B & L Contracting
Medlin, Milledgeville, GA

B & L Contracting Reviews

1 stars based on 1 reviews

Featured Comments:

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  Tommy Blalock

  1.0

  If we could provide negative stars we would. We hired B&L contracting to build our house in Ellijay, Ga in 2017. It didn't take long to realize that Bruce and his crew were excellent framers. However, we were looking for a builder that was more than a one trick pony. We needed someone that could manage our project and keep us out of trouble. After all, that's why we were paying a 12% fee to Bruce. Soon after we started our house, the bank came out to inspect the progress since we were using a construction loan to fund the build. They basically told up that there was no way in hell that we could complete the house for the amount of money left on the loan. The amount we borrowed came directly from B&L based on their estimate. My wife and I began to look for things that we could do ourselves to get the house completed with the money we had left from the bank. We ended up taking on the deck railings, sheetrock, painting, and flooring. During the build, we noticed a significant amount of water coming from the foundation drain. When we asked B&L about the water, we were told that is was normal and we were just having a wet year. The water continued to pour (a gallon a minute) out of the foundation drain for the next year even after the rain slowed. Then. we noticed water coming from underneath the basement slab which was alarming. We called several foundation companies in Ellijay and they all agreed this was not normal and there was an issue. Again we discussed this with B&L and were told it was not an issue. In 2019, we had several grading companies out to get their ideas on potential solutions. All three contractors agreed that the initial grading was poorly done and could be contributing to our water issue. There were areas where the land was sloping towards the house. In addition, with that much water coming out of the foundation drain, there could a spring. One contractor proposed correcting the grade around the house and building a large drain system to divert the water away from the house which seemed very logical. We hired this company and after installing the drain, the water stopped flowing from the foundation drain and from underneath our slab. During the project, they found two springs that were uphill from from the house. This project cost us about 30K. I called Bruce to tell him what we had discovered and he continued to deny there was any problem at all. In fact, he had one of his foundation experts call me and suggest that I install a sump pump in the basement. So basically his solution was to allow the spring to pour gallons and gallons of water around the foundation of my house and underneath my slab and then pump it out. If you know water flows down hill, why wouldn't you divert the water before it gets to the house? In the end, B&L offered no help at all to solve the problem. No offer to at least help with the cost...no advice other than a band aid fix...no responsibility...no expertise. We would not recommend B&L contracting for the following reasons: 1. Poor project management - Bruce wasn't able to manage the budget for our project effectively. The estimate they provided was not even close to the actual cost which is why we had to do some much ourselves. At the end of the project when I asked Bruce about the budget, he said he knew we were behind after the first week of the project. 2. 12% management fee - I'm not sure what this fee is for. In my mind, we paid the fee to have Bruce manage his sub contractors. Like the grading contractor? We paid the cost of the grading contractor plus 12% and it wasn't done correctly. We had to correct the grading after the fact at a cost of 30K. 3. No responsibility - B&L gladly took our 12% to manage the project, but when we had an issue they were no where to be found. In fact, all they did was deny there was a problem and make excuses. In the photos section, I posted the builders response about our water issue. Hope this helps!