SUNCREST BUILDERS

Suncrest took our deposit money, began the job, took our second check, and disappeared for several months with no communications. My Mudroom was left with no exterior siding through winter! Then John advised the business was doing very bad and he was trying to take care of me. They reinstalled the siding, installed drywall, hung the door and the worker disappeared again. Construction rubbish was left in my driveway for a month, and the window sills, and trim was never installed. Not to mention, the custom cabnets were never installed. Suncrest Builders never finished the job and never refunded my money! Suncrest Builders owes me over $4000 of labor, and John advised that he can't provide a refund because the money I paid was used on another project.

Originally posted on Yelp: [*** Link removed ***] An update from the last posting. Our case is in litigation now. For more information, contact Ralph Rinaldi at [*** Link removed ***] He was recommended by another reviewer Sean who has retracted his review since his posting. John has asked that Sean and I removed our postings and I don't agree with him and refused to do so. I honestly think the consumers need to know the truth about his performances. An update from the last posting in November, 2015. (2/9/2016) I just received a Notice of Intent to Lien on my property because Suncrest failed to pay the dump truck company (BRC Industries). It looks like one of the reviewer, Sean might be experiencing the same situation. The invoice I received from BRC was dated November 13, 2015. Be aware that there is a lag time between work completion and when the invoices/bills starts to come in. Posted on 11/23/2015 Poor quality of work, poor coordination, major delays (contract signed in June 2015, only begin work in Sept and still have not completed the project), poor service, etc. John did not bother to do a walk through to make sure all the items are completed on time. I have nothing good to say about this contractor. If you want more information, please drop me a line and I would be able to share my experiences with you. Check Better Business Bureau for more negative reviews:bbb.org/washington-dc-ea…

It went extremely badly.  I still feel angry and humiliated by the whole process.  Indeed, this is the worst experience I have had (or probably will ever have) with a contractor.  I don't even know where to begin.  The ironic thing is I got his name from an acquaintance because I had admired the siding that Suncrest Builders had installed on his house.  Here are my complaints: <br /> Bad Communication and Unreliable:   After I had negotiated a price with John, the owner of Suncrest (and I think I paid far more for this job than I should have, my bad, I should have gotten another quote), it took weeks to get him to agree to a start date.  That gave me a bad vibe right from the start.  I paid too much money up front (my bad again) even before he started the work.  As a result, John rarely responded in a timely manner.  He told me that the work would take around 3 weeks.  It took 3 months!!  Even accounting for weather and some unexpected developments with his workmen, it was a tortuous process.   <br /> Examples: <br /> 1.  When I was on vacation in August, I learned through a third party that no work was being done on my house, even though the weather was fine (no rain).  I had to call John and ask him what was happening.  Only then did he tell me that there had been some problems with his staff.  I was always constantly prodding, begging, cajoling, and threatening him to get the job done.  However, when there was ever another payment to be made, he was johnny-on-the-spot. <br /> 2.  At John's suggestion, I had a deck taken down in my back patio area and I asked specifically that the door leading out to the patio be converted into a large window.  Instead, I came home one day and found a small window had been emplaced, not to my liking.  John responded that the structure would not allow a larger window.  Not once had he told me this was an issue or what size window he would put in.  That was a running theme throughout the project:  John would present with me facts on the ground without telling me exactly what he was going to do.  Very frustrating.   <br /> 3.  The project was not completed the way I wanted it to be.  The original contract called for the molding on the top part of the house to be replaced with PVC.  But then John said there were unexpected difficulties with the sheathing and siding on a part of the house, and this would increase the costs.  So, I had no choice but to negotiate having him just paint the molding instead of replacing it.  I felt helpless because how could I argue with his facts?  I just know that what was promised was not delivered. <br /> 4. Throughout the whole project, John left trash in my back patio area.  For nearly the whole 3 months my back patio was trashed.  Because the work took an ordinate amount of time, John's team left scaffolding in the alleyway between my house and my neighbor's, causing a lot of understandable friction.  <br /> 5.  My last interaction with John is another case in point:  John's team had removed the long vents from my outside sewage pipes as part of the siding project.  I later learned that they needed to be put back because it was a code violation, not to mention my neighbor and I smelled sewage gas as a result.  So, on Jan 19 I sent John an email to inform him that he needed to put the vents back.  He only responded after I threatened to report him to his professional board and the City of Alexandria.  Even accounting for the blizzard in January, this simple fix was only done on Feb 17.  <br /> The actual work done was good, I admit.  But again, it came at a far greater expense than should have been the case, not to mention the pain and suffering of having to deal with Suncrest Builders.  A friend who has a comparable home had his siding put on with new windows (I did not have new windows installed), and his cost was significantly less, and it took less than a week to complete the job.  Suncrest Builders did not devote the necessary resources or workers to do this job right or in a timely fashion.   <br /> <br /> <br />

