Easton Construction Inc

HORRIBLE! THEY ARE VERY UNPROFESSIONAL! I was referred by my realtor to use Easton Homes to build my restaurant as they were also a small business owner. Unfortunately it was the wrong decision. They said that had done multiple restaurants, but when they actually did the job, it was a complete failure. From the outrageous amount of profits that they made, to increasing the project costs last minute, holding their hand and subcontractors to finish (even though they were the general contractor), to finishing punch list items and items done wrong (even under warranty). Bidding process/Outrageous Profits: I used Easton Homes because they were referred and the person that has referred them has profusely apologized for their incompetence and unprofessionalism. First, they claimed they had done many restaurants in full...such as Tavern on Rush (a major restaurant in Chicago), but in actuality if they did do any part of the restaurant, they were just a subcontractor doing a very small portion. They bidded the project and I went to the bank and got my business loan. We were waiting on the building permit for 3 months and they never updated me that the cost would supposedly increase by $40K (25%). Bob Berg the project manager let me know 2 weeks (August 2008) before we were starting the buildout and by then if I used another contractor I would lose another month as I wanted to be open by Christmas time. The supposed increase was due to overtime in personnel, increase in electrical subcontractor costs, and etc...the question is that why for 3 months they did not tell me or budget this, these were not last minute changes. Once the drawings were submitted for permits, there were no changes by the client (which is unheard of). I was only able to negotiate down $15K, however the last minute increase that Easton fabricated was still 20% increase from the original cost they told me when we began the permit process (drawings were already done). Which is outrageous! Fast forward and the project is finished and I get the sworn statement, Easton homes made over 50%, $50K on a 3 month buildout. Even at the original buildout cost that they had told me, they would have made 30%, approx $30K. Anyone in the general contractor industry would say a 50% profit is outrageous on a 900 square foot restaurant (buildout in 3 months). Unless you want to overpay big time, don't use Easton Homes....lesson learned. Buildout Process: I went through 3 project managers (due to their incompetencies to hold onto personnel) and they even halted my project midway due to internal issues for 2 weeks because they fired a project manager and I lost those 2 weeks and did not open until after New Years and they originally said they would finish by Dec 15th. They were so unprofessional, they claim to be organized through Procore, but they can't keep to their own timelines. There were many times the project manager could not lock up and had to call me, I had to go over there and lock up so that my items did not get stolen, very unprofessional to ask a client when you are getting 60% profit. One day I walked into my store during construction and the door was unlocked for hours as the subcontractor did not show up and I had over $50K of equipment delivered the day before! I had to constantly call them why they were not on timeline..they are the GENERAL CONTRACTOR...and I am paying them a 60% profit to monitor my project, isn't that their job??? They were over 3 weeks delayed again for 900 square feet project and only offered half my rent...news flash to Easton Homes we make 20x that amount in that time period. I was so dissatisfied with the whole process and they had the audacity to ask me to write a letter of referral...what a joke! Referral for no one else to use them and go through what I went through Punch List Items: They were horrible at getting things done timely...it took them 3 months and they were always blaming either the sub or that it may not be covered. HELLO we just opened and we have a warranty for 1 year. It gets better! When we first opened in Jan in Chicago, we had no heat and it took them 3 weeks to fix it...why??? They should have sent someone the moment we called, I had to constantly call Bob Berg and David Steander. When it was finally fixed it was due to the sub that they hired have the motor on reverse and heat was in the ceiling tiles. Two months later, we had issues with our grease trap and David Stender wanted to blame us that it was our fault that we were having issues with our grease trap for a store that has been opened for 2 months (brand new grease trap, sink, and plumbing). We were also having issues with the HVAC, there was one day that it was warm day and we could not get air conditioning, they did not respond for months until it was almost May. Between the grease trap and the HVAC, I finally had to hire a lawyer since they were not responding. With the grease trap, it was the plumber doing the plumbing incorrectly and during this process we also find out that they did not have drains in the kitchen area (even though the architect) drew it, I had to call the City of Chicago plumbing inspector for them to actually do the job. More of my time wasted. Then with the HVAC the issue was that the subcontractor that they used did the wiring wrong. Both issues Easton Homes should have responded earlier and done without legal involvement. Even though we still had 6 months of warranty they wanted to blame that it may not be under warranty? Other issues were the RFP walls started becoming unglued, we had to get 10 walls replaced The point being is that this is new construction and the store had only been opened for 6 months and we were having major issues. Overall, they were unprofessional in every way. Unless you want to give money away and then get a horrible job and waste mounds of time use Easton. I would never use them again in my second store or refer them! They were a headache!