BARBIERI BUILDERS CORP

Our adventure with Barbieri Builders began in Fall of 2012. There are 3 brothers and each has a job- Some done better then others. Pat is the money guy- He will meet and greet and charm you ? but you will never see him again unless you go in to make a payment . Tony is the one responsible for the demo and building the house- Tony is the only one we could rely on ? to a point. Fred comes in after and pretty much whines about everything he needs to do ? Unfortunately, almost everything on the list should have been handled by Fred. If things were done correctly we wouldn?t have needed a punch list.He did not oversee his contractors work- from paint to electrical ? Truly we feel he dropped the ball several times.The one thing you CAN depend on is that Pat will hound you for money ? even when the work is not complete Things went fairly smooth for the first part of the project. We converted a ranch to a colonial.The vision was beautiful- the process was not We checked many builders before hiring one, and we figured that this name was reputable in the area. They have been in business many years ? but we just realized ? there are no reviews for them I cannot understand why but we thought they earned this one: Some of the problems we experienced were 1. communication from the main office staff 2. translating what we wanted vs what they wanted to do 3. accountability 4. many excuses The demo was ok but it is obvious that they don?t really care about your property. Garbage was thrown all around the dumpster and the yard for that matter. When the demo was being done, the electrican was working in the house. He unplugged the sub pump to plug in his radio and never plugged it back in. Let me add something ? This was being done around the time of Hurricaine Sandy ? We had loads of rain and wind ? Needless to say, the basement was flooded because the pump was off. Everything in the basement was damaged. Tony did help us clean it up but there was items damaged that have not been replaced- like our gym equipment and 5 or 6 pairs of expensive boots We did some unforeseen upgrades that they helped to show us but these upgrades were for their benefit as well as ours. We went to 9 foot ceilings, allowing them to run electric easier rather then working within the height they had. In the master bedroom we asked for skylights that had the blinds built in to them We got shades- but only one works ? the other is broken ? still We moved in July 1, 2013 We also had them install a Jacuzzi tub. Before we moved in, we were told that the tub was not working . Fred called Jacuzzi and we arranged to have someone come in and service it- The problem that the Barbieris couldn?t figure out was that the cord was in the back and not plugged in The Jacuzzi guy got a real kick out of that ? He was the one who also told us that the tub calls for 2 x 15 amps and they installed 1x 20 amp. We had to insist that Barbieris fix this ? If not the warranty would be null and void After many months of waiting, they finally fixed it , reluctantly We had picked out the wood floor at the place we were told to go to- The floor was made by Armstrong ? there was a delay at the manufacturer Fred proceeded to tell usthat we should order another floor because Armstrong was going out of business. We called Armstrong directly and nothing could be further from the truth ? We feel that the builders wanted us to get another floor so they could get their money sooner We confronted Fred about this and he denied it We had a bathroom mirror brought in that Fred Barbieri measured for them but he didn?t account for the walls and electrical outlets- so now the mirror was jammed in and the sides of the bathroom sheet rock are damaged Still Speaking of electric, we had to take off the outlets in order to get the mirror up- The electrical wires were nicked with a knife and the insulation was missing on the hot and neutral wire. Poor workmanship and a safety hazard. Fred Barbieri yelled at us when we told them about this- They told us we should not be removing outlets- They also didn?t complete the tile work in the bathroom ? I supposed they were waiting for the mirror, but again, it is still not done in December - They cut the tile too wide on my bathroom floor and then put a vent over it that is too small ? Clearly you can see the poor workmanship There are cracks in the wood floor that they promised to fix ? they haven?t The screws they used in the door hinges and strike plates were only an inch long. We replaced all the screws and the strike plates because they said they couldn?t fix this My husband had to fix all of this The kitchen granite has visible seams The sheet rock in the kitchen is cracked The water heater direct vent pipe was left open ? When we inquired about this we were old that this is how they do it for all their other houses ? Come to find out we found the elbow pipe on the lawn outside and my husband added it on All the kitchen plumbing connections were loose and caused leaking under the kitchen sink running on the tile floor- again we were told this was done on purpose ? that they shouldn?t be so tight ? My point is that they should be tight enough to allow us to use the kitchen sink- My husband fixed this too There was wood stain all over my kitchen tile that we had to remove The plumbing rough in was installed incorrectly ? that they did fix for us ? but if someone checked the work after it was done, this would have been done correctly from the start Keep in mind- Our home is a custom home We were always being told that ?this is what we do for all our homes? Please let the truth be known that most of their business is done in developments In that case, they build the house and then the customer will buy one of their cookie cutter homes Of course we expected to get what we paid for ? to the very end We had contacted them many times as we noticed things were not properly done They just told us to make a list and they would fix whatever was wrong It is December and still nothing The last conversation we had with them was that they wanted the balance of the money $3000.00 We refused because we are afraid the balance of the work will not get done- the last payment should be final payment When everything is complete. When we would try to get something done the correct way, we were constantly ignored. There would be no incentive for them to finish the punch list - We would have been paid in full and they could walk away We had already paid them them well over $285,000 You would think that they would come and see the problems that we are talking about We invited them to take a look- no one came to go over the list You would think that they check the work that the contractors do before they leave the site- they don?t You would think they would do the right thing and fix what they need to fix Instead they tell us that the major things are good and these are minor things To them it may be minor but to us it is our home that we paid for- no favors ? no freebies- We paid for a job to be complete and it is not ? still Pat Barbieri refuses to do the work unless we pay him what owe for the last payment This is very poor business These are just things off hand we are telling you about ? there is a lot more but I am tired and drained about this situation They claim that they just want the customer to be happy- FALSE .. We are very unhappy with the way this ended.Because of a hot head lazy brother, we now need to take things further I think we have a better chance of the Elf on a Shelf fixing the issues then Fred at Barbieri Builders If you are considering them? DO NOT !! They will come in low and you will pay more as you go along Sorry ? I wish we had better news ? Take a look at what is still pending below We have talked to some people in town and we are finding that the reputation they have is not good- In Pat Barbieri?s words ?We built you a beautiful house? and he is satisfied with that We feel that it isn?t complete and we PAID for the house that they built I feel we have been on a 2 year long roller coaster and we are ready to get off It may be necessary to contact a lawyer