Moss Building & Design

We have enjoyed the design process and we are currently active in the renovation process now. The team is professional and very open with communication. We are excited to see the final product and enjoy our investment for years to come.

Requested an estimate to replace the rakes on my roof. Left a message with a real person, but have not heard back in over a week.

In comparison to our previous projects (e.g. adding a second story, complete kitchen remodel, new bathroom on main level) this project was a breeze! I attribute this largely to our wonderful project manager. He was intimately involved in every aspect of the project and kept us apprised daily of how things were proceeding and accordingly, next steps. We called and/or texted him if we had questions or concerns about the project and he ALWAYS responded. All clients expect this of the Company they hire to do their work! The subcontractors (plumbers, tile people, electricians, shower door installers) were outstanding. They did their jobs and did them well. With the exception of the electricians, all showed up on time and on the day they were scheduled. The electricians did a good job but had issues with their times and schedules. Based upon my wonderful experience with MOSS I would not hesitate to call them again. That said, in the near future I plan to use their handyman service for a day to handle some small projects.

Moss' quality was very good, and we are very, very happy with our new bathroom. The design phase was painless, and even when we went (way) over budget, the redesign met our needs and our price point. They will really, really work with you to get a design that is within your budget. Also, their responsiveness in fixing minor issues at/near the final walkthrough was outstanding. In fact, we would welcome anyone who want to come see the great work they did for us. But... Moss is incapable of providing and adhering to a schedule. Subcontractors might show up, or they might not. Their portal has a schedule area, which was never populated. So if you are flexible and can stand the "nonchalant-ness," the Moss final product is quite worth it. Just don't expect any planned out schedule to help you with your day-to-day commitments. We would hire them again for other remodeling, with the hope that they can improve in these areas.

Excellent quality workmanship. Project took longer to completion than anticipated, in part, because we experienced a foundation leak that required another contractor to repair. Moss worked with us to prepare for that repair and replace work that had to be redone. Overall, very pleased with the final remodel.

Moss was excellent to deal with and we were happy with the results.

Moss Building & Design is unethical and fraudulent. Do not contract with them. We retained Moss to do two projects, one called the “interior” or “beam” project and the other for the master bathroom. As to the interior/beam project, the first thing they did was to open a portion of a wall and install a new cross beam. We noticed immediately when we returned home that day (and it is undisputed) that the subcontractor did not frame the load bearing wall according to our plans. Instead of having the new load bearing steel beam flush with the ceiling, they had it about 3.5 feet below the ceiling. More important, it is also undisputed that one of the two support columns is over a gap in the foundation where there is a pass through to our crawl space. Fairfax County Code and Development Compliance recommended three possible alterations to deal with the fact that the column was over the gap. The inspector said we could (1) get a longer beam, (2) put in additional headers in the crawlspace to distribute the weight across the gap, or support the column by placing a short column in the gap and cutting a new pass through. In addition, the inspector noted that the other support column was improperly constructed and blocking was not installed in the crawl space below the column. (Of course, blocking could not have been placed under one column anyway since it was over the gap in the foundation). They also did not put up a temporary wall to support the upper levels of the house during the time they installed the new beam. At the same time, they had ordered the wrong cabinets for the bathroom. In addition, on the first day of the bathroom project, the worker broke a pipe when altering the plumbing to the bathtub and there is now water damage on the ceiling of the family room below the master bath. We learned that this young man is not a licensed plumber. For these reasons, among others, at this point we had lost all faith in their structural work and decided we couldn’t take the chance of having them restart the interior/beam project. Consequently, we terminated the interior project. We then asked them to tally up the costs to date so that we could reconcile them with our payments to date. After about three or four weeks they agreed to give us the costs and indicated that they would tack on a 30-40% markup as the general contractor. Even though we understand that the industry standard is 20% (10% for overhead and 10% for profit), we agreed to their markup. The “costs” they gave us, however, were grossly inflated. For example, the first line item is for a gas fireplace that they purportedly had already ordered. There was an allowance of $3,986.89 for the fireplace in the contract, which would equate to $5,581.64 with a 40% markup. However, the total cost they gave us for the fireplace was $6,891.25. Once we saw the fireplace discrepancy, we began to question the other line items. The first thing we did was to obtain the actual invoice from the Sheets lumber yard for the next line item, which was the steel beam used in the framing. That invoice shows $568.25, which would be $795.55 after a 40% markup. The line item on the original worksheet they gave to us had $1,114 for the steel beam. At this point, it was clear that the original costs they gave us were grossly inflated and were not even remotely based on actual costs. We then asked for another meeting to go over the costs because we didn’t believe any of them. They finally agreed to meet. At that meeting, we called them out on the overcharges. We had to show the project manager the receipt from Sheets before he would acknowledge the fraud. The project manager then spent well over an hour trying to figure out the actual costs while sitting at our kitchen table. For the line item for plumbing the gas line for the new fireplace he had to call the plumber to get an invoice. Given that fact, how was the original cost for the fireplace gas line calculated? The representative also said that the fireplace was delivered to our house, but I pointed out to him that clearly it was not. Then suddenly the general contractor markup jumped to 45%. Ultimately, they ended up sending us revised costs, which removed the fireplace and were significantly below the original fraudulent amounts for the remaining items. We agreed to pay that amount just to be able to change contractors and move on with the interior/beam project. We had our home disrupted for months at this point and no work had been done on the bathroom for a month. We had agreed that we would cut a check for next payment due for the bathroom, minus the amount we had over paid for the interior project, so they could resume work on the bathroom. We said we could give that check to the worker on the day he resumed the bathroom project. Rather than simply taking the check and moving on, they took the check and cancelled the bathroom contract!

