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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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"The entire experience with Chesapeake Roofing was great. I had a leak and had 4 roofing companies come out to provide estimates. My experience with all of them was good, but Chesapeake Roofing won the contract because of my interaction with Jack and Kurt. When I first noticed the leak I reached out to Chesapeake Roofing and received a return call within minutes of my inquiry. I was hoping for a repair, but none were successful at stopping the leak. When I finally resigned to the fact that I needed a new roof I reached out to Chesapeake Roofing again and the next day Jack was onsite with his friendly companion K-9 to inspect the roof. Jack helped me understand their process fully, worked with me on pricing, and was able to schedule the replacement the very next week. This was a relief given the leak. On the day the roof was replaced the crew arrived on time and had the entire project completed by midday. Jack even came by during the install to check on things. Per their policy and my instruction, they tarped around the house to protect my bushes, siding, deck, and other valued items. When I returned later that day there was no evidence that anyone had been there except for the beautiful new roof that was installed. The house has two additions and two valleys, making it more complex than a standard roof. Jack checked in once the work was completed and has followed up promptly with questions I have had. The best part... no more leak! I would highly recommend Chesapeake Roofing. Very competitive pricing, quality work, and without question the best customer service I have experienced from a contractor. Thanks guys!"

"Perfect. I scheduled an appointment on the Angi app, and Mike came on time. He thoroughly reviewed the damaged siding on our initial visit. The original siding around our carport had a cap over the top that fell away, and the team came up with a different way to attach the siding so that problem wouldn't happen again. The crew arrived on time on the repair day, completed the task, and reviewed it with me before leaving. They provided excellent communication and service throughout the whole process. I highly recommend them and will be calling on them again for future remodeling needs!"

"Presidential Exteriors had door-to-door solicitors offering to schedule free estimates. I scheduled one. During the estimate evaluation, after surveying the exterior, the consultant (salesman) and I went into the attic, performed a cursory tour around the access area of the attic ladder, and found leaks and structural concerns (e.g. cracked trusses and water-damaged rafters). The consultant used the leak and structural concerns, in addition to the general estimated age of the roof, to push hard for the case replace the entire roof, with the promise and expectation that the roof installers would inspect the rest of the attic for any other potential structural issues we did not tour during the estimate evaluation. I accepted them for the job since I considered the issues serious enough to wrap up sooner than later. For the evaluation experience, think car dealership sales tactics but at the premises of your own home, e.g a call the manager to lower the price, same-day commitment discounts, etc. Their operation team called to schedule the job a week later. The roof installers came by two weeks after the evaluation, and 'finished' the job in two days. The work on the exterior roof itself looked good. However, even though I inquired multiple times about making sure they would inspect the internal structure while installing the new roof and was constantly assured they would, when I inspected the attic as the work crew was wrapping up on the second day, I found that even a number of internal structural issues that the consultant specifically pointed out were not addressed at all (the water-damaged areas were handled, however). In fact, during the install, they were more concerned about more trivial matters from my perspective, like removing cupolas and unused satellite dishes. Understandably, I was upset, and I called with this complaint. They sent the project manager out two days later and we went up to the attic and inspected the entire attic fully this time (I did an inspection of my own before the meeting). I asked if they had a structural engineer certify their repairs; they replied they do not, but adhered to best practices. They scheduled a crew to come out the next day. The second crew came, and I instructed them as to the work needed; they had a general sense of the job, but unfortunately not the specifics. They initially sistered one side of trusses that were cracked or weak/compromised; I requested that they sister both sides (I actually even discussed this with the project manager when he came earlier), and the crew obliged. I signed paperwork accepting the completion after verifying the work. Overall, the work done addressing the structural issues felt impromptu, though perhaps ultimately sufficient. Clearly, Presidential Exteriors has some communication issues across their operation. Make sure you know exactly what you want, and be ready to reiterate multiple times. They were interested in selling a roof and primarily only a roof, but used other related issues they have less experience with to sell the product - and initially did not even address those issues. I would have been much happier if they had referred/contracted a structural engineer to first handle/design the interior structure repair and then take on the roofing install and/or structure repair themselves. With regard to the workmanship of simply the new exterior roof itself, I have no complaints. However, they oversold their services in the end, which left a unpleasant aftertaste, despite me being ultimately satisfied that they performed the work agreed upon to the best of their ability."

"Took them about 1.5 hours; one above the first story, one above the 2nd story. They had to remove the siding around these vents, replace the vent, then put back the siding and caulk. They came on time, knew what to do, and did it professionally for a reasonable price. I had the new vents and caulk ready, so it was just labor (and nails)."

"Zach came out to do the assessment on the part of my house with damaged siding and rotting wood. He did not try to sell me anymore than I needed which was very much appreciated. The guys that delivered the siding were courteous and professional. Placed the siding where I asked them to “no trouble or pushback. The installation team was on time. The project manager, Drew introduced himself and kept me informed of the installation team’s progress. The job was done in less than half a day. Very good looking with careful attention to replacing my security camera and tucking wires under the siding and cleaning up after themselves. No wires, wood or pieces left behind! When Drew came into settle up on final payment I was impressed that he took the time to look up a feature I was having problems with o a car I bought my husband. Going above and beyond. Problem solved. Highly recommend this company especially if they send Zach and Drew."

"Overall, I had an outstanding experience with everyone from John Krause Construction. Their customer service was most impressive. They asked about and worked around my schedule, were all prompt, courteous and friendly, and showed a true desire to complete the work to my satisfaction. Their explanations of the work to be done and the time it would take were clear and accurate. They started the work in less than a week after I signed the contract, and completed it in a week. This was well beyond my expectations since a lot needed to be done, including drywall repair and painting some hard to reach areas, shingle repair, gutter cleaning, and concrete step repair. Their cost estimate was competitive and fair. There were a couple hiccups along the way, including matching the interior paint color and trouble with installing a door handle, but everything worked out ok. I would certainly hire them again for any general home repairs/improvements."

"What a fantastic team to work and to do business with. Reliable, professional and great customer service is just a few words to describe Exteriormax. From the beginning to the end of my roof & gutter installation they were on point with scheduling, professional work crew and most of all the quality of work. I am a very satisfied customer and will be sure to recommend them should I hear of anyone needing roof repairs and/or replacement."

"HCR did a great job with replacing our roof. The materials are high quality and the work (removing original roof, laying down new roof and cleaning up) was done efficiently and with great detail. HCR also offers an excellent warranty and was very thorough in explaining options and setting up the work. We would highly recommend!"

"Mr. Bishop explained what happened to cause the need for the repair. He was prompt and fixed the problem quickly and expertly! Plan to use his services again!"