Exterior Building Solutions

They're very prompt and seem to be very organized.

The service was fine. I never talked to the guy after the job. They came and did the job and I was at work. They got it done pretty quick. The price was fair. He came the day he said he was and got the job done.

Contacted Exterior Building Solutions and gave them the details of why I was calling. The lady said she would get it to an estimator and they would give me a call. After a few days Mike C. contacted me. We played phone tag for a few days but I was finally able to set up an appointment. Mike looked around and told me what he thought the problem was. He then said he would get with the estimators and email me a quote. After well over a week of waiting for a quote, I called Mike and told him to either get me a quote by the end of the day or do not bother calling me back at all. I received no phone call. I will go to someone who wants my business and I suggest you not waste your time with this company. If they do not act like they want your business, go to someone who does. Very poor customer service.

Overall, Exterior Building Solutions performed the roof replacement in an extremely professional manner. They were extremely helpful in obtaining full-size samples of the many color choices we were interested in. When we reduced our final color selections to three, they even went to the trouble of locating houses in our area where those three colors had been used. We made our final color decision based on our visiting those houses. The work crew that was assigned to our house was made up of individuals who were obviously well qualified to perform the work and we were impressed by their politeness and attention to detail. As a retired architect, I had a particular concern of a low-slope area of the roof that had leaked in the past. The peal-n-stick flashing they installed and the way it was installed gives me great confidence that it will not leak in the future. They used the same type of flashing around four skylights we have. They were also open to discussion of various details that came up over the course of the installation. The tear-off of the old roofing was very neatly done and none of our landscaping suffered damage. The area around the house was cleaned each day while they were here. They worked hard each day, with only a small break for lunch. One thing we liked about this crew was how well they worked together. While there was a designated foreman, he didn't just stand around giving orders, but took the lead on which piece of work would be tackled next, and then began the work himself. There was a change in the venting of the roof that took place after one of the old roof vents was removed and the existing conditions revealed a need to go to a ridge vent. Both the work crew and the office personnel handled this change quickly and in a fair manner, cost-wise. All in all, it was a joy to work with this company and the crew that performed the actual work! We would certainly recommend them to others needing this type of work.

Hail storm in April did damage to many of the roofs in our subdivision. In July EBS worked closely with my insurer and found more damage than the original adjuster missed. EBS met with adjuster and was able to get additional damage to window wrap, flashing, and gables covered by insurer. I scheduled the work in August. EBS worked with me to get better venting in the attic by installing ridge vent, edge and drip edge vents around entire home. I might add this was no simple task. They had to explore a very hot & cramped attic to determine I had bird block restricting any airflow from the soffit vents. They came up with the Edge and ridge edge vents to improve my attic temperatures. There were a few issues, for example a hard rain after the guttering was installed showed water dripping in a few areas from behind the gutters. EBS came out and installed extra (flashing?) between gutters and roof around entire home, not just where I saw a few areas with the problem. There were a couple other minor items that I wanted fixed. That is the only reason I gave a B on quality. To get an A I would want to not have to ask for any changes or fixes. I gave an A overall because whenever I did bring up a concern, EBS addressed it and fixed it, no questions asked. I did not have to argue for anything. They just responded with a good fix. I felt like Leo & Josh really wanted to make sure I had a high quality installation. Leo brought out some options for the roof shingles with no pressure at all to go to a higher price shingle. He just explained the differences. We went with a better shingle mostly for cosmetic reasons and we love it. Our roof is beautiful. I would also add I asked loads of questions via email such that I bet they shuttered every time they got one, but they never complained and answered professionally to each one. I think they really do try to follow their mission line of Solutions not Excuses.

I never write reviews; it simply feels like one more thing to do, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity. I had a great experience with Exterior Building Solutions. Leo Kneese stopped by to bid the job within 2 days of my call. He was extremely helpful, pleasant and took the time to answer all my questions. I received about five bids for the job and Exterior was competitive and actually came in at the lower end. Workmen arrived on time and completed the job in one day. Job was originally supposed to take 2 days. They came in within bid and with no hidden extras. Workmanship was beyond expectation. Seamless gutters, hidden vent soffits are beautiful. Clean up was great. I have only good things to say about this company. If your questioning who to hire. I give Exterior Building Solutions2 thumbs up!!!

