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American General Contracting
Electrical for Home Addition or Remodel - Install, Electrical for Home Addition, Electrical Wiring or Panel Upgrade,
About us
American General is a family owned and operated general contracting company that specializes in insurance claim representation, water, wind and fire damage and house raising. We pride ourselves on service. American General Contracting is a full service design/build company. We can assist you in every phase of your project from start to finish. Insurance Claims are our business. Pictures of our work can be viewed at our web site www.amgencontracting.com and Facebook @ American General Contracting Ronkonkoma.
Business highlights
Emergency services offered
40 years of experience
Services we offer
Insurance Claims Specialists. House Raising. Water Remediation Certified. Residential and Commercial Builders. Kitchens, additions, and more - American General is a full service general contracting company., architectural services, baths, concrete, custom home building, demolition, electrical, extensions, foundations, interior design services, plumbing, pools, remodels, roofing, siding (Accredited Certainteed Master Craftsman Company), tile
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Reviews
3.719 Reviews
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 68% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 32% |
Showing 1-19 of 19 reviews
James B.
Oct 2015
Our house had been hit my Sandy. Our insurance adjuster told us to go through Angie’s List. Turned out the guy we hired is a crook, took money from us and did inferior work. We have lost several hundred thousand dollars. It’s been almost 3 years to the day and we haven’t gotten back into our house.
James G.
Feb 2015
Didn't go well. Way to many headaches. They finished the job 3 months late. I still have a lien on my property from a sub-contractor which American general contracting would take care of. been almost a year now lien still on my property. no more responses from American general contracting phone line disconnected. They said they were a family business who cared about customers.I don't think that was ever true. That being said the sub-contractors that did the job were good guys and did good work. I would not recommend AGC to my friends. <br />
Chris V.
Mar 2014
Unfortunately there was an extreme demand for contractors after Sandy hit. So many unqualified people got licensed to do work in the area. AGC hired many unqualified people to oversee carpenters. <br /> They were supposed to: <br /> <ol> <li><strong>Treat for mold</strong> <-- I did this myself in the effected area and they tried to bill me for doing the entire house.</li> <li><strong>Remove and Replace damaged framing</strong> <-- Damaged new tiles, window treatments, ceilings, phone system, Removed (and did not replace) support wall, Drove several 5 inch long screws right through the exterior of the house, incorrectly framed kitchen, and "accidentally" took several of my tools. Some were returned.</li> <li><strong>Insulate the exterior walls</strong> <-- I had exactly the right amount of insulation but somehow their inexperienced helper must have skipped some bays and only partially filled most others because I have 80 linear feet left.</li> <li><strong>Electrical</strong> <-- Was doing great. Did not finish the job. Made additional appointments and he never showed up. 7 months later and still no lights. Invoiced for 13 outlets + 3 GFI + 9 switches + 6 dimmer switches, I only have 8 outlets + 2 gfi + 4 switches + 2 dimmers.</li> <li><strong>Install Sheetrock</strong> <-- inexperienced installers did not hold boards to the wall and set screws properly. For some reason, they also removed every outlet/switch and recessed them deep into the wall.</li> <li><strong>Tape & Spackle</strong> <-- Did not point out that the drywall was not properly secured to the wall and spackled all the loose boards. Now if you lean on a wall, all the screws pop through the sheetrock. Left a big mess of spackle dust throughout the residence. Claimed they were finished but only 1 or 2 coats in most places. Job had to be redone from scratch.</li> <li><strong>Plumbing</strong> <-- Done Correctly, but incomplete and the plumber took the shower body hardware with him... never to return. I had to replace the shower body valve again.</li> <li><strong>Wood Flooring</strong> <-- Incomplete. I was left with some scraps and told that I could complete it myself with the remaining pieces. Invoiced for solid bamboo flooring. They installed a laminate.