CRAIG BELITZ CONSTRUCTION INC

Late summer, early fall 2012 Craig Belitz was hired to extend my old concrete patio to the concrete wall that holds up the hill to my neighbor's yard. Mike Hazelwood, estimator for Belitz, had told me my current (at that time) job was coming in (after his final calculation) under budget. In fact, Hazelwood stated my (estimated $30,000.00 job) totaled only $23,000.00 and that if I wanted to move ahead with the patio, I would still be under the original estimate. Of course, I said yes, as adding an outdoor living room/ dining room, kitchen grill area would definitely impact my homes value as well as my enjoyment, so I agreed to move forward. Little did I know, at that time, Belitz would OVERCHARGE me $12,000.00 on the first project, otherwise, I would have cut ties with them. I asked OVER AND OVER again, if Craig (not Hazelwood) was SURE this job would cost $5,000.00 total and he repeatedly told me yes. Spartacus (to tell the guys what needed to done), Jack, Arthur, and Tommy arrived punctual, cordial, and professionally - as always. The first day, the trench was dug, but that was all because it started raining. The second day, the gas line, water lines were laid, the drains for the downspouts installed, the trench covered, the framing done for the concrete pour, and the concrete was poured. That's it. No more Craig Belitz. An unfinished job. When Goddard came to install the vinyl siding, gutters, downspouts, etc., the unremoved framing was a problem and one of the downspouts had not been set up because Belitz just left and NEVER came back. I had to pay someone else $500.00 to remove the framing, dig a ditch to the main line and install the "left out" downspout, purchase and install one of the 12" by 12" plastic covers that went over the cleanout. Three months go by and here comes Craig Belitz; not to check on the job but to get his $5,000.00. He quickly starts saying, oh that $5,000.00 doesn't include the gas costs. You have to pay separate for that. As for the "left out" downspout, Craig stated he ALWAYS planned on that ONE downspout being left out. REALLY ????? Once again, this contractor is trying to screw me with his bid. I told Craig Belitz he should take a look at the things that did get done as my garage and studio bedroom now get wet when it rains because the patio slopes towards that corner. I asked Craig how long did he think it would take before the walls rotted out from all the rainwater? Craig tried to tell me the "fix" would be easy and that he would do so at his expense. Believe him after getting ripped off for the 2nd time? NO. I paid Craig $5,000.00 in cash. I then emailed his office and asked for an invoice to back up that $5,000.00 so that I would have something to show the subcontractors were paid. I'm still waiting and it's July 4, 2013. I have been told over and over, at one time this was an amazing company. Maybe so, but since Mike Hazelwood was hired, Craig Belitz has morphed into the same like minded crook that Mike Hazelwood is. There is not a single Belitz employee (other than Terri, a female office worker) that likes Hazelwood. Each and every one of these loyal, hard working employees has nothing but contempt for Hazelwood - everyone except Craig Belitz. I would not recommend this company to my enemy.

(Per Craig Belitz - Mike Hazelwood is an experienced appraiser who's prior job was as an appraiser for insurance companies.) Hazelwood came to my home, inspected what had to be done, and gave me a quote of $30,000.00. As I had no where else to turn, and because this firm was recommended by someone I do trust Goddard Gutters, I agreed to give Belitz the job. What a huge mistake that was. Even though I've been telling this firm my roof is still leaking for over 7 months now; they do nothing to fix the leaks. All throughout the job, I kept asking Hazelwood if we were on track with his quote as I could not afford to spend more than $30,000.00. Each and every time I was assured there was no problem. Near the end of the job, Hazelwood came to my home and told me he had finally calculated costs. He stated my job totaled $23,000.00 to date and that included everything but the cost of the roofer's hours (which ended up being $1,165.00.) Also, after Hazelwood's calculation, Arthur and Jack spent one day installing crown molding/baseboards, and wire shelves in my master bedroom closet. A couple of days went by and Craig Belitz came by and I told him I had planned on coming to his office that Monday as I was ready to pay him. I told Craig what Hazelwood had said regarding my invoice total. Craig said to write a check for $25,000.00 and we'd call it even. I did just that and THOUGHT the bill was paid. Low and behold a couple of weeks later, Craig, Hazelwood, and Spartacus come by to discuss the patio work I wanted done and Craig hands me an invoice I thought for the $25,000 I had paid him for a completed job. Wrong, this was an invoice for another $12,000.00. Yes, I paid it but I don't owe it. I've been asking 7 months now and no one will justify this bill for me. I've broken down the $37,000.00 invoice that was given me and there is ABSOLUTELY NO way I owe this additional $12,000.00. Mike Hazelwood has lied to me over and over again. He did so just the other day when he came by, went up on my roof, (dug out the mortar in my chimney then took a picture of the hole HE made) to say that was why my roof is leaking. Wrong AGAIN Hazelwood. My chimney is leaking because the flashing that Belitz repaired is full of pin holes and cut too short leaving the water to run behind the flashing and into my chimney hitting my new gas fireplace insert. I know that Mike Hazelwood has scammed me and Craig Belitz is completely OK with this. The only GOOD thing about this company are the men who actually are employed by Belitz - Arthur, Jack, Spartacus, Bill, Tommy, Ronnie - these guys are true professionals. They are punctual, kind hearted, hard workers. Belitz and Hazelwood - RUN - don't walk if either of them approach you. It is my understanding at one time (prior to Mike Hazelwood) Craig Belitz was an excellent company to do business with. NOT ANY LONGER. I wouldn't refer this company to even my enemy.

