Colony Builders Inc

Well, what can I say about Colony Builders? Well, this will be kind of long... but they get full marks from us. We were looking for an enclosed patio for our backyard that joins onto the house. Mainly due to the breaker box being outside and the royal pain of going outside in the pouring rain to flip the breakers every time the power goes off. We also wanted a nice place where we could make the area look nice with potted hanging plants and planter beds. We searched online at various sites including Amazon for what we wanted. The pricing of such a patio online was around the $5,000 range and the reviews were just awful due to the bad workmanship and lack of instructions, so it was there I decided to look up local building companies, and that's when Colony Builders popped onto my screen. We made an appointment online, and within a couple of days we were paid a visit by business owner Ali, who politely sat with us and from there we discussed our ideas of our vision of what we wanted. He worked with us and offered suggestions of his own for an enclosed patio. When we were done, he quoted the price, which was 4 times the amount of the shoddy kit patios we were researching earlier. Unfortunately it was out of our price range, so after he left, we thought about it for awhile before deciding we didn't need it enclosed. After contacting them again, Ali's nephew Mahdi came out to meet with us to discuss this different route. Mahdi is a born people-person and was wonderful to talk things through with. He was respectful and treated us like good friends instead of potential clients. He also understood perfectly of the changes we wanted and offered suggestions to help us save more money on the project. For instance, we have a concrete slab outside our back door. It is standard for townhomes in our area. We also wanted a tile floor on the patio which would be expensive. He offered the faux-tile stamping option, which was much cheaper. Basically stamping tile patterns into the freshly-laid concrete with different powdered colors to give the perfect illusion of tiles, which was perfect for us on a budget. From there we were certain we wanted to go ahead with the project. We decided on an open design patio on sturdy posts with a roof to match our existing roof tiles. All this on a new slab of concrete, much longer than the existing slab with a beautiful rustic mosaic tile-stamp pattern. They could even leave the existing slab in place. A deposit was asked upon agreement of a few thousand dollars up front. Our patio would cost $14,380 all up with no more to pay. Still more expensive than I would like but the craftmanship would be much better. They offer finance through Medallion which gave us the lowest interest rates, and we can even set up automatic payments online. We financed for 144 months to reduce the monthly payments but we have the option of paying more without penalties. Next step after our ideas were laid out was having the architect come over and draw up plans several days later. Madhi was also present for this. He literally was with us for every step of the way which was awesome. Plans were submitted to the HOA. Of course, they were rejected (I hate HOA's!). Apparently our HOA won't allow any structure to be built directly on to the house. So, ok. Mahdi came back over and we discussed further options for approval. The architect came out again... We planned it 3 feet from the wall instead, leaving a nice gap for the rain to fall through, but we'll figure something out later to stay dry. Also 4 posts instead of 2, as it was now free-standing. This time our second HOA rejection. We were getting frustrated at this point and were seriously thinking of scrapping the entire idea. The HOA's newest reason? The entire structure had to be at least 3 feet from the wall. Well, we thought it was! What they were talking about was the roof overhang, it would protrude closer than 3 feet to the wall. Once we redid the plans a 3rd time and kept the roof overhand 3 feet away from the wall, the project was finally approved. Within a few days the concrete guys came out to start the project, it was all happening now! They did a great job and had the slab laid within a day with the tile-stamp pattern already embossed into the concrete, it looked great! They also dug out the corners where the posts were to go, to 2 feet deep. They filled them with rebar and completely filled them with cement, these were for structural support to balance the posts. The second day, they power washed the new patio floor and weather-sealed it. Job done, and we were very happy with it. So were they, as they were often caught dancing away on our security cameras while they worked. They love their job also! A couple of days later, the framers arrived to start on the actual patio. Very quickly they put up our patio and roof tiles and did a great job. The posts themselves were fixed in place by hurricane straps, so it would withstand hurricane-force winds in a storm. The posts were sealed with James Hardy seal. Basically, the wood posts were encased in a super-strong material that protects it from the weather and rotting. It kind of resembles drywall, but much stronger. We were also told this in the planning stage, that we couldn't hang hooks or anything on it because it would crack the seal if we did. The builders would hang them for us using James Hardy nails and hardware. which they did with no worries. It turns out there was a slight miscommunication between us there. You can use normal screws in the wood after it has been sealed, it won't crack it, but can only use the James Hardy nails as they are stronger. They gave us some nails for future use if we want to add more hooks or a trellis. The builders did put a hole in our window screen, which we reported. Mahdi came out right away with a screen he had lying around the office to see if it would fit and replace the damaged one, which it didn't. A nice gesture. The next day the framers/builders finished the job and painted it to the colors of the house and it looked amazing! They also replaced our screen with a new one with no problems. Mahdi and Ali came out that day to see the final result and to make sure we were happy with it, which we were. Mahdi in particular was so helpful throughout this entire (ordeal) project, he was always there for questions and suggestions. He even showed us many ideas of designs for the patio and also the tile-stamp patterns. At no stage was there any doubt of where we all stood on the project, we were always on the same page at all times for every step of the way, and that was exactly what we needed, as this was our first real costly project, so many thanks to you Madhi, you made our life much easier! Your pleasant attitude, extreme patience and kind nature was so appreciated by us so much we can't express. Thank you to Ali too for making this project happen and for offering improvement suggestions along the way. To sum up, this was our first project and we are glad we chose Colony Builders, they work with you every step of the way and never once did they make us feel like they were pressuring us into "selling us something". I would highly recommend them for any project, they get top marks from us. By the way, they offer a 5 year warranty on the patio and base, then a 30 year manufacturers warranty on the roof. We can't argue with that, any hopefully will never need it. This patio is sturdy! Now, all we need is to find a good quality rain guard for the back door and breaker box... We will be using them again to build a small kitchen window box in the future, but that's another review for another day. Thanks again guys, you all did a great job! I have included some pictures of the finished patio, the progress with the concrete base, tile pattern and the color brand used.

