SFW Construction LLC

I never get back to them because they did not deliver what they promised. I hired them for repairing a part of my siding (cedar shingles) which was the root cause of the water leaking. Then visited the wall on the first day and they said they can fix only that part of the wall. When they removed the shingles of that part of siding, they said they cannot replace the cedar shingles and they have to remove the entire wall and re-install all the cedar shingles from top to bottom. They claimed it is just faster to remove all the way to the ceiling and redo everything, which was not true at all. That ended up to more than $10000 and it doubled the time of the project. Only a few feet of the wall needed a repair but they killed the whole wall. The top part of the wall was in a good shape and all the plywoods backing the shingles were good as well. I did not expect that much cost and was not ready for paying that quickly. Then they stopped working because I had only one day delay in paying the balance which quickly raised above $5000. After I paid the balance, they returned to work, but they did not deduct the off-time in the next bill. Every day, they charged about 16 or 16.75 hours of work for two men, but in reality they worked about 10-12 hours effectively. They were supposed to spend 30min for launch but their launch time was never less than 45min. Very inefficient workers. Horrible experience when you realize you have no choice but keep paying unacceptable bills just to finish the project in the middle of winter.

SFW’s no bid, no contract methodology results in a uneven playing field for the consumer and what is equivalent to an open checkbook for the business. Bills only included supplier invoice copies upon request. We had to request the invoice backup each time we were invoiced. Never have we been directly billed for garbage bags, a saw horse, and even paper towels, as a separate, stand-alone cost at a price that was nothing short of absurd. Billable labor hours for unskilled labor, “driving” are at the same rate as siding repair and replacement hours. Skilled labor is billable at the same rate, regardless of the skill level and efficiency from a more experienced work force down to assistant. The same job could be accomplished in distinctly different time frames based on skill level. There is no reason for SFW to not draw out a job for whatever reason they deem necessary, as there is no estimate or commitment to job length, costs, labor, etc. I specifically asked in writing for a complete audit on this project against similar work to determine inequity in job completion costs. While I did receive phone and email communications, none addressed these cost concerns. Replacing siding on one side of our house with very limited need for wood replacement, due to rot, became the largest contacting cost we have experienced for any of the three homes we have owned including much larger and more complex bids and contracts. I can state emphatically that through the lessons learned from a no-bid process, we will never engage with SFW or any other contractor who structures their business model in such a way that incentivize the contractor at the expense of the consumer. I not only do not recommend SFW, but will go beyond that in communicating to the general public and consumer protection agencies regarding the allowability of SFW’s “blank check” approach. While the quality of the work appears to be acceptable - the cost to arrive at the desired destination is without fairness or limits. We recognize that we relinquished our rights when we agreed to such a one sided arrangement despite being forewarned with the original PDF and required email acknowledgement of receipt. SFW practices could easily be described as predatory and less than forthright. The good news is we are working with a new and improved contractor to finish the repairs and paint we had originally hoped we could have accomplished with SFW. We accepted bids, evaluated them and entered into a jointly beneficial contracting process that has elevated our path to completion moving forward.

Excellent service and Greg O. was amazing! Didn’t try to do more work than needed and offered advice on things that could be done easily by us to save time and money. He was very professional and so very helpful. He was easy to speak with and was very personable. SFW itself exceeded our expectation from the start with Christian who was amazing to talk to all the way to the workers and reception. Great company to work with. We will have them back for more work.

SFW Construction did a wonderful job installing french doors, finish carpentry (trim, etc). and a new roof. The team took time to place drop cloths in areas where debris would fall and kept the work area clean and tidy. They were also great around my kids and dog, I had a great experience and will hire them next time I need another big project done.