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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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"There's nothing worse that dealing with pooring rain and strong winds and then hearing the drip, drip sound of water coming into your home due to a damaged roof. I reached out to roofing repair companies through Angie's list and Roofing Pups responded. Marcus came out the next day and put my fears at ease. The bad news was that I needed a new roof. He showed me my options available, categorized as "good", "better" and "best". Despite my choosing the lowest option, he still threw in some discounts and upgrades at no additional cost. I signed the contract and he arranged for someone to come out at tarp my roof. He even went the extra mile of going to Home Depot and setting up buckets in my attic to catch the water still coming in. The roofing crew came out two days later and gave me a beautiful new roof. They then meticulously cleaned the area. It was great working with Roofing Pups. I couldn't be happier and highly recommend!"

"First person came by door-to-door to see if we wanted an estimate. Our house is 2000 sq feet (3/4 siding, 1/4 brick). Second person came to give us the estimate. It took at least three hours. The first estimate was more than $19K, but if we bought it right then, it would be $12K. We finally settled on $13.5K: $12K for siding and $1.5K for window and door caps. We were told that even though our window capping looked good, it would probably tear when they took off the old siding. We were told over and over what a great company it was. We were told everything that had aluminum would be replaced with vinyl, the new siding would be "practically seamless," and we were getting a great deal. A few days later someone visited us again. We went over the project and picked out the color. On the day of the installation, the crew started removing the old siding. Another "quality assurance" person showed up at noon to go over any questions. He again told us what a great deal we got. He looked around and went up on the roof. He also noticed that there was aluminum covering on front half of the rake on north side of the house but not the back half. He said there was an issue behind the gutters at the top of the house, that moisture could get between the gutters and the house, and that the job was really going to look incomplete without new coverings for all the rake. He gave us an estimate: normally it would be $3500, but if we bought it right then, it would be $2000. We agreed to pay for covering the rake. The window wrap did not rip when the aluminum was removed. The new window wrap looks exactly like what was already on the house. There are a lot of seams; even the smallest lengths have seams. Once the job was wrapping up, the last person showed up. We told him there were a lot of seams. He said they wouldn't be noticable further away from the house. There are a couple of places where the pieces behind the gutter were not cut correctly. I expect they will be able to fix this. Bottom line? We're glad we got new siding, but with all the high-pressure sales tactics and inconsistencies in presentation, we still feel like we got ripped off."

"I replaced the gutters on my home  and it was discovered that there was no drip edge on one section of the roof and the edge of the roof was rotted on both sides. I had someone else look in the attic and the insulation was wet.  At the time it was thought that there was some insulation with asbestos because of its appearance and the age of the house.  I received an estimate that was very expensive and was very upset to say the least.  I found Young Environmental Services on Angie's List and read the reviews.  Since others said he was willing to explain processes to you, I called.  Mr. Young answered, listened to my description of the problem, explained the process to remove asbestos and then referred me to a reputable company for testing my house.  As it turns out, I do not have asbestos but if I had I feel confident I would have used Mr. Young to remedy the situation.
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"Over-all workmanship was great. The 5-man crew work well together, quite an efficient operation. The only negative is some debris, ie a utility knife blade in the grass, and many trampled plants on the south side of the house."

"We have done Windows Siding and Doors. The whole process was easy and most of the projects are done in a day."

"I couldn't be more pleased with the deck repair that Jose and Melvin of JW Home Improvement performed for us. The attention to detail, beautiful joints, use of screws instead of nails, and the particular attention appearance and completeness. The site was left spotless. A special thanks for your dedication to working in such cold weather. Thanks."

"Project went very well. Five aspects of REO-ServicePro were noteworthy: 1. Their willingness to involve me throughout the process, from planning through execution. 2. Their work ethic. They stuck to the project through some brutally hot days. 3. Their attention to detail. The crew spent time and effort to work on details that no one would notice, but which better enable the siding and trim to withstand years of weathering. 4. Their creativity and flexibility in resolving issues that emerged during the project. 5. Their integrity. Our house was open to the REO-ServiePro crew for a month. Not once during that time did my wife or I worry about the contents of our house or the welfare of our pets."

"I have mixed reviews - overall the project was completed and they did a nice job. There is some damaged wood siding that did not get replaced and was painted over. He has promised to come back; that remains to be seen (I will update if that happens). I was promised dates when they would be on site and I would stay home and no one ever showed. I did not receive any notification that they would not becoming. When I called to find out where they were there was always some sort of medical emergency. This happened three times. Also I always had to clean my garden up after they came. I found various tools and garbage in the lawn. Also I ended up throwing away their trash, they did not take it with them. Again the final project looks good but was a frustrating process."

Hello!!! I’m Alex Ruffing, welcome to my page! \n\nI’m a born & raised Northern Virginian with 19 years in construction services (and counting). I started young, with family, on area commercial jobs; Wolftrap, Metro Garages and Park & Rides, and many of our shopping plazas. Then spent some time traveling the east coast building in the industrial sector; concrete, sky rises. Now I am happy to be home and operating as a Handyman(+). \n\nHandyman because I mostly operate independently, preforming all kinds of repair and remodeling opportunities. \n(+) because I am well connected with reputable tradespeople in the area, and I always happy to discuss larger residential projects; backyard pavilions, outdoor kitchens, shotcrete pools, additions, movie theaters, bars, and wine cellars. \n\nMy cell phone is (571)320-8605. Do not hesitate to call or text so we can discuss solutions regarding your home’s next repair, remodel, or improvement. \n\nWith best wishes, thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.\n\n