Vicars Construction

We had a garage built with a breezeway. Everything was presented wonderfully and although we had issues on day one with broken property they addressed the issue. Do not let them pour concrete for you. We did and now have standing water, cracks, and concrete splashes and spills which they will not correct since "concrete is never perfect and their contract states they are not responsible." I would have hired someone separate had I known the quality we would receive. I read great reviews about Ryan and he quality of work he expects but unfortunately we did not get to work with him and the rest of their company does not hold their work to the same standards. The walls already have cracks (the painter touched up once already) and I decided now to fix it myself rather than let him come out again. I decided that due to them saying "Even if we do it again you will still have tape up where there are problems afterwards" and "drywall is never perfect". I was unaware cracks and openings around outlets were acceptable. I question the people they hired because I understand nothing is perfect and mistakes happen but some things I found were totally unacceptable. They did fix some of those issues. Our house was left totally unlocked and open at least two times without us home and we were told today that they have mutiple jobs at once and they cannot check each job site. The roofers left the job site and never came back when one of Vicars employees thought it was a "joke" to stop and ask them for their immigration papers. They immediately got in their trucks and left and never came back to the company...or so the company told me. Like I said, the project started out great and everyone was nice but when I point out issues that would not be acceptable to most people the owner, Dale, completely ignored the issue so I could 'simmer down'. Check their work constantly and don't depend on them to catch it or remember. I will be surprised if they finish what they said they would do at this point.

I am only now submitting this review a year after writing it. The reason being, I didn't want to post a negative review while our house was still under warranty for the first year. If problems came up that needed to be addressed, I didn't want a review to affect work that may have needed to be done. Now that the year has passed, I felt it important to share with others our experience with this company. So, here is the review I had written last year as construction was being done:

As I write this review in March 2016, my husband and I are still waiting for our house to be completed. The house we are having built is only 576 square feet with an additional 8' X 8' utility room added on the back of the house. It is an extremely small home. This is how our experience with Vicars Construction (also known as Discount Garages and Exteriors of SC) has gone since then. The reason it is so long is because I want to give actual details and facts on what has happened through the building process. If you are looking at possibly having Vicars Construction build your home, you can read through my family's experience and decide for yourself if you still want to do business with this company.

We first signed our contract with Dale Vicars on October 26, 2015. At that time we asked about how long it would take to build our home and we were told six to eight weeks for a house our size. As I read over the contract, I came to the paragraph pertaining to “time of completion”. It stated, “The parties acknowledge and agree that there is no deadline for completion of the Work under this agreement...” If I had known then what I know now, my husband and I would have never signed the contract and had them build our house. I now feel like an idiot for not having a completion date stipulated in our contract, but when signing a contract to build a home is something you don't do everyday, you're not sure what standard protocol is in this situation. I just assumed, “Well, contractors don't know how the weather is going to be, so why would they give a completion date?” Hindsight is 20/20. Here is what has happened to us during the construction of our small home.

I will first admit that we did have a lot of rain for our area at the end of 2015. There were days upon days of continuous rain storms and I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt as it took a while to get started on construction. It wasn't until almost a month after signing the contract, on November 23rd, that they finally arrived to dig the footers. We were thrilled to FINALLY see work being done. After having the initial inspection fail, the second inspection went smoothly and they began pouring the footers on December 15th. It would be another two weeks before any other work would be done though. On December 29th, they finally began work on the foundation. They had the foundation, with the exception of the utility room, finished in one day and two guys did a great job of getting the framing completed around January 6th.

It was when the foundation for the utility room starting coming together that I first noticed an issue. I need to explain that we went to Dale with plans that I had created. It wasn't an architect's creation, just something I completed on the computer. We went to him with the plans and sat down in his office to go over everything. He gave us tips on where certain things should go and we tweaked the plans a bit, so I assumed that once we completed going over it, that everything was good to go. I figured that if some dimensions were wrong that he, being a builder, would notice it. When the foundation started coming together, I was outside watching them work when I noticed that once the utility room wall was built that it was going to overlap the bathroom window. He told me it would be best to close in that window and that I should just put a storage shelf over the toilet. I said that it would be fine, but I was still disappointed that I wouldn't have a bathroom window. I just brushed it off as something that happens during construction and that I just needed to roll with it. He told me that stuff like that happens “when you don't have workable plans.” Okay, fine, but I thought that he should have noticed this on the floor plans that I brought to him.

So, now it was time to continue on to the rough in plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. On January 15th the plumbers came out. We were not at the property, but I received a call from Dale that morning stating the the tub that we had ordered ourselves (he told us to order a tub with left-handed faucet) was not going to work. We had planned on putting in a tub with the faucet on the left, but since that would put the plumbing on an exterior wall, that wasn't possible according to the plumbers. That morning I had to call and beg the place that we had bought the tub from to pick up the original tub and deliver the correct right-handed tub. This was another oversight that I would think a builder with knowledge of building codes would have noticed. I called him back and told him that I had succeeded in having them to agree to deliver another tub within the next hour or so and he told me great and that we could get the HVAC and electrician out there the next week. I was excited, because I was thinking that finally we could really begin to progress on the house.