<p>I wanted Suncrest to succeed from the beginning.  John Cantrall is a very nice guy and the PM he has working for him Brian is as well.  Unfortunately nice didn't translate to a job well done.  Here is a summary of the issues we had with Suncrest:</p> <p>- Numerous delays in the schedule with minimal communication.  We signed a statement of work around August of 2012 and the full job was not completed until February 2013.</p> <p>- Numerous quality issues.  (1) The basement bedroom cannot technically be called a bedroom due to a design flaw in the floor layout from Suncrest.  (2) The French Doors leaked extensive air from the moment the doors were installed.  Several attempts by John's crew did not fix this issue, however, as soon as I hired a professional 3rd party door installer he was able to fix the issue immediately.  He also mentioned that the door was improperly installed.  (3)  The roofing panels they installed on the screened in porch started blowing off approximately 1.5 years after their install.  Originally John indicated that he would cover this, but then reversed his decision and decided that this was not under warranty because it was a high wind area.  Well, our regular roof is over 10 years old in this 'high wind' area, and not a single panel has ever blown off.  (4)  Design flaws in the screens on the porch rendered the screens unfixable.  I have three children under the age of 5.  The screens are going to get pushed on and I understand that.  Unfortunately once the screens came out, the way that Suncrest designed them, there is no way to fix them without taking complete Azec facia boards and a few other panels down.  (5)  Several railings on the deck stairs just randomly started falling out.  There is no way to fix them without completely reinstalling that railing portion. (6)  Several adjustments to the original deck design due to lack of knowledge about local code or improperly visualizing the effort up-front.  (7) Several sudden changes to the crew working on the job.</p> <p>- The main issue I have with Suncrest is just how we were treated from the beginning up through the end.  If you have a check waiting for Suncrest, they will be over to pick it up within a few hours.  If you have any issues at all, expect a response-time of weeks and months, if they respond at all.  Once the money dries up, most likely you will be in the 'no-response' category.  I identified the issues with the Screens and the Roofing Panels to Suncrest on March 17, 2015.  John did not even respond to my initial attempts to get in touch with him.  Finally after a few months, John came out to look at the issues and said that they would take care of them.   I even offered to pay for some of the repairs, and John said no that these were covered.   Long story short, it is now June 30, 2015.  John attempted to send someone out this past weekend to address the issues, but that person was a no-show.  This was the nail in the coffin to me.  I let John know that we would just get a third party and pay for the repairs.  We're now approaching MONTH FIVE from when the issues were first identified.  He called me up to ask if he could get someone to come out tomorrow, however, in doing so he mentioned that he would only be fixing the screens, the roof was not covered under the warranty.  I found this insulting and unprofessional.  After three months of waiting, and a face-to-face meeting where John said that he would fix the roofing, he lets me know that they wouldn't be fixing it.  After I objected he said that he 'guessed they could take a look at it' even though it wasn't covered by the warranty.  However, since this contradicted what John had already said in a face-to-face meeting with me a few months prior, the trust just isn't there anymore.  </p> <p>I wanted Suncrest to do well, I really did.  Any objective person will see that we have given them every opportunity here.  This is the first review I've ever written on someone!  I don't normally do this.  I stand by my earlier statement that they are nice guys.  If you choose to work with them I think you'll encounter each of the issues that I've mentioned here.  </p> <br />

mostly tile and plumbing work.  good crew and John was very responsive.  I have recommended them to many people. <br />

I got them from Angie's List. They were great to work with in terms of interaction, but they were a little bit slower than I wanted them to be. The delays seemed to be caused by no planning. But they got done by my ultimate due date. The work was great and everybody was great to work with. I would use them again as long as it was a small scale project.

When we were looking at contractors for our project, we met five contractors and received five estimates.  There were a couple places where Suncrest really stood out.  First, they were the only contractor to provide a detailed estimate that allowed us to see how much each item would cost.  This made it easy for us to determine what things we could do ourselves and what was worth getting their help with.  Second, they were the only contractor to get ALL details of the project right in the estimate.  A lot of other contractors gave us estimates for items never discussed and failed to provide estimates for crucial items.  Third, when we did a walk through with John (Suncrest Builders President), we mentioned we wanted the renovated space to have hardwood floors.  Every other contractor said, "Yes, we can give you hardwood floors".  John was the only one to say, "Why do you want hardwood floors?  You have a concrete slab and hardwood floors wouldn't be the best choice."  We appreciated that he didn't just tell us what we wanted to hear, but instead provided solid advice.  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Through out the project,  Suncrest hired three separate sub-contractors: demolition, concrete, and flooring.  All the subcontractors they used were very clean, efficient, hardworking and professional.  For the demo and concrete, there seemed to be a significant delay in getting the subcontractors to our house.  The demo crew showed up 4 days later than planned.  The concrete crew showed up 3-4 weeks after planned.  The first two tasks of our project were demo and concrete, so at the beginning there were a few weeks where our house was sitting with no work being done. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Suncrest performed the framing, plumbing, electrical, drywall, and trim installation with their own staff. Everyone was extremely skilled, detailed orientated, and respectful.  There weren't as many delays to the project when Suncrest's employees were scheduled to work on our house.  Any delays were due to the nature of the project and not because they didn't show up. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Through out the project, we had very little difficulty getting ahold of John or Bryan (our Project Manager).  If we didn't get ahold of them the first time, 95% of the time they returned our calls/emails within 24 hours.  This was more than enough communication to make sure we could have our questions answered and feel comfortable with how the project was progressing. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />During our project, there were a couple areas where Suncrest really shined.  First, we redid the floors in our kitchen.  The original floors were tile.  The tile needed to be removed and all the grout and tile adhesive had to be removed.  Due to the unexpected difficulty of removing larger pieces of grout, the tile removal took longer than expected, which meant the new floor installation was also delayed.  After Suncrest realized how difficult the tile was to remove, they had everyone at our house making sure EVERYTHING was ready so the flooring installation wasn't delayed any further.  Bryan (Project Manager) was on his hands and knees scraping off the grout vigorously.  Second, we had Suncrest install a light fixture on our home's exterior.  After the first attempt, we were not satisfied with the way the light was installed.  We called Bryan to have him take a look.  He also agreed that it was not acceptable.  The same day, he was out there fixing the light himself until we were satisfied.  By the time he was done, it couldn't have looked more perfect.  In both of these situations, Suncrest showed they will do what it takes to get the job done and will listen to feedback to make sure the end result is perfect for their client. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Overall, our experience with Suncrest was excellent.  We had little difficulty in getting ahold of them when we had questions.  They addressed any concerns we had.  The end product was exactly what we asked for and looks amazing.  There were some delays, but if you look at reviews for other contractors on Angie's List, you'll see that it's incredibly common.  After this experience, I look forward to working with Suncrest again on our future home renovations. <br /> <br /> <br />

