PRM ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AIA

This builder is also a licensed architect, and drew the plans for the entire renovation and addition. Due to revised property setbacks in Meridian Hills, we had to go through a long ( a few months) variance request process with the Town of Meridian Hills and the City of Indianapolis. Mr. Marks attended all meetings with me and assisted with information that expedited the approvals. His professionalism and architectural knowledge greatly reduced my stress and provided quality information to the decision makers for them to confidently approve the proposal in spite of the unique property setting. By the time the variance was approved it was winter, but he offered several solution options so we could begin the process. His crew literally worked "around" the weather, moving the project forward. If you like detailed, quality work, this is the company! Mr. Marks literally looked at every board for wood quality and straightness. We observed him doing this many times when he would not have been aware of our attention. His crew was on time, on the job daily, courteous, and mirrored Mr. Marks great attention to detail. We loved working with his team. They were very professional and the work was performed meticulously. Artistic and pristine are other words that comes to mind. Their work is not about speed, it is about quality. They are in fact some of the most thorough workers I have ever seen. This job required the full scope of building talent - foundation work, full exterior brick and stone masonry (fabulously done), framing, drywall, insulation, sub-floor, roofing, hardwood flooring, complex tile work, window installation, plumbing, furnace, electrical, gas, and sewer lines. It involved the installation of beautiful kitchen cabinets with lighting, and a 10 ft. island, with quartz countertops, crown molding throughout, a large shelved walk-in pantry, and a full complement of appliances installed. I particularly liked the billing method PRM uses. Billing is every Thursday, with a detailed list of completed work. itemizing material and labor for each completed segment. This is based on the original itemized quote, and the consumer can track exactly where the project is in the completion cycle. There is always a cover sheet with a clear list of payments and percentage of completion compared to the original quote. This method creates a predictable plan of expense for the consumer and spreads the project cost out, rather then in the old traditional method used by most builders (1/3 prior to start, 1/3 in the middle, and 1/3 at the end). The PRM method allowed me to make changes (additions and deletions) easily with this billing method. Setting expectations is also very critical in this type of process, and PRM does an excellent job, sometimes addressing hard choices. I always felt Mr. Marks was responsive and fair, even when I didn't always agree. He provided a professional opinion and allowed me to decided. But, he also stood firm at times when the outcome could create a future liability for him or me. Mr. Marks knows his industry, is diplomatic and respectful of the client, mirroring their respect of him. I am so proud of my beautiful home and would highly recommend this company.

PRM is prompt, professional, and thorough. Details are Important and it shows in the final product. We are very satisfied with the final product.

When we came home, and I had to deal with Mr. Marks, he was polite to my face, but would go around the corner into the kitchen and mock me, apparently in an attempt to amuse his workers. He left my kitchen in a dangerous condition. The light fixture over the kitchen island was dangerously low over the cooktop. The wiring was left unfinished behind the replaced receptacle covers, including the wiring to the refrigerator. He left every plumbing connection barely finger tight, so that when I started using the kitchen, everything leaked and flooded. The dishwasher hose was crimped and destroyed. I had to hire an after hours electrician to at least get the refrigerator running, and they returned the next day to finish everything else, including rehanging the light fixture. He left several four-foot flourescent light tubes topheavy in a plastic garbage can in the garage, and while I was still attempting to reset breakers in the garage, my hip brushed the light tubes and they shattered all over the garage floor. My young son was present. The decorator was in the house and heard the crash, and she came out to sweep up the glass. I was cut. I suffer from a back condition as well, and when the glass light tubes shattered, I immediately stooped to try to clean up the glass to protect my son, and caused myself great pain. The decorator told me that as soon as we had left for vacation, he demanded more money. When she asked him why, so that she could tell us a reason, he became very hostile and yelled at her that he had been in the business for 40 years, and he had a great better business bureau rating, and she had no business questioning him about anything. I knew nothing about this until after he was "finished" and left my home. It took weeks before everything was fixed. My son was injured by the sharp edge of tile he left along the counter top. Mr. Marks' behavior was downright juvenile and malicious. I strongly recommend against using PRM or Paul Marks for any kind of work. I have eyewitnesses to all this, including the electricians and plumbers who had to repair everything once Mr. Marks was gone. I have held off commenting on here, because of his hostility and juvenile lack of accountability. By commenting, I feel that I may be placing myself and my household in danger, but a business person should not be able to do someone like he did us and then go on about his life as if it never happened. I have photographic evidence as well as the testimony of others. I suggest that Mr. Marks keep this in mind.