</li> <li><strong>Kitchen Tiles</strong> <-- Done flawlessly</li> <li><strong>Kitchen cabinets</strong> <-- Incomplete. I was left with a lot of cabinet parts that I am supposed to use in order to fabricate 3 island base cabinets with. The cabinets that were installed, were done very nicely.</li> </ol> <p>7 Months later and I'm still waiting for Doors, Lighting, Steps, Masonry, Moldings, Windows, and Insurance Settlements.<strong><br /> THREATS MADE</strong> <-- I called the police and filed a report that Rob Kloska demanded payment of $57,000 or he was going to come to my house and punch me and my 86 year old mother in the mouth, rip out the materials they used, and take whatever valuables he could get his hands on (DOCUMENTED IN POLICE BLOTTER). He also threatened to put a lien on my house.<br /> <strong>LAWYER TIME </strong><-- My lawyer contacted his company and demanded an itemized invoice. Investigation revealed that invoice was obscenely inflated. Forensic estimates revealed that they did $6,000 worth of labor using $4,000 worth of materials and caused $8,000 damage to my house. In addition, their contract is not valid in NY, and even if it was, they would have been in breech of contract since January 31, 2013. AGC conceded and walked away.<br /> <strong>WHY AM I POSTING THIS REVIEW SO LATE?</strong> <-- I had to be certain that they no longer have any right to even try and put a lien on my house.</p> <strong>UPDATE</strong>... In response to the provider response. <br /> I would be happy to go to litigation. I would easily recoup: <br /> <ol> <li>- Attorney fees from October when your attorney conceded to my attorney and this was settled.</li> <li>- Money AGC owes me for damages to my house. </li> <li>- Money paid for forensic documentation.</li> <li></li> </ol> <p>Against attorney recommendation, I walked away and didn't further legally pursue because I wanted to be done with AGC.<br /> I wrote this review because I don't want others to go through what AGC put my family through.</p>
Response from American General Contracting
"What [Member name removed] neglects to mention is that he owes a substantial amount of money to AGC and this review is in response to be served for litigation."
Nancy O.
Feb 2014
I dealt directly with Rich the owner . He was pleasant and prompt in responding to all of my requests. The crew was clean cut and meticulous cleaning the basement prior to leaving everyday. The tile work came out beautiful as did the finish carpentry. The basement is now finished and looking great. We are very happy and will use them again for our next project. <br />
Response from American General Contracting
"Very nice lady!"
James F.
Nov 2013
A year and a half later, the job is two-thirds complete and he has three-fourths of the money we agreed upon. I feel it pertinent to note that I have been a contractor for 31 years, so I am intimately familiar with the demands of the job. I wanted to reach out to Angie because, according to my contract with AGC, I’m supposed to give this guy another $10,000 after the tile work is complete. I asked him who he’s going to have to redo the tile, he says, “Let me worry about who handles the tile work.” To give you an idea about my concern at this point, the last time work was done that required a license, or where a licensed plumber would be have been strongly preferred instead of one his carpenters/laborers, was for the installation of a toilet in my 2nd floor bath over my garage. I guess he thought he would save money on paying a plumbing sub-contractor and just have one of his laborers do it. After the installation, I noticed that there was a leak seeping through the ceiling of my garage, so I call AGC and let them know. Then, he gets a plumber who re-sets the bowl. The plumber tells me that the toilet was not installed correctly the first time, and that the wax seal was not properly engaged in the joint. They had to rip out sheet rock and insulation around the affected area that was encrusted with mold. I’m still waiting on the sanding and painting of the affected area. That work was done 4 months ago. So I hope you’ll understand my concern about who AGC decides to use to install the expensive tile I purchased – I am not going to have a carpenter do the job. I’ve also had continuing difficulty with a sub AGC brought on the job. I feel like this company is being run by amateurs. The complete lack of professionalism is pathetic. I have e-mails from both firms which, after you read them, will tell you what I’m dealing with.
