TCI INC

They were responsive to questions and concerns

They did a really good job and took our MB down to the studs replacing everything in the room. The initial consultation was a great experience and they really explained the process and material down to the finest details. We are extremely pleased with the craftsmanship and professionalism they showed us. *please note, I'm not 100% sure on when in 2014 this work was complete due to work assignments that took me out of town during the majority the construction process. My wife was pleased that they cleaned up after themselves each day and they made sure to build the room in stages so that she could use different parts of the bathroom (i.e. shower, toilet and sinks) throughout the process.

Had just a little trouble with the Granite but they made everything good. Communications can be tough with these guys but they provide quality products and good workmanship

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Overview: They will show up on time (and show up). They will not leave a mess. They will finish on time. There is no unneeded emotion. And they will have ideas to fix the issues you are dealing with. Money is done upfront and concisely divided into a payment schedule. We found Mike through business contact that was also in the construction business. At the first meeting, Mike stopped at Sears at the request of his wife and bought a new shirt since he was not dressed appropriately for a first meeting. Then he said he would start that week, which we wanted, and he did. (Shirt, listening to wife, start soon - we were sold). The first was an addition/remodel to the home we just bought. I wanted to be my own contractor, so Mike built the shell. He kept me from doing things wrong under city code and physics. During construction, we were able to add pieces of the future construction at the lower cost by doing it now. We added a roof to the future porch during this addition. Mike was at our home frequently. He looked at the ceiling in the bedroom and said he could fit a tray ceiling into the space left by the slant of the roof. It added $300 to the cost because of so much wood is needed to build it, but added great value to our living space. It has been a list of small details that have made a big difference. The second was a kitchen remodel. We were taking the 1957 kitchen to the new millennium of granite and stainless. I was done with being my own contractor and wanted this turnkey. When my husband and I discussed it, we didn't get an estimate from anyone else because If it cost less, we wouldn't have taken it and if it cost more, we wouldn't have taken it. I was able to design my own kitchen and then worked with their designer to fix it exactly as I wanted it. They moved a wall to the dining room to make it fit and flow. The kitchen has a pass through to the dining room (Mike's idea), two sinks and two dishwashers (my idea). The sinks and dishwashers added $300 for the dishwasher and the price of the faucet to the cost. And we use them. We went and picked out the slab of granite that we wanted. Since we knew we had a third remodel coming, Mike cut a piece of the granite to fit a future pass thru sill and stored it in our garage. He said the kitchen would be done in 3 weeks and he was done in 3 weeks. No small feat since we has to unbrick and rebrick walls and move part of the fireplace. It is gorgeous. The cabinets are beautiful and have the ergonomic spaces inside. I picked the ones I wanted. He put under mount lights that really make tasks easier. The third addition/remodel was the biggest and hardest of them all. It had to be turnkey and it had to have a minimum of my effort because of illness. We build an in law suite. It is 1200 square feet. Both parents live there. We went from a grass yard to moving in in the time of 11 weeks. It added to the difficulty that they were not well. I designed a box, but I wanted it to have a vacation home feel to it and be completely handicap accessible. I wanted it to look more spacious by having ceilings at angles. Mike took the center wall and made it 10 feet and the outside walls at 8 feet. Then anywhere that they could slope, they did. It looks like a chalet. It has a kitchen (granite and stainless), dining and living area, two bedrooms, two handicapped bathrooms, four walk in closets, deck, handicapped ramp and it's own laundry. Most importantly, it has it's own water heater and heating system. It connects to the house by a foyer. The structure is build like Fort Knox. There are no cold spots. No weak points. It had to be like I needed it to be and it is. So many people have looked at it and loved it, we joke that there is a waiting list to get in. The city required us to have continuously heated space, so the old porch became a kitchen table/sunroom. And we used the saved piece of granite for the pass thru. Eventually, we will put cabinets in this room, so Mike wired for under cabinet lights, so he wont have to tear out the wall during the next renovation. There is a one year walk thru to fix any problems that might become evident as the house settles. There have been so many things done that I am sure I have not listed them all. We are very pleased. Susan

TCI Inc. is a general contractor and so all the work was performed by subcontractors. I eventually learned that TCI's prices were based on quotes they obtained from these subcontractors to which they added 15-20% for their management fee. TCI did not provide contact information for these subcontractors so I was dependent on TCI to manage the coordination of the various subcontractors. I assumed that the decision not to provide contact information was to protect the business relationship between TCI and their slate of subcontractors so that I would not contract with these subcontractors directly. TCI's contracts are not very clear and I had to carefully review and revise their drafts to assure that it was for the work that had been discussed and which I expected to be included in the proposed price. I had expected TCI to manage the work and to assure that the work was completed in a timely and professional manner. TCI, however, generally did not manage the work and I found that I had to call TCI frequently to find out when subcontractors were going to show up or even to get certain of the work completed. TCI did check to assure that the work had been performed as per the contract as they did not come by to check on the work or ask me whether it was complete. When I pointed out work that had not been completed I was surprised to have TCI tell me that the responsible subcontractor was no longer available as if this meant they did not have to complete the work. This occurred when I went over the contract with TCI and learned that they had not used the contract to check that the work was done. Where the unfinished work was relatively unimportant I let it go as my option was delay. Where it was important I found I had to call TCI repeatedly to get the work completed, and TCI did not provide updates but appeared to wait for me to call and ask for updates. Some of this unfinished work took weeks to complete. The lack of contact information for the subcontractors led to problems of coordination with the subcontractor. TCI would advise dates and did not always call to advise of changes, and if there were problems TCI tended to blame the failure to coordinate scheduling on the subcontractor and myself even though I did not have contact information. TCI's subcontractors generally performed the work that they completed well, but the scheduling was a problem. TCI's price was higher since it was based on a quote from the subcontractors and then a mark-up for TCI which was supposed to cover their managing and scheduling the work. TCI's failure to provide a schedule and my need to resort to calling TCI on scheduling and completion made the experience frustrating.

TCI did a fabulous job with the renovation. They wrapped up on time and on budget. They responded well to unexpected issues that arose as they got behind the walls. And they were responsive to questions and concerns about small points. Our new space is beautiful and comfortable and looks just like the plans we were given before construction began.