Tom Curren Companies

Very few home owners look forward to seeking out contractors when they must undertake major home repairs. Our condo association elected my husband and me to be in charge of an overwhelming task with a hefty price tag; the result of substandard workmanship just a mere 11 years ago when the units were constructed. Seeking out estimates, asking friends for recommendations, and setting up appointments with prospective contractors was nerve-racking and intimidating, as I had to report findings to four other condo owners and trustees, making the task one that could be complicated and unachievable while awaiting approval to go ahead with job. Many contractors were impatient and unwilling to work with a condo association with five owners? opinions and input. Barry Eldershaw, Tom Curren Company's project manager, was not only congenial, but he went the extra mile to assure all owners that he would be on board, visible, cooperative and have our best interest in mind. His loyalty to both Tom Curren Companies and us, the clients, was trustworthy, uprightous and constant. He was always available, answered calls in an amazingly timely manner, communicated exceptionally well with all owners and had a complete and thorough knowledge of all work to be done, as well as all contractual policies of Tom Curren , and relayed that information clearly to us, having respect for our property, personal lives and financial undertakings. His personal and affable demeanor was definitely the reason that the condo owners decided to go with Tom Curren. Owners felt that he was professional, accessible and held himself to high standards. We were not disappointed and would like to convey to you our absolute satisfaction with the work that Curren Construction performed for us. Our highest regard and appreciation goes to Barry Eldershaw for managing this project and for his upstanding service to us. The rest of the staff at Curren, the painting and construction foremen, and the crew were exceptional and we recommend Tom Curren Companies for any home project, large or small.

I have had painting done by Tom several times in the past, and this time I wanted to spiff up the interior (last done prior to children, now one in college-) including a possible new carpet and trying to make a wrought iron stair rail as attractive as possible. I decided to call Tom because he was having a 25% off Feb. sale. He has always been good about coming out to give us an estimate even when (probably 1/2 the time) I ended up being totally overwhelmed by the colors of paint chips and gave up on the project. Tom asked what color I was thinking of for the hall, I suggested a couple and he sent us some (but not too many) large (9x12) paint samples within a couple days. His office asst. was very helpful with my questions. Tom also gave his cell phone number if needed. I wasn't sure what to do with the stair and hall carpet so he suggested I have the old one disposed of (which they did, including pulling out the old nails and painting the risers) and wait to see if we'd recarpet or keep the hardwood floors bare. Thinking about the project in steps helped me, because I couldn't envision what it would look like after several things were done. He suggested replastering the dining room instead of "blue board" which would have left a ridge at the edge of the hall and dining room ceilings. The plaster and paint guys came within several days. The chief painter was nice, helpful, spoke English well, etc. He was willing to install new door knobs and smoke detectors when I bought some, and even moved a large cupboard to a different room when I got in the redecorating spirit. I was out at work when the crew was there for 2 days, and they kept the dog in and let the cat in and out (as asked). They came on a Sat. morning and agreed to come at 9 instead of 8, which I appreciated, and were as unobtrusive as possible given the work to be done. They also put plastic drop cloths everywhere to minimize any spills. A college student might have done the work for less, (I don't know-) but the work was professional, and guaranteed. Tom once painted the exterior of our house (which has chronic dampness issues being in the woods) and when we needed a touch up on the north side two summers later, he didn't charge us because he thought the paint should have lasted longer.

I didn't use them. They kept sending me promotionals. I decided they were too expensive. The guy that came out was very nice. He took a look at the whole thing and also told me that I needed repair of my gutters and cleaning on my gutters apart from what I was actually asking them to do. Ultimately we had some difficulty getting back together again when he had his estimate put together. We eventually did get together. The previous time I had asked for an estimate from them, I got a whole collection of testimonials from other people about what a great company it was and pictures of their improvement and so on. When we got down to the nitty-gritty, his estimate was something over $10000.00. His estimate was one of five that I got done. The estimates ranged from $1500.00 to Tom Curren's $10000.00. That was essentially the experience I had. The guy who came out was pleasant and courteous and certainly did his best to get together with me, but I thought that the price was too high. There was another point which was a side issue. When the guy was in the basement, he told me that I had carpenter ants and showed me the tunnels that demonstrated that they were carpenter ants. They were actually termites and not carpenter ants. He did make me aware about the problem and it did motivate me to have an exterminator come out and give me the bad news.

Communication was lousy. The work was not done well and was completed very late. They started the work in September of 2008 and finally finished in August of 2009. They messed up big time.

The experience was good except for the fact that they painted the windows shut. They did come back and did their best to remedy the problem. Other than that the people were very friendly and so was the crew that they had, they worked very hard and were very helpful.

They came out to fix the issues promptly but the work was mediocre. Both things they came out to fix broke again in about a week.

