Steele & Loeber Garage Builders - Northwest

Process to plan for a new garage and get a quote went fine. Due to the bureaucracy in the DuPage County Building and Zoning department, a nightmare. Out $385 in permitting and processing fees due to the ridiculous demands of the county, and no garage. Zero stars for DuPage County, 5 stars for Brian at Steele and Loeber who did his best to get a garage built, but the demands made by the county made it impossible. 8/9/21 - Out of fairness to Brian at Steele and Loeber, I changed this review from three to five stars since the county made it impossible for him to build. The review is for his efforts. I'll have to review the county separately.

Was great. Until I found a chip in concrete. Walls for a 19x30 hip roof garage was to be as owners bro sure States 16 inch on center standerd . A 30’ wall 16 on center means from one way to other. Not to ends to middle. Owner will not face his company’s mistake then tells me most home owners do not know what to look for. I have text and video showing his mess he has crated. And it passed inspection. So ther for as long as it passes it dose not matter how it is framed. He will say he went above and beyond or over bilt it. Till you go on to drywall it and tape it more work more money for home owner. Weather you like it or not. You are stuck with it. Will not admit any thing wrong then try to say you do not know what you are talking about. Vary polished responses to his text. admit no wrong can not take any responsabilty for his companey. His best line is, farther from the truth. wheels it like a sword. Every body else at fault. In the pic below you see the 2x4 close togeather.between them is 15' center of bilding. well you pull a tape from the one on the left and pull it to your right no 16 on center, same for 2x4 on the right you pull the tape to the left no 16 on center same on rafters.thay do not use birds mouth brought that to attention had no anser told him about the hurrican clips he responded i don't know why they put them on. Im disabled in trades 31 years this is not what i payed for and to be insulted on top of it, and told i do not know how to frame. name is john be more then happy to share any and all of my info in regards to video and and text i have had with the owner, PHIL . my emil meenaghanjohn6@gmail.com

It went great! We love it. We should have done it before. Everything was done the way they said it would be done. I would recommend this company!

Everything went well - on time, on budget, good communication. It was nice to have a no-drama project. Would use again.

The job was done exactly how Murray Levin stated & within the time frame that was indicated in contract. Once the job began it moved steadily until last phase city inspection & approval. Two pluses are the price quoted is what you pay no extra cost added after the project begins unless customer makes changes & lifetime warranty.

STEELE AND LOEBER is NOT TO BE TRUSTED! DO NOT EVER CONTRACT them to build your garage! 6 months after the build we still have garage siding coming down and NO ONE will return our call. We are SO UPSET that we ever reached out to them. Maury sold us this great package of only the finest laborers using top quality materials and responsive customer service. We were sold a lie. Maury assured us that Steele and Loeber uses its own construction staff. Not true, they use contracted laborers who we often had to call to see when they would be showing up next. On perfectly clear days and without notification, Juan and his crew missed a few outings to complete work. Right away we had concerns with the quality of work. When we informed Juan that he did not measure and make correct cuts and that we noticed boards full of holes used on the roof, his crew did nothing. We called Phil from Steele and Loeber to get involved and he had the builders repair their shoddy work. When the garage was ?completed," Steele and Loeber was quick to make sure that you signed their check but did not care about the level of customer satisfaction. We brought to Phil?s attention that the garage siding was still falling down. A Steele and Loeber technician was assigned to our case. When we talked with the technician, he informed us that Juan was supposed to be supervised due to his previous history of sub-par work. The technicians were scheduled to come out on a Saturday to fix the sub-par siding, 10 pieces were to be replaced. Two days before the scheduled appointment, we came home to find two technicians working in our backyard. They had jumped our 6-foot fence and trespassed upon our property (cracking one of our fence boards in the process). This was it! We called Steele and Loeber twice to request a manager call us to discuss their employees. No phone calls, no apologies, NOTHING! And to top it off, that siding is still coming down from the garage! This experience has been incredibly stressful for my family and we have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Save yourself the headache. Spend your hard earned money with a company that cares.

I obtained 4 bids from different contractors. I chose Steele and Loeber because their estimate was fair, Phil thoroughly answered all my questions and they took care of everything in a very professional manner. Due to the unseasonably warm weather this winter, we were able to pour the concrete just before Christmas and then build the garage just before New Years day. Everything went well from the get go. Phil ensured we had all the permits, the concrete team was fantatic and really made it look easy. Then the electricians were out and ran new conduit from the house to the new building and were in an out within a few hours. The framers, the door installers and everyone was on time and completed their work professionally. I really don't have any complaints and I highly recommend Steele and Loeber.

I was happy for the most part but I have a problem now, when it rains water comes in on one side of the garage. It seems they did not build it high enough so the water does not come in.

The garage leaks water inside through the ground therefore, we cannot put anything in it because I am afraid it may get ruined. Originally the cement was very cracked, which is why we wanted to have it re-done. Six months later after Steel and Loeber poured the cement it started cracking. We contacted them and they say that this is how it is, and that cement cracks easily. We have been complaining and they don't want to do anything. Now the cement looks really bad. It is cracked in many places and it is not only cracked but it is falling apart. There are holes in the cement everywhere in the driveway. I am afraid of what is going to look like a year from now. I have gone to other places where the cement has been poured and it doesn't look like that. They did it wrong, but don't seem to care. I have researched and found that cement that cracks because too much water is used. A cement poured right can last 30 years according to people that work with cement.

GENERALLY, THE QUALITY OF THE WORK WAS GOOD AND THE PRICE WAS COMPETITIVE.

OVERALL IT WAS PRETTY GOOD. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME COMMUNICATION ISSUES WITH THE GUTTER INSTALLATION AND ADDITIONAL ELECTRICAL WE REQUESTED, EVERYONE ELSE WAS PROMPT AND PROFESSIONAL. THE REP, GARY OWEN, WAS OUTSTANDING. HE WAS INFORMATIVE AND WAS THERE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY UNTIL THE JOB WAS DONE. THE CONCRETE AND DEMO PEOPLE WERE EXCEPTIONAL AS WELL. THE OWNER OF THE CONCRETE FIRM WAS OUT WORKING WITH THE GUYS AND MADE THEM REDO THINGS HE WASN'T HAPPY WITH. THE GARAGE IS WELL BUILT AND LOOKS GREAT. THE WHOLE PROCESS SEEMS TO GO ON FOREVER AND THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE INVOLVED I DON'T THINK IT WILL ALWAYS GO SMOOTHLY. HAVING GARY BE AVAILABLE THROUGH IT ALL IS THE DECIDING FACTOR IN RECOMMENDING THIS COMPANY.

THE COMPANY WAS EXCELLENT IN COMING OUT AND SITTING DOWN WITH US TO DISCUSS OUR OPTIONS AND SHOW US BLUEPRINTS. THEY THEN WORKED WITH THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK WHICH IS VERY TOUGH TO WORK WITH. ONCE ALL PERMITS WERE FINALLY APPROVED, THEY MET OUR SPECIFICATIONS EXACTLY AND DID SUCH A QUALITY JOB. WE COMPARED THEM TO OTHER POPULAR GARAGE BUILDERS AND STEELE & LOEBER'S SERVICE, AFFORDABILITY, PROFESSIONALISM, AND ESPECIALLY QUALITY WON OUT. WE FOUND ONE OTHER MAJOR GARAGE BUILDER HAD GREAT QUALITY TOO BUT WERE MORE EXPENSIVE.