Western Construction, Inc.

I notice that the concrete on the driveway on the edge is chipping. I don't know whether it's their fault. Otherwise I am happy with the garage. The sales guy was very pleasant to work with. They were very responsive over the phone.

It went smooth as can be! Western was a delightful company to work with. Small family owned business right in st Louis park. They built my fathers garage back in the 70's. Looking into them I discovered they have been around building garages for 64 years now. Zack was a pleasure to work with and his father brad (the owner) was very knowledgable. It was apparent that they definetly were the garage "experts" in the twin cities. Everything from the price to the tear down, pouring of concrete, framing, workers and customer service was on point with our expectations. I highly recommend western when it comes to garages.

Last Spring, we tore down our old single car garage and built a much larger (22x36) detached garage. After researching builders and getting a few quotes, Western Construction appeared to be a solid choice, although in hindsight this was definitely not the case. Bottom line, based on our experience we would not choose Western again for our garage. According to Brad (Western’s president), Western kicks out ~200 garages/year. Perhaps they are adequate if you are looking for a very basic one or two car cookie cutter garage, but if you’re interested in a higher quality garage or something out of the ordinary with a few upgrades, I suggest looking elsewhere. My experience: I signed my contract on 5/8/12 and gave Western a $12k deposit for a garage they told me would be completed in six weeks with demolition beginning the following week. Time was a big issue for me since I had an upcoming project requiring use of the new garage. While talking to a neighbor who signed his contract with Western 3 weeks prior to me, he informed me he was experiencing delays. In week two, I called Western and was given excuses. By week three, work had not started. On May 29, I contacted Western and was informed they were backed up due to the weather. However, I called the city office and learned the permits for my garage had not been submitted until May 23 and as of May 29th they had not yet been issued. At this point, it became clear to me Western had no intention of building my garage in six weeks. I notified Western I was terminating my contract and requested a refund of my deposit. Western presented me with a revised schedule and agreed to a monetary penalty for schedule slips, so we chose to proceed. From this point forward, things started happening quite rapidly. However, one of the things we contracted for was for a curb cut to make our driveway double wide at the street. On June 6, I was informed I may have to pay more money for the curb cut since the city was requiring a wider apron than Western thought. I refused to pay additional since this is what our contract stated and I felt it was up to Western to know the city requirements. They poured the new apron (the part where the driveway meets the street), only to have the city inspector make them completely tear it out and redo it a few weeks later. After the concrete was poured and set, the construction on the garage moved quickly and we soon had an enclosed garage. Shortly after the garage was completed, I noticed I was getting water in the garage from underneath both of the service doors. It turns out Western did not apply caulking under the service doors. Western came out and applied an ugly bead of caulk outside the door threshold as a remedy. I did not feel this was an adequate long-term fix, but after a number of discussions, it became clear Western was unwilling to do anything more to provide a long-term fix. Since the caulk did seem to keep the water out for the time being, I paid them the remainder of my bill. On 8/15, there was once again water in the garage. I contacted Western to inform them, but did not hear back. On 10/26/12, I continued having water problems and requested warranty repair. On 10/31/12 Western informed me they would arrange to have someone come out. I never heard back, and this meeting never happened. As a result I have been dealing with a wet garage this Winter/Spring. Had Western applied caulking under the doors, I am confident I would not be dealing with this water issue. Three other items of note, are: poor trim work, pitting concrete and the stucco color is not even close to the color we chose. For the trim, we paid an additional $2000 to upgrade the material, then Western apparently did not order enough material, so they spliced together pieces for some of our window trim making an otherwise nice looking garage appear cheaply built. The floor of our garage became pitted and is no longer smooth. This may have been caused by several factors, such as: pouring when temps were above 90, over troweling, or incorrect concrete mixture. After researching this topic, I don’t believe this presents a long-term structural problem, but our new garage floor does not look like a new garage floor. Lastly, the stucco color we selected was from the color chart Western provided. During the application, it looked very light, but I was informed it would darken over time. Ten months after the final stucco coat was applied, it is still many shades lighter than the color we chose. Bottom line, would we chose Western again or recommend them? Absolutely not. According to Brad (Western’s president), Western kicks out ~200 garages/year. Perhaps they are adequate if you are looking for a very basic one or two car cookie cutter garage, but if you’re interested in a higher quality garage or something out of the ordinary with a few upgrades, I am sure you could do better elsewhere.

