Sturdevant Construction

At first Naham appeared very interested in helping us outline our project and we trusted him. He is very personable, but watch out. After the contract was signed, that is the last we ever saw of him. This after he insisted we contact only him if we had any problem with the job. He would not return phone calls or come to the job site to review the work. He completely subcontracted the work out but provided little to no instruction on the scope of work to them. The workmen did not come until way after the completion date in the contract and they had no idea of what was required. They were not even provided a basic plan (such as it was). There was no co-ordination of the door supplier for the correct install and the details in the contract were very poorly outlined. We thought we were in good hands. Had we known Naham operated this way we would have insisted on a much more detailed complete set of drawings and contract. The contract only served to protect him. The job was a disaster and only after the sub contractor understood what had happen did they try their best to complete the work. But without proper complete plans and communication from the start, many mistakes were made. The materials arrived and were not what we had agreed to have installed. They were custom made and not returnable and were the first glimpse into what the project would end up being. For example, these door openings were to occur in particular positions and were installed in the wrong place. This was Naham's responsibility to oversee the job properly executed, but he did none of that. We got so upset with Sturdevant and Naham that we finally just paid them to get rid of them. We were told he had done hundreds of such enclosure but it became clear he had done precious few. We had asked to get a certain pattern of class in the doors (5 over 3) before signing verbally but Naham quickly forgot what was said, and only the contract became his position. I should have written that right on the contract and made him sign it back then. He also uses a WEB based sight but it did not tell us when the crew would come, or the job start, or when they would return. We canceled a number of future larger projects with him and his firm, and would never recommend him or Sturdevant Construction in Newport News to any one now. It was a very frustrating experience on a simple little job...they stole the joy out of it completely. Stay away from this guy he is too slick. He got his money and we have a memory of what not to do. Watch out and read the reviews this in not an isolated case.

We truly love the design process and design team expertise. Nahum came up with outstanding ideas that saved time and money in the overall job. The project had some issues but the majority were all corrected fully with some small issues that we would like to have had more attention on. The team was committed to fixing all mistakes. We love the final product.

This co. did a kitchen and bath remodeling project. Only thing that went well was the pre-project planning. Project that was to be done in 86 days took 166. Poor project supervision led to numerous errors in granite countertop and lighting installations necessitating replacement. During the demo of a kitchen island which contained a drop in range/oven and building the new one and re-using the appliance, they damaged the exhaust system on it. No parts are available so it is now unusable. Company takes no responsibility for it claiming that "owner appliances" are excluded. They didn't even hook up the exhaust to venting out of the crawl space but only vented through a hole in the floor, likely a code violation. Topping it off, the island height is 1/4 inch short of the 36in standard not allowing new range/oven we had to buy to be flush with the countertop. Co. president, Nahum, is terrific during the planning stage but ignored all requests to speak with him during the project about deficiencies. Don't think that you will ever have contact with him again. This has been one painful and costly project. Never again.

If you have ever worked on a hope project with a contractor--you can agree that building is less than perfect. And it is--but its the nature of the beast and you have to meet with with a realistic outlook along with understanding. The Isle of Wight inspectors were difficult to work with and they definitely delayed things. But Sturdevant was excellent at reviewing plans and trying to find and overcome delays before they actually slowed things up. The design process was top notch. They have excellent design ideas. And the process of building went well too. We are excited and love the final product. They did a terrific job.

Our project started in January 2017. It's now the middle of August! Project is still incomplete. Multiple communication issues and delays. No proper management of the project. We're pretty disappointed in Sturdevant. This project has gone on way too long. Definitely not recommending to anyone.

6 months late in completing work. They had subcontractors do all the work. The workers would come in irregularly, many times nobody would show up for work. I had to call and ask if they are coming or not. Workers had to be replaced because of poor quality service. There's a leak in the skylight and they still had not fixed it. The failed inspections. Please stay away from Sturdevant.

Six months plus overdue. Entire job subcontracted out with a consistent change in personnel. Poor craftsmanship and the existing structure was damaged. Numerous inspection failures. Had to hire other workers on our own to complete project.

