JC Smith LLC

I was extremely happy with JC Smith LLCs work. Mr. Smith was the only contractor that explained what would be needed to make repairs and renovations while he was doing the walkthrough with me. He was the only one to send the estimate as well. Communication was great! They were willing to make changes to the work order and even helped me out when the main water pipe to the house failed. The pricing was extremely reasonable. They beat the estimate by a plumber to replace the failed main water pipe by $4000.00! From now on, I'm not going to bother calling other contractors for estimates. I'll call Mr. Smith first.

Very professional, timely, with a great outcome. All work material waste was removed and area cleaned and returned to normal. Was a great value; problems that caused some of the needed work were resolved. Heartily recommend JC Smith LLC

Installed a barrier free shower, toilet, sink, light fixture and flooring. Had to remove a small closet and redo the drywall and paint. Widened a couple doors and had to do some plumbing and electrical. The workers were professional, did a good job, everything works well, and it looks excellent. Good attention to details. In fact, the project manager noticed Home Depot shipped the wrong shower piece. He was able to get it sorted out before actually installing the wrong piece that saved a lot of headache and money had they installed the wrong shower base that couldn't be used.

I waited some time before submitting this review to ensure I could leave an unbiased accounting as I was very angry with JC Smith LLC at the time of completion of the project. They did flawless work for 3/4 of the project, the issue came with the installation of a stove vent (on the original quote) and the addition of an extra cabinet (not on the original quote). There was a delay in shipping for the two items so there was a delay in completing the project. Once the cabinet and vent arrived I contacted JR, the foreman, and informed him. He told me he was going on vacation for a week but the crew would come out on Monday and start the work. Knowing JR was out I did not call JC Smith when nobody showed up or left any message for the entire week. When the workers did come out to finish the work it was apparent that they were not happy to be at the job site again. I should correct that statement; the lead carpenter was the only one that displayed that attitude, the second carpenter was as always, pleasant, cooperative, and helpful. Knowing that the additional cabinet was not in the scope of the contract, I authorized a change order to add additional money to the contract for the additional cabinet and the vent hood that we found would require additional work to install. The vent installation was very problematic as this is an old log walled farm house. During the installation the lead carpenter at one point got angry with me and yelled at me. I had turned on the ceiling fans as it was a hot and humid day, and apparently he hit his head on the blades and yelled at me as a result. During the installation of the vent hood, there was a obvious gap or 1/4 inch from the right to the left side where the vent hood was not level with the cabinets in place. I pointed this out to the lead carpenter who ignored me and screwed the vent hood in place. I then pointed out that I wanted the crown molding that on all the other cabinets went from the cabinets to the ceiling to continue over the vent hood as well as there was a gap or hole above the vent hood. This was met with some obvious consternation from the lead carpenter, who begrudgingly began to work on the crown molding. After 1/2 hour or so he became very agitated in my opinion and said he had to leave to open a basement area so that someone could get in and do a quote for another new project leaving the second carpenter to finish the work. After he left the second carpenter asked if I was content with the way the vent hood looked being out of level. I told him I did not and he removed all the screws and leveled the hood. He then completed the crown molding, staying very late in the day to finish the job. He was professional and patient and I appreciated his work ethic. As stated earlier this was a difficult review to post. For 3/4 of the work or more we could not have been happier with the work and professionalism of all involved. JR and the staff were very responsive but the final cabinet (which was not installed properly and scrapes when opened and closed), the range vent and hood, and the fact the the final trim work was not completed left us with a feeling of confusion. In fairness to JC Smith LLC, several emails were exchanged with Chrissy Smith and myself. Chrissy did offer to have another crew come out and complete the missing items and make everything right but I was very angry at the lead carpenter at that point for his attitude, poor work ethic and most of all yelling at me over the fan that I declined her offer. If all the work had been completed as the first 3/4 of the project was they would have received and A rating.

They were a pleasure to work with from first contact to cleanup. The process was described to us in detail; schedules were adhered to; there were no surprises. Every contractor was personable and polite. The work was expertly completed and we love the result. Would use them again in a heartbeat. It's so nice to find excellent and reliable home improvement contractors.

Very professional. Technician went over all aspects of the project.

