LAKE COUNTRY BUILDERS

We had a terrible experience with Lake Country, and we have had no success in getting them to deal with pending warranty items. Major design errors, constant mistakes, ineffective project management, and no accountability.

We chose Lake Country Builders because we were looking for a family run business in the community. We were on a very tight timeline and also had to live in the property through most of the construction. LCB did a fabulous job getting the project completed by our deadline, while keeping our essential living spaces available as long as possible. We loved our lead carpenter, Mark, and were very impressed with his attention to detail and ability to see what we wanted and make it happen. Subcontractors were all timely, professional and competent. Concerns we had, were addressed promptly and problems fixed rapidly. We love our new home and can't be more pleased with our choice.

The project that should have been finished in the summer was finally done in November just before Thanksgiving. The final bill was $23,000. I was unable to get detailed invoices of hours worked, etc. When I reminded Patrick of our initial conversation, he wouldn't acknowledge it. By September, October and November I was sending a text to the project manager most mornings to make sure he was sending the people to do the work as promised. The contractor who did the foundation work on the stairs sent in a firm bid for $8,500 - their work was excellent. We had to live with a dust filled basement for many months and for 6 months had plastic, zippered barriers in our back hall. I have attached a picture of a rock from the foundation which was discarded on top of a box of wine I had stored in a corner of the basement - in my mind it summarizes the issues we had with Lake County Builders.

We meet with them twice and it didnt seem like they remember the 1st appointment. They canceled on us on the same day and we had to re-scheduled. Then, they suppoused to get back to us with a bid -and they never did. No very professional.

The subcontractor were very good, when there were problems they stepped up and handled them and we were happy with the overall project. Their communication was good but their estimation model was not good.

Our experience was very good. They were excellent. We knew we could get it cheaper but we would not get the quality that we wanted.

we decided to go with a different company. Is was a very difficult choice! Both were exceptional.

LCB was very pleasant to work with. I was disappointed that their estimate was so high, but in retrospect, it seems pretty accurate since the contractor we ultimately went with did not estimate the cost of the job very well. I really liked how they had their subs all come out and bid on doing the work we had outlined. This resulted in a detailed estimate which (I think) they said their actual costs would be within 10% of. We had sticker shock so didn't go with them, but I will definitely consider them in the future for phase two of our plans. One suggestion for homeowners: the more details you have down before the subs come over, the better. Next time, we will be sure to have all design work and a very accurate idea of what we want done so we can be sure to compare apples to apples across bidding contractors.

I was satisfied with the end result. The estimate was spot on, the clean up was also very good.

We had the head of Lake Country come to see our basement finishing project and discuss what we wanted. He said he'd get back to us promptly, but we never heard from him again.

They were wonderful!! We were so pleased especially with the follow up service. They were just great! We had a really big dog @ the time and they even put in a bathtub with legs so we could wash our dog!! I'll hire them again and again!