BEACONSTREET BUILDERS, INC.

I would've liked him to come up with a better option to meet code requirements.

My experience was fine. I did not use them to do any remodeling.  The guy that came out was thorough. We talked over what could be done to my upstairs.

Purchased as part of angies list deal.  Came in and measured our 3rd floor and talked with us about some of our goals for the 3rd floor.  Provided high level design for the 3rd floor. <br /> Have since moved from the house so did not move forward on the renovations. <br /> They were professional and curteous.  Would consider working with them in the future. <br />

I purchased a big deal that the provider was offering. The builder came to our house and gave us feedback regarding what type of additions would be possible for our home. The next step was to have someone come out to take measurements of our house and provide us with drawings of the potential addition. The first appointment I had to get the measurements done the guy never showed up and never called. I scheduled a second appointment that time he showed up. After that I never heard anything back from the provider. I never received the drawings that were supposed to be part of the big deal I purchased. Overall, this was a huge waste of time and money. <br />

I purchased an Angie's List Big Deal for this service. They provided the service they listed and were prompt in getting back to me, but after gave us the proposal they kind of dropped off the map and never contacted us again. We need to have more expensive work done than we anticipated, but we could not afford it, so we will not go forward with any plans with this company. They came out pretty shortly after I purchased the Big Deal.

I bought one of the coupon specials where they offered a cheap consult, $100, as a loss leader for potential future business. To be far, we're on the North Shore which is a bit far for them, but I gave them an option for meeting me at my office in Boston. The initial meeting was fine, the builder seemed capable. It was a two part deal, the builder came and briefly looked at the scope of the project, then their designer came up to get more specific. The designer was over an hour late for his first meeting, without a making a call to say he was running late, just showed up late. That's never a good sign, but we got past it as he's hardly the first guy in the building trades to not be on time. He came back with rough plans for an extension on our house which we were interested in taking to the next level, but they never followed up when we let it be known we were interested in taking it to the next step. I wasn't persistent in following up with them, I sent 2 emails and let it go there. I know they got my first email because it was replied to back to me. I didn't want to establish a pattern where I needed to make contact several times before getting a response, figuring if they're not responsive before you award them project and and give them any money - what's it going to be like after you've given them the business? If the project was too small or too far for them, or they just weren't interested, it's easy to shoot off an email and say so. That's just professional courtesy in my view, but in the end they just ignored us. <br />

They were very adaptable and looked at our project with fresh eyes and came up with creative solutions to our remodeling project.

In short, hiring Chad Pessini / Beaconstreet Builders has been a big mistake and we wish we never crossed paths with him.  Scroll down to the bulleted list for the short version.   <br /> We (my wife and I) first came in contact with Chad Pessini of Beaconstreet Builders in July or August of 2012 when I was interviewing contractors for the above named work.  At the time, his pricing was average ? right in the middle of everyone else.  He seemed knowledgeable and had 4 customer reviews on Angie?s List that were glowing, so we hired him. It turns out that Angie?s List was later able to verify that he wrote 3 of them! <br /> We first hired Chad Pessini/Beaconstreet Builders for the architecture and design work ? a process that took 2 months to complete, primarily because Chad was too proud to admit we were right with our preliminary ideas of how the addition would best be laid out.  He gave us at least 3 or 4 renderings that didn?t at all reflect what we wanted to do, and had several instances of wasted space.  Finally, after about 2 months of going back and forth, Chad revealed what he deemed to be the perfect plan?the exact thing that my wife and I drew with a pen and paper and showed him the first week!  <br /> We told Chad in that first meeting in July that we needed the project to be done by March 1st because we had a baby on the way at the end of March and wanted to have the other two kids settled in their new spaces, house put back together and baby?s room ready before the new baby came.  He assured us (on multiple occasions) that this project would not take more than 4 months.  The permitting process took about 3.5 weeks, but we finally received the permit and work began during the third week of November in 2012. <br /> So, in theory, 4 months would have taken us to the third week of March.  However, Chad kept assuring us that he could make up time and that we would still be completed by March 1st.  Those promises persisted all the way up to the last week in February when it became quite clear that there was no way this project would be done by then.  But, he kept insisting that it was just ?a couple more weeks away? from completion.  We believed him because, at that point, things were moving along nicely, with the exception of 2 structural issues that were not his fault, but that his farmers dealt with quickly.     <br /> I?m writing this review in June of 2013, 7 months after this alleged 4 month project began and there is still at least 2 weeks of work left.  Having only 2 weeks of work left might be encouraging, but there are still problems, not the least of which that he can?t get materials here because he isn?t paying his bills? <br /> At this point, Chad has walked away with over $40,000 of our money and is not paying some of the key subcontractors who are required to finish our project (finish carpenters, painters, lumber yard, etc.) <br /> Here is a short list of why we would never recommend Chad or hire him again: <br /> ? Keep in mind as you read this that at this point, we are fully paid up with him and owe him only the final 3% punch list payment upon full completion of the project (plus some overages, but our total doesn?t even add up to the amount of the lien ? see below)? <br /> ? He likes to ?design on the fly,? which means there was no detailed plan from the beginning of how work would proceed.  This was not our understanding of how things would proceed, or how his design contract was worded.  We understand that there is some aspect of needing to see what you find when you open up walls.  However, because of a lack of planning, which is part of what we thought we paid for, this resulted in details being overlooked that would have made the project look nicer (mirrors not lining up with vanities correctly, wrong cabinets being ordered, etc.), despite the fact that all of the materials are nice materials.   <br /> ? We also found his allowances to be unrealistic, which caused us to overspend our original budget.  Most of the fixtures we went with were brands that he recommended, which we would have thought meant they would fit in his allowances (Kohler fixtures throughout, for example, which he recommended) <br /> ? He didn?t pay the main supplier where he got most of our materials, which forced them to put a lien on our house for $18,500, which remains as if the writing of this revew because he hasn?t paid them yet  <br />  ? Multiple long term absences from the job where no work happened: <br /> o He disappeared for 2 weeks at one point in the project.  He came back for a couple of weeks and then disappeared for     another 6 weeks or so. <br /> o He was back for a week or so and now seems to have disappeared again (for a 2 or 3 week stretch this time again) <br /> ? Yes, the points above add up to about 8-10 weeks of no progress <br /> ? He has repeatedly said that he has paid sub-contractors and suppliers when, in fact, I find out from them later that he didn?t (or that he did, but the checks bounced). <br /> ? At this point, he owes suppliers and subs at least another $22,000 before they will come out to finish (in addition to the lien that is mentioned above).  For example, we gave him a check specifically for our fireplace early in the process (October or November) and we found out that he still hasn?t paid that company, so they won?t come out to make some adjustments that need to be made for the stonework, which in turn holds up the finish of the fireplace surround.   <br /> ? We have found out from his subs (and the unpaid lien and fireplace bills) that he has not been honest with us on many occasions.   <br /> ? Time and time again, we have tried to get in touch with him via text, phone and email, but he has not responded to let us know what is going on, or to give us an updated plan.  He just ignores all attempts at communication.   <br /> So, obviously, I would not recommend Chad Pessini / Beaconstreet Builders.      <br /> <br />

