Family & Friends Builders

It came out beautiful. You get what you pay for. I am about to use them again. I think everything stood out with us as far as what we commented on as for responsiveness, the quality, whenever you have questions they answer, and they're reliable.

Hiring Family & Friends for my bathroom remodel proved to be a terrific experience. The whole team is very professional and they do great work. I was always kept informed about the work progress and scheduling. Any question I had were promptly answered with a phone call or email. My dated bathroom revealed a few surprises during demolition (which we somewhat expected), but Bill and his team handled it, with only a small adjustment to the cost of the project. Overall, they did a magnificent job.

Once the work began, it was undertaken efficiently and with a high level of skill and knowledge. Concerns were handled quickly and graciously. The prices negotiated for extra work were more than fair. While a few backordered items kept the job on longer than initially planned, I absolutely plan on using family and friends again. Thank you to Liz and Bill for working so diligently and professionally on my project.

This review is long overdue, but I would be remiss if I did not give credit where credit is due. I did a bathroom remodel and F&F were both personable and professional from start to finish. Beginning day one when when I received a call that Bill was running 20 minutes late coming to give me a quote, I knew I was in good hands. When you consider my previous encounters with contractors were either hours late or no shows, I was immediately impressed. And throughout the entire remodel there was always "live" communication and respect. So my experience was wonderful, I had no problem giving up my home, someone was there every single day moving the project along very quickly (almost too quickly) until the job was complete, well within the quoted time frame. This bathroom was completely gutted to the studs and redesigned to utilize the space more efficiently. So it could have been very messy and stressful but they kept the entire project relatively clean and stress free, and it turned out gorgeous!. By the end, I almost felt as though I was part of the 'friends" in Friends & Family.

Lots of great things to say about this company, but to summarize they did a fantastic job, were very professional and nice from day one, quality was high and everything was done to code + inspected, AND the quoted price was reasonable unlike some other companies around here (Mr.Contractor, for example). I would HIGHLY recommend F&F and will be working with them again in the future. Family and Friends did a fantastic job, worked quickly and within constraints I had set(using the backdoor and keeping the work area isolated). The quality of the work was very high, and they kept coming back to change things that we thought should be done differently without hassling us. Billy, Liz, Shannon, Jimmy and the whole gang are really nice people, were great to work with and honestly it was such a pleasure having them in our home. They tolerated all of my stupid questions about 'how' this and 'why' that and I came out of it knowing much more about my home and how things work (which should help me with future DIY projects). They were not the absolute cheapest shop in town for my job, I had quotes that were lower, but the workmanship was excellent and they clearly take great care and pride in their work and I do not regret paying a little bit more for quality and service. They offer a 6 month warranty on all work which is a great plus!

I am so thankful that I hired them. They were courteous and punctual. They did an excelent job.

It went really well--very quality work for a good price.

It took me several months to find the right contractor to remodel my one and only bathroom. I met with company after company, half came back with ridiculously high quotes while the other half just disappeared. In the end, I am glad I was patient and eventually found Family and Friends. I was given a competitive price for demo, updating my electrical, moving my washer and dryer and remodeling my bathroom top to bottom. I should have anticipated that almost everything would go wrong once the walls came down. The previous owners had clearly done a lot of home renovations themselves, work they were clearly not qualified (or permitted) to do. My sewage stack was cracked, my floor wasn?t level, insulation was non-existent, plumbing was not vented properly, the ceiling joists were bowed and improperly sistered and the wall I share with my neighbor was missing; I was literally staring at the back of her dry wall. Not only was my bathroom dysfunctional, it was dangerous. With my only bathroom in the house torn down to the studs, I was completely at the mercy of F&F; a less scrupulous company could have really taken advantage of me. F&F addressed each and every concern with a fair price and within a few weeks each and every issue we had uncovered was fixed properly to code. I feel like I have a whole new house. Billy, Liz and Shannon were responsive with any questions or concerns and the crew was friendly and respectful. My house finally has good bones, and I can sell it to the next owner with a clear conscience. The end result is gorgeous, I am sure you can see pictures of it on their website as I imagine they are as proud of the outcome as I am. It cost more and took longer than we had all hoped but that was going to be the case regardless of whom I hired. The job was done right and I will not hesitate to call F&F for my next project.

