I had a 4-month contract with TEAL, and Troy Yancey showed up on the job 4 times.  I was there…read morealmost every day.  I requested holes in my Hardie battens be caulked with the matching caulk. The sub-contractor smeared the caulk, and it bleached in 3 months.  My house looked like a spotted leopard.  I met with Troy Yancey, and he agreed to fix it.  After 6 months of waiting, I got a lawyer.  Troy agreed it needed to be fixed but did not take any meaningful action.  I had to contact Hardie, the caulk manufacturer and Sherwin Williams to find a solution (I did Troy's job).  Ultimately, the entire Hardie exterior of my house had to be painted (by a painter of Troy's choice), defeating the reason for going with no maintenance Hardie siding. TEAL Construction left me disappointed, to be polite.

TEAL recently did the renovation of our master bathroom and kitchen. We are not only very happy…read morewith the results, but also with the process - not without its hiccups, as with all renovation projects, but whenever one arose, Troy was very efficient and persistent in resolving it. We appreciated his accessibility and good communication. His employees are great - professional, good at what they do, and very personable; they always took the time to answer my questions thoroughly and explain what they were doing if I asked. They identified and fixed several problems we didn't know we had (but did not go looking for things to fix that didn't need it). Highly recommended, they really know what they are doing.

What a wonderful, professional crew this is! Mr. Flores is as hardworking and knowledgeable as they…read morecome. Reasonable prices, too! They show up on time, complete the job as promised with high quality materials and excellent craftsmanship. The job was done with maximum speed and efficiency. Clean-up was impeccable. Can't say enough good things about this wonderful local business. Home Solutions Roofing made a stressful time of storm damage and repairs a lot less stressful. Will not hesitate to call them again in the future. I know my home is in good hands when Ramon and his crew are on the job.

Ramon removed and replaced the deteriorating cedar siding on the dormers on our very steep roof and…read morehe and his crew did an excellent job. He replaced the siding with Hardi plank siding which he and his crew then painted to match the rest of the house. He was the most affordable out of all the estimates we received and the finished product looks great. They did the job quickly and professionally. We feel so happy with the work, we've asked him for estimates on two other jobs we need completed on our house.

John painted the entire exterior and interior of our new build. He made helpful suggestions, did…read moremeticulous work, and finished on time. We are grateful our builder connected us to John to complete such a large painting project.

We recently engaged J & A Painting & Home Improvement to repaint the exterior of our home. All work…read morehas been completed in a timely and professional manner and at a reasonable cost. They came promptly, when they said they would come and the cleanup was impeccable. It looks beautiful and just as we had imagined. This is not the first time we have dealt with John Flevarakis and we can vouch for his integrity and honesty, and he has a great deal of experience. We would give J & A Painting & Home Improvement our highest possible recommendation. Working with John is a real pleasure!

I purchased a new home from Southern Development about 2 years ago. Unbeknownst to anyone, when the…read morebaseboards were installed, a high-pressured nail gun used to install the baseboards punctured a bathroom pipe. There was no leak...until the nail rusted and the pipe leaked, which was when I had owned the home for 2 years, outside of the new home warranty period. To be clear, the pipe was punctured at the baseboard level, with a nail from a nail gun; there can be no dispute that this occurred during construction. I was out of town when this happened, and the damage was significant. I contacted Southern Development. Mr. Soles initially expressed "concern" and asked to view the property, which I permitted. Next, he asked for reports from the independent third parties that mitigated and repaired the damage, which clearly detailed the cause and the extent of the damage. I provided him with what he asked for. After much delay and some prompting, I got a response from Mr. Soles indicating that my insurance company was suing Southern Development (which is not surprising given their negligence and clear culpability). He then cut off contact with me. I am left to pursue litigation to recover losses that are not covered by my policy, on what is essentially a "brand-new" home. What I asked for from Southern Development was a dollar per dollar reimbursement for uncovered expenses, never mind the aggravation, inconvenience and time lost because of their negligence. Home builders are all smiles on the front end, when you fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase a home. My experience offered a glimpse at how this builder responded when they produced a substandard product, which was to do nothing. Southern Development will tell you they are a smaller, independent builder, and that they "like it that way" so they can focus on quality and customer service. They will tell you how much the owner Frank Ballif cares about the people that buy his product. My experience was that Southern Development built a lemon, and when they had the opportunity to do the right thing to rectify their poor construction, they quickly abandoned those tenants of quality and customer service. We all must buy a home from someone, but I would strongly encourage you to look to another builder. Southern Development does not stand behind their product, which apparently is not as sound as they would like you to believe. I would also encourage anyone who does have a problem with them to immediately seek legal counsel; do not be fooled by the false care and concern they initially show you because they are only seeking information to protect themselves.