Horrible from the beginning to the end. Job is still not completed

We chose Sturdevant Construction because of what we were led to believe by Nahum Sturdevant on our initial interview and subsequent contract signing. What we were told verbally would happen did not in reality come to be. Though the final product looks good, we had multiple issues all along the way. We are doing a major renovation of our whole house with my brother in law doing much of the work and I work alongside him so I see what is very high quality work and I know what isn't. First of all, we had no idea from the sales pitch or contract that the work would not be done by Sturdevant employees themselves, but subcontracted out to independent workers. We would never have chosen this company had we known this as there is little opportunity for accountability or quality control. Nahum himself gave us his personal cell phone number on sales pitch and immediately, before actual work began and we had problems with the worker not showing up when he said he would, Nahum would never answer his phone or return our calls. We quit trying to reach him after 3-4 times. On the sales pitch we were verbally told numerous times there would be no "extra charges". By the second day of work the contractor was complaining about the additional layer of old wall tile and plaster that had to be torn out. We were charged an additional $1000 for a day of labor. On sales pitch we were told a licensed plumber and electrician would do those jobs and address any problems they found. Instead, the bathroom tile worker did all of that to a much lower standard than we wanted. See "Issued" below. Issues: 1. The new light fixtures and outlets were patched into old wiring in the wall. New wiring to the panel should have been installed but that was not "in the contract." We even offered to open the wall downstairs to do this since we were renovating that in July but no go. 2. The bathtub drain line was installed too low for the sewer water to flow out by gravity. My brother in law had to re-plumb that. Fortunately we had torn out the first floor bath ceiling to discover that. 3. The diverter for the shower was installed improperly, or the part chosen by the contractor is the wrong part. The pipes are plumbed probably to the wrong connections behind the new tile wall. Upon complaining about this the supervisor later offered to tear out our hallway closet to get to the pipes but we didn't want to ruin our antique built in closet. The supervisor did not follow through nor did we even want them to come back. The diverter works but just not properly. Shoddy work. 4. The bathroom vent fan which we put in the contract was an ongoing issue, mostly resolved by my brother in law. 5. The new wall board was not cut to fit snug to the the window or door frame, with 3/4 inch gaps left. I discovered this when I painted the bathroom myself. 6. Upon "completion" we discovered the main sewer line from the new tub and toilet was clogged when we had guests for a week. A call to Sturdevant did nothing, I had to hire my own plumber to come snake it out from the roof vent. Sturdevant did not offer to reimburse me for that bill. 7. Midway through the job the contractor left for a weekend with the diverter unsealed so we had no hot water in the downstairs bathroom or kitchen until he returned on a Monday. 8. Our own plumber ended up doing a good bit of work that we had thought Sturdevant was going to do but the worker did not have the ability. Now I know that as any job goes along these kind of issues arise and you solve the problems in consultation with the homeowner. I felt we were very flexible and understanding but the response from the "home office" often felt rather hostile. A few times we had to let them know strongly we were upset but rather than resolving the problem quickly we got "put off" and had to call our own plumber to resolve things. I wasn't going to write up any of this and complain last summer at the end of the job but now, in 2016 when I am compiling all my financials for tax work and seeing what we paid, I am recalling the experience. They never did come back to resolve the final issues but I was also rather unwilling to have them come back and make things worse. Again, we have a nice looking bathroom. But had we not ourselves fixed the problems or had we not known what the problems were, this bathroom could have been a disaster. So, pretty obviously, I do not recommend Sturdevant Construction.

It took them 9 months to finish a small kitchen remodeled. They finished around Christmas. The company owner,Nahan, were using 3 different alias for company because he was always in a legal suits. I took pictures all the way thru, they failed zoning inspection, so I have plumbing work that never passed the inspection

