Terrible, terrible, terrible! We had Blue Ribbon put an addition on our home about 16 years ago. We chose them because they had done the same addition on another house in our neighborhood, and the home owners were happy with the work.
I guess they must have had a different crew.
Our experience was terrible. Here are some highlights:
1. At the time, I had three children under three. I would leave the house in the morning and stay out all day so that the guys could work without worrying about kids underfoot and so that my children would not be breathing in the dust from the construction all day long. I just asked that the construction crew lock the door when they left. (We had a lock box on the door, so it was easy for them to do.) I cannot tell you how many times I came home to my front door not only unlocked but wide open! So I had to walk into a home with my infant twins and my toddler not knowing if someone unwanted was waiting there.
2. We came home one day to find the front window had been installed. But it was the wrong shape. When we asked about it, Jeff (project manager/owner's incompetent son-in-law) told us that the window in the original plans could not be procured. After my husband asked a few more questions, it became apparent that the window COULD be procured, but it was more expensive than the one in the plans (the one we had agreed to). We got the window we wanted, but Jeff was clearly irritated because we insisted that he replace the one he had installed without our consent. So basically, he lied to us to save some money.
3. They had to remove the roof at one point, and it was off for a LONG time. One day the weather report predicted that there would be rain that night. I asked if they were going to cover the completely open roof. They told me no, that it was not going to rain--despite the fact that I pointed out that the weatherman had predicted rain. When the rain started coming down--and hard--Oliver was up on our roof in the storm trying to nail plastic sheeting over the open roof. He was eventually successful, but not before the loose carpeting (pulled up from another room) that they had laid down to protect our almost-brand-new hardwood floors from chips and dents got soaked. The next day, my husband told Jeff that he thought that the carpet pieces should be removed to make sure the floors were not wet. Jeff dismissed his concerns, saying that it was fine, the carpet pieces were not wet, etc. Well, when the construction crew finally removed all of their things from that room and picked up the loose carpeting that was supposedly protecting our floor, the floor was RUINED. Jeff tried to deny it was their fault! The owner of the company finally came to the house to look at the floor and paid to have the floor refinished. However, we should have gotten about 4 more years out of the floor before having to have it refinished--so they essentially reduced the life of my flooring by about 4 years.
4. When they did the demo, they had to disconnect and move our air conditioning compressor/condenser unit out of the way. My husband reminded them that the air conditioner was functional and should be put back when they were done. They assured him that they knew. Well, one day we returned home at the end of the day to find that the demo was complete and the yard had been cleared of all debris--and our air conditioner!! It was gone! Apparently, the clean-up crew disposed of our air conditioner along with all of the wood, plaster, stucco, etc. Jeff actually had the nerve to ask me why I had not paid attention and told the clean-up crew not to take the air conditioner! I pointed out to him that my job was to pay attention to my three kids and that I had done that successfully--and had even removed them from the house so that the construction crew would not be bothered by them.
5. We asked that a drop-down ladder be installed in the upstairs ceiling so that we could make use of the attic space for storage. When they asked where I wanted the ladder to go, I said that I did not care, as long as it was NOT installed in the middle of the loft. I came home one night to find the ladder installed--in the middle of the loft. They had to remove it, fix the ceiling, and install the ladder in the hallway.
6. When working in the attic space, the construction crew somehow caused a crack in the drywall in the master bedroom ceiling. At first, Jeff tried to deny that the construction crew had caused the crack. I pointed out that there was no crack the day before and that the construction crew had been up there the day it was cracked. Logic suggested that they did, in fact, cause the crack. When the owner of the company came to look at our ruined hardwood flooring (see #3, above), I showed him the crack in the ceiling, and he agreed that it must have been caused by the construction crew. He said that they would fix it and to call Jeff to schedule someone to come out to take care of it. A year later, it still read more