The work was good. The workers, I did not have any problems with them. They were here and gone.

Awful. I have regretted hiring these guys to do our roof. The people who estimate your job will not do the work. Workers slept on our porch, brought their microwave, and used it on our front lawn, killed our old growth flowering bushes, and damaged the new windows we had put in a few weeks before work started on roof.

I am super impressed so far with this company. Of course, I will have to update once the work is completed but I couldn't wait to write an excellent review. They were on time to check out the roof, and did a thorough run through of all areas. They even took pictures and showed me via a computer vs their phone. They also did a minor fix while they were up there. Josh has been super responsive any time I have called or honestly, emailed and he even offered to come out and explain the estimate to me. Fortunately, I think I understood it and told him it wasn't necessary. After having 3 other roofers come out, I decided to go with EBS. Josh then came back out to my house so I could sign the contract and write them a deposit check. As a mom with a 4 month old - they have made this process so incredibly easy on me, and I truly appreciate it! Their customer services has been superb!

Mike came by the house to look over the roof. One thing that impressed me most was spent time with us to explain to us about how the roof and the components (vents, etc) on the roof worked. He was very informative. He told me about the benefits of several types of options I could have for my roof (such as venting options, shingle options, etc.). I opted to have my regular shingles replaced with architectural shingles because they are able to withstand higher winds than the regular shingles, and they also look nicer than standard shingles. The cost for this upgrade wasn't very much, considering the benefits. I wanted my new roof to last a long time. Mike communicated with my insurance company to negotiate more money to cover necessary costs that had not been initially included in the first insurance claim check. When the workers came to do the roof they arrived early, took around a half a day (for my small 2 bedroom house), cleaned up and left. I did find a few nails and shingles on the ground, but it wasn't much to pick up. The new roof looks great and only cost me (out of pocket) my insurance deductible, plus the cost to upgrade to architectural singles.

Dave indicated he would take some photos and get back to me. While he seemed like a nice guy and did apologize for his tardiness, I got a clear message that I wasn't an important customer, or one worth of an estimator experienced in what I actually needed.

Overall, im very satisfied with the work so far. The day they finished the work it rained really hard and a leak that i wanted fixed was still leaking so i called them up to have them come out again. Not only did they immediatly respond, they called several times to take care of the problem and were out there in a day or two to fix the issue. It has since rained really hard and no leak. My only criticism is that they used aluminum flashing or something like that, as cap. Afterwards, he said it would have been 2-3 times more to use clay ones, and I believe him but I would have liked to have had the option.

Terrific! very attentive, neat and unobtrusive.

Always make sure to get a second or third opinion. And remember that The person they send out is a salesman. I had a leaky skylight and was at first told it would cost about $100 to repair. Then he came and looked at it and said I needed a new skylight for 1700. And if I wanted a repair it would cost 200-300 I had another company come out and take a look and after about 30 minutes he came down and said it was all fixed and no need to have someone else come out because it was that simple and cost under 100. EBS was recommended by my home warranty people but I do not recommend. I'm sure they do great work if you are willing to spend a lot

See previous statement. Decided to go with another roofer.

