Paradise Builders LLC

This project went very well; the craftsmanship was excellent, the Paradise team was responsive to all of my questions and change requests. They were sure to get my input if any questions came up to ensure that everything came out as planned. The project involved general construction, windows, doors, roofing, and siding. I especially appreciated that the team cleaned the work area carefully (including picking up any stray nails with a magnet) at the end of each day.

We wanted a contractor that would pull permits and provide quality work. In the kitchen they removed our cabinets and countertops, and soffits. They swapped the location of our refrigerator and stove. The new kitchen included a new floor, recessed lights in the ceiling and over the sink, new wood cabinets with easy close drawers and doors, new quartz countertops, a backsplash, under cabinet lighting, new sink and garbage disposal, and new wood work around the windows and flooring to match the stain of the existing windows. In the bathroom, they removed our old cast iron tub and plastic surround, the exhaust fan and light over the tub, vanity with sink, medicine cabinet, two layers of flooring and toilet. They installed a new tub with tile surround, toilet, vanity with sink, recessed lights in the ceiling, exhaust fan with light over the tub. a cabinet over the toilet, a new floor, new woodwork, and a mirror with sconce lights. We have only one bathroom and they always left us with a working bathroom at the end of the day. Josh was our project manager and he did an outstanding job. Ron and Patrick were the carpenters on the job and they did a fantastic job. The job site was left broom clean at the end of each day. The communication of what trades would be coming in and when was excellent. They held to their timeline. They met or exceeded our expectations at every turn. We highly recommend their services.

They're great, great, great. Even though they did have to hire a sub contractor, he didn't do a very good job. They more than made up for it. They're great to work with.

