Left in a lurch by Urban Studio
Our experience was drastically different than the reviews here. We initially chose them based on their reviews on this site, of which we have discovered at least one is not quite accurate. In fact, we have since discovered that this business has changed it's name (used to be Solution Build Group Inc.) and there are in fact many bad reviews of Joseph (Yousef), you will see this name referenced in the other business names' review. https://homestars.com/companies/2811467-solution-build-group-inc
We hired them to do an entire gut and second storey addition and quite early in the project ran into several 'small' snags (i.e. things that were supposed to be added to the contract weren't even after asking several times, things they should have caught, they didn't - no HVAC quote in a total gut!?, the structural engineer they hired contacted us with an angry email refusing to provide drawings as Urban Studio hadn't paid them, Urban Studio's Project manager suddenly didn't work there when we contacted her and again we weren't informed by Urban Studio that she had moved on). These were just warning signs of what to were to come as within weeks of the project we were asked for a large amount of money to fix a basement wall, which we later fixed for a quarter of the price they quoted us. Finally when we asked for our own structural engineer to take on the project instead of theirs (as we were losing faith) it got progressively tense and difficult. We started to hear from urban Studio less and they stopped the demo despite having already having paid them in full for it. We finally sent an email in August requesting for them to finish what we had already paid them for in full ( the demo and waterproofing - the latter hadn't even been started!?) and we have not heard from them since. This company turned out to be extremely dishonest, it has been a horrific experience.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $250,000.00
- Company Response
Our company confirms that we were forced to proceed with cancellation of the contract with this client after the demolition phase, due to many reasons. But first and formal we would like to clarify that Urban Studio has never changed name and has never been called "Solution building" Urban Studio's experience with this client began when our assigned engineer proposed a solution to address the structural issues with their south foundation wall, which had suffered from water damage and years of neglect.
We provided a detailed quote for the additional work the engineer recommended prior to start any work, However the homeowner did not want to address the issue and follow the engineer recommendation. The logic being if the foundations walls lasted 50 years they can last another 10 years and they'll be selling the house by then!! The asked a family friend whom happen to be a engineer to assist them with the issue. As for our work at the site, we completed the demolition phase and received payment upon completion of the work. However, we were unable to proceed with the next phase due to repeated delays caused by their family friend “the engineer”, who failed to deliver the necessary drawings.
Not only did we incur financial losses on this project, but their delays also disrupted our other commitments. At Urban Studio, we prefer to dedicate our time and expertise to clients who value our work, and appreciate our professionalism.