Moss has a solid reputation for quality construction and an experience team of sales consultant, in-house architect, project managers, interior designer, and carpenters which is why we selected Moss among the other builders. Lisa Ladson, Moss’ sale consultant, coordinated with their in-house architect (New leaf collaborative, architecture and design) to provide us with an open concept and second floor layout that we love. Lisa was exceptional and very responsive during the preliminary design stage. Moss also provided 8-hours of interior design which made all the difference in helping us create the look and feel of the interior and exterior. We couldn’t wait for the construction to start considering the positive design experience. The construction start was less than perfect with the initially assigned project manager not meeting our expectations in communicating the status and keeping to the schedule. We voiced our concerns and Moss’ management quickly responded and assigned David Keys, Moss’ Senior Project Manager, to get the project back on track and to improve communication and owner expectations. David took over 2-months after construction had started and we emphasized the expectation of the 5-month construction. Now the Moss online schedule was not valid anymore but instead Dave and I met weekly for him to provide me with the construction status and a 2-week look ahead of activities. Dave’s style of construction management and owner communication enabled the construction to be completed in 5-months –it pays to have an experienced Project Manager from the start. Dave was very responsive to any post-construction issues and continues to be my go-to person for any issues. Overall, Moss did a terrific job considering the initial construction setback, but they came through per their reputation. Thanks Moss!

Moss did a fantastic job on my basement remodel. From the beginning of the project I knew I was in good hands. I can't say enough good things about the people that I worked with at Moss. Nick Clapes was my sales consultant who walked me through the options and had a lot of good advice about the project. True advice, not a sales pitch. From there, Bob Keene was assigned as my project manager, and he was awesome about keeping me up to date on the progress of the project as well as answering any of my questions along the way. I was so pleased with their work that I am hiring them to finish out another part of my basement that wasn't included in the original project. I would recommend them to anyone.

We love the sun room Moss built for us in 2004. We finally thought to call them after having several different companies perform drainage work to prevent our basement from flooding. The work only provided temporary solutions. Moss assessed that area, and recommended major work to remedy the situation. We have experienced several epic rainstorms since they have completed their work and we have not had any problems with flooding in our yard or, water getting into the basement. We that we can contact them if we do encounter any problems. Nicholas Clapes is very respectful and a pleasure to work with. The dry wall work and painting inside the house is excellent. Earlier this year they also replaced our granite countertops and kitchen sink. The quality of their work is excellent.

We are very pleased with the three major projects completed by Moss Building and Design over the past few years. Consistently, they have been honest, fair, responsive, careful professionals. They completed the projects on time, and were committed to doing a great job and meeting our expectations. Our first project was completed in 2014. It involved replacement of wood siding, installation of new windows and two skylights and the replacement of gutters, downspouts, scuppers and coping. The work was done carefully, thoughtfully and on time. The next project, about a year later, was a complete kitchen renovation that included expansion into the living room, replacement of those windows that were not replaced as part of the initial project, and overhaul of a guest bedroom. When they were just about to start, we had a leak in the basement. The project manager, Dave Keys, immediately arranged for a plumber to come over to find and repair the leak, which had absolutely nothing to do with the other work they were doing. Moss helped us find and select beautiful wood cabinetry, bamboo floor, quartz countertops and a tile backsplash. Unexpected challenges were quickly resolved largely due to Dave’s positive and creative approach. For example, the existing door opening was too small for our new refrigerator but Dave found a way to widen the masonry opening without having to rebuild the wall. There were other surprises concealed by the walls, ceilings and floors, all of which were addressed without causing unnecessary pain. Whatever needed to get done got done. No excuses. We remain very happy with the kitchen 3 years later. The third project, in 2018, was the remodeling of two bathrooms, the laundry room and a basement bedroom. We had selected a wall tile with an unusual and irregular pattern for the first floor shower walls, with a smaller matching tile for the floor. We expected the pattern on the wall to be random, but the Moss tilers laid out the tiles on the floor, carefully lining up the patterns before deciding where to install each tile. The finished product was much nicer than we expected. It is not every day that you find a contractor who listens as carefully as Moss, explains different ways to solve problems if doing exactly what you want is not realistic, and follows through on time and on budget. Moss also prepared well (putting up dust barriers) and cleaned up carefully. This is why we will choose Moss again the next time we have a project and why we recommend them without hesitation or qualification. Sharon and Tom Sachs, Alexandria

