NYC Contractors: General Contractor Search — take two
Normally I would’ve left the last post alone and added the my final contractor search choice at the bottom. However, the results I’m seeing in my seach for a general contractor warrant another posting on this stuff.
- Note: all of these companies were found initially on nari-ny.org – initially I’m starting with firms in the 718 and 212 area codes.
My initial choice for investigation was As You Wish Construction. A quick trip to the BBB told me that the company is actually called Davidson & Son Construction (I get nervous with 1 biz and multiple names associated) but within the last 12 months of this posting they’ve had a complaint that has not yet been resolved. Not only that, but the photos of previous work on their site look suspicious.
Second choice: Knockout Renovation Svcs., Inc. Again something minor found in the BBB as well as an address that looks to be residential AND multiple business names.. sigh.. strike two UPDATE: See the comment below left by the President of Knockout Renovation for clarification.
Third attempt: General Modernizer Home Construction Co., Ltd. — While searching google for their website I came across a court record in which one of the founding partners was convicted of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion. Needless to say, I’m going to have to pass on this place.
Fourth attempt: Gotham Builders Of New York, Ltd. — Gotham has the same Bayside queens address and a contact with the same last name as General Modernizer. Skipped.
5th: Major Homes Corp. — One problem in the BBB, will probably end up calling & asking about this.
Sixth company looked at: JCK Contracting Corp — in business a long time, satisfactory record on the BBB. The only thing that worries me is that only two people are listed on their staff page. Do they use licensed sub contractors for the work JCK performs or do they have a staff of carpenters etc..?
This is the stuff I’m looking to get finished:
- Repair and paint drywall: Chimney was not built to code by previous owner, as such this coming Sunday repairs will be made to the chimney. Chimney company will re-brick, but not repair any additional damage to walls.
- Basement Floor: Concrete is too thin in certain places and not level enough to install tiles. Cracks and concrete depth needs to be increased as per NYC code.
- Microwave Electrical Line: Adding an over the range microwave that requires it’s own power. Need to have a line run behind/into a kitchen cabinet for microware installation.
Add to your list (of more minor things for now): * Weatherstripping the doors * Covering the AC for the winter (to prevent water damage to walls) * Purchasing weed n’ seed for the back yard
one more thing…dont forget to prepare my guest room! 😉 im really impressed with all of your hard work and diligence here…i know ill be referring back to this one day… hi niffly 🙂
Thanks! I’m hoping to keep this place if I move in the future as a rental, so if I establish contracts and a history with some firms now, later on there won’t be any confusion as to who to call when something happens. It would have been nice to move in and not have to worry about this stuff..but it’s probably better to evaluate contractors now while time is on my side, rather than try to do this just after something blows up. Eventually we’ll be finishing work on the basement towards making it a guest apartment – only thing it’ll be missing is a shower and a stove.
Hi,
I was “surfingâ€? and came across this site. The physical address and link to same for Knockout Renovation was the original address when we started in 1992. We have since grown alot and have two locations. One in Brooklyn at 382 94th St. (Office) and one in Mnahattan at 300 East 95th St.(showroom). With so much information being continuously posted on the web, it’s nearly impossible to update a companies information with all resources. Perhaps a brief conversation with that company would clarify these concerns for any potential client and thus not cause them to dismiss a great company without adequate information.
Thanks,
Keith Steier
President
Knockout Renovation
Keith – thanks for taking the time to respond. In the search for a general contracting form, the information (even if dated) available online has resulted in firms being passed by.
I should have specified in the post above that the selection criteria used and the reasons some firms were not considered is because I am looking for a long-term business relationship with an established firm. Establishing such a relationship will allow me to provide any future building managers a list of which company to call depending the emergency (or complaint).
As it turns out, the basement floor problem did not result in a violation — based on the remaining parts of this job (and quick call to Knockout) the job above is too small a project for Knockout. However, Knockout will be consiered to handle the project of converting the existing basement into a guest apartment.
My original post will be edited based on your information.
– T