They were excellent, they were very professional, very clean and they cleaned up after themselves everyday. They were very tidy. Ali the owner was very professional and very knowledgeable of his work and the company is very reputable.

Perfect, and its beautiful and well built. My family has enjoyed it very much.

Excellent job, built patio to my specifications on time. Took care of all the permitting and plans for the city and POA. No mess left behind after the job. Colony Builders will be doing my kitchen and master bath next. Thank you for your professionalism.

Everyone involved were very professional and would definitely use again. The work performed was exactly as described and expected

We had an old screened in patio demolished and a new one installed and I cannot say enough about Colony Builder's Inc. I literally chose them from my research and reviews on the Internet. From start to finish they were exceptional. They communicated with us every step of the way, from our initial meeting with Larry to our walk-through with Larry to finalize the finished product. The contractors were on time, hard workers and paid attention to detail along with keeping the area clean . The project took less time than we anticipated and we felt the cost was very reasonable for the product we received. Ana, Larry's administrative individual, has amazing customer service. She spoke with me each time I called and never did I have to leave a message. I will definitely be using them again for another future project I have on my bucket list. I highly recommend this company for any of your contracting projects.

***DO NOT USE THEM!!!*** I feel obliged to warn potential future customers who might consider remodeling your home about a company called Colony Builders. When my project started Oct 2014, I was told that my it was slated for completion in Dec 2014, which the project manager confirmed on more than one occasion would be JUST in time for hosting my family's Christmas. When I voiced my concerns as the project had more and more issues piling up, the project manager tried to make me feel inferior by scoffing at my concerns and saying, ?We do this kind of project all the time.? After consistently being made to feel like a buffoon every time I questioned the myriad of issues, my ?easy project? that was slated for completion DECEMBER 2014 actually wrapped up at the END OF MAY 2015. The plethora of issues, which are honestly too abundant to post here, include having to reframe my ceiling 4 times, incorrectly measuring vital elements, leaving my house unlocked on numerous occasions, flooding my garage, etc. Additionally, one of their subs also left my water hose on in the backyard, which I didn't discover until I arrived home from a long day of work and amounted to 2,400+ gallons of water that flooded both mine & my neighbor's yard before pouring into the street. So, in 1 day, they wasted TWICE the amount of water that I use in an entire month. I just figured I'd do you a favor and spare you the headache of using them if/when you have remodeling needs. You're welcome! **UPDATE** The master suite that Colony Builders finally completed May of 2015 was 330 sqft, which has hardwood to match the original home?s floors. Since the construction has a one-year warranty I have been reaching out to them due to warping throughout the room/bathroom addition that was already glaringly obvious as of Oct 2015 (yes, only 5 months after the project wrapped up), and thus far, the repairs are STILL not underway (it is now Jan 2016). UPDATE: As of March 2017, per the terms of the Settlement and Release Agreement, disputes have been resolved.

I don't know why we waited so long to replace our single pane windows! The noise reduction, better insulation and updated look to our home have all been worthwhile. We got 4 bids for our house. Colony Builders' bid was the best one by a LONG shot. They had come recommended by a gentleman who had done some remodeling work for us so we felt comfortable with them from the start. Suggestions: 1. Review your window order CAREFULLY before it is sent to Window Mart. First error---they left off the kitchen window but I was lucky enough to have caught this by reviewing the paperwork. Next error--we received plain glass for the front door side light instead of the rain glass I said I wanted. Colony Builders said it was the fault of the guy who came out a measured--the guy who came out a measured said it was Colony Builders' fault. Either way, we didn't think it was fair for us to pay to install the glass again since the mistake was not with us. Pay the difference between plain glass and rain glass? Yes. Pay for the labor? No. We ended up putting frosted film over the window for privacy. 2. Have a VERY clear answer as to how much wood will be replaced if rot is found. 3. Be prepared with additional plastic to keep the dust from flying all over your house. Our older home required that all windows be cut down to accommodate the thicker windows. The man sent out to install our job was VERY good. I wish he had brought at least one other experienced installer with him. One person basically did the bulk of the work. A two day job ended up taking three days to install 22 windows. Overall, we are thrilled with the windows! I wish we had been able to resolve the sidelight issue but still happy with the outcome.

