Mojoe Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 (edited) Yeah, this is going to be a bit drawn out, but I want to share my experience with having Steve and his crew work on my house. I'll start with the huge frustration in the past of dealing with contractors. I'm not an easy person to deal with, but have clear expectations and ensure I communicate them. Steve was 100% on point with this from the start. After months of looking for someone to remodel a bathroom, we finally decided the exterior of the home needed attention more so than the bathroom. We changed gears and shifted out interested to the siding of the house. It had cedar siding, which I would have loved, had the previous owners not painted it 2-3 times. Add to that I repainted it, from baby shit yellow to a clay color. It was rotting in several spots and it was time for it to go. I reached out to Steve-O on here for an estimate and he was prompt in his reply and scheduling. I also reached out to Feazel roof and siding for a second estimate. They failed to show after 2 reschedules and then a call 10 minutes late from the time they set, to try and reschedule again. Not happening. Steve was quick to get the estimate back to us and come out to go over color options with my wife and I. Everytime Steve said he would be here, he was on time and great with a text prior to showing up. That means a lot to me. When I'm taking a five digits out of my bank account to pay someone, the least they can do is communicate well, and Steve did that. We paid our deposit and were told it would be 3-6 weeks before materials would likely be in, and it could be longer. It just depended on material. So now I'm like anyone else, with a chunk of cash out of pocket, IS MY HOUSE DONE YET? With only a week gone by, I knew it was still going to be a bit before they could get started. But then Steve called and said our material was in, and asked when were we ok to have them start. It had just been a week, so I was happy about that. I think I said the next day, and no shit the whole crew was here around 8:30. I'm up at 4-5am everyday, so when I see people I'm paying that are up early too and working, I get all happy inside. The crew was organized, respectful of my yard and driveway, and the overall property in general. They started the tear off of the old siding and when they got around to the back of the house we ran into some issues. Carpenter ants had gotten under the cedar and eaten away at most of the areas around a window that was not installed correctly. Add new window and framing to the cost of this project. This was on an addition that was done to the house before we bought it. They used 1" foam board instead of OSB or plywood, and put the cedar over that. Add tear all that shit off and go buy OSB at $24 a sheet. That was something I could go do, so I paid for that and went with a crew member in their truck to get it. Dudes were just wanting to work and do what needed done, and again it made me feel good about how these guys worked. 36 sheets of OSB later, new window framed in, and we are up and running again. However, this cost them an extra day they would need to wrap it all up. We also ran into two other spots with carpenter ants. Fortunately we caught those areas early and all the ant issues were dealt with. We had no ants in the house, so we were very surprised by this. The crew members worked on Saturday and then came in to finish a half day on Sunday. Monday was the punch out, that's when the crew chief comes through and inspects the quality of all the work. Several things were fine tuned and they wrapped up the job. Through this job, I decided to install new downspouts and all new lighting on the outside of the house. The damn project kept growing. Downspouts will be back up Friday after Gutter Helmet comes out to fix their bad install. Steve reached out yesterday to come out and do a final walk through and payment. He was flexible with us needing evening hours to meet throughout this work. He found a couple things to fine tune, but they were very small details. Here's what matters to me as a homeowner. I cannot say enough about the importance of communication. Being genuine and respectful to the homeowners and the property. Having good crew members that are not sketchy to chat with and are nice also. Seeing noticeable progress daily, even when hurdles come up. Even with Stave not being on site everyday, he managed the crew. Which speaks volumes more for Steve to have several sites going and for mine to have gone so well. I don't need to see Steve swinging the hammer, just get my house done. He did that. So now you probably want to see pics. Well, I stopped doing pics when photobucket took a dump. Steve has some and we talked about him posting them. I'm sure he will jump in here. Steve, please have your crew read this. We did thank them all, but it is important to us for them to know how well you all did. Thanks Steve. Edited October 2, 2020 by Mojoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Thanks for taking the time for a review, Joe. I know from a good friend who is a custom home rebuilder and remodeler that good materials are really tough to come by, and the price is fluctuating daily. He just finished a build that, over the course of a few months, the cost of lumber had gone up $30k from the quotes/budget he did in the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted September 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Thanks for taking the time for a review, Joe. I know from a good friend who is a custom home rebuilder and remodeler that good materials are really tough to come by, and the price is fluctuating daily. He just finished a build that, over the course of a few months, the cost of lumber had gone up $30k from the quotes/budget he did in the beginning. It's a tough time for sure. I understand we just got lucky with materials, and I'll take it. I like how all this went down and the wife loves new look on the house. She knows my expectations and that I am frequently let down with the end results on things. That too makes me pleased with the overall transaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Thank you Joe for your Trust and Support in choosing us to complete this Job for you. There were as Joe mentioned a couple of small things to overcome but that is expected with any project of this size. I really don't have anymore to add so lets see the results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted September 30, 2020 Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS69 Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Looks nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Gump 9 Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Awesome, Stevo is a good dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmrmnhrm Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Question for Steve... I'm looking to do a similar project next fall (there's bats in the garage, but I don't think I'll be able to get an exclusion expert out before torpor season), and being a 40 year old house, I know there's no vapor wrap, I've seen several holes in the OSB while in the attic, fascia boards are rotting in places, and insulation seems generally sketchy in places. I know you're in C'bus, so how would I go about finding a quality guy here in Cleveland without the hassle Joe went through in trying to get other quotes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Question for Steve... I'm looking to do a similar project next fall (there's bats in the garage, but I don't think I'll be able to get an exclusion expert out before torpor season), and being a 40 year old house, I know there's no vapor wrap, I've seen several holes in the OSB while in the attic, fascia boards are rotting in places, and insulation seems generally sketchy in places. I know you're in C'bus, so how would I go about finding a quality guy here in Cleveland without the hassle Joe went through in trying to get other quotes? I’ll send you a dm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Interested. I need new siding on my house, needs an update out of tan-land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10phone2 Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 same. I will likely be reaching out early summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Thanks everyone , as always feel free to dm or call me directly with the number in my signature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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