Ivy Lea Construction

Ivy Lea sent two different teams out this past Spring. One to replace our roof then the other to put in all new windows downstairs. Both teams were extremely professional. When we had questions or concerns they were addressed immediately. The work was done on time and looks great. The follow up and quality of work made us feel like we made a good decision investing our money with Ivy Lea. We had gotten quotes from a couple of other companies ( who have good reputations) but we felt most comfortable w Mike from Ivy Lea and how they explained the process of the work, the quality materials and a quality warranty. Were they the cheapest? No but we were looking for quality and service. We feel like we got that. The windows particularly look great! We have already recommended Ivy Lea to friends. We are very pleased with Mike and his team and will call them again down the road for our kitchen.

Mike was very professional and the company seems great. Ultimately, the estimate (even after discount) was much too high given the quality of the materials used (in comparison to competition who will be installing higher quality fiberglass replacement windows).

Would not give a quote that day. Quote came several days later via email, and is twice the other two quotes.

After over a month, they never responded to the initial email I sent. I would not consider them for the future due to their lack of responsiveness and professionalism.

They're top-notch. I built five homes and these guys are first-rate, absolutely the best in the Western New York area. They're just great and I can't be positive enough about that. Their ethics stands out most to me. It's a "Do it right" concept and if clients can't afford to do it right, they'll have to find another provider. They solve problems in advance; these guys are so skilled and they've been around remodeling old homes for so long that they know the problems that they're going to encounter that I have never thought about. It saved me a ton of money and the quality of work is so outstanding. They have a positive attitude and they're excellent communicators. These folks have a long history of craftsmanship. I've gotten to know these people personally over the years as a result of working on my two houses. I can call them up and they'll come out and take care of issues right away. They're not the most expensive and they're certainly not the cheapest.

They did everything in a very competent and professional manner. The crew was wonderful and the supervision was excellent. I plan to use them again this Spring for another project.

Company guarantees their work....a simple phone call for assistance and excellent service.

We didn’t use them because their estimate was too high. However, they were prompt.

The project went very well. Everyone requested was done to specification. There was nothing missed and nothing that had to be redone. Everyone i interacted with was professional and punctual. It was a challenge getting the work completed timely as they had to schedule later than originally intended and it ran over the holidays. But that is secondary to having the work done well and not missing anything. I would recommend and reuse.

It was great. They were very punctual, on time and organized. When we had them come out for a quote, they showed up with a whole folder with tons of information, pictures and newspaper articles. We were very impressed. They were very quick at getting back to us with a quote. We had another quote that took a few weeks longer in comparison. We liked their website and their presentation was very good. They definitely weren't the cheapest contractor to do the job but we felt their prices were fair and the quality of work was really top notch. We trusted them to do a lot of things at our house. Originally we had carpeting laid down and they ripped it out and put new floors in. They were really honest about that too because originally we weren't sure if we would have to get new hardwood floors or if they would be able to redo 100 year old floors. The cost to restore the hardwood was cheaper than buying new ones. They did an amazing job of restoring the floors. They saved us a bit of money and we were really grateful. They helped us refinance our mortgage. They also had a lot of coupons which really helped a lot. Their managers were so responsive. They were always calling with updates and showing up at the house. They were super responsive on keeping us updated.

We liked them. We have used them several times. We like their work.We are happy with their price.

They were fine. They were quick, they were professional, they didn't leave a mess, and they explained to me what they were doing each step of the way. The interaction with them was good, they took care of everything that I needed to worry about and asked me the right questions at the right time. The service went well, and I have no problems two years down the way. They were a little more expensive.

It was fine. They did a nice, good job. They were very professional and they came on time. They worked in a reasonable amount of time. They are relatively expensive. I would recommend using them.

