No transparency about cost of materials; wish I had asked for "time and materials" rather than blanket fee for kitchen job. Costs can be padded with a bid and you can't see where the extra cost comes from. If you make a change, you have no idea how it impacts the budget and you can't get the others who are subcontracted to communicate with you. Any surprise changes that cost extra are added on to the original bid, yet if something is less or you do it yourself, the bid does not change. The first day was demo and lots of dry wall cutting. No protection was put up for the rest of the house. I complained and the next day the plastic went up and the air filter in, but the interior house was already covered in white drywall dust and we all were coughing. This was a major courtesy oversight and health hazard; I have never had any other workers make no effort to protect the rest of the house. BS subcontracted much of the work out. Except for the cabinet guys who were exceptional, the subcontractors did not clean up after themselves. One of Smith's workers was a new hire (new to this kind of work) and after some brief instructions was left on his own all day. Later worker offered out of the blue he "is not a maid", although I saw on his time card he noted an hour for clean-up. I found that evening all the trimmings and dry wall powder on the floor under a light; didn't even pick up the large pieces. Dry wall guy was very nice, but left a big mud mess, including the deck and a handprint on the gate outside. BS did not have a consistent crew but sub-contracted out most of the work, which I could have arranged myself. I think this is where BS problem is; he seems to get things organized but then leaves the work to people he does not know very well in your house and does not keep tabs on them. Hard to know who to trust. Many details left unfinished at my request, but was told by BS he would be back the next week to put in the appliances. When he didn't appear and I tried to arrange it, I was told it would be time and materials to get them installed. So I am calling someone else and doing what I can to finish the project myself. read more

Barry Smith Construction - 1000 cuts - no big deal each little thing, but a clean up left to me each day and thick dust; facing major clean-up in rest of house. - General Contractors Near Me - Eureka, California

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I wish I had read reviews prior to hiring. We experienced the same inconsistency and mistrust as past postings suggest. From start to finish there was a lack of communication, they did not keep us updated as it went along. Potential customers should know, we were told to pay more than expected to have the job finished - or they would file a lean! Threatening a lawsuit was horrible especially after how much money we had given them!!! They received what was needed to finish the job. They never completed what was expected. Rotten. read more

Not much to say about Barry Smith except that years ago I caught him in a lie and didn't hire him to do the work on my home. I wasn't even trying. He told me he had plenty of experience in stucco repair and I said I'd like to take a look at one of his projects and then he backpedaled and said he knew how to do it but hadn't done any yet. ? It's one or the other. Don't insult my intelligence. I had a fairly large project that needed to be done but I'm never going to hire someone I can't trust. If he'd been up front and said he would research it, I might have considered him. Bottom line, don't hire someone you can't trust. From reading the other reviews, I'd say that's an issue with Barry Smith. read more

I had BSC replace an 8 foot sliding glass door on my house. Not only did I get the door for about half the price I had found in earlier research, they installed in in half the time they estimated. Other than a brand new, smooth working door, there is no sign they were even here. They repainted all the trim they had to remove and replace, cleaned up all scrap and mess and even moved my patio furniture back where it was and we were the ones that had moved it out for them. Awesome work! Very satisfied! read more

Barry Smith Construction is a top notch company, they have done several different jobs for me, I'm always amazed at the attention to detail. Very knowledgeable in many aspects of construction. I always feel the job will be done with the utmost of professionalism. I have been doing business with Barry Smith over 10 years now. read more

I have used Barry Smith before but the last few times I've phoned for a quote they have not followed up. They came out to estimate but I've never received a call back to schedule. These weren't small projects. I figure that if you advertise you do "honey do" projects then you should do them. read more

