Powerbuilt Construction Inc

Bob put an addition on my home. I was impressed with how well the addition was leveled to the existing home. The addition was started in May and finished in late September. The work overall was very good, a minor issue that came up after the addition was finished was quickly resolved by Bob.

Professional job well done in every way. From quotation and planning to implementation Bob Powers was fully engaged and helped drive the process forward and keep the job moving with consistency, constant attention to detail and a sense of urgency. AAA rating.

Great job! Excellent attention to detail and made sure that we were quite happy!

Excellent job was done

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Bob was fantastic to work with and went above and beyond to ensure we had a satisfactory result. Even before we hired him, he did some exploratory work to assess the current situation in our bathroom - and was able to determine that the vanity we had ordered wouldn't work properly in our existing setup. He then went to the store and talked them into allowing us to make a change even though we were technically outside the window to make a free change. Please remember: we hadn't even hired him to do the work yet. The quality of work and the communication from Powerbuilt Construction was excellent. The bathroom he was remodeling had been a DIY project by the previous owner and there were some surprises during the renovation. Bob handled all of these quickly and painlessly and we are very pleased with the outcome. I highly recommend Powerbuilt Construction. Thank you, Bob!

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The entire process went smooth.  I like that Bob came out a couple times for consultations and planning free of charge.  I basically gave him a to do list of things we wanted done and then went on vacation for a week and a half.  When i came back, everything was done just as we had asked.  I felt comfortable having Bob keep track of hours/materials and giving me a bill at the end.  I felt that given the scope of the work and the cost, we got a great value.  We had some tricky things we needed done, especially with the shower door and new railings.  I am very happy with the results of the project and would not hesitate to hire Bob again.

I had to pay additional for the services. They gave me a proposal on pieces of work. The owner isn't much of user of computers and the girl that he had doing all of his paperwork at the office was here painting, so she couldn't be doing that. While I liked them, I wish I would have had a more professional itemization of the billing. It was only a couple of people that came out. The man that did the flooring was good. They cleaned up after themselves. They were careful,  polite and on time. They did what they were supposed to do.

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I bought the Angies List Big Deal to have some general work done around, and was so impressed with Powerbuilt Construction I contracted with them to keep on working, and I was very glad I did.  They were friendly and easy to work with, and gave great advice on how I might best handle one of the many individual jobs I had for them.  They even suggested ways I could some of the jobs cheaper, although that meant they earned less.  They were okay with that since it meant a better outcome for me. <br /> I was so impressed with Powerbuilt I  have since recommended them to my brother in Prior Lake, as well as to my real estate agent who said he occasionally needs good, fast work done inexpensively on properties that are going up for sale. <br /> I will definitely use them again. <br />

He came out for an estimate, and told me that it would be thousands more than the deal was worth, as this was a major task. I decided against the job.

