Home Equity Builders, Inc

Contract was to perform framing, drywall and hardwood flooring to expand our walk-in closets. HEB is a one worker company. Pat is the master craftsman who does all of the framing, drywall and electrical work. Pat’s work was excellent and completed on time and on-budget. This all sounds good but beware. If anything goes wrong, it’s your fault. Pat is supported by a president, vice-president and office manager which raises his hourly rate to $90. Our last general contractor worked by himself and charged half as much. But he fell off of a roof... Then HEB hired a flooring company to extend the hardware floor into the expanded space. This is when the problems began. We requested a water based poly sealer. The flooring company used an oil based sealer that did not match the adjacent floor and had very strong fumes. We demanded they replace the oil based sealer with a water based poly. They complied but ended up using a commercial sealer that was clearly stated on the product data sheet as NOT FOR RESIDENTIAL USE due to strong noxious fumes and an extended drying time. The fumes from this sealer are still strong after 3 full weeks of continuous ventilation with three open windows and four fans. But HEB demanded payment in full because:1) The product is the very best and is EOC compliant (huh?) 2) We did not ventilate the room properly (false) 3) They have done their best “to meet our evolving requirements for finish type” (false) 4) HEB met with us and we agreed that the job was completed and payment in full was due (false) 5) The project was completed to manufacturer standards (huh?) 6)We have “chemical sensitivities” so we can’t tolerate the fumes (false) HEB told the sealer manufacturer that we closed up the room and were therefore the cause of the persistent fumes. This was the last straw so we paid HEB it’s final small payment and told them goodbye forever. We are working with the sealer manufacturer directly. They have suggested activated charcoal and further ventilation since the fumes could last for up to 30 days. We still cannot use our closets (4 weeks now) while trying to mitigate the fumes. Thanks HEB.

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They are not cheap but the design and craftsmanship are great. Aesthetically the place looks great and will definitely help when we resell. Their worked truly enhanced the value of our home commercially and for us!

They are trustworthy, down to earth, and they didn't try to sell me anything I didn't want. Their work was neat, professional, and exact. They were clean, courteous, and on time.

I used them a few times. It was only unpleasant because of a misunderstanding. I paid them to get my septic tank up to code. I think they changed the electric box and they thought it was up to code. The Fairfax county inspector had me spend an additional $600 to get it up to code. So I guess you could say they didn't know the code for the risers and electric boxes on septic tanks in Fairfax county. I really don't remember what the deal was but I was upset at the time and haven't used them again. But I did get an estimate from them this year because they emailed me a special.

They were great. I really liked using them. It was the second time that I used them. They did great work.