We chose Suncrest based on good reviews on Angie's List and a good feeling we had during our initial meetings with John. Their price, while not the lowest, seemed fair and transparent. Now that we are 1 month past completion, we are happy with the final product, but the experience of working with Suncrest was pretty unpleasant and we would never work with them again. <br /> The project was supposed to take 4 months and it took 6 months. I understand that delays happen, but they were almost never communicated to us. The crew just wouldn't show up, often for a week at a time. John (owner) and Bryan (foreman) seemed to have no idea what was going on with the other person, and we had an extremely difficult time getting them to call us back. Bryan rarely communicated our change requests to his crew on the ground, so work would have to be redone, or was delayed further while we worked this out. Suncrest also had bad relationships with many of their sub-contractors. The work done by some of them was sub-par. For example - the new AC unit was poorly installed and flooded the living room floor. It was very hard to get the HVAC sub to fix this, since they wouldn't return John's calls for a week. <br /> Bryan was supposed to be the foreman, but I felt like we had to nit pick every little details or Bryan would do things in an easy, slipshod manner. For example, they would miss areas of trim painting and then request payment for finished the trim portion of the work. Or they would say the kitchen cabinets were finished, when upon closer inspection by us, several of the doors wouldn't close properly. We felt like generally they had poor attention to detail. For example, all of the existing door hinges and door knobs in our house are gold, but without asking, they installed silver hinges in all of the doors, which doesn't match the gold knobs. Not a huge deal, but when you are paying over $100K, you expect that they will think about things like this. <br /> The only positive part of working with them was the price. Overall we came in less than $10K over the estimate, all due to upgrades and additions to the project we request midway through the work. John was very fair about the prices of the change orders and didn't try to take advantage. <br /> So overall we are happy with the final product, although it took a lot of "harassing" John and Bryan to make things right before we would pay them. But terrible communication means that we would never use them again, nor recommend them to any friends. <br /> <br />

Suncrest took my deposit and I had to contact them 3 weeks later to find out when they were going to start.  They didn't start until 3 weeks after that.  Communication was terrible unless they wanted money.   It took 4 months to do what other contractors told me would take 3 weeks. The work was substandard. The "finishing guy" had to spend a week fixing what the other Suncrest laborers had done. Had to get an attorney to get the dumpster removed from the driveway. Filed a complaint with the BBB for them to repair tub and driveway.  They acknowledged complaint with BBB and I have not heard from them since.  Suncrest turned my dream into a nightmare. <br />

Given that this company has an A rating, I was appalled to discover that John was not upfront about his subcontracting and permitting practices.  We questioned a very large line item on the contract for "permits" and were told that in addition to the actual county fees, they needed to cover other "expenses" associated with the permits.  Huh?  In response we were told we could pull permits "in our name" and would not be responsible for Suncrest's fee.   We agreed, though now I know I wasn't exactly clear what he meant by "in our name".  When I first applied for the permits using Suncrest as the contractor, I was told by the county they are not licensed to do plumbing or electrical work.  I thought that was strange since my husband and I both remember John saying they do not use subcontractors.  John got very nervous and defensive when I asked him about this.  He told me they do contract out this type of work, though interestingly he could not initially remember the names of his subcontractors and was adamant that he did not want me to use their names on the permit.  In the interest of keeping things going, I ultimately got the permits online using my name as general contractor for a fraction of the cost Suncrest quoted and it took all of 30 minutes.   The down side is that I gave up any protection against shoddy work by doing this.   <br /> I was home for a good part of the time the work was being done on our bathroom.  I know for a fact that there was never a licensed plumber or electrician in my home.  The guy doing the demo, tile and everything else did all the wiring and plumbing and there was never any discussion about it.  These were not overly complicated tasks in our case, but licenses are required for this work for a reason!    I suspect even if I did pay the fee for Suncrest to pull the permits, all of the work still would have been done by Suncrest's employee, with the extra fee going towards a kickback to the plumber and electrician who allow Suncrest to pull permits in their names. <br /> Overall we were satisfied with the work they did.  Responsiveness to the initial contacts was very slow.  Work was started 2 months after we were told they would be available. <br /> We had talked with a few other companies before Suncrest, but we were not comfortable with the rigidity of the offers and limited materials choices.  Suncrest's initial quote was very basic (and missing some key upgrades I thought I had mentioned).  However, John was willing to revise and add things until we were comfortable with the plan.  We chose all our own materials, which was good in our case, but also a lot of work.  I did not get nearly enough guidance from the contractor as to the amount of tile to order.  As a result, my tile order was significantly low, and by the time the work started 2-3 months after the tile was delivered, I had a very hard time getting enough matching tile to complete the job and was forced to use some unattractive pieces of tile I would have rather returned.  As I was buying the tile directly, this was left entirely to me to figure out.  It seems like at least at the start of the job (if not much earlier), someone from Suncrest could have looked things over to make sure the materials were adequate. <br />