NIGHTMARE! Ivy Lea subcontracted an UNLICENSED contractor with no permit, to install my furnace. They also had no permit for my hot water tank, and another sub had no permit for my exhaust fan. The furnace venting was installed improperly, causing the furnace to suck the exhaust back inside, causing possible life threatening fumes. The furnace that I was billed for (that was paid for through Energy Star and my grant) was NOT the furnace that was installed. They also invoiced for a VERY expensive Lennox CS7000 thermostat and gave me a cheap Honeywell. They also invoiced an expensive air filtration system (Lennox HC16) which they did not install. The hot water tank is not the brand and BTU's that they billed for. It is 2 years later, and I still have the wrong furnace with at least 8 service calls (really more I think). I have been told these were all errors that slipped by... how do you subcontract to UNLICENSED contractors, and not know that any of the required permits for all of the contractors they used were obtained? How do you accidentally invoice for items that were the wrong items or items that were never even installed???? Isn't that what a General Contractor does? I am waiting for my new furnace that I have been promised, which is the furnace I was invoiced for 2 years ago, with the correct thermostat and filtration system. I am hoping it is done very soon, and done by LICENSED people with the required permits. I find it hard to believe that I am the only customer that these things slipped by for, so I am begging you to check with anyone you know that used Ivy Lea for any work and have them call their local licensing and permit offices to please make sure the work done had the required permits and was done by licensed subcontractors. The whole furnace and billing rip-off's would never have been discovered if I didn't have possible Carbon Monoxide issues. 3/10/14 UPDATE I am updating my review to let members know that Mr. Washington/Ivy Lea Construction does not feel that after Ivy Lea blatantly had a furnace, hot water tank and thermostat installed in my home that were not the make/models in my contract, without even telling me before putting them in, just went and did it, without permits required, and for the furnace, not even a license, not installing the extra filtration system, nor the fancy expensive thermostat they sold me, countless days and nights of furnace service issues, having to replace the furnace 2 more times in 2 1/2 years, with the furnaces cycling over and over and not lighting all the while wasting my utilities, putting improper ventilation in both the furnace and hot water tank... both... causing extra holes in my home... not to mention fumes in my home, which we believe caused us to be ill, and visit our doctors and go for tests, all with co-pays... and just what are claimed to be "mistakes" happening over and over... and finally now... a mere 2 1/2 years later and getting only what we originally paid for...nothing more...finally 2 1/2 years later after telling us we would figure out something for compensation once my 3rd furnace was put in....3rd one... did Ivy Lea/Mr. Washington decide he now doesn't want to give us any compensation after everything we went through. I am appalled any business would not be doing everything possible to fairly compensate any customer who went through half of what I did... but it is my sincerest opinion that this is the kind of businessman Mr. Washington is, and the kind of business Ivy Lea is. He told me he is not compensating me, telling me to get a lawyer and after all of my nightmare... I am not entitled compensation. I did not do anything wrong. I put up with all the crap, all the "so called mistakes" that they made, and out of over $11,200.00 he was paid in December of 2011, and just now 2 1/2 years later agreed to give me what I originally contracted for and he was paid for, after just putting in whatever they felt like, without even telling me first, actually contracting specific makes, models and extra bells and whistles and just showing up and putting in cheaper items of even the wrong brands... just doing it... and doing it wrong and illegally. I just can't stress that enough... and the total aggravation and events that that lead to... "I don't deserve compensation." This is absurd, and I will do everything legally possible to be compensated, but more importantly I will share my true story with anyone that will listen, and ask that they tell anyone that will listen and so on and so on. This is all I can do and what everyone involved in these situations needs to do so that this can't keep happening to consumers. This is a true story, a true experience and a true nightmare. And his response was "I believe this is where Ivy Lea can shine..."