Wood Peace Construction

Bob Forkish, owner of Wood Peace Construction, has been my go-to guy for the last three repair and/or remodeling jobs on residential property. It all began a few years back when I discovered this company on Angie’s List. My sister’s home needed some exterior repair and I selected Wood Peace to do the job. There were two things I noticed right away. First, Bob Forkish prefers to work alone, or with a helper who simply assists him, as he does his job. Second of all I noticed Bob was able to make repairs in such a manner as to blend-in and not look like a “repair.” He was very good at making precise cuts, a procedure he called “slice and dice,” after I commented on his ability to figure out the way a procedure should be done. I should mention at this point, that I personally have spent the last fifty years in the real estate business, the last twenty five years as a real estate appraiser. During my real estate career, I have seen the work of many builders; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Bob’s work stands out to me, particularly, when considering he usually works alone. This point was really spelled out on the next job I had Bob do for me. I discovered my personal residence had a wood-rot problem, along the soffit exposure of a second story dormer which had a low 3/12 roof pitch, I thought might cause the problem. Just to be sure, I had the house professionally inspected, and learned the low pitch was a factor, but was complicated by improper gutter and gutter-guard installation, as well as the result of an improper installation of a TV dish receiver. I determined this repair might get messy, so I called Bob. As it turned out it was worse than expected. Bob discovered when he removed some of the area around the spot which was noticeable, that the rafter ends and a large portion of the roof sheeting had rotting wood. When he removed a portion of the siding, it too was showing signs of wood-rot. This was not going to be a simple repair job. Over the last few years we had noticed that there were siding issues all around the house even though we had been pro-active in painting and general maintenance. As more of the siding was removed and found to be in a rotting condition, we decided to replace all the siding in addition to the repair and replace areas of the roof and soffit. I was now going to find out just how good Bob was. He set up a metal scaffold and began the job which lasted a rather long time. Keep in mind, Bob primarily works alone. The work required, physically appeared to be more than one man could manage, particularly when the siding we used was Hardi-plank, a heavy concrete core plank material, which is very long in length. Bob assured us he could handle it and handle it he did, with a minimum of assistance from me, and I do mean minimum. We did sub-contract out the actual roof covering, and house painting, although Bob painted the trim as he did the siding. I failed to mention much of this work was done during the Winter. We were more than pleased with the completed project and we received many compliments from neighbors and friends. Some year and a half later, my wife decided she wanted to replace the front door and construct a front porch roof that she would have liked to have done when the siding project was being done, but was not possible because of weather, etc. We called Bob. Due to size differences in current materials we had to purchase a smaller door assembly than when the house was built. It was a problem but Bob’s ability to “slice and dice” came in handy again. The door project itself was great and again we received similar compliments from neighbors and friends. The porch design we chose that would compliment the new door assembly, and the front of the house, was anything but typical. It began with an on-line picture we found. Bob took the picture and studied it as to how it could be adapted to structurally align with the original construction of the house. The finished product was actually planned by Bob as a hybrid of a total of three pictures we had chosen. He had to lay it out on his patio and do some unbelievable “slicing and dicing” to make it work. The finished product is unique to say the least, and we could not be happier. We are already receiving compliments. As the project was nearing completion, Bob stated that we had a one and only porch profile; that he had worked all over the country, including Beverly Hills, and had never seen one like it. I told Bob that it was his work of art, and that no one I’d ever met in the real estate business in my 50 year career could have achieved what he did, starting from “scratch.”

Bob addressed all of the issues identified and designed some very creative solutions to make it all work, again in a very cramped space. He was able to tie into our existing eave drainage system to channel water away from the door. He also fully leveled the door, and thoroughly replaced the bad wood with new, and sealed the bottom of the structure to prevent penetration from bugs. We were very happy with his work detail, creativity, and thoroughness. I should add that Bob provided a rough estimate of the work overall at the beginning, again with the caveat that on a 50 year old home you don’t always know what is necessary. The final total reflected the initial estimate, with minor adjustments for items identified and addressed during the project.

He was professional and detailed in his work, and worked through a variety of known and unknown issues. (The house is over 50 years old, so we would commonly come across something that wasn’t done to code prior or had issues we couldn’t see. Bob was very helpful in identifying these items and providing recommendations on how to address properly.) Bob was also very good to accommodate our schedules and ensure that he completed the work promptly so that we didn’t have to go without a functioning kitchen for any longer than necessary. For example, he came to remove the sink and stove the day before the new countertops were to be installed. He also then worked a long day installing the new sink and stove the day after. This last day required much rework to the drain line due to blockages in the old pipe. Bob’s overall bill came in just below what he originally estimated, and that was with a few other issues identified along the way too that he addressed and fixed. We were very happy with Bob’s help and would be happy to recommend him and hire him again.