We used family and friend to build a mansard on our carriage house in Philadelphia and enjoyed the project from the beginning to the end. The price was fare, the workmanship professional and the result is exceptional. Family and Friends are dedicated to service and went beyond to make sure we were informed and satisfied. They are organized, timely and responded immediately on all our requests. Everyone involved in the project was fantastic and a pleasure to work with and hope to work with them again.

Based on good reviews we contacted Family & Friends Builders to get a quote for installing a deck. The representative told us that they were too busy to even come out for an estimate. Needless to say, we didn't call back.

I called for an estimate. The owner came out to take a look at the work and made some great suggestions. Liz, the office manager gave me the price within a week. I had another estimate that was around the same price but after speaking to the office staff on several occasions, I decided to go with family & friends. The job took approximately 4 weeks from start to finish. Everyone in this company is very polite and very responsive. I can't wait for them to remodel my basement!!!

the work this company did was amazing. i am completely satisfied with my new kitchen and bath. everyone from the owner, bill, down to the office staff was professional and very helpful. they gave me some great ideas and were always on time and cleaned up after themselves every day. i would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a trustworthy contractor.

The owner called me back quickly and gave me a fair price estimate for a finished basement and a wet bar. the worked started quickly and lasted about 10 days. the workers were professional and always cleaned up. the owner Billy was "hands on" and was on site every day. they even helped me work a lot of my audio/video wiring into the plan. great job

Provider responded to my initial request to schedule an estimate over a month late. When they did, they asked to switch modes of communication. They did not respond to further inquiry on Angie's List.

SUMMARY: There is a saying that contractors come in one of three varieties: they?re either competent, they?re crooks, or they don?t know what they don?t know. I am not totally sure which variety of contractor Family & Friends is, but overall, my impression is that I saw that they could do good work, but because they are so overbooked (I assume), they do work in a counter productive order, make some poor decisions and end up doing sloppy work. Their work is functional, but aesthetically defective, which made me feel like I had paid retail prices for outlet quality goods. PROS: -The office is easy to deal with and very responsive and communicative. -Billy is patient and easy to talk to and takes charge of an issue personally. -The guys on the crew were sweet as pie and I felt super safe with them in my house. -F&F would do anything I asked them to with reasonable change order additions to the original quote. -F&F fixed some small mistakes with no complaint (window sills re-built to my specifications, cheap thermostat replaced with the high end one quoted for). -Gave me a very small discount when I complained of some issues. CONS: -Took a lot of effort to schedule a quote and start work?six months total. -I felt like I had to seriously oversee their work every night and push them to do things thoroughly and properly. -They damaged their own work and my house. -Sloppy plumbing, carpentry and finish work. -Questionable quotes. -Did not provide an adequate discount for their errors. CONS in detail: -When a major structural issue was discovered, F&F?s solution was quick and cheap?cut 3? into a joist on a 5? span and just seal up a major rift to the outside. They discouraged me from contacting a structural engineer, however when I did anyway, F&F followed the engineer?s directives and allowed the engineer to check their work. Even so, I had to keep pushing for more investigation of the issue and for more fixes (which I readily paid for) as F&F went along. I did not feel confident that their instinct was to do the work well, I felt it was to do it fast. To give them the benefit of the doubt, they might have wanted to save me money and time, but I insisted over and over that money was no object, signed every change order, and paid immediately, so the time and money issue seemed to be theirs. -F&F said their crew is super clean and careful, but my walls and doorways were pretty destroyed; gouges, chips, scratches, and dents to every surface the workmen were near. They told me that they would lay down protection on the floors, but didn?t?I had to request it and then do it myself when theirs was inadequate to protect my house. -After installing the tiles very well, the next day their carpenters chipped the bullnose edge of a course of tiles while mudding the walls. F&F said the tiles must have come chipped and then been installed chipped (a problem in and of itself with F&F?s attention to detail), but I took pictures of when they were first installed and unchipped, disproving that. Sloppy workmanship, poor ownership of responsibility. -The second issue with the chipped tiles was F&F?s solution: to just paint the chips. I paid for a NEW bathroom and bought NEW materials to be installed. Very frustrating to not get the full value of what you have paid for. -F&F used my garden as a dumping ground. I found trash in my yard and grout poured all over my plants and herbs. All F&F did was yell at the individual who they thought did it. I didn?t complain so that some poor workman would get yelled at; I complained so that the issue would get fixed and so that I would be compensated for the damage. Very disappointing and upsetting. -The plumbing was installed off-center. There is no way to fix this now. I will just have to always live with a tub spout that is off-center of the tub drain. When I pointed this out, Billy's response was, "no one is perfect but God." Well, Jesus was indeed a carpenter, but unfortunately he was unavailable to take my job. Disappointing lack of ownership for their mistake. -The sliding glass doors were installed in a standard manner?centered on the tub ledge. However, my particular tub ledge slopes on the inside and the flat part is on the outer edge of this ledge. Because there was a lack of attention to detail, the shower door is installed hanging off the ledge and into the tub rather than on a flat surface. This will cause issues with cleaning and leaking in the future. If they had only spent a second looking at what they were doing before they did it...very frustrating. -Their idea of ?paint ready? will mean a day of patching, sanding and caulking for me. In no way is what they left me with ?paint ready.? Some of the molding doesn?t match up at the cuts with nails that missed and jut out of the molding and into the wall. There are broken caulk lines and major caulk gaps. Sloppy. -After F&F reinstalled my toilet, it began constantly running?something it had never done. Billy pointed it out and I told him that it only started after F&F had taken it up and put it back so many times, which is understandable. Billy said they would fix it, but that a part would have to be replaced and it would be $85. I said I?d fix it myself?thankfully. Literally one youtube video later I turned one part and it stopped running. F&F?s knowledge of plumbing is either seriously questionable or they were trying to rip me off. Both not great. -When I broke down all the mistakes F&F had made and the damage to my house, I had to argue for a discount. What they offered didn?t nearly cover the cost of how much it would take to re-do the improper work or to fix the damage caused. -To F&F's credit though, I think that if I had demanded it, they would have taken down the doors, moved them to the proper spot, replaced all the tiles with drill holes and the chipped tiles and come back and sanded and caulked. But there comes a point when a homeowner is tired of their house being under construction and the fixes seem like they could potentially cause more damage than the original issue. I had to weigh these considerations and just decided to live with the work as-is even though it was painful. Over time I'm sure I'll appreciate the good parts of the bathroom and learn to live with the imperfections... UPDATE: 3/20 I upgraded them to a B after reading some other horror stories about bad contractors, which F&F is not. These guys are good people, but they just didn't give me A work this time around due to the details. UPDATE: 3/8 I see F&F responded. I baked for your guys every morning because they are nice. I sent your office chocolates because the office was nice. I thanked you because you were nice. I have nothing personal against any of you, clearly. Your team being nice and deserving of kindness and your team also making mistakes and you not correcting them are not exclusive. I made an honest accounting--the good and bad--of the services. Your extreme anger at a very balanced and detailed accounting says more than I ever could.