Initially, I was very impressed with JC Smith. John, the Principle, was very charming and professional in introductory meetings, presenting his company as being very concerned with customer relations, emphasizing an open dialogue to the end of a creating a successful partnership throughout the project. If open and respectful communication, however, is an institutional concern for JC Smith, the reality of how my project went did not evidence it. I will provide my account as follows: I hired JC Smith to dig out and install an entryway for my basement. After a significantly delayed start, the project manager came to my house and demarcated specifically where the excavator was expected to dig based upon my preference for the location of the door and then left. When the excavator arrived, absent the project manager, he evaluated the specified site and quickly determined by observation that my well line ran right through the middle of where he had been instructed to dig. When I called John to respectfully express my concern for what seemed like a lack of due-diligence (consistent with what I had been pitched was acceptable?even expected?in this environment of open communication), I was met instantly with a very emotional and antagonistic response: to paraphrase,?How in your right mind can you be concerned with how this project is starting off? How was I supposed to know where the well line was?? I was completely taken off guard by the tone and content of his response. Thank goodness the excavation subcontractor was on the ball and found the well line with a flashlight rather than with the bucket of a three-ton machine. Subsequently, John continued to assert that there was no way for him to know where the well line was and that he did not break protocol by not first locating it before green-lighting the dig. (This still seems unfathomable to me.) When the dust settled, I was quoted another $1400 to relocate the line. Before the project even really started, we were significantly over budget. In lieu of the plumbing up-charge, I decided to move the location of the door to the other side of the house to avoid the line altogether. Fast forward: the project, though several months over the specified schedule, went fairly well with the excellent subcontractors and project manager, Jason, making great efforts to repair the broken relationship. Jason quit just before the end of the project. The new project lead, Eric, demonstrated a similar disregard for customer relations as I experienced with John. I was overtly chastised on several occasions for various innocent "offenses" such as not being present when he arrived while I dropped my kids off at school though he had never conveyed an arrival time. The general impression given was that I was a royal inconvenience for them and they were doing me a favor by completing the project I had paid for. Ultimately, though I am generally satisfied with the quality of the work performed, I am very disappointed with JC Smith?s level of professionalism. There seems to be a certain general frustration or irritation with the nature of their business and customers that they all too eagerly and freely express toward the people that are paying them their hard-earned money. In a service industry, this emotionalism is completely unacceptable. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but In my work I elect to treat my customers with due deference and respect, even if I disagree with their decisions, even if they tick me off, even if they cost me money. In the end, I appreciate each of them because I would not have food on my table at night if it were not for them. I was not treated as such by JC Smith. I wish them well but will not consider them in the future for subsequent projects.

Great match with old siding.

They were very through, detail oriented and kept us informed every step of the way. Only negative was delay in obtaining building permit.

The painting went very well! The plumbing issues took longer than expected, but have been fine since. The leak from the roof of the front porch was not fixed and I had to call them back. They fixed it on the second try.

We hired the company to remove an old ramp that the prior owner installed for a handicap relative and replace it with stairs with a small landing at that door. We also hired them to do exterior painting, both of the front door and all door trim around the house. The crew that came to look at the work needed and provide the estimate was amazing - on-time, professional, courteous. We were very pleased and looked forward to working with the company. We did not realize that none of them would be on-site for the work. Unfortunately, not all of the men they sent were on-time, professional, and courteous. To start with the good, the gentleman who removed the ramp and installed the stairs was terrific. He was on-time every day and communicated as needed, but without being a bother at all. Though we offered water to drink and the use of our restroom, he declined and went off-site for lunch and restroom breaks. He was hard working, showed up on time, and worked full days until the work was complete. The work was excellent. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the painter. He showed up late on the first day and was unprepared. He initially did not plan to do any preparation of the wood trim and was just going to start painting, without any scraping of the current paint (including where there was chips) or removal of items such as doorbells. When he left to get additional materials for the prep work, we removed those items ourselves to try to reduce further delay in the work. When he came back, his progress was very slow. In addition, he left early. As a result, by the end of the first day, little progress had been made. He arrived mid-morning on the second day and, again, made little progress. He was unable to remove the doorknob and peep hole on the front door, which we had to do ourselves. He took frequent breaks, using the restroom multiple times each hour. The paint job also was unsatisfactory. He left mid-afternoon. The next morning, we complained about some of the work and his hours when he arrived, at which point he became rude. We called and asked the company to send a replacement painter, which they did. It took a couple of days to finish the painting. Unfortunately, some of the paint is already chipping, and it appears we will need to find someone else to repaint again soon. We were very dissatisfied with this experience and the response of the company, which attributed this problem to personality differences when we asked for the replacement.

