how long it would be until we could walk on our deck again. John sent me a text message stating that "a month is probably about right." (Which is the reason I believed the deck boards would be done by the end of August at the latest.) The deck project was put on hold due to landscaping from July 19th-July 24th, which is one week.
On July 28th, John stated they would be working "full time" to complete the deck project.
On August 31st, one month later, John stated they were ready to "begin installing the deck boards." The deck boards were completed the last week of September, four weeks later. The stairs were completed in October. We were never given a 15 week timeline.
2. Of the 20 change orders the contractor referred to, 10 of them were not in our control or did not impact the timeline: two of them were required for permitting, one was required by engineering, one was required by the inspector, one was due to the contractor's under-estimate of waterproofing tape, three were in regards to electrical work which was sub-contracted and completed in one day, and two were in regards to a built-in barbecue and counter top/bar which were also sub-contracted after the deck build was completed. The contractor's response to change orders is another example of him not being completely honest.
3. In regards to the railing: "blocking" is NOT something that is done by a railing company after a deck is installed, since the blocking needs to go under the deck boards. Throughout this entire project John also claimed that he does not "mark up" anything done by a sub-contractor. This simply is not true. John withheld the railing installation invoice from us initially, and gave us an inflated estimate. After I received the original invoice from the railing company and brought the price difference to his attention, he then said the extra cost he added was due to the blocking materials. John was very upset we weren't going to have his company install the railing. However, it was clear to me they had never installed cable railing when I asked him and he responded, "we've installed several different types of railings." The railing company strongly advised us against having someone inexperienced with cable install the railing. When the railing company installed the railing, there was no blocking under the stairs.
4. John prides himself on customer service, yet, he wouldn't meet with us outside of the 9am-3pm work day in October. My husband and I had a home built and our contractor often met with us after 4pm due to our work schedules. It is common practice. This shows a lack of customer service on John's part considering the large scale of this project.
5. Lastly, three items that were to be improved after the final walk-through have never been completed by the contractor. We paid in full. This is unacceptable. The contractor's response to my claim didn't acknowledge this at all.
Of course along the way, we let them know how great the deck was looking and how excited we were to have it completed. John also has several e-mails stating our frustration with the project, ranging from July to November. While Build-it-Boys Construction works hard to complete a quality project, our "water proof deck" is now leaking. We learned the hard way that John and his team were not as experienced as they claimed, from an organizational standpoint to a the actual construction of the deck. They told us the waterproofing has a lifetime warranty, and that they'll stand by their word. We believed them, but have yet to experience that. I filed this claim because I want them to do what is right and complete our job. I also don't want anyone else to endure what we've experienced with Build it Boys Construction. I cannot speak to any awards they've received, only to our personal experience.
Sincerely
My Dad use to always say “you get what you pay for”, however, when it comes to the Build it Boys, you get so much more than what you pay for. We encountered Rob and John at a local community Home and Garden show and their portfolio of prior projects immediately interested my wife and I. However, it was their amiable and down-to-earth discussion they had with us that sold us on them being our contractors.
Their first project was a complete gutting and remodeling of our master bathroom. At all stages of the remodel John and Rob were in constant contact with us regarding timelines for material and sub-contractors. Rob was in constant contact with me and actually took a rudimentary drawing and vision I had for custom shelves and a closet and brought it stunningly to life. The master bathroom is now the show piece of our home, and is not only functional but inviting and invigorating. They also were very respectful of our privacy and the fact that they were coming into our home; all sub-contractors and any person who came into our home was brought it and introduced to myself or my wife by Rob. That moment of taking the time to have a face to face meeting and let me know who they were and what they were doing was amazing.
After the bathroom remodel my backyard fence decided to give out on me after a wind storm. After the wife and I assessed the damage her first statement to me was “call John and the Build it Boys”. I did this the next day and they sent out someone in 48hours and had an estimate for me 12hours after that. They uncovered one of the reasons for the fence’s failure was that the original home builders had not used cement around the principle fence poles. This was corrected and a new fence was completed in 2 days.
The most recent project was a custom stairway gate Rob built for me. He matched the design to the stairway hand-rail and it looks as if it was part of the original house design.
In total the Build it Boys have consistently exceeded our expectations and have always been willing to take on any projects (no matter how big or small). Their quality craftsmanship is matched by their professionalism and courtesy.