Historic Restorations LLC

We hired Bill Wine of Historic Resorations LLC to design and build a 400 sf kitchen addition to our 1894 Victorian home. The design process took four months, which seemed slow, but we assumed it was because he had other projects going, and that once the building phase began, the pace would pick up. We were told the construction phase would take about two months, but it actually turned into the five longest months of our lives. Bill had informed us early on that he would be very diligent about issuing change orders to the contract, should there be need for any changes to the scope of work, or additional costs along the way. During the course of the project we requested one change in materials verbally, which was estimated at an additional $200. That change was not documented, but we did not have any problems with the way that was handled. There was one outstanding piece of the pricing, however, that was never finalized throughout the build phase - the price for the heating subcontractor to move an existing radiator in the home, reconfigure the pipes to our boiler in the basement, and installation of a vintage radiator and kick vent heating for the addition. We repeatedly asked Bill for the price on those items throughout the process, but he never provided us with that information. We were only told of the original estimate for a different heating system, until the end of the job when I was presented with a bill for an extra $3,000 over the contract price, which he said was for the heating subcontractor, and elecrical repairs to the septic lines that had been caused during excavation. No change orders were ever issued.Bill has a good appreciation for the aesthetics and design of historic homes, and his custom carpentry skills are good,. He did custom mill fish scale shingles for the exterior, and was able to match the existing interior trim from other parts of the home. But his understanding of the mechanical systems of our old house was limited. He relied heavily on his careless and incompetent subcontractors, which caused one problem after another. On the first day of excavation the electrical and pipes to our well and alternative septic system were severed, which required us to call in our own septic technician for replacement of certain parts to the septic system. Bill deducted the price of those repairs from his cost to us, but despite our requests, Bill ignored the instructions of our technician on the installation of pool and junction boxes for the septic system. Instead he opted to merely splice and bury them, which the technician said would be sure to cause problems in the future.Our basement flooded twice while work was being done by the heating subcontractor. One day after the heating sub had installed a new relief valve for our boiler, I arrived home in the afternoon to discover eight inches of hot water in the basement, which was pouring out of the relief valve that had been installed improperly. Calls to Bill were unanswered, so I eventually called the heating sub directly and he came out to disable the relief valve that evening. That night I found myself pumping and carrying buckets of water out of the basement in freezing temperatures. Little did I know I would be charged $1500 for that emergency call, to stop the flood caused by the sub. Bill never even acknowledged my calls or expressed any concern about the flood until we raised the issue later when we said we didn't think we should have to pay the additional bill for the emergency call.More headaches stemmed from Bill's unilateral decision to change the roofing material used over one area of the addition from the galvanized steel specified in the contract, to a rubber membrane which is typically used on a flat roof, often in commercial settings. A week or so after it appeared the roofing job had been finished by the subcontractor, we inquired when they would be back to cover an area next to the existing house that was only covered in the rubber membrane. We were told that was how it would stay, as it was too difficult for them to shape the galvanized steel to fit the angle/corner of the addition. Bill had not even mentioned this change to us, and certainly did not provide us with a change order to document the change in material. We took exception to the rubber membrane and insisted the steel material be installed in that area. The subcontractor did come back and install the galvanized steel, but failed to reattach and properly seal the flashing that they had pulled away from the house when they put down the steel. A week or so later the roof leaked when we had heavy rains, and Bill told me that it wouldn't have leaked if we just had the rubber membrane by itself. I told him I totally agreed that it shouldn't leak with the rubber membrane, but neither should it have leaked with the galvanized steel over the membrane, and that the issue was with the flashing. The subcontractor was called back and some sealant was applied to the flashing, but several months later the roof leaked agai in the same place. My husband applied more sealant that same day, so by the time the roofing sub returned again, they concluded it was not their roof that was leaking. In general, we felt that Bill Wine did not listen to our feedback and concerns throughout the process. When we had problems, he rarely investigated the situation himself. Instead he would just side with his subcontractors, who naturally said the issues were not their fault. Bill did not always think through potential issues, like pipes that might freeze when left exposed to subfreezing temperatures over a weekend; and the logistics and timing of certain aspects of the project, like relocating an existing radiator within the house before cold weather set in, or the installation of an exterior hydrant with sufficient water pressure to care for our animals throughout the process. He ignored our concerns on items such as the septic system, and the proximity of the back door in relation to the cabinetry, which ended up being too close to open the door without bumping into the cabinets, a concern I had raised during the design phase. He did do a nice job on some custom millwork/trim, but five months into the poject it was apparent he was eager to move on. In the final week of work, he and his worker did an extremely sloppy carpentry job on the transition doorway between the old house and new addition. My husband later disassembled the casing and rebuilt the threshold so that it was plumb. When the kitchen sink drain was installed by the plumber, I expressed concern that there was water in the cabinet underneath, and he told me that was a valid concern, but he never checked to see that it was, in fact, leaking. Again, my husband had to fix the leaky drain. When questioned about who would attach the dishwasher to the cabinetry, Bill told me it should be done by the plumber or the cabinet contractor or the granite company, but the order in which those items were installed did not allow any of those workers to finish the installation. Bill never attempted to finish the install, so I ultimately had to call Sears to come finish that job, which cost me an additional $139. Three months after completion of the addition, there is a crack in the concrete porch, and now that the weather is warm, we have discovered the fan in the attic does not work. Additionally, the electrical work in the kitchen did not pass the county inspection because the outlet for the microwave was not grounded.One of the most ironic statements Bill made to me in the final week of the project was that he knew he could have done the job faster, but he was more interested in doing quality work. I suppose we would have been more understanding about the delays if we felt the work was truly outstanding, but unfortunately that just wasn't the case. But we do have a favorite saying that we can attribute to Bill: "That guy's not the brightest flashlight in the drawer."