Not well contractor would not return our calls after many times trying to contact him

In May 2014, I contacted the vendor through Angie's List, to provide an estimate on two projects at my home-build a screened front porch and install a cement slab with retaining wall on the back of the property. The initial meeting took a few weeks to coordinate but I stayed with the contractor. After the initial meeting everything was smooth and easy. I did not have any problems or concerns with JC Smith. The crew worked every single day once the contract was signed and both projects were completed in a month's time-they began roughly on August 1 and were done, with final inspection completed on 8/27/2014. JC Smith handled all of the permitting and inspections and were very engaged in our projects. The crew was professional and courteous and very respectful of our property and noise levels. They asked permission for everything. All sub-contractors that came in (electrical, landscaping) were equally wonderful and I am extremely satisfied with the work. The front porch is amazing and the quality of the construction cannot be beat. It was completed exactly to our specifications and then some. The crew was willing to do whatever it took to ensure we were pleased and it is a job well done. If you are looking for a contractor that will do as they say, this is the contractor for you-costs were a bit high, but for the lack of headaches and worry, it was worth every penny. I was worried about hiring a contractor as we have been do-it-yourselfers forever, but this project required it and we had a great experience. JC Smith's personnel respond quickly to emails and phone calls and address all concerns and questions promptly. Quality work, fair price-WELL DONE!

I meet with the representative on 6/17/2014. He was late to the appointment. We did a walk through of the house and he was very knowledgeable and agreeable. He said that he would try and get the free estimate to me as soon as possible which would take about 4-6 weeks. I contacted the company at week 4 and I was told to give it 2 more weeks. At week 6 I was told it can take up to 4-8 weeks to do an estimate. When it came to 7 weeks I contacted them again to prompt them and was told that they would call me on Monday. Monday came and went with no call. I emailed them and received no response. It is now 8 1/2 weeks later and nothing ever came. It would have been nice if the company could have been honest up front and advise that they do not provide free estimates instead of leading me on for weeks on end. My recommendation would be if you are going to hire them right up front you might be safe. But if you want a free estimate forget it, they obviously provide false adverting not only on Angies list but on the internet. I am not the only person who had the same issue with this company = so think twice!

We didn't use them. It was for my insurance claim. The insurance company sent them to us. It was really expensive but they were nice. They were professional. We have a handyman that we used and he did it for us.

I've had a good experience. It was a fair price. They reacted in a prompt and professional manner. I thought it was very good and I would definitely give them a change to bid on a project.

We contacted JCSmith based on the good reviews we saw on Angie's List and even told them how we had been disappointed by efforts to engage contractors in the past; that we were excited to find a company that would be professional, and we were assured that this would be a very different experience. We were pleased when John arrived on time for the initial appointment on 6/20 and spent a considerable amount of time discussing our hopes, plans and potential options for a renovation project to include a roof, windows, interior doors, in addition to other items. To be fair, he did explain that it would be several weeks before we would receive the quote, but he also said we could call to check on the progress at any time. I also sent John 2 e-mails discussing some additional thoughts and requests. Neither of the e-mails was acknowledged as received, nor was there a brief note indicating our quote/bid was still being worked. So, on 7/8 I reached out by phone to the office number and spoke with their answering service requesting a call back on the status of our bid. As of 7/10 I did not receive a call back, so called John's cell phone number which was provided in the information packet. My message was briefly that we had not received a call back in 48 hours and wanted to simply know whether our bid was still being worked, or should we consider other options. On 7/11, late in the day, I attempted to reach the office number and was placed on terminal hold. They do have very nice music. As 5pm approached, I texted John's phone simply requesting a reply as to whether they are working our request. We would have been satisfied with a quick text back even if only to say when the office will contact us next week, however the silence is deafening this evening. At this point we will begin looking into other options for our project, not because we are unwilling to wait to have the work done, but simply because we cannot even get a brief call or text acknowledging our outreach to the company or an estimated timeline for a thorough response. Without a very prompt phone call from the owner of the company with a logical explanation for the lack of response over several days, we will take our business elsewhere.

outstanding!!!! all stages of the work were professional and very clean.Personal were very good at all levels. Can't say enough good about the work.

John Smith is an awesome person, honest, friendly, professional and knows the building business and at that it entails to a "T", goes the extra mile to please or assist his customers.

These guys are great. John had to go through quite a hassle getting the appropriate permits (Howard County seems to be VERY picky), but he was always cheerful and positive about my concerns. The actual worker bees could not have been more professional, caring, and thorough with my work. They had to drive quite a distance daily, but were punctual and gave a full day's work every day! I love my new deck, railing, and wider stairs. I would recommend this company with no reservations.

We did a review when the job was completed in September 2013.