...how does any of this make Ivy Lea shine? It makes me sick. I am just in shock that this could happen to anyone... and I really have been pretty nice up to this point by being politely honest. Now I am irate after a broken promise of compensation as the icing on the cake. UPDATE 4/25/14 I just wanted to share with members that although Mr. Washington felt that with all Ivy Lea had put us through he owed us no compensation, his insurance carrier did not agree, and has paid thousands of dollars to myself, and thousands of dollars to the other person in the home!!!!!! If my nightmare was not true, we wouldn't have been compensated by his insurance carrier. I cannot believe that anyone would hire this company after reading my review. There are plenty of reputable A rated companies out there to do business with, why would you even consider this one?? **** 2/18/14 Mr. Washington, Thank you for your response. I have had the new furnace and thermostat installed. I would like to address your answer to my review. You stated you have now put in procedures to check for permits and licenses, and inspect work that is done by subcontractors before you pay them. Great news! I just wonder why you have been in business over 20 years and just now realize that you need to do this. What were you doing all these years? The problem with my furnace was not just a pitch in the ventilation. My first furnace was not the brand/type originally contracted, and did not work properly and was replaced 1 month later. The second furnace was again, not the furnace I paid for, did not have the filtration system I paid for, and did not have the thermostat I paid for. The exhaust vent and air intake were right next to each other and had no termination kit and were at the same level which is against code, for the reason that it sucks in exhaust fumes. The hot water tank, also installed without a permit, was exhausted right next to the furnace intake as well, and too close to my bedroom window, which again was illegal and not up to code for the same reason. You also had this corrected when the third furnace was installed. This still was not the 40,000 BTU American Standard tank I contracted for and was billed for, I have a 36,000 BTU Ruud tank, but it works and I have chosen to live with it. Y ou have used every excuse possible to say that it was not possible that both of us were sickened by the fumes from improper ventilation of the furnace, which we believe we were suffering from, and actually is what triggered us finding out about all of these issues. We were sick before we knew about the ventilation problem. We didn't manufacture that after we found out. If you read every reputable website, every furnace manufacturer website, every furnace installation manual, etc., you will find that they all state that the way my furnace was improperly vented can cause illness or death. You also sub-contracted a $1,550.00 exhaust vent in my bathroom, again without a required permit. I also forgot to mention the insulation that your company blew into the outside walls of my home, which cracked open a wall in my living room and came into my kitchen cabinets. Not one bit of work your company performed was good. You have excuses for everything, which I just cannot believe. If it was not a deliberate attempt to overcharge me and avoid having inspection triggered by obtaining permits for the work, then it was surely just incompetence of your company. It is all just a little hard to swallow as oversights. I have been through a nightmare for over 2 years now. You promised we would talk compensation after everything was corrected. I am ready now to see what the compensation will be that you are offering me for all that I have been through. Even if I were to believe these matters were all accidental oversights, I have been through so much aggravation as per above for the last 2 1/2 years. I hope you will decide to fairly compensate us, and I will keep Angie's list members informed of the resolution. Again, as a Certified NYSERDA company and a BPI certified company, if you actually followed the guidelines for your certification, none of this would have occurred. Your company gets extra training for each of these certifications, and should have known better than any other company out there as to the rules and safety issues for the work performed. Therefore I can not accept excuses for these oversights, because I know you have received special training to avoid these circumstances.

