Gem Construction Co Inc

We decided to go with Gem and we are glad we did! We are very satisfied with the results. The roof support timbers, underside, sides, downspouts & gutters are all "maintenance free" trimmed. The work crew, and especially the job foreman - Doug (who took a lot of pride in his work) - were great, very polite and respectful of our property, and cleaned up each day. Our numerous questions were answered patiently, constantly checked with us on how we might want something done, kept us informed when they would be here, what to expect the next day, kept the gate shut so the dog wouldn't get out. We also had them install 2 ceiling fans under the roof and they furnished & installed 2 skylights - there was some initial leakage on one fan plus leakage behind part of the gutter - they promptly returned to correct - 2 times for both! As far as pricing goes - it's hard to say how Gem compared to others because some estimates weren't quite comparing apples to apples, but we feel it was money well spent. And I do believe there was a mis-understanding regarding the estimate - when the contract was written up (at least 7 days later), some items I thought were included were not, said the estimator. Now I'm not absolutely positive I am correct, I failed to take detailed notes on this issue, so I give him the benefit of the doubt...very cautiously. And I should further mention that we had Gem do more work 3 months later (see report submitted) and there was no such problem, but I took much better notes!

We were considering buying the house we are currently renting, but the basement floor is sloped, so we called Gem Construction to get an estimate. George called us back and spoke to my husband who explained the situation. George called Donald, a concrete expert, who came out the following day and examined the basement in great detail. Donald, was very knowledgeable and told us that although the basement floor was not attached to the foundation itself, the sump pump underneath did not appear to be working properly and water was collecting underneath the house, causing the soil to sink in spots and that was why the basement slab had sunk. He also said he didn't know if there might be a sinkhole or not. We were sent the estimate the next day--$17,000--and after a lengthy discussion with my husband, we decided not to buy the house, and therefore did not need the work done. My husband was surprised that the estimate was so high. He thought it might be around $4,000 or so. I, however, thought it would be around $15,000 or so and was not extremely surprised. However, we were really impressed by the subcontractor that Gem sent out and would definitely use them again when the time comes.

This contractor is the most professional and competent contractor I have had work on my house in the past 18 years! I plan to have them do a lot of other work on my home in the near future. I highly recommend Gem Construction.

I was extremely pleased with the entire process. GEM's estimator arrived punctually, performed a careful evaluation of the extent of the damage, and gave me an estimate. Subsequently, I widened the scope of the work. The estimator returned, made the adjustments, and we signed the contract. The contract amount was in the ballpark of my insurance settlement, so I believe the amount was fair. The job foreman called within a few days to schedule a walk-through. He and a helper arrived punctually, taking detailed notes of the extent of the work and materials needed. They were willing and able to get to work quickly, and were quite flexible with working around my scheduled vacation. The work went according to plan and I am quite pleased with the final result.

I really liked them, and though I decided not to have the work done at this time, I believe I will use them in the future.

They were on time. They did not actually perform work for me but I would not use them in the future.

They claimed to have created a screened porch for me but I am very unhappy with that. It was a separate crew that did that work. I made one phone call back to them with a question about that and they never called back.

The two bathroom floors are great. They revised a laundry room and bathroom. That was generally very good work. However, the fiber glass doors they put in stick.

I supplied them some shingles and they replaced those. I thought it was a little pricey from the git-go. Later when they started working they gave me another price and I thought it was WAY too much! They did a good job but I'd never use them again.

They had good recommendations on Angie's List and we met with Henry and John and really liked them and they said they could get it done in two weeks when other companies said it would take a month. They even worked on the weekends. They were outstanding. My house looks beautiful.

