C & J Hunt Construction Services LLC

I could write a long story about this contractor, but I will keep it brief. I would not use him again or recommend anyone else do so for several reasons. Overall, quality construction with a few last items not completed to my satisfaction (interior paint, floor finish and install) but I gave up getting him to do it and hired a handyman to finish painting. I will need to hire a floor guy to fix poorly installed antique, refinished floor boards. He subcontracted everything out; overall good subcontractors but at very high cost Very slow to complete due to off/on scheduling, inefficient work pace and changes mid project that should have been planned for in advance, which delayed the project. A 6 month project took 1.5 years. Hard to communicate with; he often wouldn't take calls on his cell or return calls promptly; leading to lack of and miscommunication and some costly errors/redos. No written change orders despite his contract requiring them; so unclear what was included in budget and what was change order and what costs were associated. This inevitably led to conflict and diagreement over the charges he demanded I pay. He expected me to pay out of pocket for overages, even on previously agreed upon and bank-approved and budgeted items or he would threaten to stop work, file a lien against me. Seemed he had several projects going on and work was inefficient with multiple re-dos due to poor planning and lack of communication (windows installed 3 times due to original mislocation by architect, then moved due to redesign of house height/roof). Removed roof despite it not being on permit(he should have known this) and town stopped work and I had costly delays and hearings to get work resumed but then bad weather and snow stopped work. End result was good overall but a $300K project cost $650K for an 1800sf 3 BR 2.5 bath modest house, not including finishes and fixtures. Excessively high cost per SF. I could have built the house from nothing for far less than the remodel cost. I had to eliminate several features I wanted to reduce costs(left basement unfinished, no built-in cabinetry). I do not dispute that mid-project changes greatly improved the design and value of the house, but they were not planned ahead of time so I could budget. I am sure the contractor knew what would happpen during the project but chose not to fully disclose these changes in advance so he could get his foot in the door; then they cost much more. Ended up disputing costs with him and then with my attorney and getting some reduction in price (about 25K out of what I felt was $150K in unjustified overcharges) but he was very immature about that agreement, threatened liens, sent insulting emails calling me a "fraud" with "champagne tastes and a beer budget" (after spending the above amount AND paying out of pocket for all fixtures, finishes, and appliances as well as his overcharges....not a fair or professional way to behave in my opinion. Friends who hired him have had similar experience.

I would definitely hire this group again. They were professional, friendly and trustworthy. They quoted a reasonable price, stuck to it and made sure all the punch list items were complete before they left. The quality of work was very good and they stuck to their time frame. Again, the best recommendation I can give is that I would definitely hire them again.

Nothing went right from day one. It was a massive reno that was going be an approximate cost of over 150,000. The contractor budgeted 10,000 for the electrician and when I fired him he billed me 1250 for additional work. When he had not even finished what I had thought he was supposed to have done yet. The plumber was about the only thing that went right. He went above and beyond. The contractor said he would be out by august 19th. We originally wanted him out on the first but he said he would need some more time. But that was not a big deal. I ended up firing him on September 1st. I had given him many outs over the course of the renovation but he did not take them. Many problems with the throughout the whole process. Anytime he could he would add something on and jack up the price. It has been a nightmare. Literally everything is wrong. Doors hang very high off the ground. Cracks in the walls/wholes where things were removed from the walls. Kitchen cabinets were wrong. He tried to re-sand them/stain them. Among many Many other things.

Everything on time and professionally done. Fair price.

Good people and sub contractors. Would use again. Things did take longer than we hoped, but weather and storm damage a factor.