Hired Big Horn for totally green project: Kitchen, living and dining rooms, stair/landing torn out and remodeled, including hardwood floors, custom cabinetry, granite counters, new stairs/railings, slate entries, doors, windows. He charged $14,000 for stairs alone which were of such low quality (Newell not plumb, pillars splitting at seams floor to ceiling, balusters inconsistent distance apart, poorly sanded, gouges in railing, balusters rattle due to very poor fit into rail) that we asked that stair work stop and were given only $5000 credit. We hired another company to tear out stairs and railings and start again. New floor had to be re-sanded and refinished due to damage that occurred during the project, so we had to move out of house a second time. New whole-house fan did not work effectively and had to be upgraded at our expense. Did not consistently use green materials as we'd agreed, saying subs could not remember when ordering. Non-recyclables not effectively separated from recyclables. He claims "all other clients would be satisfied!"
Problems from the start when our written requirements for window size were disregarded and we were expected to pay 1/2 the cost to replace. Architect drawings ordered by builder were done without consulting our designer. Subcontractors in most cases were unsupervised by the general contractor and frequently unaware of what they were to accomplish or how. Architect's drawings or other specs were generally not shared with workers & subs. Many errors occurred which were caught by the owner, not the contractor. Contractor did not communicate issues with the draft cabinet design to the cabinet maker until owners insisted on meeting with him directly. These last minute changes caused 2 month delay in cabinets. Extensive cabinet damage during installation by contractor's carpenter, further delay. Painter dripped varnish across new floor; not repaired. Job estimated at 2 months, daily penalty starting at 4 months. Contractor did not pay penalty, did not finish, and does not return phone calls.
Never again!!!
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