Overall the experience was okay, but I would not recommend wasting time with them unless you want to overpay for the same work, product and result as other local firms. We took bids from 6 contractors, all of which are highly qualified to do the specific type of work (including artisan and millwork) and all quoted the same quality siding and windows, so we could compare apples to apples. Ivy Lea was well over twice the next highest bid. We were expecting $30k for installed siding and replace a couple windows, they quoted $64K for just siding and one window. That is ridiculous. The estimator said when he arrived that they are twice others bids, at least he was honest I can give him that much. But he then went on a rant bashing other contractors I had talked to. If you're so great and can charge these prices, then why bother bashing others? I found it very off putting and not a good way to do business. We were only looking at Ivy Lea because of the ease of finance options. He did leave the financing paperwork and some brochures about the product they use. But, he then took over a month to get the written estimate back to us, and then only after I called many times to get it. By then we had already chose a much better option. In all fairness, I have seen their work compared to the other contractors we checked out, I worked for a major multinational engineering firm, they do good work. But I think they are highly overpriced.

I am a Commercial Construction Manager. I deal with commercial contractor all the time. We have drawings and specifications and complicated contracts to make sure the work conforms to the design intent. I cringed, originally, at the thought of having to deal with residential contractors. There, it?s a lot of talking and smiling and pointing and asking and deciding and trusting. What gets written down is usually somewhat illegible, general, and ultimately in the best interest of the contractor, not the owner. I am so glad that I decided on Ivy Lea Construction. The guy who first came to my house seemed genuinely jovial and friendly. Their pricing, although not the lowest, was in line with the prices I got from other contractors. Brad and the crew replaced a rotting 120 year old single glazed picture window with a new tight Anderson insulated unit in one day. They back-primed all the wood and even replaced the dentils above the window to match the adjacent windows. They also replaced over 300 square feet of rotted wood clapboard siding and trim. There was never a mention of extra costs, even though the damage was worse than could have been anticipated at first sight. I highly recommend Ivy Lea Construction. They were prompt and professional. Their finished work exceeded my expectations.

We didn't go with Ivy Lea due to the project not moving forward period. However, they were courteous, punctual, and provided good insight to our proposed project. Their price was on the higher end, but I would entertain offers from them for future projects.

Everyone arrived on time and was very professional. The quality was A-1 all the way.

They were very professional and did very good work. Very pricy.

I love Ivy Lea Construction. They were prompt and on time. As a matter of fact I have to call them to come back again.

The man I spoke to on the phone explained the process to me and gave me a rough estimate of the cost . I was unable to use the service at that time because my tub was not connected to plumbing at that time. I may use this company in the future.

Excellent! The job started on time and completed in three days early. Very professional "at every level."

The company came out to remove and replace driveway from control joint before side entry door to rear garage. They were also going to put in a stockade fence around my property for 1,000 dollars more than any fencing company. When I asked them why was it so much they said they outsource the fence but they would not outsource the driveway. So I decided to let them do the driveway. A crew showed up in front of my house. They must have tracking devices because it is timed when they come to your property. It does not mean they start the work. They sat out front, I was home and saw the crew drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. They finally started an hour later and it was not a professional crew. It was a bunch of kids in their 20's laughing and horsing around until a foreman showed up. I called the president of the company and he stated that this was not his best crew he had on staff, but he would fix the situation. I let them continue. The same crew came out again, late horsing around and throwing coffee cups and cigarettes all over my property. I have pictures. When they were taking out the driveway they cracked a piece of my garage floor and tried to deny it. When the President of the company came out to look at the damage he tried to blame my old garage floor. I told him I saw it happen out my back window and then he changed his story and said he would fix the problem. When they finally completed the job and took all my money, the driveway was not level and concrete was splashed all over my garage door and house. Then once they had my money the arguments started. They denied making a mess, they denied splashing concrete. They finally said I will pressure wash your driveway and that is the best they could do. I asked them why the driveway was uneven, they said it was because of the way my backyard was. I did not believe them so I called another contractor on Angie's list and he agreed with me, that even if your property is uneven they should of built the area to make it all even. He then stated that if the job is not 10,000 or more that they in fact out source the work to another company. That is why I did not see Ivy Lea trucks, just regular no name trucks. I called Ivy Lea to come out again in June 2013 and the request went to the president but he deferred the request to a coworker. This coworker has only been with the company 9 months but his specialty is concrete. When he saw my driveway he stated it was done incorrectly, the black base around the house was done incorrectly and it was a messy job. He then stated he would have a meeting with Ivy Lea and fix the issues. We never heard from him again. They sent out the original person who gives estimates and said it would cost additional money to fix. Then he said he could finish my driveway for 8900 dollars, which is a smaller area than the one they tried to fix. When I called the other concrete company from Angie's list (A+ rating) they said that is double of what it should be and they would do for 4100 dollars. This company is only in this business for the money and they don't care that people work hard and do not have a lot of money, so they fool you with there financing options. I would stay away from doing any business with this company. Once last comment, I decided not to Seal the driveway with their company because they wanted to charge another 300 dollars to do the work. When the original estimator came out and I said if I seal the driveway this year he stated it would be 750 dollars. I have all the paperwork, estimates and pictures to back up all my claims.

It went very well, they arrived on time and worked hard and paid attention to all the details. When unexpected issues poped up, they explained what had to be done. They did all the work, nothing was subcontracted out. If the need arises, I will use them again. They came in at the lowest cost as well.

Overall the things went well. Ivy Lea Construction team was professional and on time. They cleaned everything up when they were finished - very important!