My house is over 100 years old, and had no first floor bath, laundry area or pantry. The space to be renovated was a former back porch which had been enclosed at some point and was in a very dilapidated condition. I met with Mr. Marnoch about an estimate and scope of the job. He worked with me to devise a plan that would best utilize the space, and provided me with options to help me keep the costs within my budget. Mr. Marnoch was very understanding of my desire to create a vintage look so that the new construction would maintain the spirit of the rest of the house. The project involved demolition and total rebuilding of the space including; framing, insulation, drywall, new electrical and plumbing systems; a new custom sash window, exterior siding matched and replaced where needed; new back door, storm door, and hallway door; installation of bath/shower with subway tile walls, tile floor, pedestal sink, medicine cabinet, and lighting fixtures. Floor to ceiling shelving was installed for the pantry area along with a new radiator cover. A closet was built for the washer/dryer. Beadboard wainscoting and beadboard celling were installed throughout the space, and all millwork utilized bulls-eye corner blocks to match existing millwork in the house. I was apprised of all details and any extra labor or materials that were needed in the event of unforeseen problems-in this case, It turned out that the space had no structure to speak of - so all beams and studs had to be added. This was the only cost-overrun and it was manageable. Everyone was extremely pleasant to deal with, which made this project as stress-free as possible. There was high-quality workmanship and attention to detail given on all stages of the job. The end result is a space which greatly exceeded my expectations as to what was possible, is a pleasure to use, and added value to my property. The house still needs more renovation, and of course, I will not have any one else work on it but Family and Friends Builders!