The following week of January 18-22 no work was completed at all though and the electrician did not come out. The only thing that happened was the HVAC guys came out and noted where the vents would go. They asked when the electrician was coming out and I told him that I had no idea. I finally texted Dale at the end of the week on Friday, January 22 to ask him if there were any updates or anyone scheduled to come out. He replied in the text that the electrician and HVAC were scheduled (he never gave me an actual time) and then after them, we could get an inspection. He then claimed in the text that the electrician had pneumonia. He said he'd “let me know first of the week”.

By the following Wednesday, January 27, Dale had still not contacted me to tell me anything about the HVAC or electrician. I am assuming that it was poor planning and that the rough-in electric and HVAC couldn't be installed, because the roofing hadn't yet been put on. I think that is why the electrician, nor the HVAC guys had shown back up. It was this day that a guy showed up to put on the roof. My husband had to go to ACE Hardware to get a roll of roofing paper though, because not enough had been ordered and none had been put on the utility room yet. The guy that came out even suggested that he could use an old ragged tarp that we had in the back yard. Excuse me?! This suggestion made my husband and me question this guy's workmanship. He also couldn't complete the roof, because there also were not enough shingles and we had to wait, yet again, for more shingles to be delivered. Dale would later tell me that the delay with having more shingles delivered was due to our type of shingles being stolen from a truck. Amazingly, they were delivered out the next day though. This was just more time wasted. The roof did look good when he completed it though and there have been no leaks.

By Monday, February 1, there had been hardly any work done at all in two and half weeks. The only thing that had been done was the HVAC guys noting where vents should go and ¾ of the roof had been finished. I called Dale myself to ask what was going on with the house. I was frustrated as it had been almost two and half weeks since Dale had told me the electrician would be out and there still hadn't been any sight of him. All he could tell me is that he was “trying to ease back into some jobs”. I asked Dale if he had any idea of a completion date and all he replied was, “No, not really”. I didn't get any satisfactory answers in our phone conversation. Dale and a man named Rod showed up the next day on Tuesday. Rod introduced himself as the project manager. He was friendly, but it wouldn't be long until I would lose trust in him as well. Dale once again claimed that the electrician would be out today or within the next few days. He still couldn't give an exact time.

On Thursday, February 4th, Rod and a worker showed up and did a couple of small jobs like putting door knobs on the front and side doors. It was nothing that really helped with the progression of the house. When I went out to the job site, he told me that they had put in the bathroom window. I was puzzled to see the bathroom window had been reframed and installed. He told me that Dale had told him to put it in. I explained that Dale had told me that it would be best to close it off, but he just repeated that Dale told him to install it. I was fine with that and happy that I would have the window in there at least. Now, I have to wonder if this was done just to make it appear that some type of work, even if it was small, was actually being done. Later that day, the HVAC people did show up and did the rough-in.

On February 5th, the electrician FINALLY showed up and went through the house with us to mark where every switch and light needed to go. I told him that I was beginning to think that he didn't exist. He replied that they had been busy, but no mention of him having pneumonia. He said he'd be back the next day to wire everything, but they didn't arrive until Sunday. When my husband and I checked out to see what they had done, we saw that they had forgotten to wire a switch to the pendant light over the sink.

We had the next inspection completed for all the rough-ins and the inspector only noted minor things along with the fact that the window in the bathroom needed to be replaced with a tempered glass window and that insulation needed to be installed behind the tub. A couple of days later the project manager and a worker showed up. He called me outside to ask something and then went over what they had done that day. They had not replaced the bathroom window, but had rather just closed it back in. Rod, the project manager, just said that it needed to be tempered glass, but that we probably didn't want to pay for a tempered glass window. We were NEVER asked if we wanted to pay extra to have the tempered glass window put in; they just closed it in without asking. I also have to wonder why a tempered glass window wasn't ordered to begin with. The builder should have known the codes pertaining to this. Rod went on to tell me that they had put insulation behind the tub and that they installed purlins behind the tub. He pointed out the pieces of 2X4s that had been nailed between the studs at the very top of the tub. This prevented me from actually being able to see down into the studs behind the tub.

On February 12 the inspector came out for the follow-up inspection. This is where some issues came up. I saw on his inspection sheet where he noted that another inspection would be needed, but this time with the tub removed and insulation installed. I walked over to look behind the tub and I could see that the inspector had pulled back some of the moisture barrier from the wall. I was able to see between two sets of studs and it was obvious that no insulation had been put between those studs. I even took a photo and got video showing that no insulation was behind those two studs. Remember though: Rob, the project manager, had told me to my face that they had, indeed, put the insulation behind the tub. I was livid that no insulation had been installed, but even more so that the project manager would stand there and lie to my face about them installing it.