We were less than satisfied with the removal of the old structure. The crew that was brought in to do this backed their tandem truck up onto our existing asphalt driveway and left ruts in the asphalt. Then, the excavator took out more sidewalk than was initially agreed to and tore up the television cable buried in the backyard. It turned out the guy running the backhoe read the drawing the wrong way (i.e went 32 feet deep instead of 24). If I hadn't come home over lunch to check on this, they would have dug it in 90 degrees the wrong way. We chalked it up to "things happen" and moved on. After a long delay, partially due to weather, the concrete guys showed up and discovered that the excavation crew had not dug out enough. They then dug the remainder of the area and commented that it was not uncommon for the teardown crew to mess that up. Additionally, the plans with the city had been filed with a 6' right of way and I discovered it could have been 5'. Upon asking, I was told that this would be a lot of work to get changed. I called the city myself and they said it would be no problem at all to change - no additional work needed. The longest delay was between teardown and the slab actually being poured. It seemed like we were just continually getting pushed back, even once things did dry up. It felt like they were putting other jobs first and just squeezing us in when it was convenient. I also happened to ask the cement crew about their plans to reconnect the sidewalk that was tore out by mistake and discovered they had no plan to do this. A couple of discussions later, this was added back. The biggest surprise was that nobody ever told me the day that they actually did come out to pour. I came home from work and it was there. Overall quality on the cement work appears average. There are several spots that water will pool or drain towards a wall, rather than drain towards the overhead doors. Further, the new garage was dug in slightly lower than the previous structure. We are now having issues with water seeping in through the two rows of block on top of the slab that are below grade because there was no waterproofing applied. I will be digging this up and applying a water-proofing product to try to stop this issue. Next, the cement forms for the sidewalk repair and the 36x36 pad for the service door were not removed and the pad was never placed in front of the service door. I removed those forms and had to move the pad myself. The pad was poured in the middle of my back yard and as such killed a large square of the lawn. Once the slab was finally done, the actual construction of the building went quickly by comparison. The construction crew did a decent job. The only things I questioned were that it rained on the tar paper prior to shingling and caused several bubbles all over the tar paper. This was shingled over. Research on the web indicated this could cause issues in the future, but time will tell. There was one siding board that I had to call and ask to have replaced where it was clearly a hammer mark that had dented the siding. The other quality issue I had was with the caulking. It almost seemed like two different people did it. Some places looked perfect but others looked amateur - ranging from large globs to places just missed. Two windows were caulked on top but the doors and other window were not. I fixed this myself because I didn't notice it until I was ready to paint. Lastly, the garage door installers did a very amateur job of running the wires from the doors to the opener and opener to the buttons. They currently run up the wall then are just laying on top of the studs and take the most direct route to where they are going - i.e. kitty/corner across the rafter openings to get to the opener then to the door instead of neatly stapled to the sides of the rafters. Now to store anything up there I need to be careful so as to not set things on the wires, pinch them, etc. Yes, the doors function this way but it takes away the usefulness of the space above it. The last communication issue was with the soffit material. We had specified metal soffit. I happened to come home over lunch again one day and talked a little with the crew as I saw they were starting to work on the soffits. I asked what they were nailing up, etc. to prep for metal and he said that he was putting up wood soffit/facia. I told him that we had specified metal. He called the office, confirmed, and had to wait for new material to show up. Lastly, there was a fairly long delay between the The one bright spot in the process was their electrician - I believe it was Ace Electric. They were very professional and asked me all sorts of questions to ensure they layed things out the way I was looking for.

It was like clockwork. Brad and his son Zack came out to give us the bid. He was training Zack to be the 3rd generation of the company which was very appealing to us due to the fact that we come from a family business and that means allot in this day and age. They were friendly and had answers and input to all of our questions and ideas. They helped us along the way build what is now our dream home. We received our estimate for the total project in just a couple days, they had even broke it down into sections to show us what was costing what. It was very clear to us from the countless other bids we got that Western was not trying to rip us off. They were very competitive with some of the other top dogs in the city. Once the work started it was around the clock, Different crews working all at the same time. I wish I could have video taped it with a time lapse camera. in a little over a month, from start to finish the work was completed. They said it would be fast and they were right. The garage sites were cleaned up daily, no cig butts all over my yard. The crews were friendly and professional and did great work. I recommend Western to every person I meet that says they are starting to look for quotes on remodeling. Great work guys. Truly.

would not do business with this company!