I contracted Barry Smith Construction (BSC) to remodel my bathroom, including bathtub, toilet, and flooring replacement. I signed the contract mid-December, with verbal promises of being done by Christmas. My contract had a stipulation that work would be complete within 28 days of project start. I paid about 50% ($5,000) before any construction work happened. The initial tear-out happened the week before Christmas. All flooring was removed to expose the subfloor. Then, I was told the new bathtub would take 4-6 weeks to ship. So my only bathroom had no proper floor from the end of December until present. Once the tub and surround arrived, damage was noted on the panels that would surround the bathtub once installed. BSC offered to repair the damage and install the repaired material. I insisted that a new panel be used. We went around and around for several weeks on this point. At one point, I was told that he was "...looking at a replacement panel tomorrow. If acceptable, we can get to work early next week." When I requested a picture of the panel to ensure suitability, I was then told "This is the original panel we would be installing.". Very sneaky, in my opinion. My last request to order a replacement tub/surround was submitted before I left town for 2 weeks on business. I was hoping to use that time to get the tub and surround en route while I was traveling. Once I returned, Barry Smith himself asked me to come to his office in Eureka to meet with him, to discuss my project. I was hoping they would tell me they had expedited my shipment to help make up for the prior delay. No such luck. Instead, Barry Smith acknowledged receiving my request, but not following through on making the order. So, I asked him once again, to please order a bathtub and surround. It took 6 weeks for the tub to arrive. Work began again on 4/17, about 4 months after signing the contract. On 4/18, I got a call in the early morning, to let me know the workman couldn't come to my house due to a family emergency, but that he would be there tomorrow. On 4/19, I got a call in the early morning, to let me know that the workman still couldn't come to my house due to his emergency, but that Barry Smith would be coming by to do an assessment. When I asked what the assessment was for, after only a day of work, I got no answer. When I asked for another worker to keep my project going, I was told nobody else was assigned to my project. I told BSC that my site would not be available, since I had not scheduled any time to meet with Barry that morning at 9; I had to go to work. Barry Smith called me back, and after a heated discussion, told me that he was done, that he quit. When I told BSC that our contract obligated us both to attend mediation, I was told that my options were 1. Walk away from the $5,000 I had already invested, or 2. Attend mediation during which BSC would be seeking an additional $1,400 for time/materials they say were used on the project. When I asked for an itemized invoice, I was presented with a semi-opaque list. I ended up picking Option 1, I would rather spend my money on my bathroom than pursuing true justice. An interesting note from the itemized invoice, is that the fan unit which had an initial allotment of $200 was quoted to me at ~$300 in March, but the final invoice priced that unit at ~$495. When I asked about the discrepancy, Debbie told me it was for installation. That's a joke, since the unit is still sealed in the cardboard box it came in. Misc. Complaints. A large signboard was installed next to my property line, on city property, advertising BSC. When I asked BSC about this, they said the building permit allowed them to place the sign. After inspecting the permit for the project, I found no such allowance, and the building inspector didn't know about it either. Initial floor allotment (Alterna Flooring) was $600. After a while, they changed that to a $1,200 charge, with the first explanation being that the alterna flooring prices had gone up, and a later explanation that the initial $600 quote was for vinyl. I never considered vinyl. They were just trying to rip me off. Workman left nails sticking out of the subfloor after floor removal. I made BSC aware of this on 1/23, and they didn't remove the nails until 3/7. My 3yo son cut his foot on a nailhead at one point. Very unsafe. BSC was not aware of local codes which required the use of a humidity-controlled exhaust fan unit for the bathroom. I deeply regret my participation with Barry Smith Construction. I did not get my moneys worth, and I did not get my project done. They quit on me. I will never contract with BSC ever again. Stay far away from this company. Barry Smith Construction does not serve its paying customers, it only serves its own interests.They are very disorganized, and have very poor follow-through. I am very disappointed in my experience with them. read more

Extremely unprofessional. I have waited three (3) weeks and have received NOTHING from Barry Smith except empty promises. He has not once delivered what he said he would in a timely manner. When I queried him he was antagonistic with me and explained to me how busy and important he was. I was not impressed. Three weeks for an estimate of repairs that I still have not received. One of his estimators, Heather, told me today that she would have a "firm ball-park estimate" within 48 hours. What is a firm ball-park estimate? Another of the broken promises was that I was to have the estimate of repairs today. Again, not impressed. read more

Barry Smith worked on my friends home. She believed everything that he told her. He started the bathroom remodel. I am a good remodeler and have done extensive work at reasonable prices. My God, he gave her an estimate of $7K for this tiny bathroom. He is the biggest liar. He sent some flunky to do the work. I was there for some of the work being done. I told him to leave. She fired BS (which he is full of). I ask around about this guy and wow, my friend knows his wife and did i get some scoop. another told me that when BS got his contractor lic he said "now i have a license to steal". this is bad. I have talked and seen some the BS work. Some was good and others a mess. Karma will bite you in the ass. TS read more

We contacted Barry to do remodel work for a leak in our master bathroom and bedroom. After our insurance company failed to pay for the remodel, Barry agreed to do the work. He was going to charge us $1,700 to put new flooring into our master bedroom. We were able to get the flooring installed for $600 after we purchased the material. He was going to charge us $1,000 to put a vapor barrier under our house. I was able to purchase the material and install it myself for $75! Barry quoted our insurance company about $1,072 to repair sheet rock, texture, and paint. We purchased one of the two cans of paint needed for the job. He claimed his workers spent thirty hours working at our house, when in actuality, they spent not more than eighteen hours. He then charged us $2,1154 for the work he quoted the insurance company $1,100 less. Apparently it costs $1,100 to do paperwork? Additionally, when my wife called him to discuss the discrepancy, he preceded to yell at her and told her "just pay me whatever the fuck you want" and then hung up on her. He then sent us a letter threatening to put a mechanics lean on our house if we refuse to pay. I would recommend choosing anyone other than Barry Smith Construction to do any work around your house. read more