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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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"Donnie showed up right on time. Solved my siding repair issue by locating the correct replacement panel- and installed in less than 24 hours. Perfect gentleman wonderful quality and exceptional value. You donâ t need to call anyone else for quotes! THANKS! - Harry in Herndon, VA"

"We were very pleased with the quality of work delivered on our project to repair our indoor stair railing. Over a period of two decades our cat had used the railing posts as a scratching post. We were concerned that the repair might not be esthetically pleasing without a full replacement. We were delighted that a pleasing and economical solution was delivered for this project in the promised timeframe. The assigned worker communicated well, offered options and delivered beyond our expectations."

"I had a small roofing trim repair/replacement needed after one of the recent storms. Jonathan from Storm Troopers, a small company, was the first to respond. After setting up a few estimates, I felt very comfortable with Jonathan's expertise and plan for the work. The repair was done quickly and professionally. I highly recommend Storm Troopers for any roofing or siding work. His price was reasonable and he was a pleasure to work with."

"I cannot state how happy I am with the work done by Presidential Exteriors. After not having any luck getting other contractors to do the work I needed done, I became aware of Presidential Exteriors when they completed a siding project at a neighbor’s home. After looking at their reviews online and checking out their website, I contacted them online for a consultation. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from them within 24 hours, and to have a remodeling consultant (Kirill) at my home within a couple of days. Everyone was great to work with, listening to my wants/needs, and helping me with advice on a unique roof drainage issue. The team was also patient with me as I changed my mind a few times. Once the work started, I was even more impressed with them. All of the crews were great to deal with—very polite, courteous, and professional. They kept the workplace clean and kept me informed throughout the project. I try to stay actively involved, and everyone was more than willing to answer my questions and make sure I was happy. The project manager (Ryan) was great to work with and put up with my many questions, as were the people I dealt with at the main office (Tom and Chris). In the end, I was extremely happy with the work done by the crews. I had four doors and three windows replaced (thanks Matt, Eric, Jose, Mike T, Mike, Adam); and siding/trim replaced by Mr. Lee (a true artist in his trade) and Roberto; and various other construction repairs/drywall & painting by Juan and Jorge. I thank each of them and hope that I did not forget anyone. Also, a thank you to Jennifer at the main office who kept things going on the back end. I highly recommend Presidential Exteriors to others—they are a top notch company that genuinely cares about their customers, and have very much deserved the strong ratings they have earned on this site and others. I would definitely use them again if needed."

"The young man that came to see my missing shingles on my roof, was professional, informed, and polite. The only issue was that the company does NOT conduct repair as I needed. The company only replaces the entire roof. I am glad he came and advised about replacing the roof if we decide to do that and decide that we can afford it. Right now I need to repair the missing shingles. and he/ his company can not help me."

"ExteriorMax replaced the siding, and gutters on the house. The quality, responsiveness, and value were superior across the board. Strongly recommend them to others seeking this type of work."

"Step 1 for my project was replacing the original soffits, trim and gutters. My house is much better now that those things have been replaced. Step 2 will be having them replace my original siding. I like their products and ability to communicate through the multi step process."

"Omar was professional and very responsive. He diagnosed the issue quickly and provided a plan for addressing the leak and subsequent water damage. His team arrived on time and worked quickly and professionally. The fixed required fixing damage beneath existing siding and house trim. Due to its age, we didn't want the siding and trim replaced because the color would match the rest of the house. The team worked diligently to preserve the siding and trim (not easy with metal trim) and replaced the underlying water damaged material. Would definitely consider the company for future improvements or repairs."

"Casey works for me to get insurance company to pay the whole roof replacement. I would recommend him for any roof with hail or wind damage."