Water damaged drywall in several areas of the home needed to be replaced along with the trim. After repair, all of the areas needed to be painted which included a large basement. I had them put in a pass through of a wall to connect two rooms and redirect our flow and provide natural light. All of the employees that I interacted with were very professional and detail oriented. My favorite employee is Oscar, who spent awhile with us and did all of the drywall and paint work. Great to have someone in your home that you trust! <br />

We really appreciated Suncrest and we will definitely work with them again.  They were honest, fair, competent, professional, quality-minded, and friendly.  They were invested in the success of the project, not just doing what we asked, but really thinking about it, and helping us make hard decisions along the way.  Throughout the project, I felt like this was a partnership in which we and the builders were a team, all working toward a shared goal, which was an excellent quality job at a very reasonable price.  I am delighted to say that this was achieved.  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />On a big project, you end up making a lot of decisions halfway through, because that is when you can most easily figure out what you want.  In these instances, Suncrest was always very adaptable, accepting our new requests graciously, and re-planning their schedule frequently to make it happen.  I always felt that our change requests were priced fairly.  That was a big deal to us.  When you're in the middle of a big project, you feel really "stuck" in terms of negotiating power.  Costs were always clearly explained, and the pricing structure was always applied consistently, so as a result, I never felt railroaded into paying too much for anything.  When a big work package had to be done outside Suncrest by a specialist company, John (the owner) would sometimes recommend that we work directly with the subcontractor--either his suggested one, or an alternative if we preferred--rather than subcontracting it himself and taking a cut of the proceeds.  That saved us money, and gave us more control.  When there was a problem or miscommunication, which happens in any project, occasionally John would just take care of the problem at his own expense.  Other times he would negotiate very respectfully, to a mutually satisfactory outcome.  I never felt anyone was taking advantage of us.  In sum, I felt that Suncrest was very fair, and really appreciated that. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Another positive that really stood out was the professionalism of the workers.  Most of Suncrest's people had many years of experience.  Some even had college or associates' degrees.  Generally each specialized in a discipline (framing, plumbing, carpentry, painting) and was very good at it, and quick.  All were friendly, professional, respectful, and results-oriented.  They were also pretty clean and tidy.  Construction always makes a mess, but the workers kept this to a minimum. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />I'm an engineer, and when choosing a vendor to build anything, we have a saying--"good, fast, cheap: pick two!"  You will never find a company that reliably gives you fast, cheap, high-quality results, so think carefully about which area you want to compromise.  For us, quality and cost were the 1st and 2nd priority.  Time was 3rd.  In our project, the work did not always proceed as fast as we would have liked.  Sometimes this was because Suncrest is not a huge company, and they had to juggle a limited staff among a lot of jobs.  Sometimes it was due to factors outside anyone's control, like permit delays from the County, or the difficulty of building on our lot, a steep hillside, which really complicated much of the work.  Finally, sometimes the delays were our own fault.  Suncrest often had to wait for us to buy materials for them to install, or to authorize them to proceed when our finances were tight, or (most frequently by far) to make decisions or draw sketches of exactly what we wanted them to build.  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />For anyone considering working with Suncrest on a big or small project, I would offer the following advice: <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />1) If quality, fair pricing, customization, and a good, honest working relationship are the most important things to you, go for it!  In those respects especially, I really do not think you could find a better builder than Suncrest.  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />2) Construction and remodeling involve a huge number of details that have to be communicated and coordinated between you and the builder.Suncrest is pretty organized, but still, things can easily slip through the cracks.  Once your project is underway, you will have many informal conversations about the work with either John or a project manager (Bryan in our case)...but usually not both.  If they are not taking notes at the time, or even if they are, you may later find that they have forgotten about some of the things you discussed, or, have not communicated certain tasks to the workers.  You may also forget to follow through on commitments you made, like buying hardware or making key decisions, which might be dependencies for them to continue work. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Here is a method for solving those problems:  <br /> <br /> * Summarize your discussion in a concise email.  <br /> <br /> * Send this email to both John and the project manager.  <br /> <br /> * Print out a copy and leave it on the counter for the work crew to see. <br /> <br /> I started doing this more often toward the end of the project, I think that when I did, it really helped us all stay on the same page.  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />In sum, I would absolutely, without hesitation, heartily recommend Suncrest Builders. <br /> <br />

We signed a contract on 6/12/12 for the work that was to be done.  The work was started in the second week of July.  When the job was initally started he contacted the county and was advised that he would have to split the job into 2 parts.  He could build the garage and then when that was completed he would then be able to start on the addition to the back of the home.  We were not notified of this until after he started the demolition on the previous add ons.  He never got a final approval for the garage until January of 2013.  At that point we were asked to pay for the additional work up front and the work was not done until April.  The project is still not finished.  It has been almost a year at this point and we were told that it would take 3 months to complete.  The foundation in the rear of the house has been set and that is all.  He has been paid for 83% of the job at this point and he is no longer returning phone calls or emails.   The punch list items for the garage have not yet been addressed and included in his proposal he was to clean up after any work that was done and we have had to do that as well.

