PRECISION BUILDERS

Our experience working with Precision Builders was very disappointing and frustrating. Our written contract material specifications was not followed by Bruce Barkley. He repeatedly substituted cheaper costing materials without notice during the construction process. For example, our sub-floor was changed from "Advantech" with a 50 year warranty to a product with a 25 year warranty. Also, all of our Weathershield brand windows and French/patio doors were supposed to low-E with argon gas; instead, Mr. Barkley only supplied low-E products. Our stairs were supposed to have solid oak risers, and he built them with oak plywood risers. Throughout the construction process Mr. Barkley made it our responsibility to make sure our house was being built according to the specifications in our contract, we thought we were paying him as general contractor to do this for us!!! A large 16 by 20 foot wall in our great room was suppose to filled with sound insulation and this was not done. I had to remove a portion of drywall to point this out to Mr. Barkley. Our biggest frustration was the poor quality we received for such an exorbitant price. Several windows and patio doors were not flashed properly so water leaks in during heavy rains. Our basement patio was not built 6 inches lower from the floor as shown on our architecture plans; which led to basement flooding issues. Our home has 11 dormer style window with fir trim elements that were not properly primed prior to painting. This has resulted in premature wood-rot and paint failure. In addition, many of the dormers were not flashed or caulked properly allowing water intrusion behind the dormers to rot the wood. Our home was not caulked and sealed at gaps around the house properly. Our contract specified 1/8" gaps on exterior trim elements, but in some places 3/4" gaps exist, and they were not caulked!!! We had a mouse infestation problem within 6 weeks of moving into our dream home! Our dishwasher and built-in oven were not installed properly resulting in malfunctioning. After we moved into our home, about 5 months later than our original contract date, Mr. Barkley claimed he would be back in two weeks to finish our home and complete his punch-list. It took two years before Mr. Barkley finished painting and attempted to finish caulking our house. We had to hire a construction representative recommended by our attorney, and meet with our architect in order to motivate Mr. Barkley to attempt completion of our house. Unfortunately, we had paid Mr. Barkley at each draw schedule, and even went so far as to pay him his final draw amount on time despite all of the difficuties we experienced working with him. In effect, he was paid in full, but left about 15% of our house incomplete. We have since paid another contractor to fix numerous construction errors and finish the house. Unfortunately, the wood damage on the dormers will result in more expensive repairs in the near future.