I Regret This Purchase Every Single Day!…read more I don't even know where to begin. Buying a home from Southern Development has been one of the most disappointing, disheartening experiences of my life. What was supposed to be a fresh start in a brand-new home has turned into a constant source of stress, frustration, and regret. I should have known something was wrong when the house wasn't even finished at closing. I was assured that everything would be taken care of quickly, but here I am, a month later, still waiting. And every single day, I find something else wrong. On day five, the water heater failed. Five days in, and I had no hot water. That alone should have been a red flag, but it was only the beginning. The electrical work is faulty throughout the house. The refrigerator trips the breaker constantly. I never know if I'll wake up to spoiled food. If something as basic as the wiring is unreliable, I shudder to think what else is hidden behind the walls. The primary bathroom is unfinished. Not only was it never completed, but now there's water damage from the unfinished shower surround. I worry about what's happening beneath the surface--water damage this early means long-term problems down the road. The craftsmanship is nowhere near the quality expected for the cost of this home. The price I paid does not reflect the poor workmanship--sloppy construction, careless finishing, and corners cut everywhere I look. I paid for a well-built home, and instead, I'm left with a rushed, incomplete mess. Everywhere I look, I find something wrong. Holes in the walls hidden behind cabinets, holes in the cabinets themselves, patchwork that looks rushed and sloppy. It's as if they walked away mid-construction and never looked back. The exterior is just as bad. The landscaping is incomplete, the house hasn't been power washed, and the driveway and walkways are so muddy that anyone coming inside tracks dirt everywhere. Keeping the house clean is impossible--it feels like I'm living in a construction site rather than a finished home. The warranty team is useless. I was told that Southern Development had a team to address post-closing issues, but I have yet to hear from them. The length of time between my service requests and actually getting anything done is unacceptable. I am still waiting for work that is necessary just to make my home fully livable. What makes all of this even more infuriating is that the houses directly next to mine--built by the same company--are being completed, while mine remains unfinished. Their yards are fully landscaped with sod, their homes have been power washed and cleaned, and their driveways and walkways are pristine. Meanwhile, I'm left with mud, mess, and incomplete work. I have even gone out of my way to ask my neighbors how many unfinished items they were forced to close on, and not one of them had "punch list" items left undone. It is beyond frustrating to watch homes around me being wrapped up properly while I am left dealing with daily reminders of Southern Development's failure to complete what they started. And on top of everything, any work that needs to be done requires me to be home. That means I have to continuously take time off work just to let their crews in to fix the mistakes they never should have made in the first place. The financial and emotional burden of this house just keeps growing. To make matters worse, the workers they do send are filthy. Now that I've moved in, they track dirt, mud, and dust all over my house and furniture every time they come in to do work. I feel like I'm constantly cleaning up after them, in a home that should have been move-in ready a month ago. I can't even put into words how disheartening this experience has been. Every time I walk through the door, instead of feeling excited or at peace, I feel nothing but regret. This house was supposed to be my home, but instead, it feels like a mistake I can't undo. If I could go back in time, I would walk away. I would never buy from Southern Development again, and I urge anyone considering it to think twice. Once they have your money, you're on your own. And if my experience is anything to go by, you'll be left with a house that feels unfinished, neglected, and completely overwhelming. I regret this purchase every single day.

Gumtree was recommended to me by Tony at Laco Plumbing, who was replacing the Quest piping in my…read morenewly purchased townhouse. I wanted to convert a bathtub to a shower, and Gumtree did a fabulous job. The shower is beautiful and perfectly built. Chris Haney and his team helped with each step, including shower design and tile selection. Chris and his team also helped with other aspects of the new house, including painting, replacement of smoke detectors, and waterproofing of basement rooms. Chris had good ideas about how to increase storage space. The team was always on time and professional, and the work was finished on time and under budget.

This company had been recommended to me. I had an appointment in March with owner Chris Haney…read moreduring which I explained to him the timeline necessary for me to accommodate the fact that I don't live in Charlottesville all year. The job was the renovation of a duplex house nearly 90 years old so that I could live in the lower floor and rent the upper floor. After a meeting with a plumber who sent an estimate for his part of the work in March, I heard nothing further. When I got back to Charlottesville in mid-June, he seemed to have no memory of the work I wanted done. He did meet with me once more bit didn't follow up on that meeting either -- nor of an appointment his partner was to make with me for another aspect of the work. When I called back Friday June 24th to to know why, I was told they had to meet over the weekend and would get back to me. They did, by e-mail on Sunday afternoon, saying "I didn't fit their demographic" and should get in touch with someone else (no name given -- just to call the plumber who'd given me the estimate because he knew other contractors. If I didn't fit their demographic, they could have told me in March as soon as they saw the house and heard what I wanted done so I had time to look elsewhere. I also find that telling a person that, basically, they couldn't spend enough money to make it worth their while to work for them, is extremely rude. It's so easy to say "Sorry we're all booked up for the timeline you mentioned and it would be better for you to find someone else." Don't even call these guys unless you are fabulously wealthy. They don't mess with us "common people".

I can't say enough good things about my experience with James River builders. An unknown…read morerefrigerator leak ruined my hardwood floors in my kitchen, making Mike and his team were professional and easy to work with and did a great job of answering all my questions and . I would highly recommend James River builders to anyone and I am grateful for the work that they my kitchen. Christine L.

I highly recommend James River Builders! I recently had water damage in my home. They restored my…read morebathroom, kitchen ceiling, and my upstairs carpet. They were very quick to finish these projects and very professional. The contractor and his crew were very easy to work with and they were so kind to me since I was so stressed and overwhelmed from all the damage. I was so pleased with the finish work. I am so grateful for all of their hard work! Again, I highly recommend them!

Great work by Tim To build greenhouse foundation. It was perfect. i am using him again.read more

Tim and his crew did a fantastic job on a large elevated porch slab with some tricky details. Very…read morepatient with us as we worked out the patterns and color options. Cheerful, on time, clean, clear communication, fair price. All around great team.

These guys are hands down the best painting/handyman service I've ever used. The owner James was…read morevery responsive and professional throughout the entire process. Instead of just painting over some soggy wood on the trim of my house, he pointed out an underlying issue that would have only gotten much worse with time. Not only did he thoroughly fix that problem, he was able to take on an unexpected additional repair in my house that no one else would agree to do, and did an absolutely fantastic job. The rates were reasonable and I feel very confident in their honesty and skills. I would recommend this company to anyone and feel lucky to have found them.

Aurora Painting and Services = highly recommended! Linda was wonderful to work with...Francisco…read moredid excellent work...everything was completed in a timely manner and at a very reasonable cost. We couldn't be happier with the work and greatly appreciate our "new" first floor, thanks to Aurora!