Lofft Construction Inc

I called for an estimate, I recieved a very indepth written estimate of the job(measurements, materials,etc) However it exceeded my budget. I appreciated the response time, professional manner and the follow-up.

LOFFT designed and did the construction for a one-room brick addition for my mother's home. We were totally satisfied with all aspects of the work. The architect was excellent and worked closely with us to make sure that he designed it to satisfy us. He explained what our choices would mean and offered several suggestions that improved on our oriinal ideas. When one permit problem occurred, the architect quickly figure out how to resolve it. When construction began, the workers were very efficient and were also quite fastidious. They were closely supervised on a daily basis by the construction manager. From beginning to end, the work proceeded according to the schedule that the project manager had laid out at the beginning. The final result left us with a wonderful room that completely satisfied all of our needs. We would strongly recommend LOFFT to any other people considering construction projects for their homes.

Unfortunately, our experience is similar to others that I read on Angie's List. I thought the others may just be outliers, but apparently, that optimism didn't pay off. Background: My wife and I want to remodel our bathroom. We had two ideas (1) do the tub/shower only with new tile, glass doors and a new tub + fittings and (2) do a full bathroom remodel including commode, vanity and the items from #1. We read about LOFFT in Angie's List and decided to set up a consult. Scheduling: Easy enough -- called and set up appointment for Leon to come by to gather requirements and scope out the work. Proposal: It took an extra email to Leon to get our proposals -- he apparently misspelled my name. Thus, we received the proposals on June 3rd, 2010. The proposals looked OK, but I had some questions about the proposal (for #1) we liked. Communications: Poor. I sent my questions to Leon on June 7th and never heard back. I resent the questions on July 8th and still haven't heard back (it is July 23rd, 2010 today). Overall, we are seriously disappointed and would NOT reccomend LOFFT due to the utter lack of communication/response. While we felt that Leon was professional in person and, initially that we wanted to have LOFFT do the work for option #1, we guess they don't want our business.

The first thing I want to convey is that the end result of this project was a beautiful new basement. As you can see from the scope this was certainly a complex project with many task dependencies and the need for a variety of skilled resources. We are very happy with the quality of the basement and were pleased with Lofft?s dedication to make things right and meet our specific requests. Alex and Manuel, the project manager and foreman, ensured that things were done properly and that all work was completed to our satisfaction. I?m also confident that we received an excellent value in terms of the price we paid versus the scope of work completed. The Lofft workers and subcontractors were always courteous, clean, and respectful of us and our home. By way of example, there was so minor damage to our hardwood floors and back fence, but each was fixed at their expense. Lofft was flexible as the scope of the work increased to include waterproofing and accommodating to any rework that needed to be redone. Along with the positive, we also experienced some issues working with Lofft. The first was a specific person who you may see referenced by name or reputation in other reviews for Lofft. Leon, Lofft?s salesman, was our first contact with Lofft and by far our worst experience over the course of the project. Do not work with Leon. Period. He is unreliable, dishonest, and will only waste your time. I could write pages on reasons for this, but suffice to say that you should ask to work directly with Alex, Marcus or anyone else besides Leon. The other issues related primarily to communication and promised timeframes. As I mentioned above our project manager, Alex, was always committed to making sure the job got done right, but it often took a great deal of our involvement to make that happen. Alex was our project manager, but it was often us tracking whether a task was completed on time and raising the delay if they didn?t or identifying issues that needed to be corrected and tracking those issues to closure. If you are considering Lofft for a complex project and don?t want to deal with the hassle of personal involvement in the details, I would look elsewhere. Also related to communication, decisions were not always clearly communicated or cleared with us before being made. Alex always had the best intentions, as described above, but he was often too busy to provide the project the supervision that it required. This resulted in frequent and significant disconnects between where we were told something would be completed and when it was actually accomplished. Again, I would not consider Lofft if you are on a tight timeline. The bottom line is that Lofft will provide excellent value for your home improvement dollars, but will have to endure the difficulties described above. I would recommend them to anyone who isn?t afraid to get into the details of a project or has a firm deadline to meet.

