Dear Dennis,
Sorry we're so late in responding to your customer survey (attached). In addition to the ratings on the survey, I thought I'd provide these additional comments.
As a result of much heavy, driving rain in the spring of 2009, we had several leaks inside our home. We had heard that some homes in the area had problems with stucco, and we thought this might be our issue as well.
We found some old documents referencing the original stucco application from the time the home was built in 1994. One document, a 10-year warranty issued by Energex, showed the contractor as Commercial Coatings and the Energex representative as Rustler Enterprises. I found a website for "Commercial Coatings" in Centerville, Utah, and contacted the company. They indicated they had no record of applying the stucco, but said they would come take a look. After missing the original appointment (urgh I thought - typically contractors!), the representative from Commercial Coatings did visit our home, and after a cursory look at the exterior of the home, indicated he thought the stucco looked fine and that we likely just had some bad windows that had allowed the leak. I could not have been less impressed with the representative or his findings. So, I began searching for stucco information on the internet.
I found the RAM Builders, and was very impressed with the certifications, references, and professionalism of the site. I contacted the company via the website. Very shortly I was contacted by Shaan, who made an appointment to come look at the house within the next few days. Shaan suggested we should likely have a complete stucco inspection to ensure he could understand what needed to be done, and provided the name of an inspector, whom we contacted and scheduled a meeting (with shaan) at the house.
As you know, the problems with our home were far more significant than we ever imagined. The original stucco application was wrong, or at least poor, and a subsequent attempt to improve the stucco on the Southwest of the home didn't improve the situation. It became clear after only a few conversations that we were looking at a major renovation project (full stucco removal and replacement) at a total cost approaching six figures. We talked to our insurance agent who indicated insurance would not cover any of the cost of the project, and a discussion with an attorney suggested we had little other opportunity for recourse. As a result, we contacted three other stucco contractors and requested bids. Two of those bids were lower than the RAM Builders bid (one, significantly so), the other was approximately the same as the RAM Bid. However, the interest Shaan showed in exploring and researching our issues and various solutions, along with a visit from Dennis, as well as the obvious experience and expertise within the company convinced us that our money would be best spent with RAM Builders.
Our experience with RAM Builders was absolutely first rate from start to finish. Given the high-cost and inconvenience associated with this type of project, it's surprising how happy we were thoughout (I wouldn't have thought I could write checkes that large with a smile on my face!). The job was completed on schedule, and essentially on budget. Some significant dry-rot and other issues resulted in additional bost, but Shaan made certain we knew up-front that we might expect these additional items, and we felt that the costs associated with them were reasonable. Shaan was unbelievably patient with us as he worked through the many details of the job with us. Since we knew absolutely nothing about stucco, I'm certain we frustrated him many times. But, he was always respectful, patient and very willing to spend the necessary time to help us get "up to speed".
The crew on our job was excellent. To be very honest (unfortunately having to acknowledge our biases based on stereotypes), we were a little concerned when the entirely hispanic crew showed up on the first day. However, in all of our years of using workmen, personally and professionally, we have never seen a harder working group of men. They were always here on time in the morning, and often worked well into the evening (8:00 was not unusual) to get as much done as possible. Alfredo, our foreman, led this team brilliantly, ensuring they were all contributing. He was also completely respectful and patient with us. The team was very clean, and we could absolutely tell they tried to minimize the impact on our home, yard and lives. We also had several neighbors comment that this was one of the cleanest, least intrusive jobs (given it's scope) they'd ever seen. In fact, we were so impressed that we hosted a barbeque for them one afternoon near the end of the job, something we would never have expected we'd do.
While the toll of this project was high, both financially and personally, we could not be more pleased with the result, or the support we received throughout the project from Shaan, Alfredo and the crew.
We have recommended RAM Builders to others, and will willingly and gladly continue to do so in the future. We would also be happy to serve as a reference should the need ever arise.
Thank you for your excellent work.