Bob Forkish did all the work himself without assistance including putting up and removing scaffolding. He corrected some attachment areas from previous work we had done,( i.e. screened porch and bay window additions); He re-flashed windows and doors, and did a fantastic job on everything. Bob, through Angie's List had done some previous repair work for us on my sister's house which we were very happy about, so we contacted him for this job. It started out as a repair job and because of damage found turned into a total exterior renovation. We couldn't be more pleased.

Bob worked efficiently and with consideration for keeping mess out of the house. He listened well and created precisely the details I requested. The quality of the materials and workmanship is excellent. He doesn't work with an exact estimate, but offered all receipts and kept an honest record of hours worked. Whenever possible, Bob found great deals on the materials and passed on the savings to me. After removing a wall and discovering a need to change the plan, we were able to quickly establish a new plan and proceed promptly. He saved me several hundred dollars on a door replacement. After many months, I remain happy with all the work Bob did for me. If you are looking for the kind of guy that would do your job the way you would if you could, this is that guy!

The service went really well. I chose the option of one provider for two days. They did not change the $449 Big Deal price. It is just that it took longer. The workers were very professional and punctual. They were very prompt; they were right on-time to the minute almost. I would recommend him. It was just one person, but the company, I would recommend wholly. I thought the price was kind of expensive just for the work that exceeded my deal, but I understand from other people that it is $50 an hour. I understand that that was the going rate for carpenters. The work itself was good, but he talked a lot.

I spoke with Peace Construction about building some custom bookcases for a residential library. Although I have not moved ahead with the project thus far, I was very impressed with his responsiveness and professionalism, and think he would do a very good piece of work, whether it be for just the bookcases or the whole project, for a very reasonable price.

I purchased an Angie's list deal back in December 2014. Bob Forkish called me in January but we had some difficulty arranging our start date due to obligations of the part of both of us. However, we did stay in communication via email until we finally decided upon a start date of May 27th. In the meantime, Bob came to visit my home where he took measurements, outlined the details of the project, and told me of his per hour charge for every hour over the 16 I had bought with the deal. Bob has a very personable demeanor and did highly professional work. He was working on a load-bearing wall but assured us of the stability of his work by showing us the high-quality beams he had purchased. (Bob either owned or purchased all of the materials he needed, and that was a plus because I hate it when a contractor sends me to buy materials I know nothing about). He arrived on time daily (he worked for a total of three days), and worked without interruption, not even stopping for lunch on the third day. At the end of each day he cleaned up and put his tools out of the way. Bob was skillful and creative, especially when it came to designing and making a transition between the laminate on the living room floor and four layers of vinyl on the kitchen floor. He told me of my options and gave me his professional opinion. I could not be more pleased with the result. At first when I viewed the threshold from a certain angle, I could not tell where the threshold ended and the laminate began, because he had made the threshold of oak, which he stained to match the laminate flooring. Bob also did some electrical work, relocating the light switch and the outlet from the section of wall he cut out, (saving me the time and expense of hiring an electrician). He primed the new door facing, so that it would look really good until I started another phase of remodeling (my living room and eventually my kitchen). I was confident in his ability and never once thought to myself "what have I gotten myself into" ( as I usually do during remodeling), Bob inspires confidence from the very beginning. I was happy to get the Angie's list deal, because it saved me quite a bit of money, approximately 20% (and it gave me the impetus to start a project I had been thinking about for years). There were no surprises about the cost of the job. He had told me on the first visit how long he thought the job would take, and at the end, he showed me receipts for the supplies he had purchased. Bob's per hour rate is fair, considering the quality of his work and his electrical abilities, but I don't think that I, personally, could have afforded him without the deal. But mainly what we want is quality work, right?

Bob is conscientious and a craftsman, old school. I was completely confident to have him in my home. I accidentally put a very valuable item in the trash. Bob spotted the item when he was at the landfill and returned it to me the next day. No one would have known if he had kept it. It was very good of him to return the item. I like the way Bob works. He thinks about the task and proceeds to accomplish them in an efficient manner. He is very good at dealing with people. He supervised his helper with no fuss, no muss and kept me apprised of his progress. Bob also explains beforehand if he has a better solution to a problem. He advised me on many issues and did what we agreed upon. He works hard and is easy to get along with. I feel that I got more for the money from him than other contractors I have used. I will hire him again.

