Complaint Review: Riddle Builders

PROS:
Basic Competency, not the fastest - but not the slowest either.

CONS:
Basic Competency, run-of-the mill to less-than-acceptable workmanship, unwilling/able to do the mental work required for truly professional quality construction.

I engaged Riddle Builders because they were a partner provider for my insurance company - State Farm. The PM, Danny Johnson, on my job was responsive, generally polite and easy to wok with for the most part. As an out-of-state home owner, I explained during our first conversation that I would be unable to oversee the project personally. This was a huge mistake.

My house, had a hot water pipe fail in Feb '11. There was significant interior water damage. Service Master was contracted to demo the interior. They took out the sheetrock and the flooring and did mold mitigation. Custom built for a LaTech prof in 1959, the highest quality hardware was used, in most cases heavier gauge than what is now available. This was not a cookie cutter house - the architect had carefully chosen Ames era decor (hardware/lighting/built-ins). Post-WWII industrial production and the quality of Made in US was on display in this home - right down to the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired built-in cabinetry. Much of the design value was lost between SM and Riddle - either the information wasnt accurately recorded and transferred or wasn't digested.

After SM wrecked out the interior, FloorWorks came in with new flooring in tile in the kitchen and prefinished hardwood flooring (hickory). The hickory was a nice choice, but the prefinish was a mistake - go with the traditional unfinished and polyurethane. Regardless, I had signed off on the prefinish so that one is on me. The flooring work was generally acceptable. Some gaps at the perimeter were unneccesarily large (covered with quarter round) and there were some trim issues. There were a couple of bows and/or places where gaps opened up between planks - these more serious issues were taken care of by FloorWorks after I had inspected and tagged them. FloorWorks gets a B+.

The other subcontractors - from the electrical work (many GFI's and kitchen electrical didn't work for months, low grade outlets, covers, switches, obnoxious placement of meter/breaker box, crooked fixtures, etc...) to the painters (trashed the yard, lots of seams in the SR work, poor crown joints, unpainted areas, poor surface prep, etc... ) to the carpentry (molding, trim work) seemed to operating with little oversight.

I'm not surprised at this from subs, they will get away with as much as they can - ultimately this has to come back to Riddle. Someone should have been on these guys and tagging this stuff out to being with, but instead relied heavily on my punching this stuff out, which becomes a back and forth. This is a perfect example of a second rate GC - not on the jobsite(?) ensuring a high level of quality. This is consistent with the lack of research on the previous state of the home and no serious attempt to understand or restore the intrinsic value. Everything that went back in was strictly low-grade spec quality. Danny was unwilling or unable to research the details.

The punchouts were frustrating. Many major issues were addressed, but the punchouts had to be repeated several times because many issues were removed (blue tape) without being addressed. In some cases original (and no long available) hardware was deliberately thrown away to avoid having to install it.

Therefore, if you looking for contractor that understands quality and is capable of constructing to a high-standard, and especially if you have a job that requires something other than standard grade, AVOID RIDDLE BUILDERS!