We did a kitchen redesign with Moss in early 2018. It wasn't a small project -- we ripped down walls, did a lot of plumbing work that impacted the whole house, and significantly altered the entire layout of our whole kitchen. To be honest, before we even started, we assumed the entire project would be a form of ****-on-earth, but that we'd suffer through it because it would be worth it in the end. Well, we couldn't have been more wrong and that's because Moss Building and Design is great! From our sales agent, to our design manager, to the project manager and most importantly, the team who did the work in our home, we couldn't have been happier. At every step of the way, they made it as easy as possible for us. Our sales agent Damon helped us craft a kitchen that was what we wanted but within our budget. Our design manager Molly really understood what we were looking for and helped us pick out all the perfect options with ease. The project manager Jack kept us well informed of every step of the process and kept it all running like clockwork. And Luis and Leo, who did the work in our house, were exceptional. Their work was impeccable and efficient, and they were a joy to have in our homes for 2 months. In the end, the whole project was done in less time than estimated and it all came in on budget. AND we love the kitchen -- it brings us so much joy as a family! We couldn't be happier with Moss from start to finish.

It's no wonder they have so many reviews--clear evidence that they're doing something right. They are communicative in every sense--responsive, clear, professional, detailed, honest. They definitely break the stereotypes of unreliable and/or dishonest contractors. I felt fairly treated from beginning to end. Plan to hire their services again.

Moss recently completed a major Master Bathroom remodel and a Powder Room update as well. The initial proposal was very timely and as detailed as possible, given we needed to do design work on the Master Bathroom. The work began as scheduled and all the various crews were professional and very respectful of our home. Though we did encounter a construction issue which extended the completion time, we were very satisfied with how this was handled by our Project Manager, Bob. Moss does not sacrifice quality for schedule!

A very simple project. Once the design phase was done it should have taken them a few weeks, maybe a month to complete. Instead it took them, and I'm not exaggerating, 8 months. The project manager showed up on sight three times during the entire project. Sometimes weeks would go by between when a worker would show up at the house, and most of the time I had to complain to the project manager, who very conveniently never got my emails most of the time, about the sloppy work. And half the time when I did complain, the project manager tried to assure me that they only hire the best sub-contractors in the area and personally vet those companies. I finally had to contact the owner of the company to request a new project manager or I would sue for breach of contract. It really was that bad. The sad part is that I, and other members of my family, have used them before and were pleased. Apparently they've grown beyond what they can keep up with, and my project suffered greatly for it. I will post a few pictures of what the project manager called industry standard work.

The team was knowledgeable and thorough. The job took longer than expected, but they did not try to expedite at the expense of quality. They hung plastic to protect the rest of my home from dust and debris.

I made an appointment for an estimate. The estimator came by and informed me that he would get with his crew and provide me an estimate within a week. Received no response and called their office to find out what was happening. Was told that they would contact the estimator and they usually had estimation meetings on Wednesdays. Another week passed and I was told that they would contact the estimator and have him to get in touch with me. Never happened. Totally unprofessional. Won't talk to a potential client?

Handyman Jeff Hammond was punctual, courteous, knowledgeable, professional and completed the project to 100% satisfaction.

They were timely, polite, and did everything we asked. We would use again.

The final outcome was excellent & they installed crown moulding, Dave Sharp is the genuine artisan. He did a wonderful job on the crown moulding, & he also help me move my mattress back into the room, it was very heavy; He went above & beyond his work. It was superb. He remodelled part of my kitchen, and in doing so, he condensed the part of the pantry; and made it look like as before, he shifted the cabinets & he put in a filler & he matched the filler & the crown moulding almost perfectly

Very professional company but their estimate was significantly higher than any other estimate we got.

Excellent. I have used Moss for my home remodeling needs for 20+ years. Their work is always excellent, and their personnel are professional. You will not go wrong hiring them for any project.

From the start Moss was very professional. The dates were set, and they showed up on time on the selected dates. I would particularly cite Stan Stevens, who could fix just about anything. And the electrician Marcus was both professional and very competent.

Staff was great. Professional, clean, and thorough from the salesperson to the carpenter crew. We are considering an addition on our home and will definitely be calling Moss for a quote.

An owner of Moss Construction came to the condo and we discussed what I wanted and he indicated that he would contact me with a proposal. I never heard back from him and I contacted him again a week later to ask when I would receive a proposal. No response.