We met with Billie, the owner of Family & Friends in Dec 2013, about four months before signing a contract. At our first meeting we discussed with Billie what we wanted; a complete remodel of our bathroom. He took some measurements and gave us ideas on the remodel process. We appreciated that he was upfront and told us that he would put us on his list of projects when some of his current projects were completed. In April we made an appointment with one of his office workers to review the contract; there was one item that was not included that Billie had discussed with us. Billie was called and the item was added to the contract and we paid a deposit. Several weeks later we received a call when the work would begin. The bathroom was stripped down to the studs. In rebuilding the walls, I discovered the heat/air vent had been covered over. When the error was brought to the attention of Family & Friends, it was corrected quickly without a hassle. During the project the workers arrived on time, cleaned the area at the end of the day and were always courteous and professional. Whenever we called the office with a question, the staff were courteous and professional. We were responsible for purchasing the wall and floor tile (Family & Friends picked up from the supplies and delivered to the work site), the bathroom sink and toilet. We also purchased the lighting, mirror, towel bars that were installed by Family & Friends. Overall, the experience from start to finish went well and we are very pleased with our remodeled bathroom.

Our first floor is 14 feet high in places and the second and third floors are 10 feet high which makes it difficult to paint the stairwells. Family and Friends did a very good job of re-taping ceiling-wall joints that were coming apart. All the drywall work was first rate. All the painting was very good. The vinyl fence is sturdier than the fence it replaced, The best thing about the work was the communication and responsiveness. We were away for most of the work and whenever there was an issue or question we were contacted immediately. During painting one of the bathrooms a sink and vanity had to be moved. One of water lines to the faucet cracked and a replacement line could not be found, Another faucet (same manufacturer)was supplied and installed by Family and Friends without question or discussion. The access panel was not placed where we wanted it and it was quickly ( the next day) moved, the ceiling re-patched and painted with no question or discussion. There was paint touch-up required and that was also done the day after we called Family and Friends about it. Everybody from Family and Friends we interacted with were friendly, professional and responsive. I strongly recommend them and plan on using them in the future.

The work itself was not good, shoddy. I noticed that he advertised good contract work. He may be good, but the people he hires leave a lot to be desired. For example, they used wood with knots in it for our window sills. After only a few months, these knots showed up through the paint. He came out last week to do some necessary repairs himself. When asked about the 10% discount that was advertised, he stated that he only offers it if it is mentioned. I don't think that this is fair.

They did a very good job and were reasonably priced.

Family and Friends estimated and carried out a variety of tasks related to preparing a 100+ year old house for market. The most impressive part of the job was the complete interior painting of the house,including a problematic wallpapered room, miles of woodwork and other challenges. The back shed and rear entrance were re-coated and remodeled with excellent results. A long list of remediation was handled efficiently and graciously. The painters who were assigned to my job were fast, accurate and pleasant, with on-time delivery of the job, in spite of unusually icy travel conditions. We couldn't be more pleased, and my realtor cannot stop remarking on what a great job they did.

Everyone on the team is very friendly as well as efficient and knowledgeable. The office staff is tops! |They left our apartment as clean as when they arrived the first day. |Great job done by Family and Friends!!

Billy works with a team of professionals that each skillfully did their specific job and were very "user-friendly". The work space was always orderly and well taken care of. The job stretched longer than we originally thought because of permit issues in our township and a few side jobs we asked them to do along the way (painting the bedroom, etc) but overall, the timing was not a problem for us. Before I go on, let me say that we are THRILLED with the job results. Billy's instructions were very clear about what our part of the job was (picking out tile, paint colors, faucets, etc). His suggestion of a glass front to the shower really added a lot to the spaciousness of this tiny bathroom. If I have to say anything negative at all, it would be that because we were responsible for buying the vanity and we decided to get a granite counter top from another company, we had to co-ordinate some of the logistics ourselves, which was not streamlined perfectly with some of the main project. In the end, this really wasn't such a big problem because we had excellent communication for any problems or questions whenever it was necessary . There were a few very minor details we were unhappy about at the end and they were taken care of immediately. We are very satisfied and would recommend this company to our family and friends.

Arrived promptly every morning and worked through the day until 3:30, when all was cleaned up. Scheduling was done professionally and the work was done when estimated. Extras are quoted and paid for separately and immediately so there are no surprises.

Very clean working on time every day. Finished on time and I'm quite pleased with the work. This is a house with only one bathroom and they left the toliet working when they would leave so I wouldn't have to use a neighbors.They were excellent.