ISW Custom Builders

ISW Custom Builders & the owner Brian Podwinski were massive disappointments to work with. We hired ISW to complete a home addition to add a "sport court" / home gym, and they consistently let us down. I'm a SBO and have worked with hundreds of contractors nationwide for the past 3 decades. I've seen the worst of the worst, and also know how to ID a quality contractor. I don't expect perfection, there will always be hiccups, but it's about how you respond to issues - and Brian is the worst I've ever worked with in terms of overpromising, not following through, hiring bad subs, negligence on critical areas, and being a pathological liar with a fake smile. We wanted our project to work very badly to establish a long term relationship as our regular builders - my company designs home & commercial gyms. Because of that, I gave Brian many chances to make things right, and had constant patience for their issues along the way. There was huge potential for them to build all of our future projects and they lost that chance. Negligence on the roofwork caused major flooding on all 3 levels, the final grading channeled water towards the addition leading to more flooding in the gym & basement. Not to mention the dozens of corners they cut to save a few bucks, such as using short pieces of siding instead of consistent lengths and a splicer in the middle - we now have head seams in about 15 spots on a major exterior wall. We're still missing vent covers. Using people who had never painted to attempt a 2,000 sq ft project with 20 ft ceilings. Botching our flooring install - b/c they had no experience with carpet. Failing at a poured countertop 3 times. The addition failed inspection 3 times. Every single ISW staff member (other than Brian), has quit the company since our project in 2023-24. 7 different people. Find the term "s*** show" in the dictionary and ISW is the definition.

I am writing this review because we based our selection of builders off of what we read on this site. Sadly, what we experienced is NOT what former customers had experience. Our 16 X 23 addition started in Feb of 2024 and so did the draws of money. We were promised completion would be done within 6 months. We are almost a year in and it still isn't finished, although livable. Brian is very good at telling you what YOU want to hear but broken promises will follow on a weekly basis. All work is SUB CONTRACTED, nothing is done by ISW except for bringing materials to site however most of that is also delayed. We encountered water damage due to subs not covering our roof. Brian does NOT check on sub's work so you must pay close attention to everything. Money is the motivator NOT quality or performance. Save yourself the stress DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY. Do your homework, check all references and also check the Better Business Bureau. I would gladly share more but this site is limited on words.

I was extremely impressed, first of all, with how personable Brian is. He’s up front about costs and answers any and all questions right away. His employees are also skilled and happy to answer questions as projects are completed. Finally, the craftsmanship and level of efficiency in completing the project were both very commendable. I would highly recommend Brian and his crew.

They did awesome work. It was perfect.

Brain was amazing to work with and did an awesome job on our deck! I would definitely hire him in the future.

Brian and ISW was great to work with from start to finish. Very detailed in his work and had great ideas to truly make it a custom basement. Would recommend anyone looking for any work to be done to give them a call!

Working with ISW Custom Builders was easy. They answered every question that came to mind and walked me through step-by-step as the job went along. Brian and his crew were great to work with and we will be using them again.