Towne Remodeling

It went relatively smoothly. The week before work actually started, a guy came over to brace the house and used plastic sheeting to protect that part of the basement that would not be affected by the construction. The crew from Townescapes came on September 28 and jackhammered the porch & steps. By the end of the day, they had completed the demolition and had framed the stairs. Next day, they poured the concrete in the morning and after lunch, they were pounding the pattern onto the concrete. They came back later in the week to power wash, colour and seal the concrete. Since we liked it the way it was, we told them that they didn't have to colour it. When they power washed it, it started raining in my basement. I don't think anyone believed me when I told them how much water fell into the basement, so no one did anything except to reassure me that when the flashing went in, the leaks would stop. The guys from Vista came the next week to do their stuff. I think they used a power saw to cut a couple of holes in my siding. Huge beams were inserted in those holes to support the "new" roof. They later patched the holes up with new cedar shingles. The guys from Vista worked hard at creating the new roof line. The gable was extended and so new trim had to be made to match the existing. After creating the new roof, they then worked on the ceiling and railing. The guys came around 8 in the morning and stayed till as late as 8 or 9 at night (on daylight saving time, so there was still light). When the guys from Vista were nearly finished, the electrician came to install the lights. Oops! they didn't count on there being a beam which would stop them from centering the lights. We decided to go with a flush-mounted light and a fan, which I had to supply! The project was finally "finished" in mid-November. Water continued to leak into the basement from more spots than before the project began, when it rained. It was worse when it was windy and the rain fell at an angle. Bill was informed of this. Things I'm unhappy about and I'm being nit picky about some things because the project just made things worse : - Instead of installing the flashing immediately, somehow it was decided to do that in the next contract which was signed not long after this project ended. Unfortunately, that project hasn't moved for a year, so I still do not have flashing. Bill did temporarily fix it by filling the cracks with silicone. - I wasn't refunded for the recessed lights that they didn't install - I wasn't thanked for not making them colour the concrete - I wasn't refunded for letting them go without painting the cedar shingles to match the existing shingles. - I wasn't refunded for letting them go without painting the gable trim. - there's something funky about the roof. Rain water does not flow down and into the gutter as it should. It's difficult to explain. You have to see it. BUT, the City of Cincinnati did notice that I had unpainted shingles and sent both the husband and I notices of violation and ordered us to correct the violation. Cincinnati Building Code section : 1117-47.2 Towne Remodelling was paid the balance before we went on our Christmas vacation. Update : As of today, 03/27/2012, Bill Groth does not work for Towne Properties and has passed this mess on to Chris Bortz who is the General Counsel and Special Projects Director for Towne Property. Husband emailed him ~03/19/2012 but he has chosen not to respond. Update, April 20th 2012 : Added photos which show that the workers did not respect my property and went so far as to destroy my lawn. They also ruined flower beds and killed plants in other areas.

Just to clarify. Bill Groth is a General Contractor/Project Manager. He hires subcontractors to do the work. He had managed a previous job for us. The husband liked the subcontractor (Vista Builders) from the previous job and that is why we went with Towne Remodelling despite my protests. Towne Remodelling is also known as Towne Properties Special Projects. At least, that is whom the checks are made out to. We first met Bill at the Cincinnati Home show in 2010. At that time, we wanted to expand the kitchen and install new windows to take advantage of the Federal Tax credit. Bill brought in an architect and they came up with some massive expansion plan. I stayed out of most of the talks while they stroked the husbands' ego with their plan for a new 2 car garage and wider driveway. That plan was shut down when they gave me the final cost. By this time, it was November & we really needed to make a decision about the windows. Somehow, he convinced the husband that we wanted the more expensive "new construction" windows and at the last minute got the salesman from Marsh to come over to convince the husband that fiberglass was best and so we went with Marvin's All Ultrex. Bill then got estimates from 2 subcontractors, including Vista. They were for 20 windows and siding to 3 sides of the house. Vista's estimate was nearly twice that of the other but it included a couple of things Vista thought was "wrong" when they worked on the house previously. When Bill came back with the contract, he was quick to point out that he had reduced the price on some things. He neglected to mention that he had also reduced it to 17 windows. Husband paid him 50% of the cost without reading the contract and I only found the contract weeks later. While we were on Christmas/New Year vacation, most of the 15 windows were installed. Vista installed the rest of the 15 after we came back and that was the last time I heard them. Communication with Bill continued and by February, we had settled on colours and pattern for the siding, but no word as to when the workers would come back to finish the job. Bill and I continued having meetings or exchanging emails in April, June & October concerning future projects (kitchen, mud room, 4th side of the house). It always felt like with each new proposal, he wanted to reach the "magic number"(amount we had to spend) the husband gave him. I did tell him in June, that I wanted things done before Thanksgiving. Early September, he emailed me that Vista Builders was ready to start work in 3 to 4 weeks. After 4 weeks had gone by, I asked him why no one showed up to work. That was when he mentioned that he wanted future jobs sorted out. I think that by the end of October, He finally got it that I was now in charge of the funds and he had to work harder to get another contract out of us. After leaving me with a new project manager who claimed he didn't know anything about the contract and disappearing for 3 weeks, I finally called St. Paul Place. Bill called husband to tell him that he was not going to work with me due to my health. Where we are today? Three choices : 1. Force them to honour the contract 2. Get another contractor, but will they refund my money? 3. Get Vista to take over the contract. Update : As of today, 03/27/2012, Bill Groth does not work for Towne Properties and has passed this mess on to Chris Bortz who is the General Counsel and Special Projects Director for Towne Property. Husband emailed him ~03/19/2012 but he has chosen not to respond.

Great! Steve Braun was extremely helpful. We had some architectural antiques (columns, door fronts, carved griffins, old growth oak boards, and beer engine) which we wanted to put in our pub. Steve helped us place these and design the bar around the items which we had. He also came up with some creative ideas for some problem areas and alternative materials to use--he was great at thinking on his feet. We used high definition laminate instead of granite, and porcelain tile which looked like slate instead of actual slate. The other workmen who framed, drywalled, and finished the space were polite, careful around the house, and cleaned up every day. We were very pleased with the end result.

It took them longer than I thought to complete the job as I had bought the fan ahead of time and they had to look for the right part of the fan. The quality of their work was very good.

This company is great--responsive, prompt, and efficient. Never any delays. They can do it all.