We had a hot and cold experience with SunCrest. When John, the owner, came out to give us an estimate of the work, he was on-time and full of ideas for us. This was the third or fourth estimate that we had received for the work. <br /> When we received the quote, he was responsive to our questions and timely. We selected SunCrest based largely on the reviews on Angie's List and the price. John had initially said that the project would be 4 weeks in total. We ran the quote past a family member who are in the business and they felt that pricing was fair but the payment schedule (25% at agreement, 25% at the start, 25% at the inspection and then 25% at completion (which turned out to be after the final state inspection)) was a little aggressive. <br /> <br /> Things went downhill quickly: <br /> We were told that the work would start in the middle of January. When we heard nothing from them for several weeks, we were at first concerned. We were told that we would have a walk through prior to starting with his team as a transition from him to his project manager. We had asked for a revised set of drawings that took several weeks to get (one week John had been out of town which is understandable). Finally on a Thursday in early February, John asked us if we'd like to start the next day or the following Monday. <br /> <br /> Demolition was quick and the initial framing was done in just a few days. We had asked up front about being cognizant about the water issue and wanted the walls wrapped to prevent any water from seeping back into the drywall and this was something that they had previously not thought of doing. We had to gut the basement previously due to mold and then needed to waterproof the basement prior to rebuilding. There were weeks that went by without any progress made and no communication from SunCrest. We'd check every day to see what was done. <br /> <br /> Additionally, we started asking from Day One about amounts of materials needed, dates for ordering etc... We received a call the night before our shower plumbing needed to be installed asking us where it was. We were never notified of what we needed (nor knew what it actually was) so I needed to scramble to order parts and have them overnighted to ensure that they were installed in time. We continued to ask for the necessary materials and amounts and finally about 2 weeks before we needed everything we were given the list. We had to rush to get the necessary materials. They did provide us with contacts at Ferguson's and the Tile Shop which was helpful. I never actually got the answer about how much flooring I needed (thankfully I guessed correctly). I had to call John the evening I went to order the tile about the necessary amounts. They work with the Tile Shop often and should know their ordering schedule but given the delay in when we received the amounts, I needed to place my order in Tyson's and then go down to Springfield to get it since they had a later shipping date. We over ordered based on their recommendations and while we are able to return the tile, I have three half used bags of grout and other things that I will never be able to use. <br /> <br /> There was miscommunication between John and his PM about the "included costs" which we ended up having to pay for that was never specified in the contract. John had planned for 6 total lights and his PM looked at the contract and assumed that they were responsible for all lights and allowed us to state where and how many lights we wanted and we ended up with 15 (a costly mistake). <br /> <br /> They did work with us when we decided (after learning of the necessary amount of tile needed) to completely tile the wall around our fireplace. The finished product <strong>looks great</strong> and <strong>they were most proud of that wall. </strong>However, we had asked several times during the process about the necessary codes for the fireplace. Did we need a hearth? Did we need to ensure that there is proper spacing? etc.. We ended doing the research and AFTER the floor was finished they offered (with about 12 hours notice) to put in a hearth but never actually provided the necessary information. We decided ultimately to pass but we had given them 3 weeks to provide an answer. <br /> <br /> SunCrest made assumptions about things and didn't always check those with us. From the start of the project, we asked that a closet that had been two separate spaces remain separate, we ended needing to remind them and continue to hound them until the very end. Additionally, we had asked several times over about putting shelves into one closet to act as a pantry (which had been relayed to John during the initial discussions) and we happened to get a call from the PM who was purchasing supplies for the closet at Home Depot and he had said he was planning to put a bar up in the closet so we needed to stress again that we wanted shelves in there and had planned on that all along. <br /> <br /> The crew would arrive at odd times (which again is understandable given that they are working on multiple projects etc..) but often we wouldn't know when and how long they would stay. I had my alarm system go off on a few weekends since I didn't expect them to be there. There was even miscommunication between their various teams. The floor layer would show up after 4 pm and work until 8:30 or 9 at night as they didn't schedule his time correctly. <br /> <br /> Towards the end of the project, we ended up having weeklyish calls for a progress report since they were so far behind and so bad with communication. <br /> <br /> Given their multiple delays in the project, they were gracious enough to paint the basement at their cost. <br /> Overall, after 13 weeks (I think there were 8 weeks where nothing was actually done), the basement is finished. It took them a little extra time to get to the final punch list items due to a delay with a light that needed to be ordered last minute (and I paid extra to assume speedier delivery since I had thought that they would finish it sooner). Even then, they failed to show up when scheduled. <br /> <br /> <strong>Overall we are happy with the final product</strong> <em>but</em> the effort to get there and needing to stay on top of them for what seemed like everything wasn't worth it in the end. <br /> <br /> <strong>UPDATE: </strong>After the storms that blew through in early June, we had new leaking in our basement through a window.  This wasn't SunCrest's fault but John and his team was quick to come out and remove the damaged dry wall, allow it air out and then reinstall and finish the damaged area. It has been a long saga but I am certainly glad that they are willing to support clients after the fact.

I thought they did a great work. Their quality was really good. Their people were all nice and communicable. They came in a little under their estimate, which is good. All the workers were very professional. They were a pleasure to work with. We've actually contacted them for another quote, but we haven't had them out yet.

