Willis Builders Inc

We hired Willis Builders last year to install new floor (porcelain tiles) in the kitchen, hallway and the bathroom and were happy with work. Recently, I noticed a serious leak from under the toilet, most likely the result of less than perfect installation. It’s a simple job, but things happen. What’s important is that a week after I contacted Matt, and the week included the Labor Day weekend, his crew came, put the new wax ring, and re-installed the toilet. Three days later, it still does not leak. Amazing but true. ;-) While customer service is becoming an oxymoron, thankfully, there are exceptions and Willis Builders is one of them. 5 stars this time.

Matt is a very kind person whose team was very nice to work with. They were respectful, clean, trustworthy, and made sure they listen to our wishes and concerns. They worked very hard so we could move in before Christmas. The projects after that were slower but we had added several projects in the process and overall they got everything accomplished in about 4 months. Matt always reacted on time to e-mails and calls. Sometimes is was hard to reach his team to find out when they would be coming and what they would work on but one call to Matt and he made sure we got a reply. Green products and limited chemicals were very important to us and his team not only respected that but also collaborated with us which products to use. We had a major water problem in the basement and they were able to fix it with additional drains, a sump pump and a successful concepts to redirect the water from the house. We have had a lot of rain so far and the basement has been dry, yeah! The built-in closets were done by a different team and took more time than we expected. They didn't turn out the way we wanted but Matt worked with us on that, reduced the price and had the team do some changes. We heard many horror stories about other contractors from friends so we were worried starting this big project. Overall we had a very good experience with Willis Builder. The majority of projects were done very nicely and to our satisfaction and Matt was willing to work with us on the couple things we were not so satisfied with. We also know, should there be anything in the future, Matt will not hesitate to come and fix it. We would work with him and his team anytime again.

Very well, they finished project on time!!! Thank you. We need to say an extra special THANK YOU, to our two project managers, Leo and Giovanni!!! Both were very easy to work with. They listened to our requests as well as help with suggestions. Highly recommend this company.

The work was done by Alexa and three of his co-workers for Willis Builders, using high quality flagstone cut to form an interlocking stone pattern and precision applied cement grouting. I was impressed by the geometric precision used to cut the flagstone highlighted by the contrasting cement color. The work was done efficiently and all debris was removed. The job was completed a few hours later when Alexa returned with one coworker to wash the stone free of stone dust and cement excess. They even hosed the adjoining plants and bushes to remove dust that had settled on the plants.

Another project well done. Bathroom came out great. Aloisio was punctual and did a fantastic job!

All work was completed as contracted. The job was performed efficiently and the when completed cleaned effectively. As with all work that has been contracted with Willis Builders, the outcome was outstanding and in each case improved the look and value of my house.

We really appreciate their responsiveness to emails and phone calls, and flexibility with scheduling.

On time, professional, discreet and excellent final result.

Willis began the job when they said they would and they finished in the time frame they estimated. The price they quoted in their proposal was accurate. There were no surprise extra charges. They kept us informed about who was coming and when, and what they would be doing. They cleaned up before they finished. All of their employees and subcontractors were courteous and helpful. They quickly corrected any minor things that got missed. This project involved repairing water damage, and they made sure that everything was dry before they began. They made adjustments in the work plan when they discovered additional water damage under the kitchen cabinets that had not been adequately dried by restoration company. They planned the kitchen repairs in a way that it minimized our loss of kitchen use. They were very helpful in explaining our flooring options. They helped us to select a new flooring color when it turned out that the color we previously had was no longer available. We have used Willis Builders for other jobs as well, including a major home addition and a new bathroom. They did a great job on these projects, and have made warranty fixes as needed. They are first people we call when we need other work done. We highly recommend Willis Builders.

