Craig Bennett

Review of Joe Percario General Contracto...

TLDR; Overall the experience has been positive, bu...

TLDR; Overall the experience has been positive, but there were definitely some bumps along the way.

So, we were new to the whole home improvement game, and had no clue what we were doing at the start. We wanted to finish our basement, and we had a number in mind based on some other friends that had similar services done. We went with Joe Percario because of his BBB profile, and some of the reviews and photos we had seen of "his" work.

Step one is that they send the estimator/salesman to get a look at the proposed project space. They take measurements, and they consult their big binder. The price came back at about twice what we were expecting. Okay, so now the "downgrades" follow. Well, instead of this, we can do this...yadda yadda yadda. Okay, we finally converge, and agree (still not quite as low as we had hoped/expected, but still within reason).

Step two is that they send in the project manager, PM, (who is a JP employee). He looks over the space, takes measurements and looks at what is on the order form. It is of the UTMOST importance that you realize that the PM will do everything in their power to minimize their costs. Unless you are very specific when drawing up the contract, this can bite you in the ass. In order to keep the costs down, we had to cut off a section of the basement with a wall. They wanted to install half a wall (not putting dry wall on both sides). We eventually agreed to have them put up drywall, but not finish the other side. They wanted to not finish the closet space under the stairs, but eventually had to because the Township MADE them because of fire code violations. So, yeah, we bumped heads a few times because things were not explicitly written out in the contract. We'll know better next time. Remember, the salesman promises the world, but the PM is the one that you'll have to deal with.

For those that don't know, the PM hires other contractors to actually do the work. The only time we had JP employees was when they had to come back and do the closet under the stairs...and when we had to replace sections of the floor...more on that later.

Okay, so we get rolling, some of the electrical is done, some of the framing is done...and then we come to a standstill for over a month as we wait for the permits. The PM had promised the project would be done before Christmas, it was not. He had lied to us continuously about the state of the permits, until I actually went over and talked with the township. Eventually we got the permits, and somewhere around this time the PM was actually terminated from the company and replaced by a new guy who had to get up to speed quickly.

As for the work, the basement looked beautiful when completed. There were issues though. The hvac crew installed vents in the existing ductwork without any kind of return (my hvac guys hated what they did) and the vents break very easily. I had one replaced almost immediately, and I've been dealing with a broken one for years now. So, we were not fans of that work.

Now the biggest problem was that we put tile down directly on the concrete slab floor. Everything was wonderful until the floor started to buckle. We called JP up and complained, and they sent JP workers over to fix the buckle. Again, it looked nice, until the floor buckled again. We were told that we should never have put tile down on the floor like that as there is movement of the slab, and this kind of thing happens. The biggest problem was that they said it like WE should have known better. Eventually, they fixed the problem again (even though they kept saying they were not at fault for it). We eventually agreed that if it happens again, they would remove the tiles, and we would have to put down a floating floor instead (think Pergo). They would handle the labor, but we'd have to buy material. Luckily, the floor hasn't buckled since.

So, eventually things got taken care of, but it took some effort on our part. Remember, they are out there to make money, not be your friend.