Lofft's work was great. Alex, their supervisor was prompt and very responsive to any questions and concerns. Their associate who actually performed the job (Miguel) was excellent (he also worked with a very friendly and proficient assistant whose name I don't remember.) Miguel was prompt, friendly and did excellent work in good time (job only took 4 days.) Even the EXTREME mess made by demolition and replacement of the drywall and plaster was cleaned up nicely every day.

Job was estimated to take ONE WEEK. It took 2 MONTHS. Why? Because almost every single piece of work needed to be redone. Lofft planted a neophyte in our home with almost NO supervision. Only when we would arrive home each day to discover bad tile work, bad paint, bad installation of the overjohn, was there a correction. The most amazing statement from the "owner" Alex, when asked why he was repeatedly assigning the same worker to our project was as follows, "He has to learn." Great. He has to learn on our project. We didn't sign up for OJT. We signed up for quality. Sometimes it took more than one try to reach acceptable standard. They tiled over old crumbled tile. They could not manage to drywall to a clean finish for painting. The order for our fixtures was screwed up repeatedly and the "designer" never noticed. He just passed it along for us to figure out. And, despite all the problems, they kept sending bills for progress payments, which we refused to pay. However they earned the reputation they had -- which we read about on Angie's list -- they showed none of it to us. All show -- no go. Never again with Lofft.

The estimator was punctual and easy to schedule, but after that point it went downhill. The estimator spent about 10 minutes doing a walk through as I explained what I wanted done to bring the basement up to code as a rental unit. He had a negative attitude towards the work and gave me the impression that I would be wasting my time doing the renovation. He did not have any creative ideas and also was not prepared to give an estimate - he said he'd have to return with an electrician, plumber and carpenter to give an estimate. I was so turned off by the experience that I have not bothered to call back for the follow up visit. Other contractors who have come in have been much more positive and creative, and have spent an hour or more with me going over the details and options. I have heard that Lofft does excellent work, but my initial impression was poor enough that I'll go elsewhere.

It started with a great knowledgeable salesperson who couldn't have been nicer. When we told him we planned on building the room in the same footprint (10 x 13' which was small), he suggested we consider making the room a little larger. I'm so glad he suggested enlarging it because I now know we would've regretted keeping it the same size. It should be noted that he did not pressure us at all - he was merely trying to open our eyes to what we could have. The salesman came back several times throughout the design phase to help give us suggestions. Anyway, Lofft has been excellent throughout the process and we couldn't be happier with our large room with cathedral ceilings. Lofft seemed as anxious as we were, to get it done and finished. They worked weekends (both Sat. & Sun.) when we allowed them to. Once we got the permit and started the work, they took a little over 2 months to complete the project. We were told it would take 3-4 months. The quality of the work is great. The project superintendent, Jonas, was as nice as could be. He's like family now, as is Alex, the owner of the company who actively manages the jobs too. They were so accommodating and polite I can't say enough good things about them. They never complained despite some times when we delayed them due to our indecision. I highly recommend them. When we save up enough money, we'll have them do some concrete work in the front of our house.

Though our project went over budget and over schedule, we had a very good experience with the company overall, and especially appreciated PM (Luis) and the forman (Roberto) for their responsiveness and hardwork. We didn't have any remodling experience before and chose Lofft Construction due to its reputation. At the beginning of the job, we didn't have a very smooth start when selecting material that would satisfy our needs and, at the same time, meet our allowance. This was mainly due to our lack of experience and somewhat mis-guidance from the salesman. The salesman took us shoping for our vanities at Reico without telling us the price range. Reico representatives were not very responsive and took more than a week to provide us a quotation. Their price was shocking and used almost all of our allowance. We didn't have a chance to shop anywhere else since we felt pressured to meet the crew's construction schedule. Reico's vanities have world-class quality and look fantastic, however, we would not have spent that much money for a home where we may stay in for just a few more years, if we had seen more selections. When the construction started, Luis, the PM, took over the project and helped us in many different ways. He provided a lot of good suggestions on material selections and other related issues based on his experience. He also found us another vendor and got half of the original price for our vanity countertops. He was always obtainable and came to the site whenever we needed him there. He made sure all of the work met our specifications and requirements no matter what it would take. For example, when we found one of the toilets chipped two months after the completion, he didn't hesitate to respond and replaced the chipped toilet with a new one within a week. We would definitely love to work with Luis again. Though the project went over schedule, the foreman, Roberto and his crew worked very hard for us and were pleasant to work with. We learned a lot going through this construction process. Most importantly, the better that you are prepared prior to the start of construction, the smoother the job will proceed. You need to do your homework before hand.