Overall, the quality of work was very good. The bathrooms look AMAZING! They also finished the project within the anticipated timeline, which was the major reason we chose Willis for this project. They did two bathrooms faster than some companies could promise one (4 weeks to fully functional - a few details took longer to complete due to backordered parts). We had some communication and punctuality issues with the project manager, and I felt like I had to manage him and keep tabs on everything that was happening, which was frustrating at times. However, whenever I would discover something had been done wrong, they'd say, "okay, we'll fix it" and did so without complaint, even if it took multiple attempts to get it right. And most important, they never tried to stick us with the bill if it was their mistake. One thing to be aware of is that their quotes are for labor only. The customer is responsible for purchasing the big items (tile, vanity, tub, etc. - often with contractor discounts), and Willis buys the basic construction materials as they're needed (cement board, PVC pipe, paint, adhesives, etc.), which the customer reimburses at cost. So be sure to factor in the materials when comparing with other contractors that include those things in their bids. We reimbursed Willis almost exactly $2,000 for materials for the two bathrooms.

We thought Matt Willis was very diligent, responsive and easy to work with. He sent out Gio to lead the work and I was really impressed with him. We've worked with 3 other contractors in the past, one for an addition, one for a kitchen, and one for a bathroom. Gio was definitely the best and easiest to work with. Highly recommend.

In the course of work, we had to level the floor, which required removing and reinstalling half the cabinets. It added to both cost and the time, but such is the nature of the renovation. The new tiles were properly installed and look beautifully. The paint job was good as well.

In my opinion this was very sloppy, unprofessional work. The material costs came in 300 % over the estimate in the contract. Invoices were submitted to us with double bills quite frequently. Workers did not seem to know what they were doing and were unsupervised. They flooded our basement 3 times. Windows and doorways and skylights were framed in crooked lines, not straight. County inspectors failed the work more than 5 times. Willis left our house walls open during March, while we were living in the house, despite our repeated pleas for them to at least nail some boards across the openings. Concrete was poured unevenly and badly. Within months of completion, concrete walkways/patio chipped and cracked, and pieces of siding fell off. Willis was unresponsive to our repeated pleas for more careful supervision. Willis departed from the architect's plans and installed windows in the wrong place and a beam in the wrong configuration, without consulting us about it. We had a certified home inspector come to review the work, and the inspector found more than 70 issues. Photos here document some of poor work quality. We ended up hiring our own subcontractors for jobs like gutters and cabinet installation because Willis was unable to do them properly. These subcontractors did the work quickly and carefully, and charged less than what Willis was going to charge for these services.

Work started on target, and the entire project was finished within the agreed on time frame. County inspectors had no issues with construction at any point in the project - I work from home so talked with the inspector each time the inspector came by. I made a number of changes during the project, including the attic storage area. Willis built out the attic to my direction, making changes as the project unfolded. my wife now calls the attic my 'elevated man cave'. Willis workers were very professional, not disruptive to my family's routine; and always took the time to review the progress of the addition with me. The project total cost was around $70k, including all materials.

Matthew Willis and his team did an excellent job remodeling our bathrooms. We had 3 bathrooms completely renovated and the work done was exceptional. Everyone was very professional, helpful, and courteous throughout the entire project My husband and I especially appreciated how quickly the job was done as we were in a bit of a time crunch! The job done within our time range but the quality of work was still superb and the finished product did not look rushed at all.

