We spent about $10,000 with MDS to install trim in all the rooms on the main floor, carpet on the…read morestairs, a new cellar door, new wooden cellar stairs and a new Bilco cellar door. The contract was signed last November of 2023 and ended February 14th of 2024. Weeks pasted before workers showed up out of the blue. Then they would show up sparatically with no notice. The wooden stair treads had pencil lines on them from a failed stringer attempt. One stair tread was cut too narrow. The cellar door was installed crooked and we could not get it open, the door latch would not even meet the other side to latch the door - so the dead bolt had to be used, so we called and they had 3 different visits before the door was reinstalled and adjusted so it closed properly. We were locked out of the cellar for a week. So then we get a seperate bill for a door knob and lock set because the door did not come with one. Ben did not put it in the estimate? So they dug out the cement stairs and put in wooden stairs that were screwed to the sides of the cement walls, but now the dirt at the top and under the cement is caving in and the dirt under the sidewalk is collasping into the hole under the stairs! So the cement walls of the stairs were not the same length to fasten th bilco door to, so they poured cement to extend the length on one side but not the other. So now the bilco door overhangs the one side and is missing a screw on that side! So then when they came back to cut out the siding for the top of the bilco door, they left the siding triming debris in the yard were they threw it. So I had to call and complain about it. I had sent a request to talk to the owners and was ignored. I was told the project manager had quit and they were looking for a replacement. So then they came to install the trim, John had done a good job at representing the company and except for a few places his work was good! There was a few places were the trim did not match up. They ran out of trim behind the refridgerator and I was told they would have to go and get more to finish, so I said forget about it. Ben had done the estimating, so when he wrote that the trim would include the stairs, I assumed that ment the whole stairs, but I found out that was not the case, it would cost another $200 to put finishing trim at the top of the last stair to the landing. After the trim was done we were cleaning the new floors and had found calk or adhesive was tracked in and now stuck to the floor we just had put in. We still can't get all of it off! The carpert installation was really bad in my opinion. The carpet installation was hired out by MDS to Carpetland and they hired a sub contractor to actually install it. The carpet was cut to narrow on the treads on many of them and shows the white bottom of the carpet foundation as you look at it from above and at the corner it was completely missed. The installer said it was due to the bad carpert that we picked out from Carpetland. Allen the sales person never said anything about the carpet being low grade, we just liked the color, we did not even know the price as it was included in the estimate! So I pointed out the imperfections to the installer and kept getting the same reply, "Theres only so much we can do with this carpet" I paid MDS and then complained to Ben about the issues, he said he would talk to the people. I told him I do not want his people back, I do not want to have to explain ourselves to your employess and sub contractors, this should have be handled by a supervisor/site inspector. Ben told me he needed more photos of the stairs, I told him he can come out here and take the pictures!!! If you are looking for a professional contractor you should avoid this company. It has been and expensive and bad experiance and we were disappointed over and over again. You would think someone over there would take RESPONSIBILITY for such shoddy work and lack of professionalism. MDS Report Card Craftsmenship: F- Communication Skills: F- Value For the Money: F- Ability to give good estimates: F- Integrity: F- Trust: F-

From the owner: General Contractorread more

I asked him about doing some work, he wouldn't give me a price then had a fit when i asked him.read more

I first contacted Darrell to fix a plumbing leak. I am fairly handy but my attempt at fixing the…read moreissue failed so in frustration I turned to Darrell for help. I don't know him at all and just decided on him through a yelp search. After about a 15 minute phone conversation explaining the issue, Darrell said that he'd stop by the following day to take a look. He ended up giving me some suggestions so that I might fix the problem myself but said that he'd be happy to do the repair if I need him to do it. I'm very pleased to tell you that it's been a week and the leak seems to be fixed. He didn't even charge me for his time and effort. Very coincidently, my water heater went out later that day. I called Darrell and explained my dilemma and he agreed to change some appointments around so that he could install a new one the next day. One day without hot water is enough for me to Darrell was super friendly, honest, very capable, and allowed me to work with him as to save a little money on the labor. I'm definitely going to hire him whenever I have the need.

Englund Brothers ROCK!…read more Two years ago, Jeremy and Eric came out to give me a bid for a simple deck repair. I was immediately impressed by the fact that they replied quickly, arrived on time, were very friendly and professional, came prepared with notepad, tape measure, phone with camera and calculator, and appointment book! They were able to give me a bid and start date very quickly and at a very fair price. Even though they were booked out two months (a sign of a good contractor,) and I was skeptical that they would actually show up when promised (due to past experience with other contractors,) they started work exactly on time and would have finished on time, except... While tearing off the old deck railings, found much dry rot on supporting posts, joists, and water damage in shed under the deck. What started as a quick 3-day job was now going to be a complete tear-down and replacement of deck, stairs and shed! Even though they were busy, they managed to fit me into their schedule so that my family wouldn't be left with a dangerous deck. We ended up using Trex Transend for deck and stairs, Afco aluminum railing, and Trex Rain Escape system to waterproof the shed from the deck. They worked miracles to get the job done as quickly as possible...even with backordered materials, family emergency, and other obstacles thrown their way. I was also amazed at their ability to engineer a very tight space for the deck/shed combo. Even though we had very limited height to work with, they were able to engineer a full height shed while keeping enough slope for the Rain Escape system to work properly. It's been almost two years, and even through severe winters, torrential rains, heavy winds, etc. the Trex Rain Escape has worked flawlessly, the shed is bone dry, and the deck still looks beautiful. One more thing to add to this long review, is that Eric and Jeremy are also great on follow-up and really stand by their workmanship. A few months after the install, Jeremy called just to follow-up. What contractor does that?! Also, recently, I called them to let them know that the Trex fascias had warped (apparently not uncommon for Trex fascia.) Instead of sending me to Trex for a warranty replacement nightmare, Eric quickly installed new Trex fascia at no charge. To sum up... UTTERLY AMAZING!

