RUSSEL BLUST ELECTRICAL SVC

Description of Work: Electrical

Description of Work: Mr Blust had promised three times to come & give us an estimate. The third time he just didn't show up or contact us. He's never attempted to contact us again. We will look elsewhere.

Description of Work: We used Russel Blust Electrical Svc in 2008. He redid the whole house.

Description of Work: In July 2007 our house caught fire. Fortunately no one was hurt and the damage was mostly to the garage attached to our house. The house also suffered extensive smoke damage. Russ Blust was one of the approved home builders on our insurance plan and after meeting with Russ, we went with him. That turned out to be one of the few good things that came out of this terrible event. After the house was mostly cleaned and the garage demolished (it was a total loss), Russ started on the reconstruction. We decided not to rebuild the garage and opted instead to build a two story addition on the footprint where the garage used to be. One of the many things we liked working with Russ is his ability to look at what was simply a barren concrete pad (where the garage once stood) and envision what we could do with the new two story addition. His recommendations were almost always right on the mark and we are glad we took them. For example, Russ envisioned having the roof built in such a way that it would extend three feet out over the front and back - providing a bit of a "porch" on each side. I only wish I had taken his idea of making it six feet! It looks great and we love having the extensions, especially out back. The floor plan lay out we came up with for the first floor was a master bedroom with walk in closet, bathroom (full bath) and a first floor laundry that extended into the mud room. Not wanting the step down from the mudroom to the old and existing concrete slab to be too high, Russ also thought it would be a good idea to raise the level of the concrete. This was an excellent idea. This also raised the level of the concrete foundation above the outside ground, to add water proofing from rain and run off. Russ also added a layer of water proof moisture barrier material directly on top of the concrete slab, below the plywood floor and the carpet. This was perhaps not needed, but I think an excellent recommendation to prevent any moisture from the slab coming into the house. We have not had a bit of water problem since the project was completed. The first floor looks great and we have had no problems since the work was completed in 2008. Again, his ideas on how to locate the first floor laundry, the bathroom, the closet, etc., really made a world of difference in both aesthetics and function. The top floor we made into another large bedroom with a large closet. Our son uses this as his hang out/bedroom. This room especially turned out nice and everyone who goes into it comments on how nice it looks. Another good idea from Russ - we had just gone through a fire, rushing out of the house at 3 AM - it traumatized the entire family. Russ had the idea to put in a large window (not double hung) facing the rear of the house that, if necessary, our son could pop out and jump to the ground. Not only is this a great idea for safety, the large window has a tremendous view looking out over our back yard and lets in a lot of light. Ours is an old house and per code, we had to move our existing electrical service to the side of the new addition (it was in the rear of the house). In addition, our existing electrical panel was maxed. Russ put in a new large panel, and added two sub panels, one on each floor of the new addition. He got the exterior electrical meter hooked up along with cable TV. PP&L wanted us to bury the electric from the street to the service, which Russ fought very hard for us not to have to do. We live in an old neighborhood where everyone is serviced off telephone poles and there was no need to add on the cost of buried electric. Hats off to Russ for being an advocate for us. Russ installed three ceiling fans on the first floor, and one on the top floor for us. All are working fine. All of his trade’s people were top notch - not just in skill, but also just great people. His head carpenter is second to none and we have recommended him to others. His electrician and plumber also are excellent and we have had both back to our house since 2008 to do small jobs. We would recommend any of his trade’s people as individual service providers. As we started to renovate the interior of the existing house, we decided to knock down a wall and make the existing dining room and adjoining bedroom into one large and open dining area (with a nice new and big closet!). This required relocating electric, existing plumbing, demolition, etc. Russ's people did a great job and it looks terrific. Little things matter - one was the roof. No roofing material we bought for the new addition would match the roof for the existing house. I found some really terrific 30-year warranty shingles (weathered wood design). Russ was psyched out of his mind to do the entire house in this. Not only would it look better as one complete roof instead of two separate roofing materials, Russ understood the important of the aesthetics AND the quality of the shingle itself. His roofers did the entire house for us and it looks terrific. They busted butt and got it done just before the winter hit. When the new addition was framed in we had a really good chance to inspect his work. Russ does not use cheap 2'x3" construction. The addition is built rock solid. Russ also wrapped the entire structure in Tievec wrap, in addition to fiberglass insulation. The new baseboard electric works fine and together with the insulation, the two levels of the addition are nice and warm even in this cold weather and wind. Little things matter - Russ's crew kept their tools nice and neatly arranged at the end of every work day, and cleaned up their construction dust and dirt. All new windows and exterior siding are fine and still in good shape. The drywall is excellent and his paint crew are amazing. Fast, accurate, and clean. After the painting was complete, we decided to change the basement color. For a reasonable additional cost, his painters repainted the entire basement for us. As part of the dining room remodel, we originally went with a laminate flooring material because this is what we had before the fire. The material the insurance company would pay for, quite frankly, stank. To match the existing hardwood floors in the living room and other first floor bedroom, Russ had his people install new hardwood floors in the dining room. It looks terrific and matches the older hardwood floor. To install the new first floor bathroom his people had to excavate out to the drain line for the septic system. This required digging up a section of our driveway and front yard. They did good work except filling in the patch over the damage to the driveway, which leaves a bit to be desired. But it is not that bad. Russ was also to do an exterior patio for us. This was the only work his people did that did not turn out well. But Russ was very professional about it and redeemed us the cost. We later had another landscaping company do the patio. Finally, as part of the interior renovation, we decided to take down a second wall and open up the kitchen into the dining room and add new counter tops, floor, and cabinets. Our biggest mistake was not using Russ to do this work. This project ended up as a catastrophe. Russ had to work side-by-side with this other kitchen remodeling contractor, and he was very professional about it, though he had serious doubts about this guy’s ability to do the work. Only later, after we kicked this clown out of our house (literally) and threw him off the job, did we discuss this with Russ. I wish we had let Russ do the work.