On Feb. 15- Dale came out shortly after 11 AM. I asked him what the deal was with the tub and insulation. He said that the inspector was just being a pain. He stated that the inspector called and claimed they were trying to “pull one over on him” and that the inspector was trying to make it personal. I quickly pointed out that my problem wasn't with the inspector, but rather with Rod whom had lied to me about putting insulation back there, when they hadn't. I pointed out that I put the camera in behind the tub and saw that they hadn't put it back there. I told Dale that I was NOT happy that Rod had lied to my face about it. He claimed that he called in the inspection since he had been told by his workers that the job had been done. Most of his comments were directed towards the inspector and putting the blame on him rather than clarifying whether the job had been done correctly or not and trying to assure me, the customer, that the job would be done right. Dale claimed that the inspector was trying to “get the cart ahead of the ox” and that they were going to come in later and spray insulation behind the tub. I didn't believe that for a moment. Later that afternoon, Rod called to apologize and claimed that he thought he had the insulation “pushed all the way down in there”. Still not admitting to their lies! He also stated himself that the insulation should have been put in before the tub was installed. So, the builder was telling me one thing and his project manager was telling me another. I don't trust either one of these men at this point. I am not sure what their usual way is of putting insulation behind tubs, but it is my feeling that the insulation should have been put in, but Dale didn't plan accordingly and then didn't want to accept the blame for the huge inconvenience. I brought this up to the inspector and he was in complete agreement with me. I am not 100% sure that insulation wasn't installed between the other studs, but I do know that one set of studs didn't have any insulation put in it, so the job still was not done correctly. If they hadn't put the insulation between those studs that were visible, I doubt very much that any had been put elsewhere. I don't think that anyone put insulation in there and just didn't “push it down far enough”. I did not like the fact that Dale commented more on having to spend money getting the plumbers back out, rather than assuring me that the job was going to be done right. He never apologized once for any wrongdoing. My husband and I had grown extremely angry and frustrated by this point. We were just ready for the house to be done and completed so our business with Vicars Construction could finally be complete.

We also had put in the contract that we wanted the Tec-shield barrier. I wasn't exactly sure if it was supposed to be a metallic film actually ON the sheathing or something that would be added later. It turns out that it was not ordered and plain sheathing was put on the roof. When I asked Dale about this, he seemed clueless. He claimed that he didn't charge us for it, but I had to point out that he, indeed, did charge us $200.00 for it. We did end up signing a paper that we would get a credit for that. I asked the inspector about this and he said that that was considered breach of contract and that we needed to insist that we get our money back for that. Dale, once again, never apologized for forgetting to order this and have this installed.

The inspector came back out and I discussed the situation with him. He said that as long as they took pictures with the insulation behind the tub, that he would let them go ahead and hook the plumbing back up and he wouldn't have to come out again. I guess that they sent the photos to him, because the next phase of work began.

At the end of February the vinyl siding was put on. They did a good job with the vinyl and it looks nice. My only minor complaint is that they used two different styles of boxes where the exterior lights hang from. It just looks like they had left over supplies from other jobs and used those. Some cuts around an exterior outlet were a bit messy too. The insulation was put into the rest of the house and that inspection passed. We then moved on to drywall. It was completed by March 1st. It would be over a week before anyone else would get out here to do more work though. March 9th, they finally came to put in the interior doors and trim work.

So, this brings me up to date. We are now closing in on the middle of March, almost four and a half months after signing the contract with Vicars Construction, and we still have no idea when we may be moving in. Have I been happy with the construction of the house? Yes, most of the workers have done a great job. There have been a few things that I have questioned and a few things that needed to be fixed, but nothing too major. I guess my problem lies with the amount of incompetence we've had to deal with. Because of this, my nerves have been on edge since we started construction. I have asked questions, but the actual results never match the answers I have received. There have been several times where enough supplies were not ordered (roofing paper, shingles, vinyl siding). I asked Dale if there was going to be enough vinyl siding since there was only four boxes. He replied that he didn't know. It seems that I have gotten that same answer from him a lot and that is very frustrating. I have felt like I have had to micromanage everything and watch every step that has been made. I feel like if I don't keep an eye out and watch what everyone is doing that something will be overlooked and then if we have to fix it later, it will put us even more behind. There have been several times where issues have arisen and it's things that Dale should have recognized as problems beforehand (the tub being left-handed, the window needed to be tempered glass, that we would have to build a deck instead of a cement patio we originally agreed upon).

