S.W. Scheipeter Construction

Finished product looks great-getting there was 50 ways of ****. Just don`t!

unknown

We used S. W. Scheipeter Construction for a significant master bath renovation in an older home with lots of legacy problems (non level floors, out of plumb walls, etc.) The following comments are based on our experience and our needs, and may or may not be relevant to your situation. I am not an expert, but do have familiarity with most building trades. Scheipeter produced a very polished, award-quality product that shows very well. The visible parts of the work (tile, cabinets, lighting) were of first quality, but not always what we had asked for in the beginning. Things we especially liked in the remodel were the heated floor (!), the Bain Ultra Thermomasseur tub, the Grohe bath fixtures, pocket doors, the counter top and tub surround, and the LED-lighted cabinetry. The faux-marble tiles (ink-jet printed) look extremely nice. They worked continuously although not every day, or all day on the project, finishing close to, but a little behind the schedule they laid out. Their other jobs interfered occasionally, but not badly. On any given day, it was sometimes uncertain if someone was coming or not. The Scheipeter organization is fairly large, so you find yourselves dealing with several individuals within their organization and several subcontractors during the course of the project. Our experience was that information flow was sometimes a problem, particularly especially between and with their subcontractors. For example, people doing demolition do not always inform subsequent workers about the status of things as they were or to be reinstalled. When developing the project, we spent several hours with Steve Scheipeter discussing many ideas and tradeoffs. Once the contract was signed, Steve largely disappeared and the work was turned over to his production manager, Tom, who interfaced with all Scheipeter employees and subcontractors. Anything not written in the contract but discussed verbally with Steve sometimes got lost in this transition. Make sure anything you expect to happen appears in the written contract, including watching out for the dog, if that is important to you. When things do go wrong, the Scheipeter organization usually works very hard to fix it, often offering to redo it, but sometimes it is easier for the customer to accept the mistake than create an additional delay while it is being corrected. (See other comments below). We do suggest you personally double check with each subcontractor or employee as they show up to see if what they are planning to do matches your expectations. We found subcontractors frequently send a different person at different stages in the project, so conversations and understandings with the initial person were usually lost to later people. We sometimes experienced some difficulty getting specific construction schedules, a problem for us since we have a dog we like to let out. Not knowing for sure when and how many people were coming meant we had to keep him in much more than we liked. Many decisions are made during the process of selecting fixtures, tile, lighting, etc. We found that Scheipeter people rarely provided a contemporaneous written record with us that allowed us to confirm that these decisions “registered,” or that they entered the paperwork system. Sometimes it wasn’t until the product is delivered that the discrepancy was discovered. One example: the granite supplier in particular did not get the selections/changes that were made on edge treatment, which were not evident until after fabrication and at installation. While they offered to correct this, we accepted it as is because correcting it would have been disproportionately costly in time and materials. We wanted the job to be finished. We had the unfortunate experience of finding many of our selections of decorative tile to be discontinued or out of stock indefinitely, in some cases learning this weeks after the order was accepted. Scheipeter worked very hard to create alternatives, including searching for, and finding discontinued materials in a Kansas shop, but it was still hard for us to accept paying so much for what in one case was a sixth choice. Just be aware that even if a material vendor accepts an order, it doesn’t mean it will happen. You can count on it only when the material is in your house. I don’t know if this is typical, or an industry-wide problem having to do with the recession, but it caused us quite a bit of angst. Hidden workmanship – We verbally and in writing pointed out to several Scheipeter people our concerns about ductwork and insulation. Insulation installation, specifically mentioned in the contract, was inadequate or incomplete, ductwork was installed in such a manner as to preclude proper insulation installation, and the new ductwork was unsealed and uninsulated despite it having been so before demolition, treatment needed because of installation adjacent vented, uninsulated space reaching outside temperature. Finally, when drywall was to begin and these deficiencies were to become uncorrectable, we documented them photographically and then corrected most of them ourselves over a holiday weekend. Their first response when we did this was very negative, even angry, Scheipeter eventually refunded the cost they had budgeted for insulation. On the other hand, plumbing, electrical, and particularly tiling subcontractors were good to excellent, as was the Scheipeter finish carpenter. The tiling sub contractor deserves special mention for an outstanding job of tiling a tough floor with 16and quot; tiles. We were very pleased with his work. My general sense is that while Scheipeter is very attentive to construction details that are important to the final visual display and obvious function of their product, they are less concerned about construction details not visible in the final product, leaving responsibility for this quality largely up to the subcontractors themselves. If you use them you might ask a knowledgeable person look things over just before the drywall goes up. Building inspectors generally do not comment on quality of work, only on completeness. The contract they ask you to sign is definitely structured in their favor, since the payment schedule is mostly tied to dates, and not to contractor performance milestones (inspections, etc.) that in my experience agreements of this kind usually specify. We were uncomfortable signing the agreement, but being up against a tight schedule, we were willing to take the chance. It turned out to not be a problem in our case. Insist on a written, detailed cost estimate to support their bid. Scheipeter promised one, and eventually provided us with one, but only after repeated requests. It is also an important way of verifying the scope of the work they expect to do. While we are quite happy with look and feel of the final product, we feel that Scheipeter has room for improvement in the areas of internal communication, communication with the customer, and the quality of some of their subcontractors, particularly given that they consider themselves a high-end construction company. Our experience with Scheipeter Construction reminds us of that nursery rhyme that, paraphrased, goes something like and quot;When they are good, they are very, very good, but when they are bad....and quot; That is why despite outstanding final visual and operational quality, we offered middling scores in the numerical rankings. We have no doubt that many people will find them acceptable or excellent based on the appearance of the final product. We would consider using them in the future, but using a very different approach informed by this experience.