We are very pleased with the outcome and would happily recommend Suncrest to anyone.  John Cantrall, the owner of Suncrest Builders, struck the right tone with us right off the bat.  He responded to our phone call promptly, came out and met us almost immediately and grasped completely the scope and feel of what we wanted to do with our house.  When he sent us his estimate, it was so thorough that we were convinced he understood what the project entailed. <br /> Now at the end of the project, we feel the home is as we always envisioned, and John and his team are wholly responsible for helping us realize our vision. <br /> We worked with Suncrest's architect on the design, which was a satisfying experience.  The architect had excellent ideas but was also happy to oblige us on our preferences.  Part of the way through the project, we discovered that we were expecting a new baby.  The framing of the second floor was just about to begin, and we would need to alter the layout to create a better bedroom for the new arrival.  John worked quickly and cheerfully to come up with a new upstairs plan, which worked better than the original.  That kind of in-the-moment responsiveness meant a lot to us through this project that from our first meeting with John to finished house will have lasted about 18 months. <br /> Bryan, the onsite manager, really keeps things going and has complete knowledge of what is happening on with our property at all times.  He has a great way with the workers and as a client it is always a pleasure to interact with him.  He kept focused and upbeat even when we were feeling uncertain or frustrated, which helps to get things back on track all the sooner. <br /> We can honestly say that each and every person who worked in our house was a craftsman and pleasure to work with.  The carpenters, electricians, plumbers, tile installer (superb!), painters, flooring installers... the people John hires and subs to are top notch.  Our home's quality reflects the quality of Suncrest employees.  We have our favorite workers, people we will genuinely miss seeing when Suncrest is completely done and gone from our day-to-day life, but every person was good and easy to talk to and work with. <br /> Actually, there was one subcontractor we did not get along with well, and John immediately replaced him so that we could work with someone better.  We both appreciated that John heard our complaint and reacted so quickly so that we could have a better experience. <br /> With a project this size, there were some inevitable problems... structural problems that held up work and communication problems that created added frustration.  The structural problems we encountered could not have been anticipated.  In all instances Suncrest worked in a very common-sense manner to correct these problems and build the house so that it was done right.  When beams were rotted or structures were unsound they would meet with us onsite and show us the problems first-hand and explain what was needed to make it right.  In many cases we didn't have any choice but to do the extra work.  However, I felt that John always gave us a fair price for the extra work and in no way price-gouged us along the way.  In fact, I believe our overage on the project was less than 10% of the total project cost (outside of upgrades we wanted for cosmetic reasons).  In this way, John built trust through an arduous process. <br />   <br /> The communication problems almost were harder to deal with and unfortunately undermined some of the confidence in the project when we felt the most vulnerable.  We were really looking to John for solutions to complex problems that we felt only he could resolve, and it felt like he was pulling back when we needed him most.  Every day and week that passed without an answer or work going on created more stress and nervousness.  Keeping us in the loop, even to say, "I am not yet sure how we will resolve this, but we are working on a solution," would have gone a long way during those times.  We look back on the kind of problems we encountered and realize how difficult they really were to handle.  However, we wish the lines of communication could have been more open. <br /> Overall, the problems we encountered were resolved in a way that was satisfactory to us.  I suppose that is all that matters.  We end this project feeling great respect for John and all the workers affiliated with Suncrest and will think of them often as we enjoy our practically new home.  We were prepared for the worst... we have all heard nightmare stories about contractors... and even though we had a few problems (how could we not?), feel only happiness and a sense that it was more than worth it in the end. <br />

During Hurricane Sandy we discovered a leak in the ceiling of our bay window in our dining room.  <br /> We contacted several contractors including Suncrest for estimates to fix and repair the damage. We evaluated each quote for cost and thoroughness.  <br /> The President of "Suncrest" himself came out to assess the damage.   <br /> The estimate he provided included removing the trim, drywall and insulation (surrounding the window), installing new drywall and insulation, inspecting the overhang/roof over the window for signs of what caused the leak, caulking and/or taking necessary action to fix it. The quoted work was the most consistent with the adjuster's initial estimate. Even though the quoted price was several hundred dollars more than the adjusters quoted dollars, we decided to hire Suncrest to do the work.  <br /> Suncrest requested a check for 50% of the cost upfront before they would put us on their schedule. I provided them the check on 24 Jan 2013 and they scheduled the work for 6-8 February. I had to arrange with my own workplace to be home during that timeframe so they could perform the repairs.  They cashed my check immediately, which I thought was a little premature. Usually deposits for work are held until the work begins.  <br /> One business day before the work was to begin, Suncrest postponed the start date due to their having a ?backlog of work? caused by a storm that passed through our area.  They pushed the work off for a week to 13-15 February 2013. I fortunately was able to change my arrangements with my workplace to accommodate this schedule change. <br /> The President called and said that he?d either call or drop by the night before the work was to begin (or at a minimum the next morning), to go over the details of the work to be performed.  He did not come by or call.   <br /> On the day the work was to begin, the Operations Manager and his craftsman arrived.  He briefly went over the details of the work to be performed (to include taking out the wall around the window, replacing the insulation, hanging and finishing new drywall, replacing trim, inspecting the overhang, fixing the leak, etc.). He also said he was going to bring in his best painter to paint the room afterwards, since we have such a beautiful house and he wanted it to look like new when they were done.   <br /> He soon left, leaving his craftsman to do the job.  The craftsman removed about 1/3 of the drywall and insulation. With my help we were able to identify a couple of small leaks in the flashing around the ceiling by testing with a hose. The flashing needed to be replaced so he replaced and caulked it. We checked it again the next day and the leak was gone. <br /> He inspected the open spaces for any residual moisture and he decided to close up the wall rather than replace all of the sheet rock.  He added some insulation to the ceiling of the bay window and replaced the drywall he had removed originally. When my wife asked if he was going to take out the rest of the wall out, he said ?no?.  I looked inside the open wall area and I agree the rest of it didn?t necessarily need to be replaced.  He left for the day, and I noticed that the drywall that he replaced was not cut with as much precision as I have seen others perform in the past; there were large gaps between the pieces.  I spoke with the Operations Manager to discuss the work, including the fact that the craftsman did not intend to replace the other 2/3 of the wall as was quoted.  He assured me that the end state would look better than new.    <br /> The wall was then taped, sanded, and prepared for painting. The craftsman began painting the room.  He couldn't finish the job by the end of the third day on the 15 February 2013. He had to return on the 19th and 20th to finish the job (the 18th was a holiday).  I had to take two days of personal time to accommodate this schedule slip so I wasn?t exactly thrilled but I adjusted to the delay.  <br /> A day or two after the job was completed the Suncrest's President called.  My wife spoke with him and told him that the work looked good.   <br /> She did, however say she was concerned that only 1/3 of the wall had been taken out and replaced even though he and his Operations Manager stated that it would all be taken out and replaced (as did the estimate), just to be safe.   <br /> She mentioned to him that she was disappointed that she had been told two different things i.e. what was going to happen and then what actually happened.   <br /> A little emotion entered into the conversation at this point and the President defensively offered to tear out the wall; to refund some of our money for drywall; but then would charge for ?an extra two day?s worth of work to find the leak?; which was only ½ day in reality; I know because I was there to help the Craftsman, and besides it was already included in the estimate.   <br /> In the end, he asked when we were going to pay the remaining balance (probably the actual reason for his call). He was surprised to hear that the check had already been given to his craftsman at the end of the job just as he had requested. He apparently thought we were holding the check back.         <br /> To be honest I am glad that the Craftsman didn?t have to do all of the work they quoted because I could not be home with them any longer than I was - this job was under-resourced and took too long.  <br /> We had far too many disconnects between my wife, the president, the operations manager, and the schedule. <br /> Why? You might ask. Because the boss never came to the jobsite to make sure that actual quoted work was being done.  When asked about it he responded with "don't worry this is our best man" and while that might be true - and his best man did a good job - the company did not communicate well. <br /> They need to work on their communication with the customer, be consistent with keeping appointments - if you say I will come by or call then do it. <br /> In the end don?t get defensive with the customer when asked about parts of the job that don?t seem consistent with the quote.  Jobs will change - if the work that needs to be done changes let the customer know. <br /> The bottom line:  <br /> The work Suncrest Builders did in our home does look great. <br /> Still no matter how good it looks - the juice may not be worth the squeeze. <br /> The fact that we paid 50% of the quoted price two weeks in advance to get on their schedule and we received one business day notice to slip a week; that they quoted 3 days to complete the work but took 5 days to actually get less work done and cost me two days of unplanned leave; really makes it hard for me to consider using their services in the future.  <br /> <br />