He was very polite and confident. I was impressed with the service. It was very good!

A bit expensive, but we felt comfortable leaving the crew alone in our home after the first day, so we did not have to miss work. Very independent and did a superior job. Covered stained moldings and doors beautifully with white paint. Did an excellent job patching damage to walls, doors, and moldings. Completed the entire job in one week. Andre did an excellent job communicating with us about questions or changes in plans. Left the house extremely clean and aired it out very well.

Brian Cassidy was prompt in showing up to check out the job. We met with him several days later to go over the estimate. We have used this company in the past, and they did a great job, but we decided this was too much to spend on a rental property.

We used Tom Curren a few years ago and were very happy. This time, however, we were very disappointed. The person who was supposed to give the estimate missed TWO appointments with us. We've had to call numerous times to get the work completed. Clean up was not good. While the quality of the work was good, we've had to constantly be on guard to make sure the work was done. And it still isn't finished after an initial meeting six months ago.

While the work was good and the paint crew was very good, dealing with Tom Curren was difficult. After the painting project, I asked Tom to give me an estimate for a new deck (fairly large project). He came to the house within the week and said he would get back to me within the next week. After repeated calls as to when to expect the estimate and giving him over a month to give me the estimate, I finally told him don't bother and went with someone else. His responsiveness is awful.

I hired Tom Curren to do painting, install gutters, and do light carpentry. The work was poorly done. If I did not point something out, it simply did not get done. Moreover, Tom did not communicate with the job supervisor regarding what we agreed needed to be done and how it would done. I had to call them back to make repairs. Within a few weeks, mildew began to grow on the north and west sides of the house. Tom came out himself and agreed that much of the work was poorly done and that they would fix the it, and repaint the mildewed area with a mildew resident primer. His painter came out in the fall and instead of re-priming, simply power washed and touched up the paint. The weather turned cold, so mildew was not an issue until the warm weather returned. Then the mildew returned along with it. I have now tried to call them for 2 weeks and they will not return my calls. I would be very cautions about using this company. They have gotten too big, and Tom cannot supervise the work.

He seemed nice enough, but his quote was almost 3 times what I received from other companies. I decided to have the job done by someone with a more reasonable price

ON HIS INITIAL VISIT, THE REPAIRMAN SHOWED UP WITH THE WRONG LADDER. HE THEN SAID THAT WE WOULD NEED TO GET A SAFETY WRAP PUT ON THE ELECTRICAL CABLE AT THE FRONT CORNER OF OUR HOUSE BEFORE HE COULD DO THE REPAIR. WE WERE ANNOYED AT THIS BECAUSE WHEN WE INITIALLY CALLED TO ARRANGE THE REPAIR, WE HAD DESCRIBED IN DETAIL THE NATURE, AND LOCATION OF THE WORK TO BE DONE. THE REPAIRMAN ALSO SAID THAT HE HAD DRIVEN BY EARLIER TO LOOK AT THE JOB, BUT HAD APPARENTLY NOT THOUGHT TO CALL US TO ALERT US IN ADVANCE TO THE NEED FOR THE SAFETY WRAP. ON HIS 2ND VISIT, THE REPAIRMAN DID NOT NOTIFY US OF HIS ARRIVAL, DESPITE HIS INSISTENCE THAT SOMEONE BE HOME DURING THE REPAIR. WHEN WE WENT OUT TO SPEAK WITH HIM, HE IGNORED US FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. LATER, HE LEFT WITHOUT EXPLANATION PRIOR TO COMPLETING THE REPAIR. WE CALLED TO COMPLAIN, AND THE PRODUCTION MANAGER APOLOGETICALLY AND POLITELY EXPLAINED THAT THE REPAIRMAN HAD GONE TO GET A PART, AND WOULD RETURN IN AN HOUR TO FINISH THE JOB.

IT WAS A BIG JOB WITH A LOT OF PROBLEMS ALONG THE WAY. THE FIRST CARPENTRY CREW THEY SENT WAS UNACCEPTABLE, AND THE PAINTING CREW DIDN'T REALLY HAVE GOOD DEFINITION OF THE JOB THAT WAS INITIALLY QUOTED BY THE SALESPERSON. I LEARNED THE LESSON THAT EVERY SINGLE DETAIL THAT IS DISCUSSED WITH THE SALESPERSON NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN INTO THE PAINTING CONTRACT. WE CHOSE TO KEEP, RE-GLAZE, AND REPAINT OUR ORIGINAL WOOD WINDOWS. WE WERE VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE JOB THEY DID ON THAT.

VERY HAPPY WITH THE WORK DONE. I FOUND A FEW SMALL PROBLEMS AND THE LEAD PAINTER FIXED THEM WITHIN A DAY OR TWO.