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My review of Paradise Builders has 3 areas, so please read all the details before making your decision to work with them. They are the physical house skeleton, the building process and the finishing work and final results. Let me also state that I have never built a new home from scratch before, so I accept that I went into this with too little knowledge and too much trust. I repeatedly asked Keith to keep me fully informed, and to make sure I was not missing anything. His continuous assurances that he was going to make this a wonderful journey to go on together made me let my guard down. Shame on me. Here is my story, for which I have documentation, emails and all communications to back up. 1. Blenker Company / Envision: The physical skeleton of the house is very well built. Blenker did a wonderful job and I have nothing bad to say about this. A private home inspector assured me of this also. 2. Paradise Builders: The building process was extremely frustrating and promises made were not necessarily promises kept. The owner, Keith Knapp, extolls the virtues of a Christian lifestyle, but that really has no bearing on building a home, so get past that promise. After preparing and getting my finances ready over several years I was ready to tear down my old house and build new from the foundation up. In January, 2013 I paid my $6k down payment. Keith told me to take advantage of a winter build $5k discount by starting the build immediately. I was told to strip the house and be ready for demolition in the next few weeks. This was despite the fact that the plans were not finished yet, which was my own fault and inexperience. I believed his assurances, and again, shame on me. With a promise of a 3-5.5 month build I moved my furniture into my garage, on the word from Keith that it would be fine for such a short time frame. I did not have time to have a house sale or to properly pack items. We stayed in a hotel for the weekend so the house could be prepared for imminent demo. I gave Keith house plans that I loved and he assured me the style and layout would work well on my lot. We made slight changes to the inside but the frame of the house was consistent throughout. As the plans continued to evolve I asked for costs so I could determine what I could keep in the plans and what I had to let go. It wasn?t until May that I got my first cost estimate, which was $35k over budget. Getting costs and breakdowns was never easy and after several more tries I settled for a house that I could live with. Since this was a +$225k the house was not a tiny project, and I was not asking for the moon on a penny budget. On July 23, 2013 the current house was demolished and the build started. This was 6 months after clearing out the old house. On day 2, after the foundation was poured, Keith realized that he had not accounted for the natural grade of my yard (we are in Kettle Moraine) and had to quickly change the plans to give me an access door that was needed. A bathroom was flipped with a mechanical room. Also, a bedroom closet was cut in half due to Keith?s plan to build it in later, but he forgot about it and the closet can?t be expanded as planned. In the process of his changing these rooms on the fly other issues were created and never fixed. And, the promised Blenker build with a margin of error of 1/1000? was thrown off by about 2 feet on the outer wall. This was never addressed, but was an error on Paradise Builders part, not Blenker. The build moved forward and I was seeing progress until the old foundation area that was not used in the new build was left in place despite the promise of it being removed. The dirt and general grading was horribly done and I had to fight for them to keep the promises made. Even getting a pile of dirt removed was an issue. The fact that Keith hires family and close friends was an issue when it came to quality work I believe. Frustration was high and I was continuously asking for hard numbers as I was told to approve the payments. Keith was never open about the amounts being charged, who was getting what, and what they were for. I felt I had no choice but to sign the release forms as Keith liked to tell me that it was normal and if I didn?t it would cause bigger issues and possibly legal actions. When I have no house, and he has all the power, I signed. To this day I have no clear accounting. Keith told me that he spoke with his attorney and I had no right to the specific numbers. THIS IS A BIG RED FLAG! The finishing work started in August 2013 and it was done by one man only. Needless to say this slowed the work down considerably. The day I heard work was not being done on my house because Mark was busy at Keith?s own house really put a bad taste in my mouth. When I finally got the keys to my house it was November 23, 2013, and only after I pushed for a resolution before the snow started. The problems I addressed with Keith on our walk through were easily dismissed by him as ?normal? and I was even told some hair-brained excuses that I knew were not true. By the time I could move in my furniture and household items had been stored in my garage for 11 months. Damage to my items was extensive. I should have put these items into a temperature controlled storage in the first place. In November, 2013 I got the keys. I was unable to spend regular time at the house, but still the quality began to show itself. To protect myself and to know what to discuss before the one-year inspection I hired a private home inspector. 10 months after the keys were mine, and after several months of finding issues, I was given a list of issues, major and minor, to have fixed. I contacted the local building inspector who reviewed my inspection list also. I did not hear anything from Keith about my one year inspection so I called him before the deadline. He claimed he had arranged a meeting already, but that wasn?t true. We walked the house, I showed him all the issues the home inspector found, but I felt that I wasn?t being heard. I told Keith that the entire building project had been upsetting and disappointing at best. He was surprised I believe. But, he never was at the house during the build and had no way to know if he wasn?t properly involved in all phases. I emailed him a list of the issues that needed to be addressed. He said he would be in touch. In February I spoke with a new employee at Paradise Builders, Richard. My son and I met with Rich and went over the list of issues I had given to Keith in November. We walked the house together. For the first time I felt like I was speaking with someone who had experience, knowledge and common sense. Here are the bigger issues that needed to be addressed, and the resolution to each: The deck was my biggest issue; it was identified by both the village inspector and the home inspector, as being out of code. The main support beam looked like it was delaminating already, the railing had spacing that was far too wide and the correct bolts seemed to be missing. A vertical post was badly splitting already. The provider of the beam sent a letter stating that their product was not delaminating and so Paradise would not replace it. (I feel this was asking the fox if the hen house was safe.) I do have their letter on file should anything happen in the future.The porch rails were all removed and rebuilt properly and neatly.The bolts were reviewed and made right.The split upright was not fixed.The unsightly work was ?wrapped? in matching wood and the porch is now able to be stained or painted properly. The siding was not done properly or cleanly. It was not attached at the bottom, and it was not straight and even. There were gaps and mistakes that needed to be redone. Downspouts were cut short and not extended. The siding was cut, trimmed, attached, replaced and just made better. There are still areas that the work is shoddy but sadly there is little that will be done about those spots. The downspouts were corrected. There were up to 9 baffles missing in the attic. Baffles were installed. The electrical connection to the house and then to the garage was a temporary job. This is still outstanding. The conversation remains between Paradise Builders and the electric company as to who will do the work. The sliding doors were never shimmed correctly and locking and unlocking them was not easy or safe. These were corrected. I just have one more big problem, and that is a major design flaw. I have a window well right next to my front door, and it is impossible to landscape around it without extensive costs. As the builder I trusted Keith to notice and point out possible issues in the plans. As with the access door, it wasn?t thought of until the last minute, or not at all. I am left struggling to figure out a way to make my front entrance work. I have a pile of stones in place right now until I can get help and save up enough money to fix this big mistake. For the first time in over two years I feel like this project is being resolved. If you take anything away from this long review it should be this: Keith is a salesman, not a designer. Don?t rely on his expertise to be any greater than yours. (My bathroom sinks are so small they are almost comical.) Get your legal rights clear before you start. Once you pay your down payment you are at the mercy of the builder. I still don?t know if I got that $5k bonus for a winter build. Don?t believe, or plan for, a quick build, no matter what you are told. Be there every day and get full answers to your questions. Keep asking until you get them. Stop the work if necessary to get your answers. Take pictures all along the way. You may need them in court. Get a home inspection in the first year after getting your keys. It is worth the money. I will never build a house again.

We received materials at a very good price. When work was scheduled, a large crew appeared promptly and finished the project in 2 days. They also installed wider gutters and reconfigured downpouts which help drainage so much. We enjoy feeling confident when the rain storms come that our roof is not leaking and the gutters take the water away so much better than before.

The first night they completed the job it rained and the roof leaked by the chimney call them Keith the owner came out and did a patch job. Later I called on the valleys not lined up with gutters Keith sent over his so called best repair man Mike, Mike made the comment on the valleys MAN HE REALLY GAVE YOU A HACK JOB, so I have been trying with Keith to come out and just make it right. He came out I can't remember when but it was this year 2011 and saw the work done on my roof and he did agree that it was a hack job and that he would redo the valleys align them to the corners of the gutters and make it right to the tune of about I believe it was 1800.00 to 2100.00 not really sure at this same time I pointed out to Keith that the color of the shingles were not the color around the chimney. To the rest of the house, but I do have a witness as to what Keith said that had to be done to make it right. The witness was with us when Keith was talking to me of my roof we were all on the roof at the time. He was here when Keith came over to see the roof I'm sure you think this has been a long time but I did contact the BBB sent them picture, but they just blew me away if you need more info please let me know and I will give you anything that I have.