They were very good. The house sold in 4 to 5 weeks!!!

I was contacted within three hours of submitting my request. The first meeting was two days after that. The proposal was given to me in one day with plans and virtual reality computer shots. The work commenced three days following, They showed up on time, did excellent work, were very flexible, and committed to doing a great job. They gave an stimate and stuck to it. The end result turned out great, and I'm very happy with the whole experience. The original project was a kitchen renovation; however, I also had them do a basement renovation as well Excellent team! Great work on the basement. The quoted price is the paid price. They remodeled my small basement and installed a great full bathroom. Project took five weeks, with an additional week for touch up. These guys worked six days per week they were very professional . Have recommended to several people.

It went great from the start. The salesman was very prompt, respectfull and knowledgable. He accompanied us and helped us with selecting cabinets, fixtures and materials. The project manager was on top of everything, and the crews working in our house were very polite and clean. They were real craftsman. I would highly recommend Lofft Construction to everybody. I will definitely use them in the future.

Alex, from Lofft, was great to work with. He understood exactly what I need any accomodated me on everything. His team was extremely professional and the work they did was quick and high quality. I plan on hiring these guys again for several future jobs. Lofft is a little more expensive compared with other contractors but totally worth it.

The work was completed quickly and well. They finished within budget and all things are as they should be.

They sounded very reasonable. Once we contacted them, they came out in a pretty reasonable time.

We contacted LOFFT due to the great reviews on this site; however, after coming out to our place to take a look at the work we needed done and telling us they'd have an estimate for us "early next week," no one ever bothered to call us back. I personally don't think paying customers should have to chase down contractors whom they are trying to employ. I haven't called them back (it's been over a month) to see if they'll provide us with the promised estimate because I have to question their competency if they aren't organized or professional enough to call a potential client back. Given their demonstrated organizational skills so far, I wouldn't trust them to manage and complete work in my home. ---As I noted above, LOFFT came out to our home to look over the minor work we wanted done in our basement (drywall, add a drop ceiling, hang doors). They never got back to us with an estimate, but recently they did call us and ask to reschedule and apologized for not getting back to us when they initially came out in early April. Unfortunately, after waiting til 12 noon for my 11am appointment, I called them and they had the wrong date for our appointment. They offered to come out later that afternoon, but I declined. At this point, we really had wanted the minor work completed already due to upcoming events that would prevent us from having a contractor start in the home now. But I did appreciate the rescheduling attempt, and the next rescheduling attempt.

Excellent in all aspects. The workers were professional, neat and punctual, they suggested many improvements to the design. The quality of work was excellent. The family room looks fantastic, the multi- media center is the new gathering place of the family. I am particularly proud of my new garage, a man's dream, with buil-in storage units and tool cabinets, high tech flooring, custom lighting, electrical and plumbig installation, wall mounted vacuum unit and other "toys". Lofft professionals did the custom design and installation to my ultimate wishes. The cost was a fraction of other garage designers. Thanks Lofft!!

