STEFFES DESIGN BUILD INC

*Electrical work has proved semi-adequate. Subcontractor ran weeks over time, and destroyed the attic floor to run cable. This was never repaired, despite verbal agreements from the contractor to do so *After full plumbing rework, the house is losing several gallons an hour even after replacing older water-consuming appliances. Area behind dishwasher has significant water damage, indicating a plumbing leak. *Furnace and ductwork was satisfactory, although the vents were insulated in such a fashion that opening doors in the basement tore large chunks of insulation free and many of the ducts were left untaped so heat escapes. *One subcontractor, Jerry, was working with our sister to patch plaster around newly installed outlets. When she asked if it was safe to paint the still-damp patches, he replied- to our sister, of all people- that 'she should go ahead; the owners will never find out'. We now have bubbling from trapped gasses around those outlets. *We had agreed to hire the external painter privately, since we knew a family friend who could do it inexpensively. After meeting with our contractor, our painter completely withdrew from the project, refusing to work even one day with him. In a panic, we allowed our contractor to locate a new painter, who charged over twice as much. The day of the painting, after work had already started, our contractor informed us that he didn't have enough money to pay for the job, and that we would have to cut a check for several thousand dollars on the spot. It nearly broke us; I don't know what would've happened if we hadn't had the money saved for my son's birth. The painter privately advised us afterwards to never work with that contractor again. *We purchased a dishwasher, and our contractor offered to help us install it. When we were discussing where to place it, he offered to build us a cabinet to mount it in. Without getting our approval on the project, he plumbed and ran electricity to the spot where we'd only speculated putting it, and charged us several thousand dollars. The cabinet itself was simple, unfinished wood with a formica top, which we paid fifteen hundred dollars for- to top it off, the cabinet completely sealed in the dishwasher so that when it leaked and clogged (and of course it leaked and clogged), we were unable to remove it without destroying the cabinet. After threatening the contractor with a formal action, he returned months later and tried to blame us for everything that was wrong with it. We dissuaded him with photographic evidence, and he begrudgingly removed the dishwasher- by cutting the metal frame of the unit to make it fit through his cabinetry. After fixing it, he left it in the center of the kitchen, wiring and heating components exposed to our ten-month old son. We had to harass him with phone calls and text messages for two weeks to get him to reinstall it, which he finally did; without replacing the sound-dampening thermal insulation. *Minimal care was taken to remove lead-based paint. We watched large volumes of paint getting washed into our yard. Large collections remained in the sills, which then blew into the house when the windows were open. We had to hire another professional to come properly dispose of all the lead paint dust around our home because we feared for our son's safety. *After installation, some of the windows were not caulked; the first rain of the winter months ran rivers down the insides of our walls and into the house, soaking furniture. We are uncertain of the full extent of the damage. This mistake was never corrected; we had to caulk our windows by ourselves. *The receipts for the new windows were not furnished. Without them we cannot claim tax credits for the windows, missing out on thousands of dollars in rebates. In summary; slapshod work and terrible communication. It was truly disheartening. A nightmare. The good part is that it's over and we learned our lesson!

Let this company pass you by. Started out fine and then we didn't see him for a week. No explanation where he'd gone. Worked another couple of days gone for a day or two. Not waiting for a sub to come. Found out he was working on several jobs at the same time, by himself. Work was fine, took six months to get the little bathroom almost done. We had a problem with water leaking from the shower door. He mad an attempt to fix it then we never saw him again.