We were first told that it would take 6-8 weeks to build our house and we got excited that we could possibly be moving into our house by Christmas time. Christmas came and went. We thought, “Well, maybe we'll be in there by the end of January”. Then January came and went. Then February had passed. We have gotten tired of trying to anticipate when our house will be complete. I know that if I ask Dale that he will not give us a clear answer. It will be another answer of “I don't know”. There have been days and even weeks wasted where no significant work has gone on and we wonder when the next phase of construction will begin. We're always in the dark and Dale has never called to update us on what is going on with our house. The whole construction process has just moved slowly and it doesn't feel like the builder is in any hurry whatsoever to complete the job. It's obvious that he doesn't care that we are anxious to move out of the camper we are currently staying in and finally get settled in our new house. I worry there are going to be days or even possibly a week or two wasted while we wait for someone to come complete the final hookups. I think the problem lies with poor time management and planning skills. I can count the number of times that Dale has actually been out to the job site on one hand. We had actually looked into going with a different builder in the beginning, but he was going to charge an extra $10,000 for less square footage. If I had known then what I know now, there is no way I would have chosen Vicars Construction to build our house and we would have gone with the other builder and paid extra. It's been stressful and I've never felt like the builder has been on our side. I feel like he's just been sending his subcontractors out here to occasionally complete a job so he can get a check from the bank every so often. My husband had planned on getting them to build a garage for us later on, but there is no chance that will ever happen now.

It is now April 2017 and we have finally settled into our house. I wrote most of the review above as our house was being constructed. After that point we were able to do most of the work on our own. We painted each room, had the cabinets and counters put in, and finally put in the hardwood floors ourselves. One thing that I questioned was the fact that the duct work for the HVAC running from inside to under the house was exposed in a closet. It should have been enclosed with drywall according to one worker and even Dale told me early in the construction that that would be something they would get back to once they knew where the duct work would go. When I asked Dale about this as construction was coming to an end, he claimed that it didn't need to be enclosed. Are you kidding me? This is going in a teenager's closet. This duct work would be destroyed! I ended up enclosing it and painting it myself and demanded a credit off the total bill of the house for the supplies and time. Once again, towards the very end of construction when all the final things needed to come together like hooking the septic tank up to the house, installing the remaining HVAC components, and doing the final grading, everything was an unorganized mess. Honestly, I ended up dealing with most of the subcontractors myself to get everything finished. The final inspection didn't pass, because the grading wasn't done right underneath our deck. That was the only reason the inspector couldn't pass our inspection and I immediately broke down crying in front of him, because I was ready to be done having to deal with everything and just finally move in. He was sympathetic though and simply explained that if he passed it, the builder would never get out to fix the problem and we would eventually have foundation leaks and problems. I called Dale and told him what needed to be done for the final inspection to pass and it was fixed promptly. Finally, our final inspection had passed! I called Dale to tell him and he never told us thank you or said that he hoped we liked our new house or ANYTHING. He just simply texted and said that he would have Lynn (their secretary) send over the final invoice. That was the very last words I heard from Dale Vicars. I really love how he showed his appreciation (please note my sarcasm). We were finally able to move into our home in mid-April 2016... that was almost six months after first signing our contract. So much for that six-eight weeks we were originally told it would take to build. Even the inspector said for a house our size, it took WAY too much time. I am appreciative that we had an inspector that was willing to look out for us during construction.

Overall, I am mostly happy with the construction, but it was the length of time it took, the lies, excuses, incompetence, and other issues that made what should have been an exciting time very stressful. Again, I apologize for the long review, but I wanted to give details so that hopefully my review could give potential customers of Vicars Construction something to think about before signing a contract.

*Just a quick note: I find it funny how on several websites all of these positive reviews for this company were all posted within a couple of days of each other just a few weeks ago.

I hired Vicar's Construction to perform a significant backyard deck, patio, and retaining wall project. The work required earthwork, masonry, carpentry, electrical, paint, and utilized stamped concrete. I know that Vicar's Construction also builds complete homes so I had great confidence that they could take on every aspect of my project. Ryan worked with me over the course of several interactions and conversations to help define the scope of my project and helped me make decisions about style and material. He had a lot of good suggestions and knowledge about different building products. He stopped by the site several times during this phase to meet with me and to help the process. When we had everything nailed down, VC presented me with a clear and concise contract that made me feel sure that I knew what I was paying for and when I would be required to pay it; no funny business. Ryan came by the jobsite daily to make sure things were on track and being done correctly, and to make sure I was satisfied with the work that was going on. The work was done in a few weeks; at no point did the job sit idle. The quality of all of the work is superb, and all of the workers were pleasant and professional. My wife and I are extremely happy with the finished product, and we feel we got exactly what we paid for. VC even took care of a few small extras at no additional cost. It is quite obvious that Ryan and the team at VC are professionals at what they do, and it was evident throughout the process that my satisfaction was their first priority. I highly recommend VC for your project or complete home build.