Overall the project went extremely well.  Suncrest made good design suggestions and also found places where we could reduce costs without compromising on materials quality or design.  They did very high quality work in a timely fashion, as did their glass subcontractor.  The only change order was a result of changes my wife and i requested and Suncrest accommodated.  They kept the work area very clean, with minimal dust, and kept it from getting into the rest of the house.  <br /> We are very happy with the final results.  Suncrest's final total cost is about 15% under what two other well-known home improvement estimated.  Suncrest stood by its original estimate, while the other two original estimates grew as the project details become known.  The other contractors required that all materials orders go through them, which caused those prices to be higher than we paid by dealing direct.  <br /> We agreed to let Suncrest use one of our garage stalls for storing waste materials.  That worked out fine, although I should have asked them to haul at least some of it about halfway through the project.  <br />

Went great. They were very friendly, and worked quickly. It was also inexpensive and they kept the mess down to a bare minimum. <br />

This is the second time using Suncrest Builders and they proved again why I will keep coming back to them.   Suncrest moved our washer and dryer from one wall and into a smaller space, allowing us to recover the old W&D position for a much larger folding room and closet.  There were definitely some challenges to this project. We have a stacked washer and dryer, and we asked them to move the new stacked units into a space that had 3-4" of clearance on the sides.  Moving the washer and dryer into position and connecting the hoses and dryer vent must have been a fairly significant challenge since you could not reach back there to easily connect everything.   The changes to our 1970's bi-fold doors to conventional hinged flat panel doors was amazing.  They changed out 3 different doors, all different widths, and all with their own little challenges. All in all, after a week of work, everything was cleaned up, painted, and looking great again. I highly recommend Suncrest!

Working around the house initially made us nervous but it was clear then and throughout the project that Suncrest?s engineers are incredibly skilled and excellent builders. Work started in June and finished in September. We were sad to see them go! Bryan, the foreman, was fantastic throughout, and communicating regularly and making sure that our lives were minimally disrupted. He answered every question we had ? even going out of their way to research energy issues not relevant to the work they were doing.  <br /> Although there was an expected hiccup of a re-design based on what they found after starting, Suncrest tackled those as timely as possible. They responded to every request or question with a can-do attitude.  In fact because of the extra time spent waiting for plans to be re-done and re-assigning crews to finish the job, they elected not to charge us some of the overrun charges that come with a job of this scale.  <br /> The stairs far exceeded our expectations; we were completely blown away. To say they installed new stairs is like saying Michelangelo painted a church ceiling. Every detail was addressed with top-of-the-line materials. When we explained we were concerned about paint fumes, they didn?t hesitate to specially order water-based stain. They matched our existing stairs as much as possible (handrails, paint color, floor molding, even bar railing) and covered their work throughout the house so that it actually looked better than before.  <br /> All in all, I would highly recommend working with Suncrest.  They are professional, ethical, friendly and will work with you to find the right design. They do it all, from electric, to woodwork, to plumbing.  We would not hesitate to use them again. <br />