They showed up unannounced on a weekend where it was forcast to rain (it did rain) so they were slapping everything together quickly, had too many people (sub-contractors, day laborers) working tearing my old siding up and seemed to have brought left over materials from old job (different size material) . I had to basically supervice the whole job. It didnt pass windstorm inspection the first time so had to wait for the repairs and do overs for the inspection to pass. The inspector told me it was one of the worst jobs he had ever seen, but by that time I had no choice but to continue with them because my house was at their mercy and they ask for a third of the amount of cost at the time of signing the contract ,( something I swore i would never do). Stressful experience.

After several attempts to get information on why their name and phone information was being supplied as reference material for Stonecraft builders and receiving no response, I decided not to use either.

Everything went smoothly with Colony Roofing. We got the estimate and gave Steve the okay to start. He scheduled our job in a timely manner and they were through in 3 days. Would recommend this company!

We were so pleased with their service the first time that we had them come back to finish the rest windows. We were very pleased with the service we got and the work that they did. We would definitely use them again and we've referred our neighbors to them. A year or two after the windows were installed one got a crack. We called them and they came replaced at no charge - no issue.

Work began the last week of July, last contact was mid September and the work will not be completed by Colony Builders. What work they did do needed to be torn down and redone multiple times. I was unable to communicate with the workers at the house. The office was easy to reach but always referred me to the salesman who never delivered what he promised.

The salesman was extremely difficult, abrupt, and argumentative and I am not sure why we went ahead with the company except that they gave us a reference of a woman near us that had a lot of work done (different salesman too) and her rennovation was beautiful. When we did not have to deal with our salesman, our experience was pleasant. The office was easy to work with, the contractors were on time as promised, professional and neat and excellent craftsmen. The room looks amazing and I love all my new windows. All marks would have been higher without....

Everything had went fine with this company. We felt that the price was a tad high, but overall everything was good.

Very poorly. It took a while for the estimator to come out and then we cannnot get an estimate from him even though I called back and made an inquiry about it. Based on the poor service we had when seeking an estimate, we would not trust this company to perform remodeling in a timely manner. We personally could not recommend this service to anyone based on our experience. Colony Builders may do good work once they are out of the worksite - we don't know about that because we could never get them to do an estimate.

I was not impressed with the person doing the estimate. He was quoting prices without even measuring things. The only thing he did measure before quoting a price was the patio. What's that about?

I called them two or three times just to have them come and take a look to give me an estimate. They kept promising to come the next day or the day after. Finally Tom Powell came and appraised the work to be done. Although I was not home at the time, he left a message with my mom that he will mail/fax/e-mail me an estimate as soon as he prepares it. Five weeks and eight phone calls later I still do not have an estimate. Every time I called they were sorry and said they will call me back once they talk to Tom to find out the cost, but they never did. If they are not interested in projects smaller than a certain size they need to specify that in their ad rather than show such lack of professionalism.

Colony Builders did an outstanding job installing the roof. They were very professional and efficient. When they took the time to go through the process with my homeowners association it really made this process hassle free.

Colony Builders had just completed replacing my siding and adding a screened enclosure. I was so impressed with the quality of their work that I asked them to replace the roof shingles.

I remolded the outside of a 38 year old two story home. I received ten different bids for replacement of windows, siding, roof and addition of a screened enclosure. I chose Colony Builders for siding and screened enclosure and later added a roof replacement. The window replacement company was chosen before I met with Mr. Ali Zare the President of Colony Builders. After windows installed-the siding was replaced. During the installation I requested a change in style nail and caulking to be used. Mr. Zare responded promptly and instructed the change. After siding completed I had planned to paint the house the same color. Mr. Zare tactfully suggested I consider a different color and I am extremely pleased with his suggestion. The work team that installed the siding and paint were excellent. After siding completed a different work crew was used to install screened enclosure by Metals USA. Mr. James Carnes has 20 plus years experience and did a superb job.

I called the company on Monday morning and asked to speak to the owner of the company, and the guy on the other end told me that he would not give that information out until I told him why. I told him, and he said the owner's name was Ali and that he was not in. I left a message since he was to arrive within 30 minutes. I have not heard from him in over three weeks.

Colony Builders are in the last stages of completing this work. It's taken eight weeks so far. They added in electrical, heating and air conditioning, and still have to put on the roofing and do the painting. They have done an average job so far. The workers are nice, but we thought they would have been able to do the job in less time. They are punctual and conscientious about working in and around the house.

Colony Builders took my call quickly and came around to give an estimate for a porch and work shop addition. Their prices were quite reasonable and they were able to give me ideas on the construction and explained the waiting on the permits. The addition was scheduled as soon as the permits were available and the work crew showed up on time. They finished the addition in a timely manner, did an excellent job, cleaned up all the mess and left the rooms in tiptop shape.

Colony Builders did a wonderful job. The addition looks great. They got the job done very quickly and the price was excellent. The workers that came out were very respectful. They cleaned up their mess before the left my house. I would use them again.