B Nelson Construction

unknown

This was the worst experience of our lives. We would NEVER hire Brandon Nelson of BNelson Construction in Perham, MN again. We will never recommend him to anyone. Contracted with him for a new home construction project. Got the worst experience of our lives. First thing that went wrong was that we were told we were supposed to deal with the subs directly ourselves rather than going through him. This, as expected, lead to many miscommunications and lack of any kind of follow up. So many things wrong throughout the process that he didn't notice and did not correct until we pointed it out during our weekly trips to the project (we lived 1.5 hrs away at the time): Triple garage doors and windows off center Patio door received was wrong - it was here for a week and he didn't notice until we noticed on the weekend. Siding custom painted was painted in wrong color - had to choose stone to replace it and at our cost. Cabinets on the drawings were not in the bid. Front door was wrong - he did not notice until after it was already installed and we mentioned it Window was entirely wrong glass in it - he did not notice after it was installed and we mentioned it Garage auto keypad opener was not installed and WE had to show HIM where it was included on the original subs bid They did not prepare for a large rain storm (as we suggested by covering window wells) - this caused the window wells to fill up to the point where all windows leaked and even one window was blown out entirely causing water damage throughout the sheetrocked basement.... then he actually suggested OUR insurance pay for it! He tried to bill us for installing windows that he knew were in the bid when he bid it To save money (for himself) they sheetrocked windows themselves rather than having the professionals do it... we don't have window trim so when they didn't align all the windows it looked terrible and took a few discussions to get it fixed. We did not benefit from this modification to who did what work in the home. Bathroom plugin is so low, we can't install the sink backsplash Steps lights were not aligned and one set was so low that the stair runner had to be cut short and was BELOW the risers! He didn't fix this on his own, we had to tell the electrician to move the lights up and have him fix the runner. Windows were not insulated around and luckily the rain storm caused them to show the leaks and we found it before the wall was closed up. However, the rest of the house already had sheetrock around them, so who knows. Bathroom fan leaked water when running. Took multiple contacts to get anything done on this. Still happens once in a while, but not worth speaking to him over. The entire HVAC system was not up to code. Took months, threat of court and a complaint to the MN Dept of Labor before any work was started on fixing the system. This was incredibly wrong and he had no idea... the ductwork was all undersized, there were no return air vents throughout the entire lower level, one in the upper level wasn't even hooked in so what was in the upper level wasn't sufficient either. The backup gas furnace was not connected to the ductwork at all, this is just to start the problems with the HVAC system. We are still working on getting all this fixed and we've been in the house 10 months now. Brandon was the contractor but BK Heating was this sub. At one point, Brandon actually said he couldn't be the middleman to get this fixed with BK Heating. That's his JOB. Windows were installed so badly in the lower level that we couldn't sit by them without a blanket. Found that you could actually see daylight when they were closed. By now, his partner Dave Vetsch was handling all the issues so he was over to fix them. We'll see. We are still waiting to receive the paint needed to fix what was damaged (we paid to have the rooms professionally painted originally and don't have the paint and shouldn't have to buy more to fix their mistake). The wrong color gutters were up around the entire house before my husband showed up and saw it. They had to pull them all down and come back with the right color (off white/cream) another day. - These gutters have leaked since day one. Trying to get them fixed and it's been promised by Dave. Again, we'll see. Shower door was in the bid in one section, but then listed as 'optional' in another so not in the bid. No lighting was in the electrical bid, but absolutely no allowance was either. The garage door exit was supposed to have a full step outside of it down to the ground. They poured something like a sidewalk slab on top of the dirt so now there is about a 12" drop from there to the actually ground. We have to fix that now. His response to us asking for that to be fixed was to "tear it out and refund" or "leave it". We decided to use a different flooring company than he originally bid and with that he felt not responsible for anything. So when problems arose with tile installs, vinyl and carpet install issues, he didn't handle or manage any of them. Door knob to the garage quit working. Asked for a replacement, he took it off and put it back on again and claimed it was replaced. It did the same thing within 4 weeks. Asked for a new one and after months, we got one... in the wrong finish. So asked again for the right finish and after months, picked up another from where he dropped it off and it wasn't new... was removed from something else and actually had finish rubbed off. We said we wanted the yard 'ready for seed'. In the end, we had dirt piled up and damaging existing trees, unlevel dirt and piles of trees and brush that had been knocked down. Nothing had been cleaned up, stumps remained. Cost another $1200 after the fact to have someone else come in and help fix everything. Septic system pipes were all random heights 12+" above the ground - despite multiple attempts to have them cut down level with the ground. The shower leaks... when the toilet runs. Hmmm?? The garage cement pad out front is actually coming apart already and almost peeling/chipping off. 10 months. We have an ice dam that really shouldn't be happening. Captured pictures that indicate there seems to be a hole in the insulation or something in the vaulted ceiling. Dave says he will try to determine why and how to fix. We'll see. Other code issues that still need to be corrected: no handrails on the steps in the house, no railing or rail on the garage landing, laundry sink drain not capped off (no sink installed yet)... Doors in the contract were not installed, multiple times his suggestion to save money was to not install the doors but then at the end of the project he then said 'they weren't in the contract'. Blatant lie. Even with a later attempt to get him to honor his contract, he said no. Still determining if it's worth court when it would probably still just result in not getting paid if we win. The project was not going to be done on time... we kept hearing this but still we would show up earlier in the afternoons and no one would be on site working. The weekend before we were to move in and we were still being told it wouldn't be done, they were not working and went camping. We moved in while they were still working on it because we were in a temporary rental and had to. The end of the job cleaning was being done even though they were working in it. This was horrible and couldn't even tell they did it. It was not all because they were still working in it. This was the ONLY cleaning they did, but they billed an extra $600 for a "post construction cleaning". I'm sure there's more, but I think this is sufficient to let people know of what experience to expect.