Messina Construction

We contracted Messina Construction to build an addition to our 102 year old home. John was professional, communicated well and provided ideas on how to add to the design. This project finished on time. John had people working weekends to compete the project on time. As with any large project there are issues. Some of our issues were related to the architect applying the incorrect ceiling height to the addition. Our home has eight foot, eight inch ceilings, The architect designed the addition at eight foot. John was able to work with us to correct this huge over site. When we had our record rainfall in 2010 our foundation was poured a week earlier. The addition quickly was becoming a swimming pool, John came out in the rain and pumped out the addition. We had a small problem over a year later. John was out withing 2 days and fixed it. After a few years now some issues are starting to reveal themselves. I had to spend $1000 to get the gutters fixed that had issues from day one. john had someone out originally after every corner leaked but it was nothing but a temporary fix. Some other issues are starting to show, floors squeak and other issues. More issues which have been costing me, found out one of my floor joists were cut by his plummer.

We were not pleased with the level of service provided by Mr. Messina. The first clue was when I was only able to connect with one reference which was a friend of the family and a smaller job. The second clue is when Mr. Messina could not figure out how the City of Elmhurst wanted the snow fence installed in the parkway. I thought the City of Elmhurst was being too harsh on Mr. Messina until I read a one page description with diagram on the City of Elmhurst website on how to install the snow fence. The instructions were very clear on what was required.Mr. Messina is a one man shop. His brother works for him but does not communicate with customers. I know this because I asked Mr. Messina for a second phone number after he failed to cover the exposed kitchen with a tarp before a major rain fall. I called Mr. Messina several times between 8 PM and 10 PM as the rain was approaching and my kitchen was exposed to the elements. My final message was I?m driving to your house to get you so you can tarp my house. Mr. Messina?s excuses for not tarping the house was he did not think it was going to rain. I explained to Mr. Messina that he is not Tom Skilling from WGN and the house is to be covered every night. A draft of the contract stated the kitchen was not guaranteed against damage during construction. We negotiated a 50/50 split if the kitchen was damaged. I can only imagine Mr. Messina?s responsiveness if he was not 50% liable for the kitchen. In the future, I would insist on a 100% guarantee. Mr. Messina does not present all his subcontractor bids with his proposal. There was work that he listed as Messina Construction on the payout schedule that he had others perform. For example, the siding was done by another firm. When the driveway concrete was poured three trucks and six guys from another company helped Mr. Messina and his brother. The painting was listed as Messina Construction, but when it was time to start he was looking for a subcontractor. I ended up hiring my own painter. Mr. Messina does not discipline his contractors that are personal friends. The plumbing contractor started the job late. The electrician had to start before the plumber which is backwards because plumbing pipes are rigid and less flexible than electrical piping. The plumber did not return phone calls to my initial plumbing supplier. He installed a vent stack over the second floor bathroom sink that resulted in the mirror being higher than necessary and off center. The plumber had to come back three times after the job was completed to stop the water heater from leaking. The heating contractor never showed up to the job. After a week I called a friend who works for a heating contractor. The owner came to my house, looked at the plans, and listened to Mr. Messina explanation of the job. My heating guy said the no-show sub-contractor?s plan of installing heating coils in the joist bays would not work and he would not perform the work to those specifications. The problem with installing the heating in the joist bays is they would rub and make noises. There would be no way to control the heat by room which is important because some rooms had wood that will warp under too much heat, other rooms had carpet which require greater heat, and if the tile floors have too much heat you will not be able to walk on them with bear feet. I ended up paying double to get a heating system that works. The work that Mr. Messina did complete himself like the trim was mediocre. The windows he ordered had the wrong jam size which resulted in the finished wall extending beyond the window frame. To fix this issue Mr. Messina pulled the inside corners tight against the window frame. This resulted in corners that had to be sanded down and lots of caulk. Luckily we had painted trim. This would not work with a natural wood finish. The doorway trim had a thicker piece on the top, per the original specifications. Where the side trim meets the top piece does not have a consistent reveal. Mr. Messina did not clean up the job site or secure the job site consistently. He left lunch garbage throughout the house. The exterior entrances were not always boarded up. The valuable equipment like saws and drills were put away every day. Everything else was left in place. I had to go to the house each night to verify that it was secured. Mr. Messina required additional money to install the fiber cement siding specified in the architectural plans. He cited a sentence in the contract that stated smart siding would be used. This was in lower case and did not use the full trademark name which is LP Smart Siding. We also had a section in the contract that specified anything that was different from the architectural plans and this was not included. This is one of many examples where I had to pay Mr. Messina additional money to complete the work as planned. One of the last tasks for Mr. Messina to complete was installing the interior doors. The original supplier went bankrupt. Mr. Messina took over two weeks to find a replacement. I had to insist several times on Mr. Messina to start the trim around the windows and other areas that are not dependent on a doorway. The painter started priming the walls before the doors were installed. The day the doors were arriving was well known. The supplier said the doors would arrive around noon. I asked Mr. Messina to start late that day and work later to install the doors. Mr. Messina would not commit to working later than normal. I explained that he could start late and I did not expect more than an eight hour day. The doors arrived on time at noon. When I came by the job site at 6 PM Mr. Messina was already gone. I asked around and he left the job site at 4 PM. This was un-excusable. The job was almost done and Mr. Messina decides to play a passive-aggressive game that delays the completion. I had to open a Better Business Bureau complaint to get Mr. Messina to finish the work which included the water heater leak, window/door parts, and sewer paper work. The complaint was closed twice after Mr. Messina did not respond and then re-opened when he responded late. The work was finally done with the exception of the sewer receipt. My lesson learned is to not pay contractors until all the work is done. A good rule of thumb is to withhold an amount equal to the original down payment until all the work is done. Ironically, the BBB rates Messina Construction an A. This is why I trust Angie?s List which has real customers doing the rating. Mr. Messina is very charismatic and a good talker. Do not be fooled by a contractor?s sales pitch. Look them up on Angie?s List, talk to multiple references, visit a job site to get an accurate picture of their work, and insist on seeing all subcontractor bids.