We contracted with an independent architect to design our master suite addition. We invited bids from multiple construction companies, providing copies of our plans to help with proposal development. Willis Builders were the only company that provided a task by task breakdown of their proposed cost. Matthew Willis sat down with us and patiently walked us through his proposal making our choice of contractor very easy. Willis Builders met with and worked with the architect to understand and clarify some of the engineering specifications. Once building permits were approved the Willis Team quickly sunk new foundations and framed out the new construction. We caused some delays due to ordering wrong windows but the Willis team was able to focus on other work, e.g. roof, electrics, and plumbing while we waited for windows of the correct dimensions to be delivered. The Willis Team worked with the City to schedule permit inspections and make any changes that the inspectors asked for. Following the close-in inspection, the Willis team moved inside to lay new flooring that tied into our existing hardwood floors seamlessly, complete dry wall and decorating. The Willis Team Project Manager, Marcello, patiently worked with us as we considered paint colors, the position of lighting fixtures, and flooring options on the fly. His priority was clearly making sure that Willis Builders delivered what we wanted. The last space to be completed was the bathroom which included creation of a new shower, closet, and tiled floor. There was some slow down in the pace of progress around the holidays which was to be expected but it soon picked up in the New Year. We had none of the completion of punch list issues that you hear about on many construction projects. Following the completion of the project, one or two very minor issues arose that required attention. We notified Willis Builders and they quickly returned to resolve the issues. Throughout the building process, the Willis Team limited and picked up and cleared construction trash and mess. We where provided with material receipts from suppliers which we reimbursed. We were also able to apply Willis Builders' discount at suppliers when we purchased materials such as tiles and bathroom fixtures. Willis Builders reimbursed us for unused materials and worked with us to understand and quickly resolve any issues associated with invoices. We didn't pay our final invoice until after the work was completed. Since the completion of the project, friends and family that have seen our extended master suite have all been very complimentary of the results. We will definitely consider inviting Willis Builders to bid on any future building projects.

We are very, very pleased with the results. Willis Builders' trades did a beautiful job in every area of the project. The personnel were pleasant and diligent. When the inevitable design changes emerged, Matthew charged only for additional labor and materials; there were no contract administration charges. Several warranty items were handled expeditiously.

I hired Willis Builders in 2017 to build a new screen porch. While the finished product is good, it was an unnecessarily rocky and frustrating process. Matt, the owner, agreed to have the project completed by April 24th, roughly a 5 week timeline, and agreed to have that deadline written in the contract. The project started off really well with the company starting right away and completing a lot in the first week. For whatever reason, everything slowed considerably after that and it required frequent nagging to get them to make progress. The project manager would not reply to email, text or phone so getting updates or asking questions was very difficult. Matt was generally very good about getting back to me though so that helped but even after he apparently spoke to the project manager, there was no improvement on that end. The project was finally completed at the beginning of June, about twice the time we agreed upon. There was no unusually bad weather (done in Spring), no permitting delays, no external issues to blame for this. When pressed I would hear conflicting stories about the delays or would receive promises that were not kept. As for the quality of work, I would give it maybe a 7/10. Overall, it is a good looking screen porch, but there were a few issues. The ceiling was originally going to be stained, but because the quality of the wood used was not great, I thought it best just to have them paint over it. They used indoor outlets for an outdoor project so it failed inspection the first time around. They must have run out of the 1” molding that goes all around the perimeter so for one of the three walls, they stuck up half round shoe molding instead which looks really odd. But again, those things are not that major and we are happy with how it turned out in the end. The way Matt charged for this project I would describe as somewhat “misleading.” When we met we agreed and shook on a total price of $22,500. When I received the contract, the total price excluded some things that ended up increasing the total cost by several thousand dollars. For ex. the roof was listed at $0 but in the description it stated “We will budget $2000 - $3000 for the labor to install the metal roofing . Roofer will give pricing and will be under $3000.” I missed that line item (my fault) so already the cost was really at $25,500. Another example is the cost of materials. Contract states, “We estimate materials to total around $7500” so that is what I budgeted but when they came to $8400, Matt emailed me that, “I had no idea what it was going to cost when I said I guesstimate materials at $7500.” A “guesstimate” could be anything I suppose. I think in the future, a fixed price would be preferable for the customer. I don’t think Matt is a bad guy, and I think the crew is competent, I just think his team and process needs some work.

We already had the plans drawn up by then. The project started in July, 2017, and was completed in May, 2017. Our favorite thing about Matthew was that he was very quick to respond to any question/concern we had. He was always easy to reach. We also enjoyed his positive outlook and upbeat attitude when it came to problem solving. His workers, Marcelo the carpenter and Giovanny our project manager who can do almost anything, did an excellent job. When we hit a glitch, with the plumber, for instance, Matthew was very efficient in fixing it. Overall, we would wholeheartedly recommend Matthew Willis and his crew.

