A few weeks ago I found myself having to take a month off from work because I had too much vacation time accrued. Awww, poor me, huh, LOL! So one day I'm sitting out back on the patio enjoying some liquid manna from heaven (beer), and I remembered that my wife wanted me to hang a new bird feeder on the 30 year old wood patio cover. So I gets the drill to make a pilot hole for a lag eye bolt, and as I pressed on the drill I realized that I didn't even need to have the drill turned on to make a hole because the wood beam was rotted. After contemplating this situation for an entire two seconds, I decided that it was time for the ol' patio cover to meet its' demise, and it would get replaced with an Alumawood patio cover. First step, I downloaded the structural engineered plans from the Alumawood/Amerimax website and made myself familiar with the engineers' requirements for a patio cover in my high wind area, based upon the span/distance between my house and the posts.
But then the question arose as to who I know or trust to supply and construct this new patio cover? Bottom line, no one! After a day of online research & calling friends, I set up interviews with 3 contractors. The first contractor was a perpetual advertiser in our local booklet of upscale plastic surgeons, day spas, and contractors. The second contractor came highly recommended by a friend who had an Alumawood carport installed at his house. The third contractor was Prime Builders, whom I found through Yelp. Contractor #1 sent a salesman who lied so much I just had to write a Yelp review to help unsuspecting homeowners not get snookered by those scheisters. Contractor #2 stated that it would take at least three weeks to get the materials, he did have the lowest price, but his proposal did not define in writing that the contractor would demolish & dispose of the existing wood patio cover. Contractor #3, YUUUUUP, you guessed it, was Prime Builders.
I met with David Brenner, owner of Prime Builders, and I was extremely impressed with David's qualifications, background & knowledge of construction. BTW, I've been involved in the construction industry for the past 35+ years, and I'm also a natural born skeptic, so I don't easily fall for the ol' banana in the tailpipe. David's proposal was very detailed as to the scope of work, material specifications, and price. On a personal note I found David to be very customer oriented, honest, and having a genuine sense of humor. In contrast to contractor #1, David answered all my questions during the interview, and at no time did he try to pressure me into signing the contract. After an hour of careful consideration & mental debate, I chose to employ the services of Prime Builders over the lower cost of contractor #2. I've watched enough of Judge Judy to know that the cheap can get expensive, especially when the details are not in writing. In this case I received the top notch professional service that I expected by employing the higher priced contractor, including much faster service than what the other two contractors promised. David called me soon after I had e-mailed the signed contract to him. He was able to order the materials and get a delivery date of the following Thursday. We agreed that his employees would demolish my existing patio cover on Monday due to predicted rain on Tuesday & Wednesday, and they would return on Friday to construct the new patio cover.
Two employees of Prime Builders showed up on time the following Monday morning. These guys busted hump all day long dismantling the wood patio cover and loading it into their trucks. AND they did a great job cleaning the patio slab and lawn before they left. Friday morning rolls around and BAM, these guys are on time again. These guys had additional work to do during the construction because they were attaching the new patio cover to a flush cut fascia and not a plumb cut fascia like most homes have, but they still completed the job by the end of the day. Being quite familiar with the engineered plans for this project, and also due to my employment background, I spent quite a bit of time watching these guys construct the patio cover, and I can honestly say that they did not have a lot of wasted movement. They were very organized and have obviously worked together as a team for quite some time. They were also very meticulous, double checking all their measurements when laying out the patio & posts, ensuring a successful conclusion. Once again, they cleaned the job site at the end of the day before they left.
Prime Builders also made all the arrangements to have a licensed electrician, Peace of Mind Electric, come to our house and install a light fixture on each of the three posts. Diarrhea of the fingers... I'm at 5000 spaces. Prime Builders & Peace of Mind Electric are both very professional contractors. read more