FIRST ADDITION INC

Our initial experience was bad, in that many details were not dealt with, or when we reminded them about basic finish work such as molding around doorways and closets, it was as if we were asking for a favor. About half way through the project, neither of the principals was reachable for two weeks. Their excuse was that they had both gotten food poisoning from their Thanksgiving turkey. Subcontractor work, other than the flooring, which was done through another retail flooring business, was only fair, and the general attitude was that we should not expect a basement remodel to be commensurate with the quality of finish work elsewhere in the house. For instance, in the bath that was done, the plumbing fixtures were mostly done by a helper, and the faucets were never tightened down, so that they were still loose until recently, when I decided to fix them. The ceiling light fixture was left hanging a quarter inch from the ceiling. It was a flush mount fixture, and I had to fix it. The railing in the stairway was attached to the drywall with the type of retainers you would use to mount a toilet paper dispenser, rather than engaging studs. The result was that within a few months, our children had ripped them from the wall. The gas fireplace was installed by a non expert, judging by the fact that after the installation and wall enclosure, we discovered that it did not work because shipping packing was left in the flue, and had to be torn back out. The reason I am giving feedback today, is I discovered when I went to fix the bath ceiling vent fan, that it had never actually been attached to the duct work that was already in place, as the prior owners were planning to finish the basement, and had some of the framing and prep already done. When I removed the entire heat light/vent unit from the ceiling, I discovered a strangely jiggered together box, cannibalized from some other fixture that must have housed a fan laying between the ceiling joists, with no discernible way it could have made a connection or seal with our unit, but it had been connected to the flexible duct. It was obvious to me that whoever was working on it found that their contraption was not going to work for them, and they decided it was not going to be visible to us, and abandoned the effort. Mark James, the husband of the designer/owner seemed to be a competent carpenter, in that he was able to cut through a brick wall and add a window in a very workmanlike way. However, he did a number of things like the fan connection that indicated to me a true lack of concern about doing an acceptable job if he did not feel like it, and we might not pick it up, My sense was that there was something not right with Mark and Ellen. I would not use them again, and unless our experience was related to some business or personal crisis they were going through, and was an exception, your members should be warned. It was not my first interior home improvement project, and there are always glitches, When there is a sense that the contractor is trying his best, you can work through the problems, and maintain a positive relationship. That was not the case here.

After having been given the runaround with a few other contractors, we were very specific about our need to complete this project. We knew that we would be many months out on their schedule but said that was fine, as long as they wouldn't drop us. We met with Ellen several times. We were given and agreed to estimates. We had begun many of the preparations. We checked with them several times to make sure we were still on their schedule and at latest a month ago were told everything was fine and we were on the schedule for August. Yesterday Ellen left a message on our machine saying their current project was going to go into August and she didn't think she 'had it in her' to do another one right away so she was 'declining our project'. Even after talking to her on the phone she thought that after 6 months of waiting, dropping us 2 months before the project was to begin was the 'best thing' for everyone. Obviously not a real dedication to professional commitments there.