Coho Construction Services Inc

This was THE BEST contractor experience we have ever had and we have worked with at least a half dozen different contractors. CoHo Construction was the only contractor who finished the work on the date he said he would. This is already a miracle. He works not to over-book himself so that he can get things done on time. He personally supervised the work, his crews and sub-contractors were respectful and pleasant and cleaned up after themselves, the workmanship was quality. He fixed every problem that came up immediately with no hesitation. He came back to fix a minor problem with outdoor steps after the work was done, promptly. We have a 100 year old home that presents the usual challenges when refurbishing and upgrading. Adam was not intimidated by that and was a great problem-solver. Adam does not suggest costly and unnecessary stuff. He is attentive to environmental concerns and very knowledgeable (certified) in energy assessment and upgrade. He has great ideas and likes a challenge. To top it off, he was pleasant and fun. Always. He is not cut rate, but quite reasonable. He works on a cost basis and keeps detailed records of his expenditures so you know exactly where your money is going. Worth every penny.

I engaged Coho primarily to add an upstairs guest room to my one story house, but also to rebuild my insulated water tank room which was in an outbuilding. This was the beginning of a nightmare of stress and financial disaster. Adam of Coho convinced me to demolish my outbuilding and replace it with an ?inexpensive? pole barn rather than just rebuild the tank room. I ended up with no upstairs room, and with a pole barn from a kit that cost approximately 150% of what it would have cost with any other contractor, more than 150% of the original bid he gave me. (I had three contractors come up and evaluate the work Coho has done, and all three came up with similar figures.) Excessive costs: The Coho invoice incorrectly added up the money I had paid, billing me for more costs when I had already overpaid. The invoice charged me for items which were not used, such as for two windows more than were installed. The demolition of my old building caused two water leaks, one above and one underground, which partially shut down my water system for three weeks. Coho not only delayed three weeks fixing the underground leak, but charged me for both repairs even though Coho caused the leaks. I was charged for 5 truckloads of gravel, although the contractors who evaluated this work for me estimated only 1-2 truckloads had been used. I had already paid 150% of the original estimate when work stopped. I will hire another contractor to complete the building. Delays: Coho delayed the work several months. The pole barn and tank room were to be completed in late winter/early spring, and the upstairs room construction was to start in June. Adam told me he was delaying the pole barn permit so he could get both permits at the same time, ?to save you money.? It turned out there was no financial benefit at all to getting both permits at the same time; Adam apparently delayed the work for his own reasons. The pole barn construction did not begin until mid-August and still was not completed in late September. Adam stopped work for 2 weeks mid way because his usual concrete contractor was not available, and he did not not replace him until I got names of concrete contractors for him from my neighbors. He ended up canceling the upstairs guest room because he had become ?too busy.? Lack of reliability: Adam cancelled a longstanding appointment with a county planner at the last minute, resulting in a denial of the upstairs permit. Adam made a morning appointment with me to review billing which was not adding up correctly, then left me waiting for him all day, not even bothering to call. This company has a strong reputation as a ?Green? builder. Adam is charming, full of ideas and enthusiasm, lots of environmentally friendly, energy saving, toxins avoiding suggestions. I thought he was great. However, none of this materialized. He has an amazing contract which puts the blame on the client for almost anything that can possibly happen. He has a billing and invoice system that even the other contractors could not figure out, making it very easy for him to throw in those extra windows, etc. If you can?t resist his charm, at least get a lawyer before you sign anything with this company.