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"I emphatically urge you to avoid Richard Kumpel (RBK Enterprises). My partner and I hired Richard for a gut-reno of our home. We are currently in the process of taking Richard to court. He disappeared several months ago, with work still incomplete and with over $20,000 of our money, which we had pre-paid him for that work. We have also discovered that Richard violated code in several instances and we are in the process of filling a complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety against his contractor license."

"Michael and his crew built a large addition to our house on what was once a walk up attic. The homeowners supplied approved prints, engaged the architect, and handled processing a variance with the city. Michael acquired the permit and provided the building/contracting services. The permit was acquired in August, work did not begin until November, and the permit was closed in September the following year. Overall, Michael’s direct employees (foreman, carpenters, and painters) did a good job; finish work was excellent. However, his subcontractors (plumbing, HVAC, electrician) repeatedly caused substantial trouble and showed a lack of care/understanding in their work. Plumbers shouldn’t pretend to be electricians, and HVAC contractors should engineer their install and follow manufacturer’s specifications - it’s not a guessing game. Michael himself was at times easy to deal with and understanding (like when our attic was flooded causing damage to the lower two floors), and other times patronizing and seemingly unaware of his own subs schedules. Poor project planning early on w/material lead times (windows) lead to no attic insulation over the winter & a pest infestation. Quoting & invoicing from Michael had double counted items and was obviously copied over from a previous project, while leaving out key items such as masonry work. Multiple mistakes set the project back and cost us time, sanity, comfort, and money (some of which was reimbursed). The list includes: frying the main thermostat (multiple times), shorting out the boiler control board, reversing hot/cold water lines, leaving water to the house mostly shutoff, the list goes on… None of these problems were identified by the contractors but left for us (homeowners) to discover in a string of unfortunate test scenarios during the evening. To Michael’s credit most were fixed reasonably quickly. The HVAC subs were probably the most consternating, repeatedly demonstrating a lack of understanding in their own profession which at several points nearly derailed the entire project. As the last laugh the project was ‘finished’ without ever testing the heat in the new 3rd floor, and the A/C system still struggles with low cooling demands. We would not recommend hiring them for a major addition. We do not trust their subcontractors. If you have a simple painting, carpentry, bathroom, or kitchen renos they can probably handle it."