I've been through a terrible experience with Star Building Supplies that has caused me hundreds of dollars in wasted materials, and I hold them directly responsible for this due to their complete lack of ability to accurately estimate materials requirements.
I recently had a new garage build, and my builder used Star for provision of all materials (except concrete). One of the materials was Hardie Board siding, a very expensive finishing material. This had to be ordered from the factory, as it is not a standard stock item for Star. That would have been fine, if Star had estimated for the job correctly.
My builder sent Star the building prints and Star estimated for the siding. At the end of the job, I had 32 boards left over, worth about $500; This quantity would have allowed me to cover another entire wall, so the estimating was about 25% overage.
My builder contacted Star about a return, and after a long delay and multiple messages sent and ignored, he was informed that this material could not be returned, not even for a credit. They claimed that it was up to us to validate their estimate, as their estimating was a 'free' service. I checked with my builder, and he was NEVER asked to validate the quantity before it was delivered.
In spite of repeated emails and messages, the manager, Lorrie never did respond to my requests to discuss the matter. He chose instead to completely ignore the incident.
As a result, I had to eat hundreds of dollars in waste material, all because of Star's complete incompetence in estimating. (Incidentally, the guy who did the estimating for my project is 'no longer with the company' we learned. Surprise, surprise.)
Star isn't even a member of the Better Business Bureau... no surprise there.
I'm done with Star Building Supplies, and I hope that builders in Calgary understand that there are substantial risks in using this type of non-responsive supplier on their projects. read more