Marsha Wilson

Review of Blue Line Builders

Had a positive meeting with owner Dan on Oct 29 fo...

Had a positive meeting with owner Dan on Oct 29 for over an hour, fully described what we were looking for, definitely not an ordinary remodel and would require some custom carpentry to match existing. Dale seemed to understand what we were looking for, and said we would start by demo of some drywall to see what was inside.

We'd had that wall open before and we told him what he would find but were okay with this being the first step. In the contract, it did state: "This estimate is for exploratory work only. To inspect the wall for structural, wiring and any plumbing in the wall. This estimate in no way is a guarantee that we will repair or continue with the proposed remodel of Plan B. This estimate is for demo only. Blue Line Builders may elect not to proceed with Plan B due to structural issues's." We went ahead and paid for the demo that we had already marked out on the wall and frankly could have easily done ourselves.

The young man that did the work was very polite and tidy. He took a bunch of pics while he was here. Waited 2 weeks, emailed Blueline twice to find out about next steps. Dan eventually replied he would need to "re-inspect what was opened up and see if this project would be something I would want to get involved in." I was concerned when I read this because I knew nothing was discovered structurally to have them decide not to perform this work--why start if you never intended to continue without justification? Why waste each others' time?

Dan came out 20 Nov, was here less than 5 min, said he needed his worker to come out and remove more insulation in the ceiling to get a good idea of the load bearing wall. So the same young man came out again, and removed a good chunk of my insulation to make the attic area visible. And thats it. Haven't heard from them since. I have a 4.5ftX7ft hole in my entry and am now looking for another contractor. I don't know why they started if this did not seem to be the kind of job that fit their schedule/kind of remodel. They learned nothing from tearing open the drywall that would have led them to decide not to continue to work with us. I wish they would have just said no, not interested.

UPDATE: After this review, Dale contacted me and said this was not the experience he wanted me to have, and offered to come back free of charge to patch the hole. I declined but told him I appreciated the offer. I asked him to be more frank about work that may not be their bailiwick in the future, and we parted on good terms.