Michael Hartrich Design-Build
Review by John Redell
April 07, 2018
We were in a bit of a jam, having been left in the lurch by another contractor. He had promised to start our outdoor project in the spring but, after bumping our start date several times, had finally reneged completely late in the summer. This left us “back at square one” at a time of year when contractors tend to be fully booked and working to complete current projects before the rainy season.
We contacted Mike and, though busy, he showed up at the agreed upon time, evaluated the proposed project and, after taking some measurements and crunching some numbers, promptly provided us with a rough cost estimate, cautioning that the figure could wind up being exceeded, depending on what initial demolition revealed about the underlying condition of the structure.
This frank and reasonable caveat was born out when demolition revealed significant water and termite damage and sub-standard construction methods that had been employed by previous contractors who had worked on the house prior to our ownership.
Mike and Ray commenced work in a cheerful but professional manner, keeping us apprised of unexpected structural issues, explaining how and why they could and should be addressed as the project proceeded. Mike offered a variety of possible solutions of varying cost and complexity to solve one pre-existing issue which was encountered and then contacted someone to draw up plans for the one we chose, which greatly facilitated obtaining a permit to cover this work (as it was beyond the scope of the original, “siding-and-windows” permit). Mike and/or Ray was always present to facilitate various inspections as they occurred over the course of the project.
Mike connected us with electrical and roofing contractors to handle those aspects of the work as well. He conferred with these sub-contractors to insure that work by all parties was well coordinated and worked directly with them when appropriate.
He also provided us with weekly, itemized billing and copies of receipts for materials purchased so that we could rest assured as to how our money was being spent.
Mike and Ray did a great job and we are very happy with the finished product. They are hard-working, willing to answer questions, open to reasonable suggestions and can be relied upon to finish what they start.
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