Bob's lack of organization, craftsmanship, and professionalism turned what should have been a fairly straight forward 3-4 week job into a 2 month nightmare for me and my family.  This project was mismanaged from the start all the way to the bitter end.  Bob hired a subcontractor named Joe, who unbeknownst to me, he had never worked with before and by the end of the job, they weren't even on speaking terms.  I had to listen to both of them complain about each other.  Bob accused Joe of stealing materials and Joe blamed Bob for days of lost work because he didn't have the materials needed.  It was an absolute joke.  Lack of progress due to lack of materials became a common theme throughout the job, never mind that I had paid 50% up front.  Shady billing practices, over-measurements, broken promises and cutting corners, Bob pretty much hit on every red flag to watch out for when dealing with contractors.  <br /> You can stop reading now and trust you are better off finding a different contractor for your job or you can keep reading and see just how utterly ridiculous this project got.  Sorry if I jump around a bit, there was just too much nonsense to keep track of and sort out and quite frankly, I ran out of characters and had to heavily edit this post.  <br /> On proposal signing, Bob arrived at my house with a bid that was $4K more than what was quoted.  He forgot to delete a line item regarding paint on the proposal he sent me.  I regrettably continued to move forward with the higher amount.  Both the proposal typo and additional cost happened again later in the project, these weren't isolated incidents.  I also had to have him re-measure the ledger board, his initial measurement was 20 ft. over the actual measurement.  Bob was unable to explain how his initial measurement was so off.  <br /> Prior to signing, Bob didn't have a paint estimate on the part of the house that wasn't being re-sided, but assured me it would be no more than $1500.  Fast forward a month into the job and still no estimate.  Once he finally got the estimate, it was $2400.  He was unwilling to honor the $1500.  Silly me for trusting him and not demanding the quote in writing.  I ended up having to get my own painter and got it done for $1500 after the job was done. <br /> When deciding what color trim to use, Bob looked up some photos on his phone.  When he handed it to my wife, he said, "Don't worry it's not p***".  What a tasteless joke to make to my wife.  Against my better judgement, I didn't kick him to the curb right then, because it only went downhill from there. <br /> Bob and his crew littered my cul-de-sac with cigarette butts, cellophane, and at one point, an empty cig box. <br /> Ledger install:  Bob never pulled a permit until after the job was done and I demanded it.  He also didn't perform the work I asked for, honoring the lateral load requirement that MN adopted earlier in the year.  I mentioned I wanted the lateral load requirement fulfilled, but Bob never delivered on it and simply pretended like the conversation never took place.  I had to arrange an inspection to make sure it would check out, Bob's incredibly lucky the EP Building Inspections Division is lax on that new law, which still doesn't sit well with me.  <br /> A day before completion of additional frame work (some rot was discovered), with Bob expecting a check the next day, I asked for a ballpark estimate.  The next day when I got the invoice, it was over $1k more than the estimate he told me just 12 hours prior.  Bob's explanation?  There were more receipts than he thought and the last day took him longer than estimated.  I have a suspicion he made up his Tyvek cost here.   <br /> 20%.  This is how much extra material Bob orders.  10% is the norm for siding.  At the end of the job, there was over 400 square feet of extra siding leftover, even after Bob sided an entire wall that wasn't supposed to be done (when I found out he was planning on siding that wall, I let him do it, mostly out of curiosity as to just how short he would end up by the end of the job and because I knew the pre-finished siding was unreturnable and I'd already paid for it).  I asked Joe if that amount of excess was normal, and he told me it wasn't and Bob clearly over-measured.  I confronted Bob about it and he told me that's how much extra he always orders.  Guess where that 400 sq feet went?  Straight into his trailer.  I also paid for 48' feet of treated ledger, of which only 40' was used.  He actually extended his 20% rule to ledger board.  Where did that 8' extra go?  Take a guess.  This overage was borderline criminal, in my opinion. <br /> Joe's crew never worked more than 6 hours or so a day.  Only a couple times through the course of the two months did they work past 4pm or show up before 9 am.  The very first wall they sided was half wrapped and half sided several weeks while the crew moved on to other walls.  Why did they leave that wall, I asked?  "It's not a big deal" I was told.  Here I thought I was paying for a professional job.  I was sorely mistaken.  I had to demand they at least fully wrap the wall if it was going to sit.  <br /> The very first day of the project, no work was done because Joe forgot his saw and Bob didn't check to make sure all the materials needed had arrived.  Apparently there was touch up paint and caulk missing.  A good contractor would have simply purchased a new saw so they could get something done. <br /> Day 2, I come home to find a large pile of garbage in my front lawn and cheap house-wrap haphazardly stapled to the first level of my home, I paid for Tyvek.  Bob inexplicably declined to get a dumpster, instead choosing to haul the refuse away himself.  This pile sat overnight.  Over the course of the job, other piles of refuse were collected in my driveway and remained for sometimes weeks at a time.  All because Bob wanted to save some money and not get a dumpster.  He picked up the trim pieces the next day, but left a pile of nails and the bush clippings for me to clean up.  As for the Tyvek, I immediately called Bob and asked him why he installed cheap cross-woven wrap instead of Tyvek.  He tried to tell me they were the same thing.  They aren't.  He then asked me to tell him what the proposal said, as if he didn't really believe it said Tyvek.  He was wrong.  So he finally agreed to get the Tyvek.  I asked why the wrap was even being put up before rotting areas of existing siding (he sided over existing) were addressed and Joe told me, "Because we wanted it make it look like we got something done today".  Bob wasn't able to procure any Tyvek for a week, because EP Menards was out of it.  He didn't bother going anywhere else. <br /> Ledger install continued into week 2. Tyvek started going up midweek.  I don't think any siding went up the end of the 2nd week, maybe even the start of the 3rd week.  The first few levels were crooked with uneven laps and uneven gaps.  Gaps between LP smartside laps are supposed to be 3/16" to allow room for expansion.  No spacers were used for the first few walls and gaps ranged from 1/16" to 1/4".  I pointed out these inconsistencies to Bob who dismissed them.  Another full wall later, he finally addressed the inconsistent gaps and made Joe use spacers.  It was around this time Joe started not showing up, leaving his crew hanging.  Gaps weren't uniformly spaced either.  Some walls have an H pattern on the lower half and a staircase on the upper half. <br /> 3 weeks into the job, the ledger repair was finally almost complete and about half the siding was done.  At this point, Bob told me the siders were taking a week off and he needed a check for the next 25% of the job the very next

