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"Although we contracted and made an initial payment (1/3) on February 27, by mutual agreement the work began on 13 April 2015 to allow the work-site to dry out from the winter weather.  The contractor made incredible progress in the first two weeks demolishing the old deck & garage porch, pouring footers, raising the frame & putting on the roof.  The first crew was very hard working, here early in the morning, & leaving late in the afternoon (after cleaning up the area each day).  When rain was in the forecast, the crew would ask if they could make up the day on Saturday, which they did.  Everything we saw in the first 2 weeks was consistent with our previous great experience with Fox Creek 2 years earlier when they replaced all our siding, windows & doors. The only problem at that point was that a plain black roof (25 yr) was put on instead of the architectural roof (lifetime warranty) we asked for.  The contractor acknowledged the error and offered to replace the roof at no additional cost.  We had originally only contracted for 2 skylights so we asked if he'd install 2 more at no cost versus replacing the roof and he agreed.  We were told that everything was on schedule to complete the rest of the job in 2 weeks.  We made the second (of 3) payment on April 29 which was when the excavation work below the porch/deck was supposed to begin.  No one showed up to start this work for several days and when they did (it was a different crew from the first), they typically showed up around mid-morning and were gone by mid-afternoon.  We had beautiful weather during this period in which very little work got done.  The contractor claimed they were having trouble getting the supplier to deliver sand and crushed rock.  Since we're located in St. Mary's County which is a bit of a distance from the contractor's home base in Crownsville near Annapolis, they decided to use "local" suppliers & subcontractors (electricians) rather than those they normally use.  We found out later that the sand & gravel supplier was located in Brandywine about 40 miles from here (there are plenty of suppliers right here in the county).  When the sand & gravel finally showed up at 10:00 am one morning about the same time the crew arrived, the crew directed them to the spot they wanted it dumped and then everyone left shortly after that without doing anything.  We knew by then that the job wasn't going to be completed anywhere near the 3 & 1/2 week total time advertised.  The predictable springtime heavy rains started and we were delayed even more.  The week of May 11 was the first week we could see some progress each day.  The end product was beautiful.  A paver retaining wall was put in all around the perimeter below the deck/porch and in between the concrete slab under the porch and the pavered patio area below the deck.  

We couldn't understand why the remaining work on the porch above couldn't go on while the below work was going on.  Wiring had to be put in, and also all the finish work (soffets, gutters, trim work, ceiling made of soffet rolls - looks very nice).  Most of the holdup turned out to be waiting for the "local" electrician to show up.  The electrician (Goudie) wasn't really all that local but was from Waldorf 35 miles up the road.  Our contractor had to threaten, cajole and/or beg Goudie to show up and install wiring so that the finishing work could be done on the porch.  We begged our contractor to get another licensed electrician (there are plenty of good ones right here in the county that we've done business with).  Anyway, once the electrician showed up we had to get them back several more times because they'd forget to do something we'd asked for or they didn't have a part and we'd end up in the same waiting game.  They did end up getting shamed into sending an electrician on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend to put in 2 ceiling outlets they''d forgotten to put in, but we still didn't have any fans or lights to enjoy that weekend, by which time our contractor assured we'd be enjoying the porch.  You don't EVER want to do business with Goudie Electrical.  

To make a long story short, after a lot of nagging to get a lot of loose ends tied up, the work was finally finished and inspected the Thursday (the day) before this past 4th of July weekend.  The porch & deck are absolutely beautiful (we'll attach pictures if we can figure out how to do it - they will speak for themselves).  We got some extras that we asked for like 7" wide Azek boards along the tops of the vinyl railings inside the porch to serve as a counter top for setting drinks or small plates of food or snacks, which we've had a lot of nice compliments about.  They're the perfect height for pulling a barstool up to.  One of the things we didn't get that we expected was a decent landing area at the bottom of our deck stairs.  The crew threw grass seed and straw there.  When we asked about getting some sort of solid landing, they shoveled out the area and threw some leftover crushed rock on it and tamped it down.  When we asked if they were going to finish it (we told them they could use some of the many wall pavers that were left over) they said the wall pavers would require digging too deep. We offered to pick up (and did) some square flat stepping stones from Lowe's which we left for them.  One of the younger fellas who was there one day to meet with the inspector and had no tools just laid the stones down, stomped them down with his feet and let it go at that.  The area was not level and a downpour that evening directed a steady flow of water from the stones across our concrete slab.  We didn't bother asking again, just tore it up last weekend, leveled and tamped it down properly and reinstalled the stepping stones ourselves.