Excellent. See above.

It went very well. We started planning in March. When the decision to use Steve was made in early May, work started within a few weeks and we were using the new kitchen about 8 weeks later.

Very poor.

I loved them. The project went from December to August. It went wonderfully and we were really pleased. They are a wonderful group. They really care about the customer and our daily lives and not getting in the way. They were so considerate. They were also really creative in their designs and ways to figure out problems. We were really at ease the whole time and they figured it out for us. I had surgery and they sent me a gift. A lot of dust got in the heater system and blew it all over the house and they felt terrible so they hired professional cleaners who did my whole house. We got back from a trip and there was a dinner for four in my refrigerator. It was unbelievable customer service. There was a rebate on the cabinetry and his wife Michelle, who runs the office, filled it all out and sent it to me. I only had to sign it and stick it in the envelope to get my rebate. They really go above and beyond. Their work makes the rest of my house look crappy. The basement is still a man cave, but a beautiful man cave. They really did a great job. I am going to have them do some more painting this spring. They were top notch and wonderful.

They were really good. I really like them. I saw pictures of the work done by them and decided to call them. I will use them again in the future.

Had an excellent experience discussing process and needed repairs. However, have not received an estimate or any updates from company despite repeated phone calls. Truly a shame, as I would have loved to use their service, if it would have lived up to what they said.

Work was delivered as promised with minimal delays. We got several bids for design/build of basement refinish and their design was by far the most innovative, optimized available space and was reasonably priced. Owner was accessible and helpful throughout the project and communication was excellent. Designer was very easy to work with and had many helpful suggestions. Workmen were all polite, efficient and fine craftsmen. They exceeded our expectations. Highly recommended!

They build us a sunroom besides a family room and they totally remodeled our kitchen and bathroom. We did about half of the first floor. I built a real room on the foundation in front of the house. If someone came and looked at it, they would not know what's built with the original house. We were looking for someone who could take us through the whole construction project and help us with the budget and other stuff, and they were phenomenal. We had to live in the house while they did the work. They put up plastic screens with zippers. If something went wrong, we didn't have to go behind one person or the other, all we had to do was make a call and they would take care of it. We have been at it since last October and it's totally changed the way we live and the way we use our house. The employees were respectful and they listen to you. When they were working on the wall they would ask where I wanted the electrical connections to be put in and the type of connections and they would follow my instructions. They would make sure that we do stuff which cost less rather than doing stuff that was costly. When we look at the plans we wouldn't know until we are right there, so they would come to us during phases and tell us what they were going to do and we could tell them what we want done. They completely re-designed our kitchen, the entire floor, and the cabinets made it so efficient. They literally took us by the hand. The work they did on the infrastructure downstairs the piping, air conditioning, electrical pipes, electrical panels, gas pipes was phenomenal. The hardest thing was finding the right contractor and once we did that everything fell into place.

It went well, we were very pleased.