I'm a pretty hand person performing a number of improvements in my homes over the years, but occasionally I have jobs that are too big for me to handle and I call in the experts. Expectations tend to raise when you do a fair amount of work yourself. Many times the contractors I hire leave a bad taste in my mouth as the quality of work is not up to the standards I would expect or the quality is good, but I'm broke afterward and feeling a bit cheated. So I've had a lot of contractors come through over the years of home ownership and Bob of Wood Peace is in my top three hands down. You will not be disappointed, I can assure you. He's thorough, detailed, professional and one that provides carpenter quality work at every turn in large projects paying attention to the details anyone else would miss. Can't say enough good things and almost don't want to let the secret out because then he'd be so busy with other work he wouldn't be around for my other projects I'll call him back on. Pricing is very reasonable. I'm not saying Wood Peace is cheap necessarily, but his time and materials quote did come in under another fixed quote bid I had by a several hundred dollars. It's a bit scary when going down any other path than fixed price, but he's a very fair and honest person working through the snowy conditions and putting in the hours in to get the job done. Wood Peace delivered at the highest levels at every turn. Very happy customer that will use their services again without a doubt in my mind.

The project took longer than anticipated, therefore causing the cost to go up as he charged by the hour. He moved a little slower than expected and left the project incomplete, leaving material for me to sand the walls to prep for painting; which was a disappointment. We had hoped to get some other work completed during his time in our home, but slow movement on the remodel didn't allow for more work to be completed. Also, one of the laundry closet doors broke about a week after it was installed. He was helpful in picking up our materials from the store for us on his trailer.

Bob was professional and punctual. When he found that the wall behind the damaged bathroom tile was unfit to hold new tile he reconstructed the wall. He custom designed plinth blocks to accommodate crown molding on a crooked ceiling and repaired top molding on a bookcase. These were unexpected issues but necessary to the completion and quality of the repair and renovation. He did a good job and results are beautiful. He had to come back two additional times to fully complete the work but he did this at no additional costs. The job took longer and was more expensive than I hoped it would be but that was due to unexpected problems and certainly not because of anything Bob failed to do. I have other jobs that need to be done and I will use Wood Peace again.

It did not go well. He did some of the work that I wanted him to do while he was there. He never got finished and then when he got close to the time he was supposed to finish, he was like, "Well, I've got another 17 hours of work to complete what you want done. So there's two days of work or whatever." I was like, "What? You should have told me where we were at in the process." So it didn't work out that well for me. I just felt like it was a little deceptive practice because even if it was going to cost more or taken more he should have told me that upfront. He can't stop in the middle of the process and say, "Well, if I go on further it's going to cost you additionally another $500." He was a nice guy, but he needs to communicate upfront. The price of the coupon was fine. It was a good deal.

After looking at the job, he estimated it would be my big deal price to just set up scaffolding and look to see what needed to be done as well as perhaps starting on some of the work to replace a few boards. after telling him I could not have him start the job without at least getting some estimate for the cost, he quoted it would take about 10 to 14 days with 2 persons to do the work just on the sides of the home. Given the uncertainty, I decided to go with someone who can give an estimate for repairs and supplies. I realize that there was a lot more work to be done than purchased for by the big deal, but I am uncomfortable with the level of uncertainty that having no written estimate would provide.

I booked the Big Deal for a week of contacting services. It was $1500 for allegedly a week's work. Bob came out quickly, albeit @ 6 AM to review the project. He had a note pad and wrote down some of what I said. When I asked if he wanted me to make a list, he said that he had everything. He wanted to start Monday, which was quick, so I raced around to get the paint etc... to try and make the project go smoothly. Bob and his assistant showed up, on time, and began loading in. I left to go to work. I came home, and the only thing that had been done was not what we talked about. He stated the next morning that my week of general contacting was going to run out that day, and that it was $50 per hour per man. Bob and his helpers are both in their 60's, and it took them over an hour to load in their tools. So, a $1500 project was looking like $4000 OR MORE ( Since he had never quoted me anything more than the original $1500) to complete. He wanted me to pay for the labor for the errors he'd made the day before. I reminded him that I offered to write everything down, but that he told me he had everything. He REFUSED to give me a price on finishing the work, saying " I can't work like that. It's $50/hr." $50 per hour is a reasonable rate for a carpenter, but most of what I needed done, a handyman could do. When we discussed the scope of work, he never mentioned that it would be more than the 32 hours I paid for or gave me an hourly rate for extra work. When I confronted him on these facts, he said that he'd been in business for 30 years and no one had ever treated him that way, and that " I has signed a contract", which of course I did not, because he never made a list of the work in writing. I called Angie's List and got my money back.

His scheduling was not convenient for mine so I chose to have the deal refunded.

I was so pleased with the original work that he did that I requested that he perform additional work. He was quite pleasant and easy to work with. I would definitely call on him in the future.