We were pretty impressed with their service.  The guy was easy to talk with, and he listened to me.

This process started around October 23, 2012 when I first heard from Chad after purchasing the big Deal. <br /> I am thinking about remodeling my kitchen, but only if I can get enough space for a kitchen table. To do this might require taking down a wall to the dining room and rearranging the living & dining rooms. I bought an Angie's List Big Deal with BeaconStreet Builders. I had 2 meetings, the initial first one with Chad and then a follow up one with a designer, etc. I received by email a preliminary basic sketch and was asked for my comments. I emailed back that it wasn't at all what I wanted because it didn't open the spaces up. I think I got  back one email saying that they would get in touch with me. After not hearing back after some time I emailed a couple of times. I then did get an email asking that for a time for a  phone conference. We did have the phone conference and after going over things I was assured someone would get back to me with a new design. I then emailed again last week. The last time I spoke with Chad was on December 14th. I have not heard from anyone. <br />

Everything about Beaconstreet Builders, Inc. was perfect. After purchasing the AngiesList Big Deal for addition services, Beaconstreet Builders, Inc. called us to schedule the first appointment and discuss plans over the phone. <br /> During the 1st appointment, they helped us understand what would work and what wouldn't and where unexpected costs and problems would arise. Chad arrived on time and was knowledgeable and friendly. He took notes, and left his card promising to email and call to have an Intern come up to handle measurements. <br /> The measuring step was smooth and painless, and the intern, Derrick, was also on time and friendly. <br /> After a little less than a month, they delivered plans to us. We have not yet had time (holiday season craziness) to review the plans with them, but we will have another appointment at their offices to go over decorative choices. <br />

Not started yet. Will edit this commentary as we get going. <br />

Chad was very thorough with his contract and paperwork.  His crew was very professional and a pleasure to work with.  We have young children in the family and were living in the property at the time of the work.  All of the crew were very considerate and did their best to contain the dust etc and limit the impact to our daily routine.  <br /> Given that the property was an older home, we ran into a number of issues that we had not scoped for initially - Chad did a good job explaining these and walking us through options to address them.  When our schedule was stretched out by the town's permit and inspection delays, he brought in additional crews to get us caught up at the end.  While he is not the least expensive contractor out there, he is definitely reliable and does everything by the book.  This was important to us as we wanted to follow the right process and obtain all the appropriate permits and clearances from the town for this work. <br /> Overall, we are very pleased with the work and attention to detail.  His crew is very trust worthy, and we had no concerns with giving them complete access to the property during the work while we were out / at work.  We are working with Chad now on a second project to renovate our kitchen. <br />