The good news: Paul's work is always very good. The bad news: Paul's bids often come in thousands of dollars lower than the final cost. There seem to always be many costs that are not included that the homeowner has no idea will be added. The end costs makes the costs much more than other bids. Our work was esimtaed to be completed in 2-3 weeks, but took 2 months. Paul did not take responsibility for delays. Often the delays were due to materials not ordered on time. In one instanace, Paul did not order enough materials and there was a 2 week delay while we waited for them to come in. Paul went on vacation during our project. This wasn't mentioned until the last day of work. Paul also had staffing issues that impacted our job. We were left with a huge, messy project in our living room for 6 weeks longer than expected. This impacted several planned activities at our home.

Communication issues with Paul Mark's started immediately. Quote amounts changed, some without explanation. We were inundated with add-ons. Paul was not receptive to our over all objectives. He was impossible to pin down on numbers and specifics. I spent an enormous amount of time cross referencing quotes and emails that were vague and confusing. Routine communication was made incredibly more complicated than it needed to be. Because we reside in Phoenix, AZ, we communicated through email (his request) and he rarely answered the questions I had about dollars and materials used. I reduced his final payment by 1.23% for unfinished or unsatisfactory work and for exceeding amounts discussed for specific projects. He retracted all warranties for the entire project and threatened to file a mechanics lien on the property. He continues to harass me for the balance of $220.23, but has never acknowledged his ownership for any of the issues. Our request to meet and discuss issues was met with sarcasm. My issue with Paul became one of trust. I did not feel he was honest with the process and did not have my best interest at heart. He started out very professional but shifted drastically during the process. I would not recommend PRM because of the overall hassle factor. Specific issues to this project included: Over 30% increase for carpet installed from the original quote. Drywall repair above sink was said to have been repaired 3 times and billed but not completed. Installed baseboard in garage was not painted (left unfinished per Paul's instruction). Buckled parquet flooring in family room from over use of water in the garage for surface cleaning. He did not complete the wood trim repair above the outside entrance originally discussed and attached to another area he repaired. He installed an unnecessary amount of GFCI outlets in the basement ceiling, even though we requested he not exceed a $300.00 limit for this type of work. When asked to return the original house key we provided to him, he generated a story that made absolutely no sense and wasted even more of my time.

We couldn't have been happier. Paul (owner) and Tommy were very good to work with. They did what they said they were going to do and did it when they said they were going to do it. No surprises or excuses which was very nice. They were on time and they cleaned up after themselves as they went along. The new arched opening looks great and they were more than willing to do the couple other extra items we had them do once they got there. We would definitely use PRM again and would recommend them to anyone.

WORK LOOKS GREAT! GET LOTS OF COMMENTS FROM NEIGHBORS WANTING TO KNOW WHO DID THE JOB. CLEAN UP WAS THOROUGH. TOTALLY PLEASANT EXPERIENCE. WILL DEFINITELY USE PAUL FOR OTHER PROJECTS.

THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE JOB WAS FAIR TO POOR. I HAVE HIRED SOMEONE ELSE TO COME IN TO RE-DO SOME OF THE DRYWALL, ELECTRICAL, AND PLUMBING WORK. THE OWNER OF PRM, PAUL, SAYS HE GUARANTEES HIS WORK. WE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE BATHROOM SINK LEAKING, THE TOILET NOT FLUSHING PROPERLY, AND SEVERAL ELECTRICAL OUTLETS NOT WORKING. WHEN I CONTACTED MARK TO FIX THE ISSUES, HE TOLD ME IT WOULD COST AN ADDITIONAL $1000--SOME GUARANTEE HUH!?! I ENDED UP HAVING A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN AND PLUMBER FIX THE ISSUES FOR LESS THAN $200 EACH. I ALSO HAD THE PLUMBER INSPECT THE OTHER PLUMBING WORK MARK HAD DONE AND FOUND THAT THE BACK-UP SUMP PUMP WAS INSTALLED INCORRECTLY. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY TO ANYONE.

