My fiance Lisa and I decided that we would need more storage space once she moved in. My condo has…read morea dead space next to the loft that would make a great storage room, or even a small office; all it needed was a door and a floor.
This sounded like an simple project for a contractor; I'd find said contractor, they'd give me an estimate, I'd pay and they'd have the construction done in a week or so.
I was so naive! This little project was quite an introduction to the world of L.A. contractors. I first got an estimate of the work involved and the cost from the building's engineer, then I got the name of the first contractor from the building manager. He had done work in the building and there had been no complaints. I called him and he showed up the same day. He knocked a small hole in the wall separating the loft from the empty space and told me that the electrical conduits inside would have to be rerouted. Not a big deal; it would take him and his crew about a week or so to complete the room. He couldn't give me a firm estimate right there, but he gave me a ballpark number (that was within my budget) and he would fax me an estimate later.
Great! That was easy!
A couple of days later, I get the estimate - it's over twice his original figure and it was missing items, like rerouting the electrical conduits. I asked him for a better estimate and he said that he would fax it to me "soon".
A week and several phone calls later and no new estimate, I started looking for another contractor.
The next contractor had done work in the building and while no one was singing his praises, they weren't going after him with pitchforks, either. I called him and was told that this was a "small job" and not a big priority compared to others. He said that it would probably cost close to what the first contractor had written in his estimate... even before he'd seen the space. He promised to come see the place and give me an estimate later that week.
He never showed up and when I called him, he promised to come the next Wednesday.
Of course, he never showed. Annoyed, discouraged and bewildered by all this bizarre "contractor behavior", I was about to give up, but I did a Google search for contractors in L.A. which led me to FioreBuilt Construction and Anthony's reviews on Yelp. Anthony sounded too good to be true, but I emailed him anyway. He responded quickly, and we scheduled a visit for an estimate.
Anthony showed up on time and he was polite, professional and listened to my requirements. He made suggestions about the floor and door type, described the process in detail and took measurements. I told him that we would paint the walls and tile the floor and he had no problem with that. Anthony agreed that this was a small project, but it didn't bother him at all - in fact, he seemed enthusiastic about it and didn't see any major problems. My jaw dropped when he told me that he could start that weekend and have the job done in 3 - 4 days.
I was really impressed, but a bit concerned... if a couple of slackers came up with an estimate twice my budget, an obvious professional like Anthony would probably give me an estimate that was even higher!
The same day he emailed me an estimate and called to let me know that he was available that evening to answer any questions. We were relieved to see that Anthony's estimate was within our budget and basically what the building engineer had estimated. His bid was very detailed, and even included a Gannt chart with each step in the construction and the estimated time to complete each step. I called him right back and we signed the contract.
Anthony showed up that Saturday morning just when he said he would and got to work while we started moving in Lisa's stuff. He made a great effort to contain and minimize the disruption caused by the construction and continued to work all day and well into the night. The next day he brought his electrical crew in and they all worked late again. Each step of the way, he described in detail the work involved. He suggested that instead of blocking off a corner of the space occupied by two vent pipes that couldn't be moved he could build drywall around them, make a small utility closet and add a shelf.
The rest of the project went as planned (this is the first time I've seen anyone stick to a Gannt chart...) and the results far exceeded our expectations.
Lisa and I were impressed by Anthony's hard work, communication and professionalism. He clearly loves his work and truly goes out of his way to keep his customers happy. The quality of his workmanship and that of the subcontractors he hires is just outstanding. He will clearly become more popular as his reputation spreads.
I hope the first two contractors call back back back to see if I'm still interested in an estimate. I'll enjoy telling them, "No thanks, FioreBuilt Construction was here and he finished the job on time, on budget and the results were outstanding"
