August 2020 by H Lane
Get it in writing! Our costs spiraled out of control. Allied Construction would not take any responsibility for cost overruns.We hired Ginna Jordan of Allied Construction because of a strong referral from a friend plus her calm demeanor. Our friend used her for a small home project and was pleased with the results. We met with Ginna several times and felt comfortable hiring her after we thought she understood the scope of our project and what we wanted. We should have asked for more referrals and taken time to go look at some of her work. (Our bad!)We had a large project. It involved footings, steel columns, framing, roof trusses, metal roofing, siding, electrical, trim work and painting. There was no plumbing or HVAC involved. We had a very tight timeline. Ginna assured us she could get the project finished on time. She later told us in an email that she really didn't think she could do it within the time parameters we gave her. We emphasized the importance of staying on budget before and during construction.Ginna gave us a written estimate. We ended up going way over (50-75% over!) her estimate. We made many changes during construction. Some changes were relatively minor. Others not. We always asked what effect changes would make on our overall budget. Ginna never gave us anything in writing but always assured us we were "pretty close" to budget or that costs wouldn't change that much. Wrong! We were given copies of subs invoices that Allied paid for work done on our project. We could clearly see, in hindsight, where money was spent. However, we were not given updates on the overall project costs as we went along. We were only given verbal assurance that the budget was still close. Ginna later told us in an email that she didn't have time to re-compute costs of changes. However, she did have time to take several trips with family or friends during our project. After seeing the initial estimate and how she had no specific answers for us during our project I am very doubtful of her ability or willingness to accurately bid a job. The lack of accurate updates during our project makes me think we were not a very high priority.Ginna has a "hands off" style. Her subs were dependable but we didn't see Ginna as often as I thought we would. I like builders who are often on the scene, preferably once or twice a day. We went stretches of several days without her on site. We personally accepted many deliveries, made personal equipment available (ie forklift, tools, auger, etc), cleaned trash and debris and answered questions that arose from the workers. Ginna's response time to phone calls or texts was pretty good but there is nothing that takes the place of being on site. Her response time to emails was poor.If you have a small home project with no definite completion requirement plus no restrictions on a budget then Allied may be ok for you. Under those circumstances I think Allied would do a good job for you. Ginna has a calming personality. She has good subs that work for her. The overall quality of the work done is good.If you have a large project and/or a definite budget requirement please be warned! Get a written agreement. Make sure there are procedures for dealing with changes and associated costs. In our verbal "cost plus" contract (our bad!) there was no incentive for Ginna to control costs. In fact, a "cost plus" agreement means the more you pay the more the builder gets in fees. I considered our frequent requests for cost/budget updates and Ginna's response that we were still "pretty close" a part of our verbal contract but Ginna did not. As a result, her fees escalated as our costs went higher and higher. She has never acknowledged any accountability or responsibility for not keeping us updated on costs.