I called Craig Belitz and asked for someone to come give us an estimate of work to be done on a concrete block retaining wall and possibly remodeling a small room and work on the garage ceiling from damage due to the hail storm of 2010. Craig came by and looked at the work to be done and actually made some notes. When he left I asked that he give us a call with an estimate. We never heard from him again. We called multiple times to his office and asked to speak to him concerning the estimate and he would never return our calls. Both my husband and myself called for two months before giving up and going with other contractors. I would not recommend this company for the average person. While he was here he noted that he had done work for big companies. I guess we weren't BIG enough for his attention.

The workers did a wonderful job. They were courteous and neat, they cleaned up after themselves.

They seemed quite professional, but I thought their quote was on the high side. I ended up going with another company that I had previous experience with.

We did not use them. They were punctual and professional. They came with samples. They might have been willing to work with us. We might have chosen them if they could have done the kind of construction we were looking at; in terms of what we wanted. We will consider using them in the future.

I would give them the highest remarks. I read their reviews on Angie's List before hiring them. It was a very expensive project, but it was worth the price. We had an overrun on the estimate, but it was resolved amicably between Craig and us. The original estimate not representative of the small changes we made. However, we were able to resolve it. Overall it was good experience and I would certainly use them again if needed. He had a good crew, as well.

They were okay. At first they brought the wrong color and we had to send them back. They had to get the right color. They seemed to do okay on the job. We rent the house and the renters said they left a lot of roofing nails. We paid them in two installments.

The job was very well done. I would use them again in a second!

My son purchased a home that was empty and whose owners were out of state. Our inspector reported an unstable brick wall on the back exterior. Since the owners did not have funds for repairs, he negotiated an adjustment on the purchase price to cover it, and the original estimate was $3200. After closing, I recommended Craig Belitz because he was a licensed contractor with an excellent rating on this list. His estimate was exactly the same: $3200. The workers were polite, neat and completed the work promptly, though I was quite upset when my son sent me pictures of the work in progress and I saw that there was no vapor barrior (e.g. Tyvek) under the HardiPlank. Also, my daughter-in-law said that she found the painters painting other parts of the house without authorization. When she questioned them, they said "we need the work." When the final bill came in, it was $6000, almost twice the original estimate. About a month after completion, they began having problems with the plumbing which culminated in the inability to flush toilets in the lower level and raw sewage bubbling up in front of the repaired wall (on a Sunday morning). My husband and son dug up the area and found the remnants of a broken sewer cleanout filled with dirt and rocks. Examination of pictures from the inspection report revealed that there had been a sewer cleanout in front of the wall prior to construction, which had obviously been broken off and covered up during construction. We had to spend $245 to have the sewer drain line cleaned out, then an additional $140 to have the cleanout rebuilt. When contacted, Craig Belitz construction agreed to reimburse actual costs, but refused to compensate us for inconvenience and time spent digging through raw sewage.

If he can't do it he finds someone that will. His work is very good. He is a little pricey but if he does it you know the work is done right. He is very prompt. If I call with a list of things to do he gets the men and gets to our house to do the job in a day and they are gone. They are very trustworthy people. He is a very down to earth guy. He is not a big bragger. He is just a really good guy. He does a lot of charity work too.

These guys were very, very good. They had a four man crew and they came out before sunrise, tore the old shingles off and worked hard all day until the job was done. They did a terrific job and a thorough clean up. They even sent a guy back out the next day with a magnet to ensure they picked up everything. I have recommended them to a few other people already because I was so happy with them.