After receiving the estimate and paying the deposit, I asked when Lofft planned on starting the work and how long they expected it to take so I could schedule work leave to support the project. I never received a reply until a month later, one week before they wanted to start work, when I got a message in the evening that they wanted to have the Pre-Construction Meeting (PCM) the next morning, Tuesday. I told them I couldn't meet with them until Wednesday morning, I didn't know if I could take work leave the next week, and I hadn't finished picking all of the hardware/furnishings because most of the remaining items seemed to require special orders. I spent much of my off hours that week selecting the final items, purchasing paint, and attending the PCM. Two days before work was supposed to start, the project manager called and wanted me to shop for substitutes for items that had to be ordered so they could start work on schedule. I was unable find anything that fit the available space in stock at local stores, so I placed the orders for those things Lofft was not able to buy with the agreement that the cost would be deducted from the materials allowance charged. Work began on the "planned" date. Workers usually showed up between 9:00 and 10:00 AM. The work took two weeks to complete; a week longer than I was expecting from our conversations. The quality of the work was very good; some rework was required but that was generally done by the workers without being asked. Protection from dust and clean-up could have been better. Project management was disappointing. I never saw the project manager on site after the PCM, though we communicated by phone and email. However, much of what we discussed didn?t seem to be communicated to the workers unless I told them. As a result, I felt uncomfortable leaving to go to work the second week. There wasn't even a follow-up inspection of the work by the project manager to ensure that it met code; some of the electrical work had to be corrected. I never received a final invoice and the materials I purchased that were supposed to be deducted from the material allowance were not deducted until I disputed the final charge. It took a little over three weeks before my credit card was credited with the refund. My Quality and Responsiveness ratings (B) are based on the construction by the workers. If the dust protection/clean-up had been better, the Quality rating would have been an A. I had planned another project, and I was promised by Alex that they would do a better job of managing the project if I give them another chance. I agreed to give them that chance because the work that was done was good.

I used the email feature on the Angie's List page to contact this provider on April 8, 2010 for an estimate on remodeling our kitchen. Since then we have gotten no response. We are now considering other contractors for the work.

Did not go very well. Overall job covered a span of six days, not counting the two delays in commencing. Some of the work was performed off site. All arrivals to commence work were late. The supervisor was either fired or quit near the end of the process. We didn't know this until the end of the job and received an invoice for twice the contract price. At this point, contacted their home office to resolve the billing issue. Required about a week to receive the new invoice for the contracted amount via email. When I asked about deducting the down payment we provided....the response was "what down payment?". Required some time to resolve this, then contact the bank to stop payment. Lofft lost the check or it was not delivered by their agent. Then on each day of work, the carpenters arrived without the proper tools, screews, bits and pieces, etc... They did not return the hardware that I loaned them to prevent work delays. They often appeared to really not know what they were doing. Had to intervene several times to prevent damage. At the end of the project and throughout, had to remind Lofft to clean up the work area, use drop cloths and other basic procedures. I do not recommend Lofft nor would I hire them again.

The work is excellent. They not only put the shower base in but they also re-tiled the bathroom as well as painting the room. They are very accommodating. They were just a pleasure.

They gave me a good estimate and a good price for what they are going to do. They did such a good job, I have decided to go with them.

Good response time to work request; showed up within a reasonable time for first appointment but was about 2 hrs. late for follow-up appointment. Although both the Owner and the worker assigned to the job were present when the follow-up appointment was made, the worker had not placed the appointment on his schedule. I had already traveled to the worksite but had to wait until the worker could get there. Everyone I dealt with was very personable and professional. The quality of the work done was very good. I thought the price was high for the work performed but my main concern was the $30 "booking fee" added to the bill that I was unaware of until I received the invoice. Due to holiday travel and the unusually bad winter weather, I delayed payment for the services for over 45 days. So I have to, in turn, rate myself as a poor customer! My apologies again to the service provider who was very patient.

UPDATE (03/31/2010) In addition to my Angie's List review I'd left a phone message with the company. A couple of days later someone from the firm called me. The story was that their estimator had decided not to go to work the day he was suppose to come see us. No real explanation for the lack of a call ... Anyhow, I was told someone would contact me to set up an estimate. Well, it has been a week. No call. My suggestion - try someone else before using this outfit.

Lofft construction visited our home to provide estimate for replacing a beam below the addtion. This beam is a major support to rear wall of the house. They provided a separate estimate for repairing a sagging front porch roof. They provided me with an estimate that allowed cost overruns. I asked for a contract with a limit on the amount of work to be performed. Leo, the estimator, happily obliged. We accepted their proposal which was far below other estimates we recieved for the exact same work. Lofft construction completed the beam replacement and porch repair in a timely and professional manner. Jonas Tavares was the onsite manager and worked closely with us through the project. Jonas and his crew provided us with an additional estimate to replace the columns and ceiling of the front porch. They asked that we pay $500 in labor and pay cost for materials. My partner and I thought this was fair market value for the additional scope of work. In the end, we were extremely happy with the work performed by Lofft construction and Jonas Tavares.