We had our roof replaced- the bottom line on that is- roof looks great, I have nothing but good things to say about that. However, there are a few concerns that I would pass on to anyone looking to hire EBS. First, in scheduling the job, I made it clear that a certain week would not work because I would be out of town. During my trip out of town I received a call asking if they could go ahead and work on the roof the following day. I checked with my dog/house sitter and we reluctantly agreed. They spent two days doing the work, but at the end of the first day they did not close our gate, which caused us to almost lose one of our dogs. This was relayed to me so I called and asked that they please be more careful and close the gate the following day. They left it open again. (The gate is located such that it is not seen easily & we weren't in the habit of checking it). Next I inquired about the gutters and was told I wouldn't be able to get an exact date on when that would happen- that team would just drop by. I made it clear that our gates stay locked unless we are home, so I would need to know when they were coming. Instead we came home to find they had completed the gutters with no notice at all, and had pulled our fence out of the ground to access the back yard because it was locked- and again left the fence wide open. Not to mention- for any dog owner, it is a frightening thought that you could lose your dogs due to this behavior. Over the next week I found about two dozen long rusty nails in our driveway and back yard. That was also unfortunate. In summary, their work was fine, but I was uncomfortable with the way the scheduling went, and I find it unacceptable that I wasn't given any notice about the gutters and that they left our gate open, after having been specifically asked not to do so. The nails in our driveway were an added minus. I would recommend their work to anyone who doesn't have any animals to care for, but I wouldn't hire them again for that reason alone.

We hired EBS several months ago after losing a few shingles in a windstorm. Scheduling Mike to come out to the house was relatively easy, and he was able to come within days and evaluate the situation. He gave us an estimate and even gave us advice about how to repair a decorative shutter that had also come off in the storm. We paid the entire amount upfront as he told us that it would help them schedule our work sooner than if we only paid 50% up front. He estimated the repairs could be done the following week. I waited the whole week to hear from someone about scheduling the repair, but no one called. I finally called EBS to ask about it and was told Mike would get back to me. I left two such messages without a response. Finally, on my third call I was patched up the chain to a supervisor who checked our file and told us the repair had already been done. Sure enough, when I went to check the roof, the new shingles were in place. Someone must have come out and repaired the roof while we were not at home; we did not notice because we had never gotten a chance to see the roof in daylight that week due to busy work schedules. I have no complaints about the work, but better communication would have been much appreciated. We had a second experience with EBS a couple months ago when we developed an ice dam and noted some related water damage. I called EBS who again put me in touch with Mike. He did call me back and listened to my description of the problem, and he correctly diagnosed the ice dam. However, his advice was that the roof did not need to be addressed because technically there was no leak. He said when the ice melted, the water would stop coming in and there would be nothing to do but repair the drywall. He did offer to come out to take a look, but he was pretty confident there would be nothing for him to do. We had another contractor take a look, and their assessment is that something most definitely needs to be done, though perhaps not to the roof, or else it will simply happen again and again. I cannot technically fault Mike for his advice, as there may not be a problem with the roof itself, but I still feel as though our issue wasn't taken very seriously. I'm sure he was very busy at the time and getting lots of calls about similar issues, but had we followed his advice and only repaired the interior structures, we could have had a recurring problem. Lastly, I should mention that we lost a bunch of shingles again during another recent windstorm. Our contractor took a look at the damage and noted that our roof was built without felt paper, which is a violation of code. EBS either did not notice this when they repaired our shingles the first time or they failed to mention it. I suppose it's possible that the damage they saw wasn't extensive enough to let them see whether there was felt paper, but I do wonder about it. Overall, my feelings toward EBS are left relatively mixed. They were okay, and I would consider turning to them in a pinch if I had a small exterior job and my regular contractor was not immediately available, but my experience with them doesn't merit a glowing review.

They and the insurance company could not quickly reach an agreement on the scope of work needed to restore the home to what it was prior to the storm. They finally were able to get State Farm to agree with the repairs. All the work done so far has been excellent. The roofing was done quite professionally and they had a big crew. They did the job on the date promised and got it done quickly.

Dave called and set an appointment promptly, which was initially for the window work. He was very informative as to what the problems and solutions were. The work was done quickly, professionally and neatly. Whilst he was working on the window project, I had another contractor working on some interior damage to sheet rock and during his investigation, it was determined that water had to be coming from the front guttering. Dave took the time to inspect and come up with a plan for dealing with the cause of the leaking into the front room. The repairs to the guttering included solutions to the poor original installation (NOT done by EBS) to prevent future problems. The series of storms caused delays in the completion of the project however, EBS was stellar at keeping me informed and given that the delays were beyond their control, they handled it all beautifully. I highly recommend this company for their work, their responsiveness, customer service and price.

