BigSpan recently completed some renovations at our secondary home. Rob and Laura really came…read morethrough for us. At our initial meeting, my wife and I laid out in great detail several projects we needed done. They patiently listened and quickly visualized what we wanted. Rob also gave some creative suggestions and offered to facilitate delivery of materials as our primary home is 2+ hours away. We couldn't be happier with the outcome. The quality of work and attention to detail is top-notch. Moreover, they're just great people. We plan to hire them again for future projects. Highly recommend BigSpan!

My partner Autumn and I had a wonderful experience with Rob & Laura. We can't recommend them enough…read morefor any job, large or small. For context, our project was a full gut renovation of an old home that sat abandoned for 10+ years. Think leaking ceilings, no functional systems, and a crumbling foundation. Rob & Laura were the driving force for the final 4 months of our home's transformation from "very broken" to beautiful and livable. They were supportive of our project in the months leading up, and have continued to stay in touch since they wrapped up. Their to do list included structural changes, door and window swaps, drywall, trim, and full kitchen and bath installs. That's not to mention a massive list of surprise to do's that crop up with any old home renovation. From their first visit, Rob's cool confidence in their ability to bring our home to life never waned. This was a labor of love on our part. Rob & Laura understood and embraced that. They were happy to hear our vision, and translate it into an executable plan. They rocked every detail from necessities like drywall to custom touches like recreating the original curved ceilings and installing handmade tile from floor to ceiling in the primary bathroom. Communication was easy throughout. I was the primary coordinator of other contractors (electric, plumbing etc). We had zero issues with any overlap. Rob & Laura were always flexible, and easy to work with. I also have immense gratitude for their openness to my participation in the process. This is by no means required, but my partner and I strove to jump in wherever we could. This let us reduce the cost on our end, and learn a few things along the way including how to tape drywall and install tile. If you can get on Rob & Laura's calendar, don't hesitate!

Failed to stand behind their work…read more Had multiple issues throughout the construction phase that were pointed out and never taken care of . Horrible construction management. Having serious issues with our foundation cracking and leaking even with a rubber membrane. Not to mention it was poured 6" too short in height. We paid to have the foundation scan to find out that there was not enough. Rebar used to stabilize the foundation. Refuse to take care of the problem. We had to have one of the cracks (which leaks and allows water to come in, )fixed for over $5000 and now I have another crack that we're going to have to pay over $5000 to take care of. I've been working with contractors for over 38 years professionally and I've never not been able to work out a situation as a team. Would not recommend them!!!!!!

We engaged Claverack Builders to finish a conversion of our garage and build a new deck on our…read morehouse. They supported us with design services, managing the permit / approval process, and build. The work was largely done during Covid which created some bumpiness in the project management. A year since they completed the work we are ultimately happy with the quality of the work the team did and the professionalism across the board.

Our house dates from 1949, as did the septic tank, a galvanized tin container about 6' in diameter,…read moreno leach field. As the tank had caved in recently, we no longer had a functioning system (which indeed backed into the house at Christmas time.) After we trenched out the old system and at least got liquids flowing, we sought out bids to replace. Not only did the whole system have to get rebuilt to code, but we also had to deal with shale rock inches below the lawn and a wooded area leading down the hillside for the site of the leach field. Given the scope of the project, the first contractor we spoke to was never heard from again. J&R Contracting, headed up the the father and son team of Rick and Rick, arrived 2 days after we called, sized up the project, gave us a realistic estimate given the challenges of the site (e.g. assume an extra day to jack hammer through the shale to create a pit.) We said, "Sure!" Rick took a deposit to pay for the construction of a low profile holding tank, said they'd be back to do the job when the tank was ready. Sure enough, 3 weeks later, the team showed up with two backhoes, a dozer, trucks to transport in sand and topsoil, and chainsaws. We mapped out an area for the tank and leach field, and then they got to work. Over three days a level area was created for the leach field after removing some scrub trees. Specimen trees were tagged and left alone. The big project was jack hammering out the pit, as deep as I am tall. The tank was lowered in, piping connected and soil smoothed over. As J&R already had all the equipment on site, we asked for two days of extra work to bring in ten loads of sand and topsoil to regrade the lawn, reshaping to direct rainfall and winter melt away from the house foundations. The final step in late April will be to distribute shade tolerant grass seed across the new lawn. The final bill matched the original estimate. The added time and materials for sculpting the lawn was, of course, extra. The results far exceeded our expectations.

Never showed up.. spoke with him twice. If your too busy say so. Don't waste the customers time..read more

More to come on this questionable business. Working on a lawsuit that will be more detailed soon…read more Basically, I would steer clear of this fellow. Ruined my porch which was a simple repair any decent carpenter could have done. A quoted $10k job that was to take 2 weeks turned into $30+ thousand and never finished. The workmanship was garbage from unskilled workers he used but charged me for skilled tradesmen. He was never there. Lots of his "team" smoking and sitting around. Very infuriating. One year later I have another crew fixing and finishing it. Caveat emptor!

Bob is the most reliable, efficient and kind contractors I've ever worked with. He's communicative…read moreand knowledgable and a pleasure to work with. He is also reasonable with his fees and honest about the labor required to get a job done. Thank you Bob and crew!

In 40 years in the apartment rental bussiness, Bob from Independence Contracting is perhaps the…read morebest person and company that we have ever delt with . I would give them a 5 star+ rating.