[juneau]

We are about to sign a contract with Superior Home Exteriors from Ocala. It is owned by Rick Deeley. He wants 30% down upon signing. The company uses Simonton Windows. Does anyone have any experience with him or his company? I would appreciate any info anyone can give me. I was told all lanai contractors require a certain percent down on signing.

[buckscounty]

Originally Posted by juneau

We are about to sign a contract with Superior Home Exteriors from Ocala. It is owned by Rick Deeley. He wants 30% down upon signing. The company uses Simonton Windows. Does anyone have any experience with him or his company? I would appreciate any info anyone can give me. I was told all lanai contractors require a certain percent down on signing.

We do not give anybody money down for anything.

[784caroline]

Construction contracts or in your case contracts to enclose a lanai typically do have contractor "draws"...especially for projects costing $20K or more. However, 30% for the initial draw seems quite high. I would expect something closer to 10% upon signing to get the job started......the contractor will have to do some work to get permits adn approvals. Then depending upon the scope of the job 1 or 2 additional draws before the final payment of 10-12%. The major draw would occur after concrete is poured, block or wood work done, roof raised etc followed by the delivery/ instalation of windows.

It is unreasonable to expect NO money up front w/ progress payments as work proceeds on a construction contract. If Buckscounty knows of a reputable Construction Contractor that will do a $20K plus job with no money up front, let us know!

BTW: everything is negotiable

[mulligan]

Make sure you put your eyes on his certificates of insurance (both worker's comp, and liability), and make the final payment contingent on receipt of a release of liens.

[tag460]

We used Custom Windows and they asked for 50% down, the money down surprised us but we went ahead with the job and we are very happy with the work.

[Billyworld]

I used Xcel Construction to extend my Golf Cart garage 27 foot down the side of my house. He paid the architect, submitted to the design approval board, paid for permits, moved the AC unit and sprinklers, poured the slab and laid the block before he got a penny. I then paid him 50%. After roof, windows, door and electrical rough in he got 25% more. After final completion he was paid the balance. Xcel completed the job several days earlier than expected and was held back because of a Tropical storm. These guys did a great job and I would use them again. Paul even gave me a list of around 100 customers in The Villages with their address and phone numbers and what he built for them. He even had a customer that had the exact same addition as mine to look at to get a idea of what it would look like. To pay someone 30% up front is CRAZY! Give Paul a call at 352-589-4440. You will not be disappointed!

[pecan]

I am happy for you and your experience with Xcel. Mine has been quite different.

The initial estimate was for 4 weeks to put on a 300sq ft addition (on a 1700sq ft house) after they get the permits. They started the job 5/12/2013 with a demolition. We left to go North and came back 6/30 assuming (I know!) the work will have been done (after more than 7 weeks) and we would be ready to do the flooring. While here the week of July 4th, the A/C was installed and corrected after our initial complaint - but there wasn't enough time for us to verify it was working right. During our next visit the week of Labor Day, we asked Xcel (after the bill was paid in full) to re-check it but all they did was (1) check the A/C unit and (2) tell us that during August many other houses cannot get their temperature down below 78 degrees and (3) offered to call Munn which we declined since we wanted to do it ourselves.

Every time we talked to Roger he promised to have things done but they almost never were - he mostly over-promised and under-delivered. But Xcel was always on time with their bills. They stated we had 1 year for any warranty claims.

As far as the A/C goes, we had to get Munn to check the unit -which by itself supposedly has the right output parameters. Munn suggested to do a 'heat load' test to figure out why the house cannot be kept below 79 degrees when it's 92 outside (13 degree differential). Of course this will be on our dime since Xcel is hiding behind a completed county inspection.

It appears from my vantage point Xcel has seen better days. Another example - I was taken aback when I received notification - via registered letter no less - of a potential lien from All Phaze Framing and Const. LLC urging me to make sure they get paid before I pay Xcel. Maybe it's customary but Paul never mentioned it and only provided us a copy of the lien release when we asked for it.

Buyer beware!

[784caroline]

Its not uncommon for contractors to send you a "warning" notice that they can place a mechanics lien against your property if they were a subcontractor who provided supplies or workmanship on your project. Getting that letter is a eye opener and a surprise when you read it...but if you are dealling with a reputable Gneeral COntractor not to worry. Even so I would require in the contract or aat a minimum request from your general contractor before final payment that he provide a notarized clearance form stating that all subs were paid. BTW, this clearance form would be best if signed by all subs who worked on your property but you may not know all the subs who provided material or work.

[tommy steam]

Search them using the BBB.