The project wasn't supposed to take as long as it did. Sadly, there were a problem along the way but nothing major. The biggest issue Suncrest Builders has is communication. Their workers are wonderful, both polite and clean. There was only 1 of the workers that I didn't care for and he only painted the walls so it wasn't a big deal. The problem we had was with picking out the mantel. We had said early on that we wanted the reclaimed barn wood mantel that had been suggested to us by John. They dropped the ball on getting the mantel on time due to the lack of communication both with us and their team. Because of that, the project was delayed until the mantel was in. Thankfully, they understood their problem and hired someone to help prevent these communication issues in the future. I think that was a very upstanding thing that they did and even brought the new hire to our house to meet us and get a better understanding of the project. <br /> Their prices were more than reasonable. We had gotten several quotes and none of them were truly honest with us. Some of them included a tile allotment, no painting, lied about being able to replaced the fireplace, etc. Suncrest Builders was honest and were able to admit what they could and couldn't do. We have a prefab fireplace. We wanted to replace the firebox but when we were unable to, they gave us options that would still give us the look we wanted. Now we have an amazing living room basement. We used to HATE going downstairs and now that's the only place we want to be. Our friends love it and so do we. We can't wait for them to do our next remodel! <br />

John Cantrall and Suncrest Builders stood by our remodeling project even when times were tough.  ALL but one aspect of our job went extremely well. Suncrest 'sstaff and all but one of the subcontractors were outstanding. The team was on time, very skilled and creative, had strong communication skills, friendly, etc.  <br /> One of the subcontractors caused at least $20K in damages because of poor work. Suncrest stopped working with this subcontractor (they had worked with them for years and had no previous issues with this sub), brought new subcontractors to fix all issues at their expense, and ate the costs of the physical damage caused by this sub. In addition, I firmly believe that Suncrest provided ?extra? free work in other areas of the project not related to the problem areas to compensate us for our troubles. <br /> I would absolutely use Suncrest again. We know how they?ll handle the job when things go bad?many times contractors just walk off the job. John?s proposal was more thorough than any other we received and he had several creative ideas that added value to our project (i.e. if you want sky lights ask for the design he developed). Lastly, they estimated 4-6 months for the project and delivered in 4 months! <br />

My wife and I decided to remodel our recently purchased home, doing significant upgrades to our bathrooms, kitchen, and <br /> bedroom.   <br /> After going through three of four contractor interviews, we finally found Suncrest Builders.  Suncrest Builders was the first company that we came across that had the policy of "you buy the material, we supply the labor" policy - something that we definitely wanted. So many of the other contractors who bid on our project would only supply material that you purchased via their suppliers; which did not always appeal to our tastes.  Keep in mind the material you provide are the ?visible? items, such as vanities, mirrors, lights, cabinets, and not the items such as pipes, wires, etc. <br /> From the beginning, John Cantrall, the owner of the company, has been intimately involved in the remodeling process.  From <br /> initial design of what we wanted to accomplish, to referring us to suppliers of material (Fergunson's, Tile Shop, etc), and using the Suncrest Builder discount, he was there to help guide us.  He met with our designer, made plenty of suggestions, and dealt with my insistent questioning of how things would be done =) <br /> When we finally decided on a design, John provided an extremely detailed quote; everything from demo, framing, plumbing and <br /> electrical costs.  From there, my wife and I reviewed the quote and decided what work we would get done, or what we would have to pass on for later; e.g., do we have Suncrest do the Hardwood floors, or build a deck, or focus on the bathrooms and kitchen? After going back and forth for a week, determining what work would be done, we signed the order and submitted back to Suncrest.  <br /> Work started fairly promptly after we signed and proceeded at a moderate pace throughout the process.  There were some hiccups along the way, either we would submit change orders, or communication lines would be crossed.  However, in the end, we ended up with a wonderful looking master bathroom, guest bathroom, new walk in closet, and a great looking kitchen.  <br /> <strong>Pros</strong> <br /> <ul> <li></li> <li>o Great personalities and people who work for the company</li> <li>o Suburb quality craftsmanship and attention to detail</li> <li>o Very detailed quotes that you can modify based on your budget goals</li> <li>o No charges for change orders</li> <li>o You can use their discounts for vendors, such as the Tile Shop</li> <li>o You buy what you want, and they figure out how to install it properly</li> <li>o They obtain permits and approvals throughout the process</li> <li>o Small company that does not sub-contract out their work, with the exception of electrical and some plumbing. This is a huge plus, but it also has a negative effect.</li> <li>o Most employees have a specific trade they work on, and they do it extremely well.  Again, this is a plus, but it can also cause delays.</li> <li>o We have additional projects we want to work on in our house, and we will be asking Suncrest to come back and work those jobs.  I have already referred Suncrest to two co-workers, which shows the trust I have in them to do a good job, since I am putting my own reputation on the line.</li> </ul> <br /> <strong>Cons</strong> <br /> <ul> <li>o Communication was not always the best in the early ? mid portions of  the job, however, they definitely improved towards the end.  I believe this is something they are going to continue improving upon.</li> <li></li> <li>o Delays to the completion of the job.  While not always Suncrest?s fault, there were periods that we did not feel enough focus was given to us.  However, since Suncrest is a smaller company that does not sub-contract their work, time-delays are inevitable because of other on-going projects.  </li> </ul> <br />

The work started on time.  We had one individual assigned to our job that was present most of the time as a working ?superintendent? <br /> to interface with the other trades and help with coordination.   A field superintendent was at the site about once a week to review issues and responded to our concerns.  It was a complex job with lots of coordination issues that were handled without <br /> incident.  The job did drag on about two weeks long than we had anticipated and no schedule was ever produced to allow <br /> us to judge.  <br /> A small issue with the stove installation, some planning issues and a lack of clear schedule were my only concerns.  Overall it was a good experience and we love the end result. I would not hesitate to use Suncrest again.  <br /> <br /> <br />