We had 4 season porch with remodels throughout the house.  It was very nice experience with Bob, the owner and contractor.I would recommend them to anyone who is in planning on next house remodel.  I recommended them for my parents' house remodel as well.  They are happy to have them as a contractor. <br /> <br /> <br />

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The headline: <br /> Do not hire these guys. <br /> The summary: <br /> It took 5 MONTHS to complete a job that they told me would take 3-4 WEEKS.  They repeatedly attempted to take advantage of me by rarely showing up for work (working under 10 hours per week on average), billing me multiple times for the same things (for a total of about $2500 in duplicated costs), billing me for things they told me they'd do for free, billing me again for things that were included in the original proposal, and even billing me for things they never did. <br /> And at the end of it all, they wanted me to pay $23,025.98.  Not including some electrical work that the city had to perform, it comes to over $425 per square foot (for reference, the tile I picked out was under $5 per square foot, and I supplied my own vanity and lighting fixture). <br /> The details: <br /> - Before any work started, we mutually agreed to delay construction until they were free from prior engagements and able to focus their efforts on my project - this was to minimize the amount of time I'd have to go without a functional bathroom (the only bathroom on the same floor as my bedroom) <br /> - Before any contract was signed, I asked them how long to expect the job to take.  Their owner said "I'm going to quote you at 4 weeks, but I'm going to shoot for 3" <br /> - It took them 5 months to complete the job <br /> - On at least 8 separate occasions, they didn't show up to work for an entire week or more, with no prior notice given to me <br /> - On at least 2 separate occasions, they didn't show up to work for 2 entire weeks, with no prior notice given to me <br /> - On multiple occasions, after an extended period of them not showing up, I had to call them to find out when they would be coming back <br /> - On multiple occasions, I requested a completion schedule - they verbally agreed to give me one, but never did <br /> In addition to the massive delays and non-existent communication, the invoices were also ridiculous: <br /> - I was billed on 2 separate invoices for the cabinet they put in: once for $1800, and once for $2000. <br /> - I was billed on 2 separate invoices for some additional tile work they had done: one for $806.77 and one for $636.26 <br /> - I was billed $110 for "Switch out of switches and plates" (the only 3 switches in the bathroom) - however, the original proposal includes "Replace Bath-1 vanity light, 1 switch, 1 bath fan/light shower area, 3 switches, 1 GFI, 1 arc fault" <br /> - I was billed $150 for "Unclog Bathroom Sink".  Hmmm.  I would expect a new sink that they install to drain properly without being charged extra for it...Not only that, but the sink still didn't drain when they were done! (I took a video to prove it), and I had to unclog it myself using Drain-o <br /> - There was absolutely nothing noted in the final bill to represent the 4 months of delays <br /> So far, I've paid PowerBuilt $15,738.25, and they want another $7,287.73 before releasing the lien waiver.  Absolutely ridiculous. <br /> It's probably my fault for expecting them to cut me a break on the final bill just because it took them 5x as long as what they quoted me, but to have them resort to shady billing practices to squeeze me for everything they can is the real kicker.  My advice - no matter what these guys tell you, RUN! <br /> <br /> <br />