Response from American General Contracting
"The member apparently through his 31 years of contracting experience certainly learned the ropes on how to not pay the bill. The member through his 31 years of experience wouldn't know what professionalism is if it hit him square in the face otherwise he wouldn't try to weasel his way out of paying the tab. Is professionalism not returning phone calls and emails for 3 - 6 weeks at a time? Is delaying scheduled contractual payments professional? Does it take a professional with 31 years of experience 8 weeks to select doors? The list could go on and on its too bad he didn't post the pictures of the project... it came out beautiful. This member knows that we delivered t each and every obligation under the contract simply put he wants to keep his money I guess he needs it more than us. The lack of professional courtesy on the members side says it all."
Aaron V.
Oct 2013
DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY! They are impossible to get a hold of. They did not finish the job and did not show up for weeks at a time. My wife and I had to fire them because it was taking so long and we were not satisfied with the work that they were doing. Do yourself a favor, if you are still interested in using this company. Get some references from people who have had work performed by American General after 6/13. <br /> <br />
Response from American General Contracting
"Wow, all this coming from a homeowner who was thrilled with the work we were doing. (removed member name) basement looks fantastic. Weeks at a time? Lie. (removed member name) thinks he knows construction because his daddy was contractor so he tried to run things the way way he thought they should be run although he is clueless. We explained the process to him a hundred times and nothing was ever good enough for him. If someone wasn't at his house every second of every day, holding his hand, he was calling our offices. He emailed, called and text so much we wouldn't take his calls. Sorry (removed member name), not answering your 15th phone call of the day on a Sunday night. Worst customer of the year award goes to (removed member name). No doubt about that. (removed member name) is a person, I refrain from the word man because he is a child, who should have been held more as a baby. For a while there I thought we were on the show Punked. (removed member name) also forgets to mention the fact that he owes AGC a great deal of money. Wind up is there is a lien on Aaron's house and a lawsuit to follow. Stay tuned........."
Gladys G.
Sep 2013
At first, communication, responsiveness, punctuality, and professionalism were excellent. I thought that I had found service in construction that I could rely on. Removal went smoothly and on time. The painter was pleasant and diligent, but left paint on the floor and nearby walls. He promised to touch up the paint and remove spots after the floor was installed. <br /> The floor installation was a nightmare. They claimed they were not able to show me a sample of the floor, so they brought the wrong color - much darker than the adjacent room. As a rule, the floor people did not show up for their appointments and did not call to give notice, so they kept us waiting. Once they showed up when they were not supposed to. When finally they installed the right color floor they were unable to replace part of the old floor "because it was under the saddle" that divided the room in repair from the hallway. They were going to solve this by replacing the saddle with a much wider one. Also, they left the new floor with glue on top, so that it was sticky and messy. They proposed to solve this by sanding the floor (which was stained and pre-waxed) and waxing it again. In the process of sanding, many of the edges of the parquet floor lost the stain, and stood out in the original natural color, almost white. As would be expected, they could not find a saddle wide enough and shaped to fit, so they properly replaced the old wood floor that was under the saddle. <br /> Final result: they left a floor unfinished, with some edges unstained. In the process of sanding, they damaged the lower portion of some walls. The painter never came back to remove the paint spots on the walls, but another, very nice painter touched up the paint of the walls and had to repaint the ceiling. He also removed paint spots from the floor of the adjacent room. However, he promised to come back to clean the paint on the walls, and to return the piece of furniture that the first painter and his assistant had removed from the room. It is going on three weeks now since out last contact. Each time i called they said they would come soon to put the piece of furniture back (at least two men are needed) and to remove the paint on the wood wall next to the room painted. <br /> If there is ever a resolution to this, i will amend my review. However, the time from the start of the installation of the floor to now is about three months and i still have the furniture of one room in another, the "repaired" room unfinished and the walls of the adjacent room with paint spots. <br /> <br /> Update: <br /> <br /> They were able to resolve all the issues I had. I would highly recommend them. It was found that some of the employees were not performing their jobs correctly and they were removed.
Response from American General Contracting
"We have been working with the member diligently to resolve the issues that she mentions. We believe that the rating is quite harsh for the issues at hand. Our communication with the member is ongoing."
Michael T.