They responded to my inquirie within a day. Fixed everything that needed to be updated and did an…read moreexcellent job.

From the owner: Your partner for worry-free construction projects. Licensed, insured and bonded, we deliver quality…read moreworkmanship and peace of mind.

They were here when promised and stayed in contact with us. Very efficient and cleaned up after…read morethemselves.

1.Communication - not getting back to customers. Not…read morereplying back after I replied back to their emails with offer ...

My wife and I had dreams of adding a new screened in back porch to our house so we contacted the…read morefriendly folks at First Class Construction and let me say we're not disappointed with our choice. Branden Schoon and his team made our dreams a reality. They did exactly what we asked and did it quickly. Branden listened to us and helped us with everything from demoing our existing deck and patio to contracting a cement company to pour a new foundation for our new deck and patio, which is also awesome. He also lined us up with an electrician to get us power on the new porch. They did exactly what we wanted. They did such a great Job we also had them build us a new garage which they also did a great job on. I couldn't be more proud and impressed with them. They did all this on time and on budge. Thank you Brandon and the rest of the team at First Class Construction. I give them 5 stars.

Called going on 2 weeks ago absolutely no response. They apparently can pick and choose the really…read morehigh dollar jobs that they want to do.

Josh Schier walked into our yard to offer my husband a used awning from a house he was moving…read more $2500.00 for a hunk of junk plus install. The original purchase was for another from a different house. As I pulled up on him at the house. I knew something was not right. A hunk of junk, I caught him in a lie about this awning. He was going to make this right with us. Cleaning and painting and replacing parts. He dumped this torn apart awning in the driveway and left. No word from him since. 6/18/22

Most of those pictures are jobs he tried to get but never showed up for because he was to busy…read moresmoking meth. And the other half of the pictures are of work another guy did because this guy was supposed to put a roof on an elderly lady's house. But stole $30,000 from her instead and squatted in one of her apartment buildings. This Eric guy is a real winner you wanna definitely NOT hire.

Roofing, gave him $8,000 and got nothing. He didn't do one thing towards the roofing of my…read morebuilding. Contacted him numerous times without any result. sitting here with a leaky roof and out $8,000 deposit. In my opinion Eric Linton is not to be trusted, will not do the job you give him deposit on.

I called requesting a quote for a roof to be put over our deck. Mike Sanders called and during our…read moreconversation requested that I email him pictures of our existing deck and roof before he would come out to look and give me a quote. I emailed the pictures and didn't hear back because in my email, I had requested an email back confirming receipt of the pictures. Never heard anything and the phone conversation happened April 18th and it is now over a month later and I called his cell phone and got nothing so I called the office and talked with Rachel. She had me forward her the emails and photos and apologized for his lack of follow-up. She had another person call to follow-up and while he was very polite, I was already turned off because of Mike Sanders lack of follow-up. Cannot give my hard earned money to a company that cannot follow-up. Especially when I sent the photos that were requested.

June this year we had appt with Estate Deck and Fence for estimate on pergola…read more He took measurements and discussed our preferences. We wer told it woukd be about 1-2 weeks and he would meet with us to go over estimate. We never heard back from him. After about six weeks, it was obvious he did not want the job. Called the company and relayed this info and told them we were no longer interested in having them do the work. Office person stated estimate was in the computer. Asked what the estimate was and she indicated he would have to give us that info. Asked that he call us. He never called. Would not consider this company for any projects.

My disabled brother-in-law has used them and they do deliver for him. They even delivered closet…read moredoors today and they were very careful to do it as early as possible so that we who are out of town could do some sightseeing for the day. Everybody who works there is just fantastic. They will do their best to help you. I really love this place.

From the owner: Frary Lumber, in Sterling IL, is the leading home improvement store and fullservice lumberyard…read moreserving Dixon, Amboy, Rock Falls, Oregon, Polo, and surrounding areas since 1920. We offer a full line of lumber, cabinets, windows, doors, vanities, flooring, paint, home decor, and much more. We can build you a house from bottom to top. Our home décor team has degrees in design to help you better. Another service we offer to our contractors is we draw blueprints for the job they may be working on. For all your home improvement needs, contact Frary Lumber in Sterling.