Our sense through this whole experience was that there was nobody in charge.  Besides the first crew that started the project and came later on one day to install all the soffets and gutters, it appeared to be young fellas without any on-site direction or supervision.  They did a lot of good work but there was a lot of unfinished work that we had to call our contractor up to get fixed.  If we lived closer to Annapolis or the DC metro area, this would probably have been a much better experience.  They do good work at a fair price and the owners are very honest people and have the best of intentions.  But they appear to be ill-equipped to do business in St. Mary's, southern Charles or Calvert counties or other more distant locations.  I did mention to the owner that if he wanted to do more business here he needed to do more to establish relationships with truly local suppliers and subcontractors.  Communications also need to be improved all around - with the crews, between the partners, with suppliers, subs and us, the customers.  We had the sense that the crews didn't really enjoy coming here and that we were kind of at the bottom of Fox Creek's list of priorities due to our distance from their home base.  As much as we love the final product and will enjoy it and show it off for a lifetime, we couldn't go through the aggravation again.  We would encourage folks from the Annapolis and metro DC areas who are considering a project like this (or folks who aren't in any kind of a hurry to get a project like this completed in a reasonable amount of time) to give Fox Creek serious consideration.  

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"Exceptional Custom Exterior Work on Our 1910 Craftsman Home – Highly Recommend Mark Meridith LLC! We recently hired Mark Meridith LLC to perform custom exterior work on our historic 1910 Craftsman home, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results! From start to finish, Mark and his team demonstrated exceptional craftsmanship, attention to detail, and professionalism. The trades Mark brought to our project were truly masters of their craft—each one skilled, experienced, and incredibly knowledgeable about the unique challenges of working on a home of this age. They took the time to understand our vision and offered resourceful solutions to ensure the integrity and beauty of our home were maintained throughout the process. What truly set Mark Meridith LLC apart was their unwavering commitment to quality and detail. Whether it was the precise woodwork, custom trim, or careful restoration of architectural features, every aspect of the exterior was handled with the utmost care"

"The window replacement crew was very efficient. They were careful not to disturb anything inside or outside the house. They explained the installation process very well and did a great job of cleaning up when they were finished. And I love the new windows!"

"They did great work painting our extensive exterior wood trim, repairing a section of our fascia, and installing an outdoor light. The technicians and the JW main office were both a pleasure to work with. The great thing about these guys is that if they discover a problem, they can almost always fix it themselves, since they have all the relevant skills. We have hired them often in the past and will not hesitate to do so again."

"Tae and his team were great. They arrived on time, communicated throughout the project, and completed it on time. I would recommend them to anyone with an exterior trim/siding project."

"First, let me start off by saying that I have been very pleased with all of the company's employees, how I have been treated as a customer, and of the actual work your company preformed.     
 When I first trying to locate a company to run approximately 150 foot of drainage pipe across my side yard, through my front yard, and into an existing drainage culvert, I had no idea where to look. I asked some of my friends that have been in the area for a long time, and I received a few company's with whom never returned my calls.        One day running some errands I saw a Krause Construction in a parking lot of a local business. Since I had seen these trucks multiple times in the area I decided to go into the store and track him down and talk to him face to face. which just happened to be the owner of the company himself , John Krause. After explaining my situation to him , he asked me to contact his office and handed me a business card, At no point during this conversation did I feel like he did not want me as a client because of the small size of my project, it was at thus point that I realized I was going to have a good experience with the company as a whole.     I contacted the office a few hours later and spoke to a coordinate manager about the planned project. Her kind and friendly attitude immediately put me at ease and made me realize I was not speaking that treated me as the companies I mentioned earlier. Then an appointment was made and the appointed estimator was ten minutes early. The estimate was in hand within 48 hours and was what I expected. It then was discussed that I had a deadline I had to have the work done by. On the day the work was performed, the crew showed up on time (as stated in previous conversations) they were courteous to me and the needs of my family, they worked diligently without delay. When they left it was like they were never here. They cleaned up the site just as stated in the contract . They also disturbed as little of the lawn as possible while running the pipe. I had a very pleasant experience with Krause Construction They did not try to sell me something I didn't need and I would not hesitate to use them again nor would I hesitate to recommend them to friends or family.
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"I, initially, had several windows and a door replaced. The installation team did a great job installing the windows and door. I also had Power replace my roof. The roofing team did a great job with that installation as well."

"Perfect, this crew went right to work and cleaned up the exterior area when finished."

"I needed a repair on a 17-foot ceiling, over a right-angle set of stairs, and had sought quotes from multiple websites (companies and brokers, or lists). Only two prospective hires responded. One from a different broker was unable to quote due to a car accident. The other respondent was Navids Construction team, who from start to finish was courteous, thoughtful, and professional. They were very careful not to harm or dirty my home or its contents. Most importantly, they practiced very safe construction...safe for the team and safe for my family. In consideration for my family, since the scaffolding had to stretch across widely spread banisters/railing they chose to get the work done in one day, to prevent my family from needing to walk under the scaffolding that night and next morning,. The repair was excellent: a new piece of sheetrock, smooth mudding, and paint. I will definitely hire Navids Construction again."

"Job was to widen driveway and replace area with chipping cement. Assessment was thorough and priced comparatively. Crewed was punctual, efficient and courteous. Job was completed on schedule. I highly recommend Skyline services and would used their services again (next assignment already lined up). I’m very pleased."