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"Although we contracted and made an initial payment (1/3) on February 27, by mutual agreement the work began on 13 April 2015 to allow the work-site to dry out from the winter weather.  The contractor made incredible progress in the first two weeks demolishing the old deck & garage porch, pouring footers, raising the frame & putting on the roof.  The first crew was very hard working, here early in the morning, & leaving late in the afternoon (after cleaning up the area each day).  When rain was in the forecast, the crew would ask if they could make up the day on Saturday, which they did.  Everything we saw in the first 2 weeks was consistent with our previous great experience with Fox Creek 2 years earlier when they replaced all our siding, windows & doors. The only problem at that point was that a plain black roof (25 yr) was put on instead of the architectural roof (lifetime warranty) we asked for.  The contractor acknowledged the error and offered to replace the roof at no additional cost.  We had originally only contracted for 2 skylights so we asked if he'd install 2 more at no cost versus replacing the roof and he agreed.  We were told that everything was on schedule to complete the rest of the job in 2 weeks.  We made the second (of 3) payment on April 29 which was when the excavation work below the porch/deck was supposed to begin.  No one showed up to start this work for several days and when they did (it was a different crew from the first), they typically showed up around mid-morning and were gone by mid-afternoon.  We had beautiful weather during this period in which very little work got done.  The contractor claimed they were having trouble getting the supplier to deliver sand and crushed rock.  Since we're located in St. Mary's County which is a bit of a distance from the contractor's home base in Crownsville near Annapolis, they decided to use "local" suppliers & subcontractors (electricians) rather than those they normally use.  We found out later that the sand & gravel supplier was located in Brandywine about 40 miles from here (there are plenty of suppliers right here in the county).  When the sand & gravel finally showed up at 10:00 am one morning about the same time the crew arrived, the crew directed them to the spot they wanted it dumped and then everyone left shortly after that without doing anything.  We knew by then that the job wasn't going to be completed anywhere near the 3 & 1/2 week total time advertised.  The predictable springtime heavy rains started and we were delayed even more.  The week of May 11 was the first week we could see some progress each day.  The end product was beautiful.  A paver retaining wall was put in all around the perimeter below the deck/porch and in between the concrete slab under the porch and the pavered patio area below the deck.  

We couldn't understand why the remaining work on the porch above couldn't go on while the below work was going on.  Wiring had to be put in, and also all the finish work (soffets, gutters, trim work, ceiling made of soffet rolls - looks very nice).  Most of the holdup turned out to be waiting for the "local" electrician to show up.  The electrician (Goudie) wasn't really all that local but was from Waldorf 35 miles up the road.  Our contractor had to threaten, cajole and/or beg Goudie to show up and install wiring so that the finishing work could be done on the porch.  We begged our contractor to get another licensed electrician (there are plenty of good ones right here in the county that we've done business with).  Anyway, once the electrician showed up we had to get them back several more times because they'd forget to do something we'd asked for or they didn't have a part and we'd end up in the same waiting game.  They did end up getting shamed into sending an electrician on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend to put in 2 ceiling outlets they''d forgotten to put in, but we still didn't have any fans or lights to enjoy that weekend, by which time our contractor assured we'd be enjoying the porch.  You don't EVER want to do business with Goudie Electrical.  

To make a long story short, after a lot of nagging to get a lot of loose ends tied up, the work was finally finished and inspected the Thursday (the day) before this past 4th of July weekend.  The porch & deck are absolutely beautiful (we'll attach pictures if we can figure out how to do it - they will speak for themselves).  We got some extras that we asked for like 7" wide Azek boards along the tops of the vinyl railings inside the porch to serve as a counter top for setting drinks or small plates of food or snacks, which we've had a lot of nice compliments about.  They're the perfect height for pulling a barstool up to.  One of the things we didn't get that we expected was a decent landing area at the bottom of our deck stairs.  The crew threw grass seed and straw there.  When we asked about getting some sort of solid landing, they shoveled out the area and threw some leftover crushed rock on it and tamped it down.  When we asked if they were going to finish it (we told them they could use some of the many wall pavers that were left over) they said the wall pavers would require digging too deep. We offered to pick up (and did) some square flat stepping stones from Lowe's which we left for them.  One of the younger fellas who was there one day to meet with the inspector and had no tools just laid the stones down, stomped them down with his feet and let it go at that.  The area was not level and a downpour that evening directed a steady flow of water from the stones across our concrete slab.  We didn't bother asking again, just tore it up last weekend, leveled and tamped it down properly and reinstalled the stepping stones ourselves.