Gads we were working on fumes by the end, but I was all worth it. I now have a beautiful clean and crisp 1/2 bath that I am proud to share with guests. I cannot tell you how much I appreciated how Bob worked with me. He is definitely not against working with a handy woman. This did save me a lot of money. I think he would have been here an extra day if I had not helped. He was willing to defer to my ideas but was not afraid to tell me if something needed to be done differently. Ladies, if you are not handy you can clean up during the process. You can also paint. It is easy to follow directions to put together a light fixture. Go for it! He will also provide you with all receipts of materials he buys. This is critical. Bob is honest and does not charge you for things he doesn't use and returns for cash FYI - for the Ladies - Often contractors buy stuff you don't need ,-charge you for it, and then take it back for cash at the end of the job. Thus you are paying for product you never used. I recommend you buy the materials and you can take back what he/she does not use. I bought multiple risers (the tube that connects a sink or toilet to the water) and took back what he/she didn't use. He will tell you what he needs and your can go and buy it. If you are not sure once you get to the store and there are options buy them all - you can- return. Bob did not do this but this is how I operate after I figured out was happening with other contractors. If a contractor buys something get a receipt and pay per receipt. If the product is not used - you take it back. HIRE THIS GUY HE IS GREAT AND HONEST!!!!!

He does excellent work. I have owned my home for 20+ years and have never had a contractor that worked this hard and well. He was outstanding and the best contractor I have ever hired. Over the years I have probably dealt with about 5-7. He is the only one I would call back.

I hired Bob to put in insulation and to drywall my 2-car garage. As I talked to him, I mentioned that I would really like to add a window. He agreed to do that, too. To do this, he had to remove external siding, cut the opening in a side wall, and then install a large, double-hung insulated window. He was meticulous about how it was framed, and made sure all the exterior siding that he had to remove and cut was replaced perfectly. The first few days he worked on this, it was unseasonably hot {90's] and humid, and the sun was shining directly into the garage, so I was especially impressed that he just kept working with no real breaks. He arranged to have all supplies delivered to the site, and spent two days installing insulation and drywall - including cutting in around water heater, electric panel, etc. The final step was 'mudding' all the drywall seams and, again, his work was meticulous. We had agreed to a "time + materials" cost basis, the total cost, including the window and all drywall, insulation, plus his labor, came in right about at the midpoint of other estimates I'd received for this project. In summary, Bob was working here for the better part of 4 days and I found him very reliable, considerate, hard-working, and friendly to both me, and my my little dog :-) I will definitely call him again if I have need for a builder/contractor in the future !

The service provider responded immediately, apologizing indicating that it would be weeks before he would be able to do our project. We need the project done sooner. We contacted him and let him know that we would request a refund. He responded and thanked us for our understanding. He handled the matter professionally and we hold no ill will, just want a refund of the $249.

Bob Forkish from Woodpeace Construction did 2 of 3 jobs that we put out for bid. The third job (no bid) was to fix some foundation problems. Appreciate Bob's candor and honesty not to stretch beyond his abilities 'just for a buck'. The jobs that he did do, one was to build out a small deck (approx 8x10) and the other was to replace 4 rotting support columns to our front porch entry. All material supplied by me and available at job site for Bob. Total time took 5 days. Bob works at a slow and measured pace. Took a little bit longer than I had expected or anticipated, but the finished product is solid and spot on!

Bob quickly told us the simplest and neatness way to rebuild the lower kitchen cabinets to make room for the range. After telling him that we had decided to get a gas range, he told us what needs to be done to install it and he can take care of that as well. I casually commented that I was going to get an over-the-range convection-microwave oven which I thought I had plenty of room for. Bob quickly informed us that I couldn't do that because I didn't have room to mount meet code requirements. Microwave will need to be mounted higher. He showed us what we must do to mount this to code and demonstrated for us why we can't do that. He offered his suggestions on reworking the cabinets so that I can have the microwave....and he will do that as well. Through casual conversation about other things, Bob offered several suggestions for adding some shelf space in our kitchen in order to get things off my counter. My husband and I were very impressed with his knowledge and his ideas. He seems to be very creative ... and visual meaning he can look at something and quickly envision ideas of things that "he" can do to customize and personalize your space. He appears to be very experienced, one who really enjoys his work, who enjoys sharing his ideas whether you take advantage of them or not, and one who wants to provide the best craftsmanship possible.

Bob arrived on time, provided prompt estimates. Stayed within his estimates and did quality work.

I spoke with Bob on the phone and he sounded interested in helping us with the project. He made an appointment for the following week. The appointment time came and went and he didn't show up. No phone call or anything. I finally called him and he apologized but basically just made excuses. I understand stuff comes up but to no-show clients is unacceptable in any business and wasted an afternoon of my wife and mine's life.