THE WORK LOOKS GORGEOUS. I HAVE GOTTEN RAVE REVIEWS FROM A FRIEND. THE WORKERS HE BRINGS ARE VERY VERY NICE. THEY ARE VERY RESPECTFUL OF MY HOME AND WILL REMOVE THERE SHOES OR LAY PLASTIC DOWN TO PROTECT MY FLOORING. THEY ARE OUTSTANDING!!! THIS WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. THEY HAD TO COME BACK TO RETRIEVE AN ITEM, & THOUGH I HADN'T COMPLAINED ABOUT AN ISSUE THAT AROSE, THEY MADE SURE TO ASK IF I WAS SATISFIED. WHEN I POINTED OUT THE PROBLEM, THEY FIXED IT RIGHT AWAY.

PRM INSTALLED AN HVAC VENT FOR THE NEW ROOM. I COMPLAINED TO THE OWNER OF PRM (PAUL) THAT THE NEW VENTS WERE NOT COOLING THE ROOM AS THEY SHOULD (IE. NO COLD AIR WAS COMING FROM THE ROOM VENTS). I HAD TO HIRE AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR TO DETERMINE REASON THE ROOM DOES NOT RECEIVE COLD AIR. THAT CONTRACTOR INFORMED THAT THIS IS BECAUSE THE CONNECTIONS TO THE HVAC WERE MADE IMPROPERLY. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THEY WERE MADE IN THE WRONG PLACE. ALL OTHER WORK COMPLETED WAS SATISFACTORY, AFTER CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT WERE RE-ADDRESSED. UNFORTUNATELY, SEVERAL DISCUSSIONS WERE NECESSARY TO HAVE ALL OF THE WORK COMPLETED PROPERLY AND AS AGREED. RESPONSIVENESS IS QUICK IF A CHECK IS DUE, BUT WHEN THERE WERE PROBLEMS OR ISSUES, I NORMALLY ENCOUNTERED DELAYS (PAUL AVOIDS DIFFICULT DISCUSSIONS AND WILL NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF MISTAKES). IF YOU WORK WITH PAUL, BE SURE TO ASK FOR REFERENCES ON HIS MOST RECENTLY COMPLETED JOBS, INSTEAD OF RELYING ON THE REFERENCES HE MAY CHOOSE TO PROVIDE.

PAUL MARKS HELPED US PUT OUR IDEAS DOWN ON PAPER. EACH DAY, WORK COMPLETED VERY TIMELY. WORKERS VERY POLITE AND CLEAN. QUESTIONS ANSWERED DAILY. THE FLOOR WENT IN ABOUT TWO DAYS, LOOKS GREAT. IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE AN ARCHITECT ON SITE EVERY DAY FOR RESOLUTION OF MINOR PROBLEMS.

OUR RENOVATION TURNED OUT GREAT OVERALL. WE LIKED THE MEN WHO WORKED FOR US DAILY. THE PROJECT WAS COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER AND THINGS WERE KEPT FAIRLY NEAT. THE INITIAL PRICING WAS GOOD AND WE WERE ALWAYS KEPT APPRISED OF ANY PRICE CHANGES. ANY CHANGES/REVISIONS AND THE ALLOWANCES WERE COSTLY, AND WE FEEL WE WERE NICKEL AND DIMED TO SOME EXTENT. HOWEVER, IN THE END WE FEEL THAT THERE WERE SOME ARCHITECTURAL ERRORS THAT THE OWNER FAILED TO RECOGNIZE OR TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR. IT'S UNFORTUNATE. THE ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE THESE ISSUES TURNED UGLY AND THE OWNER WAS VERY UNPROFESSIONAL.

MR. MARKS AND HIS CREW WERE ALWAYS ON TIME, PROVIDED A COMPLETE ESTIMATE OF SERVICES PRIOR TO STARTING THE PROJECT, PROVIDED BLUEPRINTS, AND BILLED EACH WEEK FOR SERVICES DONE. IF DURING THE REMODELING PROCESS HE UNCOVERED A PROBLEM OR ISSUE, HE WOULD FULLY DISCUSS IT WITH US, AND OFFER OPTIONS TO US. PRM IS REASONABLY PRICED FOR THE WORK PERFORMED. WORKED 8 FULL HOURS EACH DAY. DURING EACH PHASE OF THE REMODELING HE TALKED WITH US ON WHERE HE WAS AT, WHAT NEEDED TO BE ACCOMPLISHED, AND THE TIME FRAME TO COMPLETE.