Sales rep Mike Kinsella was first rate. The tough membrane product they applied on the one home appears to also be top quality, and the final repair of the parapet wall (brick work) and the replacement of ceramic parapet wall caps came out well, too. The repaired roof appears to be doing its job and appears much better than the messy, leaking, old roof that was there. Along the way, things got messy and required intervention to keep on track. Seems that coordinating their brick repair team to work on the projects (two homes side-by-side) wasn't as smooth as it could have been. Result: Delays and mis-communication about what/when/how the brick repair (replacement of some loose bricks and the replacement of of some broken parapet tiles) was to be completed. And once that was done, whatever inspection should have been done by the foreman was not done, as brickwork and parapet caps were not replaced correctly or the work was left incomplete. Homeowner had to climb up his ladder, take pictures, send them to EBS and request that this work be re-done. It was eventually agreed that the work needed to be re-done and completed properly, but this meant more delays (weeks) and inconvenience for the tenants and homeowner. Also, there were issues with sloppy clean-up and scraps left up on the roof. Again, these were noticed by the homeowner and reported, but took some time for EBS to get someone there to inspect the situation, agree that clean-up was needed, and then get men there to clean up what should not have been left there in the first place. Nothing goes 100% perfect on complex projects, and the final result is very, very good. But the above problems along the way keep me from giving EBS a solid string of As across the board.

This is an updated review for Exterior Building Solutions. I made an appointment for a Roof Inspection on 12/10. Unfortunately there was bad weather and I contated them to see if they wanted to reschedule. The person who was to perform the inspection agreed and we made another appointment for 12/13. Again, we faced bad weather on 12/13. I did not call to reschedule the appointment and was waiting at my home for the person to arrive. When the person did not call or arrive at my home, I called and left a message. He immediately called me back and said that he would not be able to make it. I was not happy with this communication initiated by me (again) after the scheduled appointment and I left a very harsh review here on Angie's List. Over the weekend I pondered this review and had decided that it was overly harsh and that I was going to submit some changes. After all - the weather was terrible. My complaint was not that he couldn't perform the inspection; it was that he did not show up or initiate any contact. In any case, the job was not goinig to get done that day whether he called or not. For this reason, I felt that I left an unfair review. Before I could come to Angie's List and submit these changes, I received a call from Exterior Building Solutions with a sincere apology for the situation. That means a lot to me and I absolutely appreciate the gesture. While I have contacted a building inspector to perform the inspection on the roof, I will definteily consider Exterior Building Solutions to perform any recommended work.