Our sense through this whole experience was that there was nobody in charge.  Besides the first crew that started the project and came later on one day to install all the soffets and gutters, it appeared to be young fellas without any on-site direction or supervision.  They did a lot of good work but there was a lot of unfinished work that we had to call our contractor up to get fixed.  If we lived closer to Annapolis or the DC metro area, this would probably have been a much better experience.  They do good work at a fair price and the owners are very honest people and have the best of intentions.  But they appear to be ill-equipped to do business in St. Mary's, southern Charles or Calvert counties or other more distant locations.  I did mention to the owner that if he wanted to do more business here he needed to do more to establish relationships with truly local suppliers and subcontractors.  Communications also need to be improved all around - with the crews, between the partners, with suppliers, subs and us, the customers.  We had the sense that the crews didn't really enjoy coming here and that we were kind of at the bottom of Fox Creek's list of priorities due to our distance from their home base.  As much as we love the final product and will enjoy it and show it off for a lifetime, we couldn't go through the aggravation again.  We would encourage folks from the Annapolis and metro DC areas who are considering a project like this (or folks who aren't in any kind of a hurry to get a project like this completed in a reasonable amount of time) to give Fox Creek serious consideration.  

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"Amazing experience! Tim was great walking my mom and I through through process of siding and gutter replacement. Very quick process and now my home has a wonderful new face-lift! 😀 Heather and Elvin were also very helpful in the project."

"Edis Portillo repaired my home repair issues as stated . He was on time, worked diligently and cleaned up after without hesitation. His work was seen bumpy neighbor and I believe he assisted in a job for them. Will call him 100% Again!"

"Blue Crab Home Solutiuons is an awesome home improvement company to work with. Both Nick and Zach were informative when they came to appraise the work I wanted done, they understood exactly what I wanted and they also made great suggestions to install a railing and gate on my front porch and install pavers on my walkway leading to the porch. Zach helped me select the perfect pavers for the project. I can't say enough good things about the workers who did the job. They were courtious, on time, fast and efficient. They kept me informed as they progressed to completion of the job. I highly recommend Blue Crab for any home improvement project no matter how small or large it may be. I will definitely call on them for any projects I need done in the future."

"Complete Exteriors just replaced the vinyl siding on my house. Mike provided a detailed estimate at a very reasonable price. The foreman on the job, Douglas, discussed each phase of the work with me on a daily basis and his crew completed the job in four days. My wife and I are extremely pleased with the results, and will definitely use the firm again should the need arise."

"Very professional. Followed up with my request from Home Advisor by email and then phone. After meeting, hired them and roof was put on within a week. Clean up was good"

"Badger did an excellent job installing a shingle roof and siding on my home. What stood out most to me besides the finished product, was the responsiveness and accessibility of the owner Barry Flak. Whenever we had a question or concern Barry would return our calls and text almost immediately, this is very important to a homeowner. Being from another state I didn't have any recommendations to go on when trying to hire a roofer. I now know I made the correct decision. Pricing was in the ballpark of other roofers. Time from scheduling to actual work was less than three weeks. They actually came a week earlier than anticipated. Roofers were very polite, worked hard and did an excellent clean-up. Our new roof is the now the most attractive in the neighborhood. I would definitely hire Badger again and recommend them to others."

We are a locally owned and operated company that values honesty and integrity and treats your home as if it were our own. We are experts in all aspects of roofing projects and specialize in asphalt shingle installations and replacements. We pride ourselves on the quality of our work as well as our commitment to outstanding results. We look forward to building lasting relationships and guarantee your satisfaction!

"Wonderful! If only our insurance company had been as responsive as the handyman. They also hung our tv on the wall the same day they did the siding!! We will use for all future projects. Price noted included all materials, and he found matching siding for our old house!"

"We had a wonderful experience all around with Power. All the crews came on their scheduled dates and times. From start to finish everyone was very professional, polite, diligent, knowledgeable, and neat and precise in their work. All the teamwork on this large (to us!) project was simply amazing. I have no idea what this type of work entails but I do know a "well-oiled machine" when I see one. Our roof, trim, gutters, attic, and siding look stunning and my husband and I are extremely pleased with the outcome. Thank you so much to these good folks and their crews: Pedro’s Team - Roof and decking Jose’s Team - Trim/siding Soonha’s Team - Gutters David’s Team - Attic Elmer's Team - Insulated siding and wrap I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention Jensen and Phil in Customer Development; Zach, the Remodeling Consultant; Brandon, the Pre-Install Inspector; Josh, the Overall Project Manager for Roof, Trim, Gutters, and Attic Installs; Jordan, the Project Manager for Siding Install; Steve, another kind Project Manager who pitched in to help answer a question for us; and Erin, our Quality Assurance Manager. Tying all this together are the very kind and responsive folks at the main office in Elkridge: Brooke, Sarah, and their team of Customer Service Professionals. Our home looks brand new and we are the most comfortable we've ever felt in it! No more daily inside temperature fluctuations, no more gallon-every-12-hours water collection in our dehumidifier! These Power Folks have not only changed our home, they have truly changed our lives. People always want to know the price: it's neither the most expensive nor the cheapest, but worth absolutely EVERY PENNY to us! Power Home Remodeling surely knows how to hire quality employees to produce quality work, and with the best materials available! Thank you all and God bless. (I'll post a picture later!)"