After various emails having certain overpriced things removed Willis became frustrated "this job is too small for me. I think i'll pass." The job was thousands of dollars of work. Thousands is apparently not much(he had bragged to me about making a bunch of money earlier in the day). Unprofessional and bad attitude.

Overall great and I would definitely use them again. They were very responsive and gave us fair pricing. They were a little slow to start but once they did they were very efficient and had everything done within a couple of weeks. Their project lead, Alen, was terrific. He was communicative, detail oriented and very accommodating. I would definitely use them again and would specifically request Alen to run point!

Willis Builders did an excellent and very professional job on this project, which ended up posing some unexpected difficulties (and costs) that were not their doing. The project involving gutting (down to the studs) and completely redoing a hall bath located in a second floor dormer space. The dormer location meant that space for piping was tight, which necessitated some redesign work on the fly, and although we had hoped to re-use some of the existing standpipes/drains, they were discovered to be corroded so they ended up having to demo/rebuild a solid concrete floor. They were upfront and highly professional with us throughout that process, and also patient when we sometimes became frustrated with the amount of time that got added to the original estimate. There were also some problems with a plumbing subcontractor who was careless and sloppy (and rude too!) but the company stepped up and took full responsibility for making things right (and I understand that plumber no longer work for them). Bottom line: the work was done painstakingly and right, and the finished bathroom looks wonderful. Some things to keep in mind: the pricing was extremely reasonable but for that price we did our own design work and located/ordered all the fixtures (tub, toilet, vanity, medicine cabinet, plumbing fixtures, lighting, fan, and hardware) ourselves. There weren't that many options for layout given our space, and there's only so much you want to do in a hall bath, so the design part went ok, but I'd want to pay more for professional design in some other types of spaces. As to the procurement part, they provided some helpful guidance when I had questions, but you also would need to be willing to put in a fair amount of time on your own to do the research and find the best prices. Our foreman was Aloisio. He is not a very quick worker, and you need to be patient with some language issues (though his English continually improves and he works hard to learn), but he makes up for it in terms of care and attention to detail. I would recommend him 100%. He is overall a lovely person, as is the company's owner, Matthew Willis.

William was the Lead on both jobs and is prompt, helpful, and always professional. With each milestone billing, William provided me with all of the receipts for additional hardware, fixtures, and installed products. They are not always the fastest, which I appreciated as they took the time to advise me and get my agreement when there were design and logistic questions. I am very satisfied with the results and I recommend Willis Builders, Inc. to anyone who is looking for a trustworthy builder who does quality work.

First, the good: These are very nice guys; they had good suggestions, and were very accommodating. There were no pressure sales tactics and the price for the kitchen and roof was fair. Jesus was excellent on plaster and painting. Now the not so good: We really expected that the quality of the work for a company with an A rating from Angie’s List would be better – not that it was horrible, just not deserving of an A. Montgomery County permitting seemed to be a mystery to them. Framing and trim joints were not always flush, they used 10 nails in places where 2 should have done the trick, and a sledge hammer when a masonry saw was what was needed. Their carpentry work freaked me out so badly that I hired someone else mid-job to install the kitchen cabinets and window trim. Communication was a trial. A month into the job I still wasn’t sure who was in charge or when we should expect them to show up. Honestly, for most of the project, I felt like they had other day jobs. Some days I was sure that they rushed over to the house just before I got home so that it would look like they had been working there that day. Many times work was just rushed. I had to have the service rep out days after the appliances were installed because they didn’t check whether the appliances they installed were functional. Granted, a number of things that went wrong were not their fault, but lots were. To be fair, they fixed what we complained about. I just wasn’t expecting to have to be the one inspecting their work on a daily basis and demanding that they come back to fix things. Rather than self-policing when things were not quite done right, it felt like they were just hoping that I wouldn’t notice.

Good overall...most importantly...when there were problems...as always happens..the response was outstanding. Willis also provided invaluable assistance with the sourcing of materials for the jobs.