Bob was very helpful with finding the exact siding we needed, it was really hard to find it as it's not a common one used. Bob checked the footings and replaced the poles which looks great and replaced a piece of glass so that we didn't have a replace the whole window. Thanks. <br />

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I am retired and at home most of the time so the contractors came and went rather inconsistently but the work did get done in between their other jobs.   I am not one who likes using "lockboxes" but for anyone who works out of the house this is an option. <br /> I did not realize that there were so many steps in erecting drywall, and knew that I had a real professional who likes to do his job  <br /> thoroughly and properly following professional codes when I saw his desire for exactness. <br /> One thing people purchasing this BigDeal should realize is that an hour is used up just from the workers leaving their homes and driving to yours.   So there will be less on the job time than you might have expected.   However a lot was accomplished in the <br /> "40 hour" package.    I am pleased with the results.    It was a bigger project than I initially thought it would be, but isn't every job?

It went really well.  Bob was always extremely communicative, up front about cost (as well as savings) and practical issues in terms of workability within the space- as well as in terms of materials needed.  (This became an issue because my bathroom is very small- meaning there's not a lot of leg room by the toilet any more.) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />As of this writing, we're still awaiting the final inspection- and in terms of the original Angie's List deal the fact that there was a jump from $1,500 for general contract work all the way to $10K for the final product was a bit of sticker shock, however I was anticipating that it wouldn't be that miraculously cheap.  (And to my point, I shopped around for several contractors including one here who didn't follow up because they forgot about us, gave a wildly expensive estimate, and was incredibly curt.  Those people?  You want to avoid.) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Bob and his team are great.  Use them here, or follow up with them outside of here.  Pro-tip:  He's busy, so if you're looking to get work done *now*, give them a call to set up your initial consultation sooner rather than later. <br />

We decided to finally update the main bathroom in our home and wanted to have it done for our sons graduation party. We meet with Bob and told him what we had in mind, he worked with his team and sub-contractors, and  came through on everything  and then some. Bob was able to get the job done on time and budget.  The crew  used drop  clothes and pick up after themselves daily,if it wasn't for my curiosity  to see how it was going each day when I got home, that I had to go open the door to see what got done while we where at work .we wouldn't have know that there were workmen in the house. <br /> I will be giving Bob a call again when we are ready for are next update. We are so happy with our updated bathroom the fixtures, vanity, sink ...  it looks so rich .  Loving it!

My garage originally had an 8 foot opening with a brick and siding exterior. For greater accessibility, I needed to have it widened to 9 feet and beef up the overall construction. Bob carefully removed the siding and brick, widened the opening, replaced the header and made it look like it was never touched! He was very quick and the job never required my being there. The best part was that I did not have to clean up anything. He took care of it all!

Everything went smoothly. Bob is an excellent builder. We wanted a well built home with many quality features and that is exactly what we got. He hired equally professional subs and supervised them closely. He worked with us to get all the details just right. New friends step into our home today and are to a person impressed by the quality of workmanship and by the beauty of our home. <br /> <br /> Two years after building our home we hired Bob to build us a large story and a half garage. It is just as well built and just as impressive. I would definitely hire Bob again.