MARK, THE CARPENTER WHO DID MOST OF THE WORK WITH LITTLE ASSISTANCE, DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB. HE WORKED PRACTICALLY NONSTOP EVERYDAY AND WAS VERY METICULOUS. HE DISCOVERED PROBLEMS I WAS UNAWARE OF THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS PROBLEMS. HE WAS VERY NEAT AND ALWAYS CLEANED UP EVERYTHING AT THE END OF THE DAY, REMOVING DEBRIS FROM THE PROPERTY. HE ALWAYS ARRIVED PROMPTLY OR NOTIFIED ME IF HE WOULD BE DELAYED THE NEXT DAY. HE WAS CHEERFUL AND EASY TO TALK TO ABOUT MY CONCERNS. HE SUGGESTED VARIOUS WAYS OF DOING THINGS AND WAS SENSITIVE TO MY CONCERNS FOR KEEPING COSTS DOWN. FOR THE MONEY, A LOT OF EXCELLENT WORK WAS DONE.

TOM WAS POLITE, ARRIVED AT THE AGREED UPON TIME AND WAS THOROUGH IN HIS ESTIMATE. HOWEVER, THE JOB WAS TOO SMALL AND WOULD HAVE TO BE FIT IN SOME TIME ON A RAINY DAY. I WAS NOT CALLED BACK WITH A SCHEDULED DATE AND ENDED UP HIRING SOMEONE ELSE TO DO THE JOB. LONG LEAD TIME FOR ESTIMATE APPOINTMENT (1WK) AND EVEN LONGER TO SCHEDULE WORK ( 3WKS).

EVERYONE WE DEALT WITH WAS EXTREMELY FRIENDLY AND WILLING TO TALK ABOUT OUR NEEDS. THIS WAS A GOOD EXPERIENCE AND WE WOULD USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN.

HE WAS RESPONSIVE, PROMPT, DID A VERY GOOD JOB, HE CAME WHEN HE SAID HE WOULD, AND HE CHARGED ME LESS THAN OTHERS. I WILL REFER HIM TO ALL OF MY NEIGHBORS!

THEY PROVED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMER'S SATISFACTION BY RESPONDING WHEN I NOTICED AN OVER SITE. THEY CAME BACK AND DID A SECOND COAT.

TOM CURREN WAS EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. OUR PROJECT MANAGER VINCENT WAS EXCELLENT AND VERY RESPONSIVE. THEY DID A GREAT JOB PAINTING AND CLEANING UP. THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE BUT THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB.

I WAS EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ANGIES LIST RECOMMENDATION. WHEN TOM CAME TO MY OFFICE TO GIVE ME A QUOTE, I EXPLAINED THAT I NEEDED THE JOB DONE QUICKLY SO THAT THE OFFICE WOULD NOT BE IN DISARRAY FOR THE PATIENTS. WE ARRANGED TO HAVE THE WORK DONE IN 4 DAYS. THE PAINTING CREW WAS POLITE AND NEAT. THEY FINISHED THEIR PART OF THE JOB IN ONE AND A HALF DAYS. THEN THEY MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE WALLPAPER HANGER, JEFF GIORDANS TO COME IN SOONER. JEFF WAS EXCELLENT AND VERY EXPERIENCED. THE OFFICE WAS PUT BACK TOGETHER SOONER THAN EXPECTED AND LOOKED FABULOUS!! I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY.

THEY MISSED TODAYS APPOINTMENT, AND WHEN I CONTACTED THEM TODAY, THEY WERE TO CALL RIGHT BACK AND DID NOT.

COMMUNICATION WASN'T WORKING BETWEEN SERGIO AND MR. CURREN. IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THEY MAY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME, MYSELF BEING A SINGLE WIDOW. I ALSO LATER FOUND ACID DAMAGE TO MY LAWN FROM THE PRESSURE WASHING, AND NOW THERE IS A COMPLETELY DEAD AREA OF GRASS ON MY LAWN. SERGIO WANTED ME TO BE HAPPY IT SEEMED, SO AS TO NOT HAVE A NEGATIVE REPORT TO ANGIE'S LIST, SO HE DID DO A FEW ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT I WAS NOT CHARGED FOR. IT WAS JUST A BIG ISSUE ABOUT THE SHUTTERS, THERE WAS A LOT OF FUSS ABOUT GETTING THAT STRAIGHT. I DID ENJOY THE WORKERS, THEY WERE VERY CORDIAL AND DID GOOD WORK. THERE WERE JUST A FEW COMPLICATIONS AND BREAKDOWNS IN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SUPERVISOR AND WORKERS. I WOULD NOT USE THEM AGAIN, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THEY WERE DECEPTIVE TO ME.