I have absolutely no complaints with them. They did a great job. They were very professional. They came, did their job, and did it well. We get a lot of compliments from people just walking by our house. They were reasonable on price. We are very happy.

The job was completed on time with excellent workmanship. The materials used were of high quality.

Company was responsive. Chad came to our home and met with us. He was professional and listened to what we wanted. He provided an estimate and followed up to see if we had questions. Of the three estimates we obtained, Western was the most expensive. Their quote was $4,000 to $5,000 more than the others and the equipment (garage door, opener, etc.) were of lower quality.

I had a good experience with Western from start to finish. They built the garage without inconveniencing me and the pairs went the same way. I'm a single woman that lives alone and have always felt comfortable with having Western's workers on my property. They brought their own water & didn't ask to use my bathroom. I provided them a power source by running an extension cord through my window. The owner - Brad - worked with my insurance adjuster on both occasions to determine the price of the work. Overall, I found them to be honest, trustworthy, and very good at building/repairing garages.

Western helped to make the construction process as painless as possible. Every crew was very knowledgeable and helped me with any questions I had. Not to mention the communication was top notch. I would definitely recommend Western to anyone.

We were told the process would be 6 week's, it took just under that by 2 day's, which made us very happy, all of the workers that performed work on the garage we very curtious and clean. It never felt like we were inconvienced once.

Overall I would have to say that I was very impressed. The work was done quickly and my questions were always answered. The windows look beautiful and everyone that sees them says what a nice job they did installing them. There was one snag.... The consultant said that they would use left over metal window wrap to wrap front door, garage, and patio door if any was left. Crew stated they didn't usually do this. Showed them contract with information written as to what would be done, they took care of it with no problems. I plan on contacting them first for any other jobs I need done. Thank you Western!

I would recommend them to anybody to use. The owner, Brad was always out there to supervise and make sure we were happy with everything. They finished on time and everything went really great.

I would rate the overall experience as excellent. As I mentioned earlier, Western Construction was great to work with and could not be more happier about the final product.

Brad and his team was prompt, efficient and professional from start to finish. My cousin has been a finishing carpenter for over 25 years and was very impressed with the workmanship of the finished structure. It is much more than a garage - Brad helped create a "cottage" which has become a favorite space to use in the summer.

Everything went super! I was very impressed that my deck could also be removed with the garage; I needed all the area that both consumed, in order to have a nice 2 car garage. Everyone was professional, pleasant, and obviously highly skillful.

Salesman was on time for quote. He didn't bring a ladder so visual inspection of current roof was from the ground. Told him what style of shingle I wanted and he started measuring. Three minutes later he was gone. Never got the quote or heard from the company again. Needless to say they will not get a second chance to bid on my roof or any other project I have in the future.

We are happy with our new garage. I was unhappy with the process, however. I hired Western to construct our garage because of their experience. They have built so many garages in the area that it seemed it would be an assembly line process. This was important to me and my husband because this was the first major remodeling project we had done and we felt the learning curve was kind of steep. I felt that Brad Chazin (owner) was attentive, listened carefully to what I wanted, and clearly answered any questions I had. I felt that we had covered all the details before construction began. So I was surprised when problems arose. The city inspector came out to check the forms and the fill over which the garage floor would be poured and determined that it was not sufficient. So the forms had to be removed, the bad fill removed, and new fill (class 5) added. Western wanted us to pay the full cost of this, but I felt that given all of the garages they built in our neighborhood, they should have forseen this and they should bear the cost. Ultimately, to keep the work moving forward, we agreed to pay half the additional cost. Other issues cropped up with subcontractors. Some of them were really great. The electrician was especially professional and responsive - a joy to work with. The guys who framed up the garage and put on the roof, however, were downright rude. When I asked them to move their vehicles when neighbors complained that they were blocking the alley they complained, and then just chose to ignore me. Only when my husband repeatedly asked them to move, did they listen. There were other little annoyances: they ordered the wrong shingles, I had specified the stucco style I wanted and that did not get relayed to the stucco guys, and no one asked/I forgot to tell them what color gutters I wanted so we have gutters that don't match the trim. Bottom line: it's a place to store our cars, it's decent quality construction as far as I can tell, and I think we paid a very reasonable price. But, I think if Western's going to bank on experience getting them the job, they could tighten up their process and do a better job of vetting their subcontractors.

