Overpriced, shoddy work, lack of communication.
We hired Melton Construction to do some energy improvements on our older home, including installing a new hot water heater, sealing air leaks in the attic and other areas, blowing in attic insulation, and repairing a large hole in the drywall in the garage from a previous plumbing leak. They were more expensive than the other contractors but at the time of the initial interview with them they seemed to be more knowledgeable than the other contractors we talked to, and very professional. They kept us posted by email and phone about the start date, and were accommodating about adding more work- we also decided to have them wire in 3 new light switches while they were there, so that this work could be done in the attic before the insulation was blown in. They started work when they said they were going to, and kept us updated on their progress. On day 3, when they were supposed to be done, they had finished the majority of what they were supposed to do. However, there were still a few more details to be finished, including taping and mudding the new sheetrock in the garage, installing pipe insulation on the water heater (which came with the water heater we had purchased, but then disappeared/got thrown away), and installing the remainder of the outlet gaskets, as well as doing the final blower door test to see what impact the energy improvements had made.
Up until this point we had been fairly satisfied with Melton's work, but at this point, after putting up an advertising sign in our yard without our permission, they completely dropped the ball. Despite repeated communications from our end, we heard nothing back from our project manager for 5 full days. A couple days later (a week after they were originally supposed to be done) they did come back to do the final work, but it was then another few days before they finally told us the results of the blower test. The original goal, stated in our contract, was a 40% or more reduction in hourly air exchange (house air with outside air)- from a starting point of 98%, they verbally told us they were confident they could get our house down to about 50%. The final test showed only a 29% reduction, to a final value of 69%. We were quite disappointed with these numbers, particularly after the amount of money we spent to improve our energy efficiency. Also, one of our main concerns that we communicated from the beginning was that our basement area stays very cold/doesn't heat well- this has not improved at all either. I emailed our project manager with these concerns and have yet to hear back. Also, just today when I was going to change out the large faceplates the electrician installed for smaller ones, we realized that the electrician installed the incorrect type of electrical box on 2 of the 3 new switches they installed, and both of these were crooked/not level as well, which is very disappointing and unprofessional.
Overall I would not recommend Melton Construction to anyone, and I would not use them again. They are overpriced for what you get- at first glance they seem knowledgeable and professional, and they keep this us until they are almost done, but then they drop the ball and don't follow through with the details, don't stick to deadlines, don't seem to care if their/your goals were met, and are poor communicators. read more
