Kirby Construction

unknown

<p>Not well...work that was begun in Dec did not finish until July for this small project....14 x 24 garage, single car.</p> <p>The owner/contractor was inattentive to detailed architectural plans I had spent hundreds of $ on and failed to oversee his sub contractors which resulted in several major oversights.  Digging my foundation, wiring to my pool was severed.  This ended up spliced with a junction box in my yard now rather than rerun.  A back door exit from the garage was omitted when pouring the foundation, so the poured concrete had to be cut twice...first attempt leaving an approx. 17" threshold to hurdle for entry...second attempt successful but leaving an obviously unfinished hacked up presentation.   The back door to this day is poorly installed.   The front foundation was also poured out of spec....leaving my garage door precariously closer to the actual house than specified for an awkward approach to the garage. Additionally, relative to major concerns, according to specifications the garage was to include a sink and workbench near the back door.  No allowance was made to this area to run the plumbing prior to pouring the garage floor leaving me with the only option to either move the sink or do without.  I eliminated the sink altogether and had to insist on the workbench just to get it done.</p> <p>While Mr. Kirby was generally pleasant to speak with in person once he'd attend to my project or concerns,  his responsiveness overall or lack thereof to rectify issues that were clearly contractor error was infuriating.  My last interaction with Ken surrounded the placement of a roof gutter I requested moved that he decided to spill directly onto my garage roof rather than back into other gutters.  I had to leave multiple calls and emails, remind him that he committed to fixing this until he scheduled a day to come....I waited home from work to be stood up without the courtesy of a call.  He has yet to respond.  I am done calling.</p> <p>Last point...my new automatic garage door failed this winter. Upon calling the subcontractor who installed it I was told he could not service my new installation because he was never paid by Kirby construction.  Ultimately he did for which I'm grateful but buyer beware and be sure Kirby construction pays his subs because he received full payment from me!</p> <br />

<p>There is some kind of problem happening in the background with the owner.  Seems like a nice guy on the surface, but he doesn't get it.  Although all his subs were mostly great (they moved the appliances without a board underneath and gouged my hardwood floors - I mean, who does that?), the owner jerked us around for months.  Totally non-responsive, pretty sure he lied to us continually.  Took our money then delayed the job for months so that when he did get to it, he could "knock it out" really fast, which didn't happen.  I never knew if anyone was coming to work on any given day.  When they did come it was 10-2 or 10-3, and the most they worked was 4 days a week, but sometimes it was 2 or 3 days.  l saw another review online of someone having work done in November, and I'm sure the owner was splitting his crew between the two jobs.  That guy was pretty unhappy too.  I gave the owner a drop dead date to finish, he didn't, so I kicked him off the job and took credits against the work still to be done.  Owner kept saying I would love it all in the end, but he made us sorry we called him in the first place.  Don't like to kick a guy when he's down, and if owner is having personal problems, I hope he can work them out.  </p> <br />

It is our duty to let consumers be aware of this type of general contracting. Just when you think things cannot get any worse, it does. The quality of the work is good but the general contracting is horrible. He does not answer calls, he has a good contract (which is a lure) but he doesn't follow it. He was supposed to finish the work by the end of August and now we are in the middle of November and we are still not done. Once he took all of our money, he put us on the back burner. We are no longer a priority and it is very frustrating. I must say that his workers are kind and efficient when they do show up. But Ken won't schedule them to show up. And his subcontractors talk to us about how they haven't been paid in weeks. This has been one of the most frustrating and exasperating experiences to date. This is not HGTV by any means. All we want to do is get the work complete and he cannot do it. We are seeking someone else to finish the project <br />

After a couple of weeks and no word, I emailed him and found out that the manufacturer (who was heavily overloaded with orders) had delivered windows of substandard quality, and Ken had then returned. A couple of more weeks, another set of returned windows. Finally, March was upon us and I'd missed the entire winter to save on heating. I requested a cancellation and a refund of my deposit; Ken agreed. Unfortunately, due to other work falling through, Ken was not able to refund my money at the time; it is now 10 months later, and after a series of excuses (building permit hasn't come through on a big job, etc) I am hoping that Angie's List can help facilitate a resolution here.  I don't understand why the manufacturer couldn't have refunded him the money for the windows in the first place, if they were of poor quality. I also don't understand why it would take almost a year to refund my money, and frankly feel like a fool for having let this drag on so long. 