Aug 2013
To this day, they have not done any work on my house other than pumping the water out in February. I had water in my basement for months. I have been calling them and cannot get in contact with them. The owner has not responded back to me. I feel like I am out of $26,000. I want my money back and I want to end my contract with them. They have been very misleading and unresponsive throughout the entire process. I literally have to call them every single day and then when I do get somebody on the phone, they are misleading. <br /> <br /> I spoke with them this morning. When I informed him I wanted to terminate my contact (which has a termination clause if I am unsatisfied with the services received) Rob, one of the owners, became very abusive and threatening and told me he would be putting a lien on my home. He then informed me that I will be hearing from his attorney.
Response from American General Contracting
"We will be taking (removed member name) the member to litigation. We have offered mediation and he declined. We are in the process of filing a lien and have forwarded all pertinent information to our counsel. Also for the record, we pumped out (removed member name) home on 3 separate occasions. We met with (removed member name) on several occasions. We consulted with (removed member name) and on behalf of (removed member name) with his insurance company. We met with his insurance company at his home on two separate occasions. We provided (removed member name) with an architect and they met quite a few times with the architect making revision after revision for (removed member name). We have worked very hard for (removed member name) to help him, what he neglects to understand is that we have a contract, a contract that he signed. We have met and would have continued to meet every obligation under the contract had he accepted mediation. (removed member name) needs be honor his obligations under the contract."
Helen C.
Feb 2013
The repairman arrived on time and was very professional. He repaired the fence and cleaned up everything. <br />
Response from American General Contracting
"This consumer was guided in the right direction and then decided to not follow the path that we laid out for her. We planned on using our staff public adjuster to help assist her in getting properly compensated for her loss due to Sandy. The insurance company adjuster talked her out of utilizing our services so we let her out of her contract, had she gone through with the original plan that was in place there would be zero issues. The insurance company adjuster gave her great advice leave 30-40% of the money you are entitled to on the table. and she did.This was a less than solid decision on her part. There are some things that you just cant overcome when dealing with people who may be under duress. The moral of the story here is that the insurance company adjuster could care less about you their job is to protect the insurance company not the consumer, Also we always do the right thing all of the time."
David H.
Jan 2013
The service was very good. They were very professional and he recommended some things that I like. He was helpful at saying things that I did not know and had good ideas on options I could do. He knew his business and his price was reasonable. He did quality work and was there to meet my needs and concerns. He yapped a lot, but that was okay, we had a lot in common.
Elizabeth R.
Jan 2013
It went wonderfully as decsribed above. <br />
James B.
Dec 2012
The damage was pretty severe. It took out several layers of flooring. It took out the wallboard four feet up and all the furniture and appliances need to be replaced. It was a huge deal because of the flood. The adjustor said it will cost a hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. The insurance company has not continued yet. I am about to write the cheque. So far I am extremely impressed with their professionalism and happy that I joined Angie's List to find them because I could not get help at all because of the number of people who were in desperate straits in that area, you could not get electricians, plumbers or anybody to come in to do what needed to be done. These guys have twenty-five crew working on the area. They had preordered heating units in anticipation of the storm and they were really professional and very responsive. We are in no way near the end of the process but so far I have been extremely pleased. Overall, I will probably rate them a glowing review.
Kazue J.
