Softwall Finishing Systems LLC

We contacted John at Softwalls in early Jan 2011 to get our basement project started. We met several times and I never got a final drawing of what the basement was going to look like. I got a rough sketch with no measurements. We own a construction company so this made me a little nervous but John assured me it would be okay. It took a very long time for the project to actually start but since I was not familiar with the SoftWall process I was not too worried. John told me the panels were constructed in his warehouse and everything would be brought to our basement and installed. The installers showed up and they did not have a finished drawing to work with. They had the same rough sketch I had with no measurements. They were not sure where the electrical outlets were supposed to go. John did not have enough recessed lights including in the plans for the square footage. He also did not realize we needed another electrical subpanel installed to accommodate the extra electrical requirements. This was an extra charge. This is when I realized John was rushing through this project and I began to call and ask questions. I was nervous that as the project progressed I would be hit with other "unforeseen" costs. The project lingered for months and months and John always had an excuse. The two guys working in the basement were excellent and their work was stellar. However, John did not deliver enough materials to keep them busy. They would call him and request materials and he would deliver the wrong stuff or not deliver anything at all. John made mistakes and ordered the wrong doors. The guys put a wall in the wrong place because they did not have good notes or a finished drawing. John did not return phonecalls and his voicemail box was always full. I ended up paying his subcontractors directly because they were not paid promptly and I told John I would pay him the balance when the job was complete. As of today, July 31, 2011 the job is not complete. There are several areas that have very shotty finish work and some trim is missing. He installed a piece of trim and it cracked down the middle when he nailed it in. It was obvious that he was rushing and trying to get the job done so he could get paid the balance. He never installed an electrical outlet that I requested and suggested I just run an extension cord and he would drill a hole through the panel. I still owe a balance on the job and I am sure he will not be back to finish the punch list. I expect quality work and John is not capable or willing to perform quality work. I tried several time to talk to him and explain that he needs to listen to his customers and stop trying to talk over them. Sometimes it is best to just listen! I would not recommend Softwalls to anyone. The basement does look very nice but the process was terrible and I am not sure that is was worth the hassle.

After the installers pronounced the job done we noticed poor attention to detail where nail holes weren't covered, sections of wood trim that should have been stained were left raw and there were ceiling tiles with sloppy cuts. These issues were resolved and we then agreed the project was completed. That was March 19, 2010. Less than 3 months later, indications of defective materials and/or poor workmanship began to appear. Some of the softwall panels became uneven and distorted; the french doors warped and wouldn't close properly, a section of the laminate flooring was installed wrong and began to "peak" and develop soft spots. On June 10, we contacted the company for help. Over the next 4 months we made multiple requests for action. The owner kept promising to get around to us any day now. Eventually he simply stopped communicating with us. We referred the case to the Better Business Bureau and Softwall refused to communicate with them as well, ignoring two formal complaint notifications.. The only thing we ever asked was for the company to correct the defects as one would expect from any reputable business. If you are considering doing business with them be sure to check their BBB rating, which is F. Better yet, do yourself a favor and pick another company. I wish that's what we had done.