It went well.  The weatherproofing work lasted longer than I expected as it was really just a stop-gap effort until we could fully do a rebuild.  The finish carpentry work on the soffet was very detailed and turned out great.  Kirby and team were busy and we needed to get a couple guys over to hold and install, but after a short amount of back and forth on scheduling we got it done.  Looks great. <br />

Overall we were happy with the outcome of our projects.  Bob was the member of Ken's team that did the bulk of the construction work, and really he was a pleasure to have in our house, always courteous and really went out of his way to help out with things that were outside the scope of the actual work (e.g. we had a dishwasher leak completely unrelated to anything else happening, and he cleaned that all up for us and even helped install a new dishwasher). <br /> I'll go through each of the sub-projects: <br /> BATHROOMS <br /> We are very happy with the bathrooms.  The designer for the team, Sandy, did an awesome job with the bathroom plans and helping with the selection of all the finishes for the bathrooms.  (Sandy also helped us with paint selections for the rest of the house.)  Ken's tile guys do an excellent job.  When we purchased this house the bathrooms were a real sore spot (nearly stopped us from buying it), but now we have 2 bathrooms that we really love.  Our only complaint here is that we had 2 custom cabinets (one small bi-fold closet and one larger medicine cabinet) that are not quite up to the same level of quality as the rest of the bathroom. <br /> HVAC <br /> This was subcontracted through Tim Kerins Heating and Cooling.  They installed 2 units, one for the upstairs and one for the downstairs, converting our existing forced hot water baseboard heat to ducted forced hot air in the process.  This ultimately took much longer than we anticipated to complete, but we are happy with the outcome.  We did have a problem where the upstairs unit had a minor leak, and Tim came out quickly the next day to fix that.  <br /> CEILINGS <br /> These came out great; the plasterers did quick work and there was no evident loss of height in plastering over the existing textured ceilings.  <br /> PAINTING <br /> We had some significant issues with the painting.  The original group Ken subcontracted was terrible -- painted no more than one room per day, got paint on our couch and floor, was generally sloppy with edges and corners, and then abandoned the project when only about 1/4 complete and were never heard from again.  After several days of no showing and no word, Ken brought in a second group which did a much better job.  However, even they left some of the work unfinished (predominantly because the bathrooms/etc were still under construction), and so the job was ultimately finished by Ken's team (Bob, specifically).  There are still some areas that really could use some touch-up; nothing significant or obvious on a first pass, but with a fine eye there are areas where the old paint color bleeds through a bit or there is a touch of paint where it shouldn't be -- things that would be normal if we had painted it ourselves, but which really are not up to par for a professional painting service. <br /> NEW WINDOWS <br /> Ken recommended and installed Harvey windows for the whole house, which was a nice upgrade over what appeared to be original 1970s windows.  They completed the entire project in 1 day (after a lag time for ordering the windows), which was impressive. <br /> UPSTAIRS REDESIGN (conversion of small bedroom to master closet) <br /> Bob and co. closed off the original entrance to the room and opening up a doorway from the master bedroom.  It looks seamless, as if that's the way it always was. <br /> GENERAL COMMENTS <br /> We were happy in the end with the quality of the work.  However there were several hiccups in the process (most notably with the painting) that were very frustrating at the time.  The project itself could have been better organized and planned, and that probably would have gone smoother if Ken was there supervising on a more regular basis (he only ever came by if there was a problem or to pick up his payments).  Admittedly, we were under significant stress having just purchased and moved into this house, and with a fast approaching deadline of 2 babies on the way; and it's never ideal to be living in the house when so much work is taking place.  <br />

See above <br />

The day after the assessment they were here installing drip edges and gable vents in the middle of January! We have used ken in the past and were very pleased with his work and his promptness. Will definitely use him again for future projects and would recommend him to friends and family. <br />

Deck project completed by Kirby in November of 2013. <br /> Very helpful in the design of the deck but also listened to concerns and answered all questions we had. <br /> Cost estimate was right on.  Ken kept us up to date on the progress of the project and any cost difference for changes we had made.  Very well run, professional company.  <br /> Looking forward to working with he and Tim on future projects.  Already have one lined up for 2014! <br />

He didn't really have much for me but he's definitely been here and were in the process of getting the job together. His price was somewhere in the middle of what I was seeing from everybody. I feel he's reputable, honest, trust worthy and will do a good job.