THEY ARE VERY PROFESSIONAL, PROMPT, CLEAN UP WELL AND OFFER OVERALL GREAT QUALITY. CHANGES WERE SMOOTH WITH AN ARCHITECT ON SITE EVERY DAY. THE CREW WAS VERY POLITE AND HAD GOOD WORK HABITS.

GREAT ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND VERY PROFESSIONAL. HAVING AN ARCHITECT TO CONSULT WAS A PLUS.

WE MADE AN APPOINTMENT BUT HE DID NOT SHOW. HE DID LEAVE A VOICEMAIL SAYING HE COULD NOT COME AND TO CALL AND RESCHEDULE. I LEFT THREE VOICE MESSAGES THE FOLLOWING WEEK BUT HE DID NOT CALL BACK. I WAS DISAPPOINTED.

PRM REFUSED TO COME BACK AND FIX A WINDOW THAT HAS SHIFTED AND ALL OF THE WOOODWORK AROUND IT IS CRACKING. THE HANDRAIL HE INSTALLED IN THE NEW ENTRANCE HAS A GAP WHERE IT MEETS THE FLOOR DO TO A 1/2'' MISMEASUREMENT. HE WOULD SEND OUT YOUNG MEN THAT TOLD US THEY COULD NOT FIX IT AND THAT PAUL MARKS (THEIR BOSS) WOULD HAVE TO COME SEE IT AND FIX IT. HE BLAMES THE TILE PEOPLE FOR THE HANDRAIL NOT FITTING. WITH THE TILE DOWN THE RAILING MATCHES AT THE TOP. IF THE TILE IS REMOVED THEN THE TOP OF THE RAILING IS LOWER THAN THE RAILING THAT ANGLES DOWN

PAUL WAS ABLE TO DESIGN A BACK STAIRCASE TO MAKE OUR UNFINISHED BONUS ROOM AN ADDITIONAL BEDROOM. ANOTHER ARCHITECT AND TWO OTHER RENOVATION COMPANIES THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY CONTACTED, WERE UNABLE TO DO THIS.

INCREDIBLE JOB! PAUL AND STAFF TAKES GREAT PRIDE IN HIS WORK. EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH OUR NEW ROOM. PAUL AND HIS STAFF TOOK A DARK AND DUNGY BASEMENT AND MADE IT INTO A GREAT STUDY!

OF ALL OF THE WORK PAUL AND HIS STAFF DID AT OUR HOME, THE GARAGE WAS MY FAVORITE ROOM.

FIRST THE OWNER, PAUL MARKS, WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL. HALFWAY THROUGH THE 8-WEEK PROJECT, PAUL BEGAN ACTING VERY UNPROFESSIONAL--STOPPED RETURNING MY CALLS, DIDN'T COMPLETE/TOOK SHORTCUTS TO COMPLETE ITEMS I REQUESTED, INCREASED HIS LABOR RATE FROM $18HR TO $35HR, AND TACKED ON NEARLY $1,000 IN EXTRA COST ON ITEMS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY MARKED COMPLETE ON INVOICES. I WILL NOT MAKE USE OF OR RECOMMEND THEM

GREAT ADVICE ON COLOR SCHEMES AND MUCH MORE COMPETITIVE FOR THE PRICE

VERY TRUSTWORTHY AND FELT VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THEM WORKING IN THEIR HOME WHILE THEY WERE AWAY.

THEY DID ALL OF OUR FRAMING, ELECTRICAL, CARPENTRY, AND MORE. THEY ALSO DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB. THEY WERE ON TIME EVERYDAY. CLEANED UP WELL. WERE VERY RESPECTFUL. THEY TOOK THERE SHOES OFF UPON ENTERING AND EVEN MOPPED THE FLOORS AT THE END OF EACH DAY.

THEY DID ALL OF OUR FRAMING, ELECTRICAL, CARPENTRY, AND MORE. THEY ALSO DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB. THEY WERE ON TIME EVERYDAY. CLEANED UP WELL. WERE VERY RESPECTFUL. THEY TOOK THERE SHOES OFF UPON ENTERING AND EVEN MOPPED THE FLOORS AT THE END OF EACH DAY.