I had communication issues with Western Construction as a general contractor at first, but the company owner, Brad, responded to my concerns quickly and professionally once we were able to make contact. I believe my initially poor experience was simply due poor timing in the construction and weather cycles in the Twin Cities during the summer of 2011. I was very happy with the demolition, concrete and electrical subcontractors used by Western. Communication from my primary sales contact was inadequate, but as I said, Brad stepped in, took ownership and responsibility for my concerns and made everything right for me in the end. I believe that Western will correct the communication issues which hampered clear and prompt service, since they have received so many other "A" reports here on Angie's list and they were recommended by a reputable insurance company.

These guys are passionate about garages! Brad had a number of great ideas, and I learned quite a bit about concrete during our discussions :-). Brad was very professional, and was able to provide us with a thorough quote right on the spot.

I had contacted Western to come and give me a bid for a detached garage I wanted to build. Brad was the salesman who came out and gave me the estimate. After going over what I had in mind that I would like and Brad telling me what would work for my property I decided to go ahead with Western to build my garage. The biggest selling point that made me make my decision was my property was a little weird and would take a little extra work that also brought up concern's with cement. Out of the 3 estimates I had Brad was the ONLY one who brought those concerns up to me and how we could avoid issues down the road, and the fact he was the cheapest ($14,000) which made me trust him and his company. Through the process Brad had stopped by to meet the guys who poured our cement to make sure things were done correctly. After cement was poured our garage was up in a matter of weeks. I can say I trust Western and I know he really likes to take care of his customers.

I contacted Western Contruction to come out and give me a bid for a few new windows and a new detached garage. I was having a hard time between choosing a window, I really liked the look of the wood windows and especially the wood grain but the maintenance can be a pain when you work full time and have three young children. Brad my salesman brought up the option of doing a vinyl window with a wood grain finish on the inside, he really knew his stuff he also kept in mind I had to stay in budget and I would only have a few windows replaced and finish the rest of the house over next year. My garage was an insurance claim, over the 2010 winter it caved in, my insurance agent suggested Wester Construction. Brad had awesome ideas and we decided what was best for my needs. At the time of the incident I had a one car garage to better suit my grown family we needed a two car garage. After the snow had melted this past winter, Western Construction came out, tore down my old garage, laid a new slab of cement and driveway, and after a few weeks of the cement laying I had a new two car garage. The process went very smooth and I could not be more impressed, the carpenters were very clean and kept in mind I had children so they made sure and cleaned up each day so I didn't have to worry about them going back there. After everything was through they did one final clean up to double check everything was back in order. Since the time of the garage remodel I added more new windows and I am down to my last one. I would recommend Western Construction to everyone, and will continue using their service for any other home improvements needed!!!

The experience from start to finish was great. The installers tore down my old garage and cement slab and then poured a new slab and started the construction right away. The installers were very friendly and prompt and I was very happy with the clean up process once the job was finished. I received quality workmanship which was a great feeling knowing that my garage was going to be installed correctly. Western Construction employees were very professional and responsive. They have a great finished product and follow up process. It was very reassuring to know that the company really cares about how the home owner feels and wants to make sure customers like me are happy. I have nothing but good things to say about Western Construction. My overall experience with them was more that I had expected and I know that I made the right choice. If I am ever in the market for their services I will have Western Construction complete my project and I would recommend them to anyone.

WOW! I can't stop looking at my garage and feel so good about it. What a difference it made to our home and increased the value. We had obtained several bids from other companies and decided to go with Western Construction. It was one of the lower bids and Brad was very knowledgeable has been around for many years. It was our best decision made. From the very beginning to the very end, the president, Brad Chazin, the contractors and clean up crew were all very professional and courteous. There was no waiting around. The crews were always prompt and the job was completed as scheduled. (Just in time for my husbands surprise birthday party that was held in our new garage. He was so proud!) Brad Chazin even stopped by after the job was completed without our request to make sure we were satisfied with the work. I have and will continue to recommend Western Construction, Inc to everyone in the market for their building needs. Thank you, Brad and crew!