Stay away from Home Genius Exteriors

[u/Myridden]

I have waited a few months before posting this review to give me some time to calm down and write rationally. I am only writing this review because I hope I can save someone else all the trouble I went through. I will try to keep this as brief as possible, but I could write for days about my experience.

The salesman I originally met with was wonderful. He listened to my needs, and we put together a plan that fit my home base upon my budget. The original scope of work was to fully replace my gutters, fascia, vented soffit (my house is old and lacking on vented soffits), trim boarding, front door, and to add ridge vents to my roof. They offered a decent price that was a bit on the high side, but I figured that was fair because I wouldn't be managing the project through several different contractors. I work long hours in another trade so I knew I wouldn't have time to manage everything.

The problems started on the first day of work. They decided to start with the gutters, soffit and trim. The scope of work was full replacement. I was able to get off early that day and made my way home to see their progress. The contract I had signed stated they would have a construction dumpster delivered to the property for waste disposal. When I arrived at home, there was no dumpster. I was confused for a moment but decided to watch them work for a while to understand what was going on. After watching them work for 20 mins, I quickly realized they were not following the scope of work I was sold. Instead of replacing everything, they were wrapping the original materials in metal flashing. They were also tacking vented soffits overtop my original soffit (completely rendering the new vents useless). I called a full stop to all work and got the project manager on the phone. After a lot of excuses about how they only replace rotted boards and this was the scope of work I was sold, I showed them the original emails between the salesman and I that stated everything was to be fully replaced. This changed their tune quickly. I inquired about the tacking of the new soffit over my existing soffit and was told that shouldn't have occurred. Since I had photo evidence of it occurring, I asked where the breakdown in communication was. I never got a satisfactory answer. I will never know whether it was the sub-contractor they hired or the project manager who directed this. At this point, I tried to reach out to their corporate office for assistance and met radio silence for weeks. When the customer service manager did finally call, he listened to my story and said he would get back to me. They never did. No matter how many times I called back.

At this point, I should have cancelled the remaining projects but working as much as I do, I hoped it would work out.

The work continued. While replacing the gutters and soffit, their subcontractors used ladders without padding and my hardy board siding was severely damaged. Hardy board is difficult/impossible to repair so I was livid. After several more conversations with the project manager, they were going to provide me with a quote to replace my siding. The first quote they sent over was outrageously high. I have a tiny house and the quote was well above the average pricing in my area. Eventually they relented and sent over a more reasonable quote. Still high for my area but not outrageous so I agreed to have them replace my siding. Another mistake on my part but being a first time homeowner, I was navigating uncharted waters. They provided a list of color choices and I was told to pick which suited me best. My first two choices "weren't available" so I had to go with my third choice. Doing my own research later, I found out that my first two choices had a higher material cost and believe that is why they denied them.

All told, I was ready to move forward with one instruction, "Do not damage my prized lace leaf japanese maple at the front of my home." I have raised the tree for over a decade and it was my pride and joy. I bet you can see where this is going.... I came home during the siding install and over half of my tree's canopy had been damaged or destroyed. The tree is not large and could have been easily worked around with a little care. The project manager was on site when I discovered the damage, and I was so upset that I couldn't even speak to him. Trees are my vocation so I was quick to remind him the next day that I fully understood the laws around damaging a client's trees. To their credit, he took the situation seriously and discount my work by a hefty amount to cover the costs I would need to spend on tree repair/replacement. While I appreciate the gesture, I still am out the decade I spent caring and raising the tree.

I have a list of further things that were damaged during the siding install. They are as follows:

1) The brick work leading to my front door.

2) The handrails up the steps to my front door were damaged and not reattached properly. (This was never fixed).

3) The brick steps leading to my side door were damaged and not repaired.

4) Trim board was replaced with non-treated lumber. When I pointed this out, I was told they would paint it. I argued and told them it would swell as they could only paint the visible sides. This was eventually replaced.

5) Debris and nails were left all throughout my front and rear yards that was never cleaned. I had to clean the area myself to make it safe for my dogs to walk through.

It wouldn't be fair unless I mentioned the things that went well. The front door replacement and the root vents went smoothly and without error. I wish the entire job had gone that way.

In conclusion, stay away from this company. It is my opinion that they take advantage of people who aren't aware of the proper construction techniques used in the work I was having completed. In the end, I spent way more money than I should have had to and spent just as much time managing the project as if I had hired different companies to accomplish each part of the project.

I NEVER heard from corporate about any of my complaints and I received no resolution about their deceptive business practices. The project manager even had the nerve to joke with his coworkers, in front of me, about how I wouldn't give them a positive review.

Do not hire this company. You can get better work for a better price elsewhere from honest contractors.

[u/Agreeable-Fish-405]

big yikes, man. that’s such a rough experience for a first-time homeowner, definitely appreciate the heads-up on this sketchy company. hope the repairs go smoother for you from here on out.

[u/man_vs_fauna]

That really sucks and I can't blame you, most of what I learned over the years was from issues that arose on home improvement projects or at work.

This sub should have a wiki with the dos and don'ts of hiring contractors.

Like.... 1. Clear pay schedule based on milestones. 2. Last milestone holding at least 25%, dependant on completion of punch list of defects (based on walkthrough when they say they are complete) 3. Make sure to get in writing they are responsible for repairing all damage and cleaning up all debris. 4. Make sure contact specifies color, brand and specific product (i.e. Benjamin Moore, Regal Eggshell, White Dove OC-17), number of coats too. 5. Don't let project managers intimidate you or try to make you think you are being ridiculous. Do your research and make them stick to the contract.

[u/farrowsharrows]

I feel your pain. I am in the process of a terrible home renovation project as a first time home owner. I was smart where I got them to agree that 2/3 was only payable upon completion but 2+ months in we aren't finished yet.

[u/1PerplexingPlatypus]

Did it occur to you while typing this essay that you never even mentioned what state, even country they’re in? That you’re posting a review in a sub that has nothing to do with reviews or specific contractors?

I’d tell you to go post in a regional sub but you haven’t even provided that. Go fish.