**Update 12-30** Since my below review I received 2 calls from EBS. One from their Office manager and one from Leo the CEO Himself. They were very focused on trying to make this experience right and to my satisfaction. A few days Later Leo came out personally to my home and inspected what was missed and apologized about the delays. He understood the problem and has already made changes within the company to avoid future issues. I did get a call a day after he visited to schedule the fixes discussed, and due to the cold weather it was decided that they should be performed in warmer weather which I agreed very much with. On every day or so delay as it got colder I received a call from the installer notifying me when the temp would rise to an acceptable level. They arrived on time, and completed my repairs as promised. It was VERY apparent Leo and EBS understands that the customer is the prime focus and needs to match the work. I have since revised my rating to an A because Leo and his team did the right thing and the communication was exactly how I desired it to be. Thank you EBS for making it right! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below is the original review. see the update above that met my satisfaction! I called EBS on 8-5-2013. I received a call back a few hours later By Mike Grossman. He setup an appointment on or around 8-7. He arrived on time, took measurments and answered all my questions. I had no problems at all. He did mention they were about 2-3 weeks on getting work started. He promptly emailed and estimate on 8-9, and I worked with him on price and he was able to do what I needed. This is why I rated him a B on price. Their price was good. I was patient and waited about 6 weeks until I finally I called EBS on 9-23 and told them No one has contacted me for an install date. 3 hours later I got a call from the actual subcontractor supervisor (also named Mike). I will refer to him as Contractor Mike. Contractor Mike apologized and said I was "right at the top of his list and he Should have called me 2 weeks ago". This was still on Monday 9-23. Contractor Mike said they should get started on my job mid week the next week or the end of next week. (October 2-4th). October 4th Rolls around and I have no phone call stating any type of delay. I call Contractor Mike 6pm on Oct 4th and get a "im sorry, your still on the top of my list, thanks for being patient, etc. We should be there tuesday at the latest (Oct 8th)". The 8th rolls around and no call again, no show at the house. I wait until Friday the 11th and call Contractor Mike back. He tells me more of he same and that "for sure, this 3rd time he promises he WILL be there wednesday the 16th". By this time I have no clue what to expect, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Now over 8 weeks out from the estimate approval I had no real high hopes. Out of the blue On Monday the 14th I get a call from Mike Grossman from EBS who gave me the original estimate asking how I like the work. I explained I would love to tell him they looked great, but I so far no ones showed up on two promised dates and Wednesday is the next scheduled date. This took him by surprise and I got a call later that day from Sub Contractor Mike who I am sure got a nice phone call from EBS Mike. Contractor Mike again stated someone would start work, and actually start a day early tomorrow Tuesday the 15th. The 15th came and the installers actually did show. 3 Very nice guys, so I picked there ear a bit and found out that they were subcontractors. I get it. Most companies do subcontract during busy times. This particular one had many issues with a few jobs and people that were hired the past few weeks, so that explains Contractor Mikes delay. In talking with the 2 main guys doing my work they stated if I had any problems I could call them directly and not go through EBS because it would be quicker to resolve issues through them. They said they would leave their info in my mailbox once the job was complete. The bulk of it was done in two days but they had issues with two windows wraps on my house. Both days I would talk with them before leaving for work. They were nice, and answered my questions. Coming home the 3rd day I expected things to be completed, but they still had to work with the window wraps and that tomorrow the 23rd they would finish that, caulk the windows and be completed, and call me when they were finished and leave their contact info in my mailbox. On the 23rd I came home, the work was completed but I had not received any phone call indicating such, no contact info left. Nothing. I was left to inspect the job myself to see if they missed anything. I noticed a few areas were not trimmed correctly, and that my front Window was never caulked around the window wrap like the other two were. I am just now getting to do this review so it looks like if the weather gets better, I am going to be doing my own caulking around my living room windows. I hate complaining and don't want to be "that guy" but at this point its over a month since the work was done and with my house remodel I am just getting done with this review. It is of note the invoice for the remaining balance came on time which I paid promptly. I was almost hoping that the 50% deposit I had paid would of just been enough and that they would forget about the other half and maybe take the hit for all this scheduling crazyness. . No such luck. It arrived and I paid it. It should not take 2 1/2 months to get soffit's and fascia wrap installed. I am giving you the gift of a C rating because of Mike Grossman. He was top notch all the way. The fault really lies with this particular subcontractor and the fact EBS did not followup with them and keep me informed. As they say. Your company is responsible for anyone that works under your title. If they look bad, they make YOU look bad. I would of paid no more than the half deposit of $1600 had I known it was going to be like this. I really wished I would of called and talked with EBS instead of paying the final invoice.

Very professional, prompt and understanding of my needs as a customer. I had an evolving series of masonry needs and they were very flexible and understanding of the urgency and severity of the services required. Jason (the foreman) is a great guy who got the job done in a timely manner and was very good with communication before, during and after the project was completed. They seemed a touch expensive but it seems as though the service matches the cost so I can't complain.

Exterior Building Solutions provided an estimate and completed the work immediately upon accepting the estimate.

I called EBS on 10-31-13 requesting a roof inspection and estimate for the above mentioned repairs. Mike Gatlin called me that same afternoon. We made an appointment for early the next day for the inspection and estimate. He arrived on time, gave me a price I was willing to pay and did the repairs that morning. He was friendly, polite, professional, clearly explained what he proposed to do. I was happy with the appearance of all the repairs. He matched the siding perfectly and much cheaper than another contractor had quoted us. I appreciated the experience very much and will use this company again.