The construction is very good. The construction workers, the guys that did the work were excellent. But we had a lot of problems with the foreman, the supervisor. He does not return our calls. There is one thing he still has not fixed. It's been going on for 2 months, 3 months, something like that. The guys themselves, the workers, worked very hard and did a marvelous job. We love the porch, it's wonderful, when it gets all finished. But getting a hold of the supervisor, getting a hold to tell him that things that needed to be done was a real, real challenge. We were very disappointment because they really did do a good job. He had told us it would take 2 to 3 weeks and it ended up taking 6 weeks and then, plus time for things he didn't do right. It is now still in progress. There is still one things that needs to be fixed. There is a little corner of the roof, what we built was a porch with a roof on it and I dearly love my porch, but there is a corner of it that needs to be fixed. It needs to be put back. IT's hanging out. That's the best way to put it, it's a small piece that is hanging out that I don't imagine would take more than 2 minutes to fix it. I can't fix it, I don't know how. And you have to climb up on a ladder and I don't do ladders. They were here last week and instead of fixing it, they caulked it. I don't understand why they did that. It just needs to be put up, it needs to be put into the little groove type of things. I don't know why, maybe it might be more than, because I can't really see it, I can't get up on the ladder and touch it. It is very difficult to get a hold of him, in fact it is almost impossible. I have left messages for the owner and he has never called us back. He has this supervisor call us back and he is a very, very poor customer service person. He takes offense at everything you say. The communication was extremely poor. The work was good though. The porch looks beautiful except for that thing. It was things like, they had promised to feed the grass where they had torn it up. They didn't do that. They had left out a bunch of screws. Now, they have come back and fixed most of that except for this one little corner. I felt like this was quite a substantial amount of money. It was a porch and a roof. We did get bids from the other people. We talked to a lot of the other people and they weren't the cheapest by any means but they just seemed like they were knowledgeable and helpful. They were very professional. They seemed to know what they were doing. We had confidence in them. Structurally, I believe, I'm not an engineer, the porch looks beautiful and it seems very stable. When they came out, again, they were late. Not everybody likes to be on time like I do. You just have to go with that flow. They provided what we asked them to present and they were fine. We put our confidence in them. Update 06/08/2016: I've had problems with trying to get them to come out and fix the other things on the porch, and when I finally get a hold of them they scream and yell at me and call me names. They still haven't come to fix the porch. Now I have to file a complaint against them.

1. They ordered the wrong size window delaying the project. This was after someone came out to the house to measure the window before ordering. 2. The workers came to the site with the siding for the job. After the discovered the window would not work, they left siding on my porch for my wife and I to put away. 3. The window delivery person showed up at my door with the window. I was not told a delivery was coming and I was only home by chance. If I would not have been home, I don't know where the window would have been placed, but it would have been left outside for me to find and then put away. 4. I had to contact the company regarding the job, the company did not contact me. This is after their mistake with the window order. When I did contact them I told him to make arrangements with my wife since she would be the one home. He did not call her when he said he would, and again I had to contact him. 5. The crew was late on the day the work was supposed to be done. I gave him the day, and the company gave me the time. I changed my schedule at work to be able to meet them. My wife had to be somewhere else as well. After 15 minutes of waiting I left. No phone call was made saying they would be late, I only got a call when they showed up and nobody was home. The quality was fine as far as I could tell. The price was in line with what the going rate is, nothing great. Overall just an unprofessional, and amateur experience.

Based in large part on the excellent reviews in Angie's list, we contacted JCSmith this spring for some quick repairs on our roof following a windstorm. That went fine, and the cost was reasonable, so when we developed a list of other minor projects around the house, we asked them to estimate it. John Smith came to the house about a month ago, looked at the jobs, asked a lot of questions, and told us we'd hear from him soon. Time passed. After about two weeks I called the company and was told that yes, John was working on our estimate, but was very busy. Another ten days passed, and day before yesterday I called again, and was told that our estimate had been sent by e-mail that morning. I opened the e-mail and was floored! We have owned this old house for almost 20 years, and have had a lot of experience with contractors, electricians, plumbers, HVAC, etc. Never have I seen an estimate that was so loaded with errors and padded with unreasonable and multi-layered charges. Installation of 8 track lights on one track (with existing wiring) and crown molding in one room, for example, was quoted at $1200, including $150 for drywall repairs, $150 for repainting the entire ceiling, 4 hours of electrician time, and a 400 percent markup on track and lights. The entire estimate was capped with $80 for cleanup and a 15 percent add-on for "margin." This is the most spectacular high-ball I have seen in these 20 years. I will never even consider working with this company again.

Very professional, very reasonable cost. Would use again.