After 2 months more of the run around the quoted start date of my project arrived. I had been in touch with Henry and he said he might not be able to start on that day, but I assumed he would call if he wasn't coming. No one showed up to do the project, after 6 days and 9 phone messages, finally, the secretary answered. I told the secretary I was really angry and wanted to talk to someone besides George or Henry and I was canceling all of my projects except the front door and the roof leak-which I really needed done now, and I wanted a copy of my contract. Secretary told me (no apology) she would send me a copy of the contract "even though George usually takes care of that", have the owner call me and Henry call me. Henry called (no apology) and scheduled the project for Saturday. He showed up on Saturday, did the work, good work, pleasant to work with, all fine. The owner never called. Henry came back to put in the transome window, still without a contract. Henry said he would call George to get a final number so I could write them a check. George's number was about $1,000 over what I thought it should be. Apparently he was never told I was cancelling the rest of my projects, my response was well, you haven't done any of them, his response was how should I know Henry hasn't done them. Further, when we finally straighten out what was on my contract there was an extra charge of $400 for wrapping the door in black metal, which I had agreed to, but had never gotten a price on. George, unapologetic, asked if I would be home the following day because I refused to pay without a contract. I told him I could be home. I waited 5 hours for him, called the office again, secretary told me she would have George and the owner call me. George called me, angry saying he'd never said he would actually come by, and was tied up on another job. I felt the secretary had ratted me out to George for being angry. The owner never called. I was so angry but I just wanted to be done with them, George came over, I signed a contract (post work) and wrote them a check. He was finally somewhat apologetic. I never did hear from the owner. This was the worst company I ever worked with, the actual work was okay, but what I had to endure to get it done, they were constantly blaming each other, I just don't understand how communication could be so bad just between George, Henry, and a secretary. I would never work with them again. If you want a good carpenter try Tom Hauf, he charges less, is quick, and responsive.

Gem contractor Henry & John are A+ workers, they did a very good job. My husband and I were very pleased with the job they did for us. I would recommend them to anyone that needs work to be done.

It went really well. They are very nice people to deal with. The project was done start to finish in about a month which is great considering the doors were custom made. Everything looks great!

Overall I was very happy with them. They were professional from the initial phone call, the estimate and the work. Henry and John kept things moving along and were a joy to work with.

Gary was patient with our DIY attempts to install the fixtures and he adjusted them quickly. He showed honesty when he suggested that we probably just had some bad or delicate style bulbs in our bathroom fixture and that no work was really needed. New bulbs seem to be doing the trick now. He knocked $25 off the price because his helper was not there that day.

They promptly came out to the house to give me an estimate. They were able to schedule the job within 3 weeks. The 2 gentlemen that worked on the deck were very professional and did a great job. My roof is once again secure! I thought that the cost of the job was steep ($1,000), but they did need to brace the roof in order to remove the column. I did receive other estimates from others that were much less ($300 & $500) but one person was not insured and the other company would not return my phones after they gave me an estimate.

I really enjoyed working with this company. They were very good.

Went with another company and it went well.

The crew showed up on time and was actually two crews. They had the wall removed and re framed in about 5 hours. They cleaned up their mess and hauled away the debris. There was some minor miscommunication between the billing and service department (billing called to say we hadn't mailed back our contract two days after the carpenter had called to schedule the work - we had mailed it long ago, and it was all sorted out). I'm not sure how the price was, since we were on a tight schedule we didn't get multiple bids. But we are very happy with the work.

They did a lot of work and handled it well and on time. This was a time sensitive project and they brought alot of people in to get the job done right.

They were a pleasure to work with. The only problem that I had with the price is that they were not able to itemize.

Everyone from the woman answering the phone to the sales guy to the workers themselves were friendly, professional and very responsive. They did require more money than they originally quoted, but everything was explained and seemed well-justified. They came everyday, cleaned up before they left and worked reasonable hours. They scheduled us right away and finished the job in a week and a half, which seemed reasonable. Overall, very professional and we would highly recommend.

The work went extremely well. Everyone was very professional. They have professional staff answering the phone. There is always someone there to take a message and they get back to you right away. George came out to look at the job and was able to give me a quote that day. Henry did a fabulous job on the raised paneling going up the staircase, again a very difficult job given the age of the house. All in all they were finished in less than 2 weeks!

I am very happy and would use GEM again for any home improvement project.

I dealt with the same person in charge throughout the process, which was helpful. I felt comfortable with them in my house while I was at work and was happy with the work and professionalism.