We had a TERRIBLE experience with Stevens General Contractor. We do NOT recommend Brett Stevens nor his employee Ryan Mattice.
(We hired them to build the outer shell-only of a 2 car garage with a small studio on top and a basement.)
*Over a year into their estimated "2-3 month" project, they were still not done. We finally gave up and terminated our services with them, even though the work was still not complete.
*They did not follow the terms of their own contract. Their contract stated: "to the extent reasonably possible all changes in the work will be reflected by written change orders signed by both parties." However, they bid out, and accepted, a work order change that resulted in a $26,954 increase in costs - without ever notifying us. They defended themselves saying that more than doubling the estimate was routine, therefore this phrase in the contract didn't apply.
*They couldn't effectively manage subcontractors. One of their primary subcontractors abandoned the project midstream. They could not convince him to come back and couldn't find a replacement for MONTHS. We ended up giving them suggestions of people to call because they were not resourceful enough.
*They were ABSURDLY over budget.
--On one bill alone their General Contractor labor costs came in 10 times what the estimate was - from $500 to over $5,000.
---Total costs of the project were 24% more than estimated - and that's not taking into account that the estimate included work they never finished. They approached these incredible overruns like it was no big deal - just their normal business practice.
* Their lack of foresight forced us into unnecessary & expensive options.
ie) We wanted to expand our small porch by about 3 feet. AFTER demolishing it, they informed us it could not be done as discussed ~ our only options were to spend an additional $40,000 (insane costs), or rebuild it exactly as it had been. This meant they would charge us for the already completed demolition, charge us for rebuilding, and we would end up with the exact same size porch we had to begin with.
* They made a huge error in our billing. On our invoice they made a TEN THOUSAND dollar error ~ not crediting us for $10,000 that we had documented proof of having paid.
* They did not do the work we hired them to do: They did not do the slope of our garage floor according to the architect's drawings. Respected contractors told us this will lead to water problems. They acknowledged (AFTER we brought it up) that the work was NOT done according to the agreed upon, architect-drawn, plans, but stated (AFTER the fact) that this slope was in our best interest. They did not consult with us about this "best interest" change of plans, and refused to fix the slope to the drawings.
* The electrical meter was installed in a way that interfered with the walkway and was aesthetically awful. They tried to defend this sloppy installation as "up to code," but admitted it was not done in a standard/expected way, nor how they would have done it in their own home.
* They not-so-subtly threatened liens on our house. Literally 26 hours after sending us a bill they texted us asking where the check was, cautioning us that delays could lead to liens on our house. We had always paid promptly and in-full. This felt not just annoying, but harassing.
* They were unable to maintain safety. We stated very clearly that we could start construction at any time, but that once we started we HAD to finish the basement hole quickly, as we live in a densely populated area, including cars, transients, and children, and a large hole would pose a serious safety threat. They were unable to competently manage the project so a large hole was left exposed for months. Luckily, nobody was hurt in this hole, although a transient man did wander into the construction zone, fall, and get a concussion, so our concerns were legitimate.
We are not new to construction, we understand hiccups happen. If 1-2 of these issues had come up we would have rolled with it, but we've bulleted 11 serious problems. They did respond to emails and texts promptly.
In summary... if you want a contractor who:
does not do the work according to the agreed upon plans,
lacks foresight (leaving you with absurd and unnecessary costs,)
makes expensive change orders without your consent,
goes excessively over budget,
makes errors in your billing,
takes so long to complete the work that you finally just take him off the project,
cannot competently manage his subcontractors,
"cautions" you about liens on your house, (even when you always pay in full,)
approves sloppy work that he wouldn't allow in his own home,
and can't manage a project well enough to guarantee safety,
this is the team for you. read more