DO NOT HIRE GRACE CONSTRUCTION…read more
Contractor identification: Grace Construction, LLC / Jay Colley -- MD MHIC #151417 | MD MHBR #9211 | WV #WV066389 | PA HIC #PA215319
If you aren't prepared to watch over their shoulder and inspect their work, I would seriously reconsider hiring Grace Construction. Based on my experience, without constant homeowner oversight, I believe I would have been left with a substandard finished product.
My experience was a pattern of poor workmanship, poor judgment, repeated rework, property damage, and a serious lack of quality control.
An entire outside rim joist was installed crooked and had to be redone. The railing was visibly crooked. They left the jobsite with the concrete in the condition shown in my photos. I had to go out while it was still workable and broom-finish it myself, but I was unable to edge it due to it being too cured at that point, and I still later had to have the concrete work corrected. Wire mesh remains exposed at the surface. The concrete requirements were written into my contract, yet I had to point those requirements out when the work didn't match what was contracted.
I also dealt with drainage I had to dig up myself, concrete residue and staining on my asphalt, asphalt damage, jobsite messes, and work that repeatedly had to be corrected or redone. A relatively straightforward deck rebuild dragged on for about a month with an incredible amount of unnecessary rework.
To their only credit, Grace Construction was generally willing to come back when I identified a problem. The problem was that, in my experience, their corrections too often led to another problem, another correction, or ultimately required a third party to correct the work. Being willing to fix mistakes is appreciated. Having to repeatedly fix the fixes is not quality control.
They are more worried about other job sites instead of the one they are on.
They will drag your work out to prioritize other things.
There was plenty of lip service about quality and providing a great customer experience. My issue with owner Jay Colley and Nick, who was presented to me as their project manager, isn't personal--it's performance. I experienced repeated poor judgment and failure to catch obvious problems before I had to point them out myself. When the homeowner has to provide the quality control, that's a management failure, not a personality conflict.
Grace Construction eventually tried to resolve the accumulated problems I considered acceptable. Despite everything, I was prepared to move on.
Then they came back.
During a return visit, Nick drove into the edge of the neighbors and left ruts in the lawn. I was ready to take my lumps and let everything go until Nick was sent to "oversee" the repair (whatever that means in the scope of this "company"?). That's when you will see pictures of the ruts left in my neighbor's yard, which Nick responded to with a sarcastic, dismissive attitude, as did Jay via text. He refused to answer the phone. Not that any of it needs explaining, but the neighbor had hired someone to come to his home and help with some street water diversion that was impacting his property. It had been there two days when nick drove over it. Again, to the point that a little situational awareness and attention to detail would avoid most of their problems.
After everything else, another instance of carelessness with my property was the final straw.
Everyone makes mistakes. This wasn't one mistake--it was a pattern.
I have extensive photographs and communications documenting this experience.
If you hire Grace Construction: watch everything. Check everything. Protect your property. Don't assume something was done correctly just because you're told it was.
I would never hire Grace Construction again.
Contractor identification: Grace Construction, LLC / Jay Colley -- MD MHIC #151417 | MD MHBR #9211 | WV #WV066389 | PA HIC #PA215319
