JAS Design Build

The office manager Samantha was very responsive and able to accommodate my schedule which I had to change a couple of time due to my travels. When we did meet, Joe was on-time, knowledgeable, professional, though came across as a bit hasty as if he was in a hurry. Joe had mentioned that his firm JAS was extremely busy. A week after we meet, Joe emailed me the proposal for the scale of remodel I was planning on doing, between $960K to $1.2M which is between $407/sqft to $508/sqft. I laughed, took it that Joe didn't want to work with me but if I was willing to pay $1M for remodeling a 2,360sqft house, then he'd take my project. Needless to say I didn't go with him - I don't have that kind of money and if I did, I would simply tear down the house and rebuild. I have got some friends in the structural engineering field and construction field, they told me that when they're really busy, they tend to jack up the price 2x, 3x times and if the client is willing to pay for it, they'd move resources around from other projects to work on the higher profit project. JAS seems to have similar business model. I know JAS does quality work as that's the feedback I consistently hear, but their fees and charges are simply too high that if you're not in the top 5%, you wouldn't be able to work with them.

They were punctual and communicative. They were honest with us and constantly on the project. They were easy to work with, especially Jason, we really loved him. The project took about 4 months to complete. I am very satisfied with the results.

Beautiful result. Expensive but very professional and with great results--gorgeous kitchen that fits with the era of the house and functions very well. On time, on budget and trust worthy.

We chose this contractor after receiving bids from 5 general contractors; JAS' bid was the second-lowest and was presented as a guaranteed not-to-exceed price. Definitely competitive. The employees on-site were great; very personable and communicative. When we wanted to make a change to the agreed upon plans, the change order process was straight forward and JAS worked with us to quickly execute it. The project came in 4% under budget and only a week late -- both wonderful things in the construction business. Unfortunately quality turned out to have been sacrificed. The newly poured concrete slab was not level by almost a full inch (over less than 4 feet); JAS hired a subcontractor to pour a full layer on top at no charge to us -- not great but a suitable repair. The Tyvek home wrap was installed incorrectly per the siding subcontractor we hired independently to do the siding. We did not bother to bring up this issue with JAS after our experiences dealing with the third issue: the water leak in the newly poured foundation. We had an existing basement which has no water leaks. The house was constructed in 1912 and does not leak water. The new addition, constructed in 2010, was shooting water out of the concrete wall after 3 days of November rain. In at least 3 other places water was seeping out of the wall. The reason for the water leakage was that JAS never installed the drainage pipes which were in the plans and actually ordered (and delivered) on-site. When I asked at the time, the lead carpenter informed me his boss said they wouldn't be necessary for such a small addition (wrong!). Now when I ask, I'm told that JAS wasn't able to hook up the drainage pipes to the sewer without incurring further cost due to additional excavation so they decided not to install the pipes without discussing any options or alternatives with us. I have complained that the foundation should not leak, but they now want about $3,000 re-excavate and install drainage pipes. This is something that should have been done before framing even began and at the very least we should have been informed of our options and that JAS would want more money to perform excavation to connect the drainage to the sewer system. Modern construction should not leak. JAS skimped on quality and did not communicate options when difficulties in the project arose, leading to a situation we do not want to be in. I would not hire this company again, despite their competitive pricing.