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Bill was my project manager who I could call anytime and ask questions (He was more than happy to answer and get any issue fixed right away) Loved his professionalism. Our project was scheduled to be max 10 weeks, but I added to the job while they were here and they did get the add-ons done quickly. We started with the demolition of the kitchen when very smooth and quick and they cleaned up each day before they left. They were easy with the demo and Bill said less destruction and easier less problems happen from like the shows you see on TV. Loved that. Then the floors were re-done in oak and this was added on in dining room and refinished the living room floor so all rooms then matched up. These were one of the most expensive things we did. (The price was a bit high on the flooring since I had had refinished before and a lot less) But came out spectacular so it balanced out. I loved the quality of the drawers in the kitchen very well made, but the cabinets themselves were average not heavy duty. Hard to get paint to match (No fault of Sturdevant) You may want to get paint to match if you have painted cabinets. They also had to demo the upstairs closet, install plumbing and electric to put washer and dryer upstairs out of the kitchen. The plumbing took longer since needed parts but it was well worth it my plumbing is SPECTACULAR! The floor was done beautifully and they fixed a scratch they got on the floor on the stairs and had the floor guys fix it. Loved that. I had two other add-ons to my project: I had marble left from the kitchen so we put in a double sink in our upstairs bathroom with the marble (This went very fast, easy, affordable and beautiful) I also had our powder room sink cabinet replaced I figured might as well while we have plumber it was a cabinet my husband and I bought from Lowes. I was installed by plumber quick and easy also. We had can pot-lights installed in kitchen beautiful some wiring hick ups but were fixed and quickly. Marble time backsplash done beautifully. Gorgeous! Love the guy who did this very quick, fair and did a wonderful job! My only suggestion to any contractors out there would be to talk to anyone who smokes and have them not smoke on the job. I had this on two occasions with sub-contractors that came to the house for Sturdevant. Make sure you budget if older house for (might as wells) and any hiccups. If I did again I would figure 20 to 30 % for overages, fixes... on old homes. My overall project went well and was well worth the time, effort and expense of a re-model. *Sturdevant was on-time, professional and willing to change and or do what needed to get done. If I hadn't added on items to the very professional estimate they gave me and walked me through we would have finished on-time and on budget. *I would use them again!

Like all major renovations it took longer than planned. The foreman failed to inventory the new cabinets when they came in, so of course some units were missing from the shipment and had to be locally manufactured. The foreman waited to the last minute to order the air conditioner for the hobby room, so of course the model needed had to be backordered. These two oversights resulted in about a two-month delay in completion. For the most part the work was done very well. The mason that resurfaced the chimney did an excellent job. The painters did excellent work as did the carpenters that made the fireplace mantel and the missing cabinets. The foreman's lack of planning was the major problem, but most of the individual work was done well.

Excellent, responsive and flexible.

They seemed knowledgeable, and were seemed very willing to work within our budget and ideas. However, they seemed like they were a little short-handed, and response time and availability was a little slow. Their price was very good however.

The attention that they pay to detail is second to none. I have used other contractors in the past for small jobs, but none of them pay the attention to details that Sturdevant does. Kevin was fantastic! He walked me through all of the work during the process of the three weeks and took the time to explain other options for things that could make the home better. I love these guys! I highly recommend them for any work you need doing that is beyond your ability.

We have man projects we do to continually upgrade or change features in our home and Sturdevant came out, though I believe the person was very inexperienced and didn't understand what the work entailed. She did a great job coming out 2X and took pictures and provided potential options, BUT but I requested someone that was doing the work come out and look at what needed to be done and they just never replied back. Price was OK, and I've heard good things about them since, so I was confused why they didn't want the actual person or handyman doing the work to come out to look as requested. Turns out they claim to open the wall and expand the cabinet space, as well as other work could NOT have been done due to the EXTERIOR brick behind the wall. The people that did teh work came out and explained what we could and couldn't do without major issues.

ISturdevant uses a design build process which begins with a site interview to measure the structure, inspect the work area, and discuss client goals. The initial consultation was conducted in a professional manner. Following the initial consultation, the project designer retires to the office to develop a conceptual design and CAD model of the design. Once the design is completed, the company schedules a presentation session running about 3 hours in which they review the design and design assumptions, cabinetry and finish materials are selected from a broad palate, and an estimate is prepared. All information developed during this phase is entered into the CAD model. The work breakdown consists of about 120 items that are reviewed and updated. At the completion of the process a firm estimate is produced. This phase of the process was conducted in a very professional manner by the designer and the owner. The owner and designers are very experienced and show a good sensitivity to neighborhood factors in the recommended project scale and finish materials. My two bath projects were simple but Sturdevant was able to find room for a shower in the current master half-bath. The estimate was a bit more than expected but this was a direct result of the choice of a tile shower with semi-frameless glass doors rather than a fiberglass shower. Estimates typically do not include bath fittings such as toilets, faucets, and lights. The customer visits one of the area suppliers to select these items. Sturdevant clients have access to trade services at several local suppliers who extend relationship discounts. These items vary widely in cost and can have a significant effect on project cost. Sturdevant's process makes experienced design available to small scale projects. Sturdevant offers discounts for cash, military service, and work-load leveling scheduling. These services are performed at no cost to the client and the design is Sturdevant proprietary information. Most clients typically acquire a second quote and check references after the initial consultation. There is some selling but it is gentle and appropriate to a professional services design build relationship.

Not impressed.