Bernasconi Construction Inc

Gerard presented a confident "can-do" attitude for tackling our project. He estimated that he would be able to complete all tasks for $50,000 but we proceeded with a time and materials job given that we understood the possibility of running into potential issues if we learned there was ledge around the house etc... He assured us he had been in business for 25 years and our project was a piece of cake. He claimed to have a crew of11 guys and all his own excavation equipment ( both lies- he had 2-3 guys and rented the equipment). He estimated that the job would take 4 to 5 weeks to complete. The first week he submitted a bill for his hours I noticed that he claimed that his guys were there at 10:00 AM when in fact I had been at home and made note of his arrival at 1:20. When you are paying $120.00 an hour for excavation and $45. for the other men, this is no small error. He assured us he would credit us for the overage on our next bill given that my husband paid the bill before I was able to find this error. The credit was never given and there was another occassion when I pointed out to Gerard that we were billed for hours that the workers were not there. Given the fact that I was not there every day to supervise, it is likely this may have occurred again without my knowing. Several weeks into the job we told Gerard that we were worried that at the pace the work was being done and the amount of money that had already been spent that we didn't see how it would be possible to complete everything that he agreed to do. He again assured us of his years of experience and told us not to worry, even if it meant that he had to lower his rates in the end. Then, Gerard began taking on other jobs and would vanish for days/weeks at a time. He would tell us that he planned to be at our house on a given day and then would not show up. His workers had total disregard for our place and threw their gatorade bottles, cigarette butts and lunch trash all over the lawn without cleaning it up. The place looked like a disaster. It took three guys two days to do a simple tile floor installation that then ended up not level with the existing floor. The workers did not protect the wood floor outside the bathroom and ultimately left the wooden floor marred with adhesive and boot treads that can only be repaired by refinishing the floor. When I pointed this out to Gerard he made no attempt at making this correct or acknowledging that the damage had been done. Given that we had paid a significant deposit up front, it was difficult to disentangle from Gerard for fear of losing our money and having things in such a state of disarray. After 18 weeks, he only accomplished a fraction of the work and was paid the full amount of the original estimate. He has abandoned a pile of tools and supplies at our house and has not shown up or called for weeks, leaving us to finish the work with winter around the corner. Gerard is a slick talking salesman who can convince you that he is capable of doing anything. He has way overpromised and underdelivered. Avoid this contractor!

One of the worst and most stressful experiences of my life. Schedules and instructions were ignored. Projects were left unfinished so that it was difficult it fire Mr. Bernasconi with our home in disarray. Some of his workers (whom he mistreated) told us they were quitting because they could not stand to see us ripped off. His workers also said that his sometimes strange behavior was related to drug use. We had to pay suppliers as materials were delivered because they would not extend credit to Bernasconi. After we fired him and held back $2000, he called and threatened us while we were out of town. The next night our home was broken into and all our jewelry and cash was stolen. The police said the thief appeared to know the location of the stolen items!AVOID THIS COMPANY OR USE AT YOUR PERIL!