Nov 2012
Our project was to renovate an old wood-frame house my wife and I recently purchased in Brooklyn. We started out with a scope of work that was beyond what we could afford. We solicited multiple bids. Comparing bids is not always apples-to-apples, contractors tend to break down costs differently which complicates the decision making process. AGC stayed with us through multiple scope revisions until we got to a level of work and price that was acceptable. Their price wasn't the lowest but we appreciated their effort and liked their energy. I am an architect and have had a range of experiences with contractors. Rob and Rich are among the most pleasant I have worked with. They are punctual and responsive. This was important to us in making our decision to hire them. Negotiating the contract was straightforward -they have an easy candor. Generally the project went well. However we did have a problem that caused us friction: for many weeks after we signed the contract AGC was unable to get a permit from the building department. This was due to a matter unrelated to our project, and partially beyond their control. But as the weeks went by my wife and I became increasingly concerned about the delay. This led to some terse exchanges and the responsiveness we had previously enjoyed disappeared somewhat -which we did not appreciate. We were all frustrated. I understand nobody wants to hear from clients on a daily basis asking why nothing was happening, but as clients we of course wanted to keep pressing the issue. This was not an enjoyable time. Our problem became as much about how the delay was being handled as it was about the delay itself. Eventually however AGC cleared the issue and were able to get the permit. And once they started in earnest they worked quickly to make up for lost time, including work on Saturdays. The project finished late, but not by much. And we appreciated their effort to make up for the delay. There were other small issues that came up over the course of the contract, all typical of a project like ours. Some of the issues were work items we had discussed but not formalized in writing or on a drawing. So when it came time to act it sometimes turned out that we didn't agree on what had been said. Unfortunately these things happen and are a drag. But all were issues settled with between us with little effort. It just underscores the importance of negotiating as much as possible up front: from clarifying scope of work in as much detail as possible; to setting a clear schedule and agreeing on what happens if the schedule slips; to agreeing on payment schedule and method of payment. <br /> I would recommend American General. Using the "excellent", "good", "fair", etc., categories above I would say the quality of their work and price is good. Their punctuality and professionalism is excellent. I would rank their responsiveness as excellent except that the permit delay frayed the relationship and their responsiveness dropped off. Even with this consideration I rank their responsiveness as good, and easily better than most contractors I have worked with. I give them an A overall, with reservations based on the experience described above.
Patricia J.
Feb 2012
<p>This is an Excellent Contractor! The demolition was performed exceptionally fast (two weeks) with no damage to the fencing or peripheral structures or landscaping.</p> <p>Pricing was reasonable for the work. The very best rating is deserved for American General Contracting and we look forward to working with them in the future.<br /> <br /> AAAAAAAAAAAA+++++++++++++++++<br /> <br /> Many Thanks</p> <br /> <br />
Yvonne M.
Jan 2012
I am actually adding on to this from a prior report I have given. This was a large project, and sometimes with big projects you will run into some problems. Our project started in March and ended in June 2011. It is now January 2012 and we noticed some issue with the wood floor in our den. The wood looked warped and weird. I called Rob and he has been on it immediately. He has contacted the flooring company and as it turns out its a manufacturing defect in the wood. Rob's response to me was that he knew it was going to be inconvenient, but he wanted to know when he could get a crew in here to re do the floor. He wants to make sure the work is done to our satisfaction. This is why I would totally rehire this company for another project. They care about what they do, and this is even after they have been paid. They stand by their work with integrity. Love these guys.
Maris L.
Nov 2011
The finished product was excellent. The contractor went to great lengths to make sure we were happy throughout the project. The demolition was very efficient and neat. The people doing the sheet rock and taping paid a great deal of attention to detail to make sure everything came out perfect. The custom shelving came out great. Overall, the contractor worked with us to make sure we were happy every step of the way and was very pleasant. I would definitely recommend them and are planning to use them again in the near future for another project.
Yvonne M.
Nov 2011
Like most projects of this size, there were a few bumps in the road along the way with negotiating change orders and completing punch list items, but overall American General delivered an excellent finished product. American General and their retained subcontractors were very professional and I wouldn't hestitate to recommend them. <br /> <br />
Michael S.
Oct 2011
AG Contracting organized and coordinated all aspects of the job. They called us each step of the way and even kept in contact with our insurance company. We were introduced to all that did work on our house. Rob and Rich Kloska are both professionals as are the crews that they work with. We are very satisfied with their work!
Barri E.
Sep 2011
Fantastic, polite, on-time and great with cleanup. Quality of work and workers was excellent
Licensing
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FAQ
American General Contracting is currently rated 3.7 overall out of 5.
Yes, American General Contracting offers free project estimates.
No, American General Contracting does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.
Yes, American General Contracting offers emergency services.
No, American General Contracting does not offer warranties.