JM Design Build & Remodeling

DO NOT HIRE THIS CONTRACTOR!!!
The contract to refinish our basement was signed in August 2018. The work was to be completed by Thanksgiving or Christmas 2018 at the latest and it is currently still unfinished as of November 2019.
We were knowingly lied to about permits from the beginning. After continuously requesting to see permits and inspection reports, the Project Manager, Jerry Salupo, finally admitted no permits were applied for at all (February 2019). The initial 8-week delay in project start was because it “took longer than usual to get permits”. The first line of the contract states that they were responsible to obtain all permits and inspections. We then stopped access to home until permits were issued.
After this, they could not get their plans approved by the local building department even after several renovations. The work was not done to code and has caused a very dangerous situation that must be addressed at our own cost. They installed only 1 egress window and it doesn’t provide enough space for even a child to climb out (where 6 small children sleep). They are responsible for knowing the code. This is probably why their revised plans would not be approved by the building department.
They charged extra for work not done: to move a wall they put in the wrong place; to level floors (over which they laid flooring anyway causing the floors to buckle and warp); to remove awnings (with no attempt to repair the damage caused to the porch soffit).
Most of the drywall work was done by an unsupervised apprentice. It needed extensive repair. Only one person was working, intermittently, and we were not told when or if anyone was going to show up or pulled after only a few hours
They gave constant excuses as to why work was performed poorly or not done at all, often claiming of ignorance or surprise at poor work. The Project Manager did not supervise or check on work. We often had to call him to complain and called the owners to come out on several occasions.
We sent the first Certified letter with deadlines for resolution before terminating the contract. They did not pick it up for a month. The deadline to contact us had passed by then.
In an attempt to give them one last chance to rectify the situation, we sent another Certified letter on October 22, 2019 and left a voicemail telling them it was coming. When the second letter came back “Return To Sender”, we called again, talked to the Project Manager who agreed to pick it up at our home the next day. It has never been picked up.

My wife and I had a pleasant and professional first meeting with JM. This relieved us as this was different than other quotes. We were given a tidy 6 week schedule for work. That was basically the last time things went according to plan.

After the first week, what we were told rarely took place. Our home was often left a mess. We had workers use our personal groceries as if it were a convenience store. We constantly had to check and double check work and re-ask for simple tasks to be completed. We lost power in 50% of our house for 6 weeks and their team could not figure out the issue, suggesting a total rewire until I had an outside electrician come in, who fixed the issue in a matter of hours. Plumbing work has lead to leaks on multiple occasions. There were multiple days when we would have one or two worker show up for 2-3 hours and leave. I am still cleaning up paint off of my floors in several rooms.

Although JM usually responded to our requests, it was often after the 2nd, 3rd time leaving us feeling like they didnt care. They ran out of material and lost items that we purchased delaying the project even more. The final product took 15 weeks. I am writing this review 2 weeks after they have left because my house is now gushing water AGAIN from a shower that they installed.

I chalked a lot of what happened up along the way to the nature of renovation, but this goes far beyond unexpected hiccups. I already am concerned about what my house will look like 6 months from now if we are having issues less than 2 weeks after they have packed up. I would not recommend them to my worst enemy