Went to my moms place and installed new hardwood floor in the attic that she specified. The nails put a hole in the heating pipe and did not notice until heat was turned on 5 months later. Just had plumber run new lines. It Happens.. Nice job thought very neat <br />   <br /> Installed new wood railings on back stairs. <br /> Floor in kitchen second floor and other odd jobs <br /> Vinal sided the garage and trimed new window in rough opening. Siding could have been installed better can see tar paper underneath but acceptable she was happy <br /> <br /> <br />

He did a fairly good job with keeping the mess/dust contained, which is nearly impossible since he was grinding away the old mortar.  The color was a little off but like grouting it's hard to get exactly what you want.  He's price was far the best estimate.  And I know people have complained that he wasn't responsive.  But he was completely professional with my job and he even took the time out to explain things to me like the differences in mortar.  Not to make excuses for him but his wife was expecting a child around that time. <br />

I interviewed three people and I ended up hiring him; I thought it was a fair quote.  He has done a good job so far.  He gave me the quote in the beginning of the year but I did not have him start until much later because I wanted to do this in good weather.

Professional, timely craftsmen.  The work was done efficiently and the site left in clean condition.  I will use them again. <br />

These tasks were done over the course of three different follow up jobs. The first job Kirby completed for us was the back stairs/small deck. We trusted them with the design & were very happy with it. As unforeseen issues arose, they were very communicative and open with respect to options and any price changes that would result. Final decisions regarding cost-inducing changes were always ours.  The finished product is beautiful and exceeded our expectations. Tim was a pleasure to work with - timely, kind, respectful. Excellent craftsman. <br /> Second task was the shutter/door work. As is typical, constant communication was required. There were a few hiccups with communications on both sides - on our side due to my husband and I both being involved which caused some issue with conflicting messages and a few on the Kirby side. Critical is that the issues were handled with professionalism, ownership was taken on both sides and an equitable solution was reached.  I especially appreciated the knowledge of the historic district requirements as I'm not from New England and wasn't familiar with the fact that the louvers should face up! Again, it's the extra knowledge and the above and beyond ownership of the projects and commitment to satisfaction of the client that set Kirby apart on this job.  All employees again were professional, kind & always prompt to complete the job. <br /> Third was the sink replacement which was done while we were out of town. A few judgement calls were made as they were intent on having the sink done by the time we returned as was our original goal.  Minor issue with the finish work which they graciously acknowledged and came out immediately to adjust to our satisfaction. Bob was great - the plumbing to the exterior finish work of the sink all looks great and a huge improvement over the previous. <br /> <br /> **Update 11/2014:  Employees of Kirby for the most part get an A. It's unfortunate that the service element of thiscompany has completely disappeared and is completely failing in every way.  Follow up is in single, short sentences in response to thoughtful detailed requests for follow-up on jobs.  Subsequent jobs beyond the initial we worked with them were less & less satisfactory.  Owner became less and less responsive. Professionalism and integrity totally lacking and will not use this company again nor would I recommend.  <br /> <br /> Shutters originally provided in this estimate were ordered wrong size (by us).  Not certain how their team didn't notice the sizes being wrong before they painted however, we'll take ownership since we ordered. As not a trained carpenter myself, I would have loved someone to have walked me through the process.   Despite this, Ken offered to repaint the new and hang at no charge indicating that he'd placed only an initial coat of paint on the shutters and would hang them temporarily until the new were ordered and supplied. He would then paint at no added cost. How nice we thought. Unfortunately, the shutters weren't placed securely on the house and in the following year two blew off in storms. Further, as we weren't able to sell the initial lot of shutters, and since we are now intent on parting ways with this provider, we decided to leave the shutters as is and to have him place the final coat of paint on the existing set & to permanently affix them. To our shock, he claimed they were fully painted - completely changing his story.  I would have been shocked to hear this previously, however, after reading other reviews am now thinking it's not just us. Sorry to have had what was once such a positive interaction turn so sour and never would I have expected this - but I feel this is the intent of Angie's List - to give others insight into what it's like to do business with this provider.

Ken and his guys were great.  Everything was completed on time and exactly to the specifications discussed prior to the start of the project.  We're very happy with the end product and will not hesitate to contract with this company again in the future. <br />

Ken came in personally, reviewed the project, listened to how we wanted the project to go, and gave a fair price.  The confidence we had in him made it easy to hire him for the project. <br /> We supplied all the materials and demo'd the majority of the bathroom,  Ken and his team took it from there. <br /> Bob, Kens tiler (amongst many other skills), really put his heart (and back) into the project.  He installed the tiles beautifully, using all of the proper cement board backing, thinsets and grouts.  Kirby Construction warranties all of their work but they don't really need to, its been two months since the bathroom was completed and there is no hints of cracking of tiles or grouts.  I fully believe this bathroom will be in fantastic shape 10 years from now.  Bob finished all of the walls that needed to be demo'd for plumbing & electric, re-framed the door to make it flush with the new tiles, installed the baseboards, redid the thresholds.  Some of these items we did not discuss at the start of the job, but had to be dealt with considering nothing in the house is level but Kirby wanted to make the bathroom look professional and truely finished.  They dealt with it very professionally, only added minor costs to the overall job. <br /> The plumbing of the bathroom is exceptional.  The shower is what I'd expect to be at a 5 star Vegas hotel.  Makes everyday that much better. <br /> Kirby Construction, Ken & Bob, and the few other people that assisted, Thank you for your hard work and fair price.  We'll be inviting you back to look at all of our very many future projects in the little old house. <br />

From start to finish the construction went well with very few delays because of merchandise for building not arriving in time...not the fault of the construction company. <br />

Always on time very professional and great people to work with <br />

We had several spots on the siding of the house that needed to be replaced because they had rotted. <br /> The work started a little later than previously accorded but mostly because of bad weather and not because of delays on their part. <br /> The siding of the house is with a material that is no longer in use, but Ken was able to locate some of that material left on the local lumber company. Jim (the contractor sent by Ken to do the work) with the help of another contractor on a couple of days did all the siding replacement over several days. <br /> I am very happy with the way Jim worked. I can tell how much care he put in his work, what wasn't easy because some of the siding was very hard to work with.  <br /> Also this was a job were there had to be a good level of trust , since I was leaving up to them the decision of which spots needed to be replaced. We did agreed where the majority of the work was going to be done, but they didn't know the real condition of the siding until they started working on it. <br /> We started with a quote of 7500 and ended up paying 8050, what I think it's reasonably close. I still haven't got into a situation where I have ended paying less that the initial price quoted. <br /> I would use Kirby Construction again. <br />

Kirby forwarded my request to one of his subs, I never heard from Kirby but the guy he had call me was great <br />

BEST FROM START TO FINISH. AS WITH ALL PROJECTS SOME UN FORSEEN ISSUES BUT ALL WERE ADDRESSED BY KEN KIRBY AND TAKEN CARE OF TO MY COMPLETE SATISFACTION. GREAT GUY WITH GREAT PEOPLE WORKING WITH HIM <br /> <br />

<p>End result was fantastic. The construction took 2-3 weeks longer than estimated- some delays due to Hurricane Sandy (materials), some due to personnel not showing up when scheduled. </p> Also, communication with designer could have been better- several times we had to pull information rather than receiving it proactively. <br /> However, any concerns we experienced were quickly and professionally addressed and rectified. All personnel we encountered were excellent, friendly and professional. <br /> Since this was a new experience for us, comparisons are difficult. Overall, very pleased with the final product and would certainly recommend Kirby. <br />

They did an excellent job. <br />