Cleary Building Corp. - Lebanon, IN

February 2019 I signed contracts for two buildings costing over $110k. My sales person was easy to work with, responsive at first and helped a lot with thinking through the design decisions.

The crew (same two lead buys built both buildings) was absolutely first class; professional, communicative, kept me informed on progress and could not have done a better job on the build. Kudos for excellence! I would hire these guys again without any hesitation.

The buildings themselves are very good (except the concrete but I’ll get to that). The quality of the fit, finish and materials is what I expected plus some nice little touches I didn’t expect. Everything is tight.

On the down side; communication and scheduling from the Lebanon office was poor. I was given progressively later start dates and promises yet delays continued for months. Work started in November and snow was flying when the job was complete. Once construction started the crew stayed on the job and work progressed nicely but daily changes were poorly communicated by the office. It became a real hassle for my wife and me. At one point I was asked to move an $8,000 payment forward due to an office error.

I contracted for turn-key buildings and paid Cleary to manage everything from ground prep through concrete. Cleary had such difficulty handing the tree removal I had to step in and manage it. I think all agree there concrete contractor was incompetent at best.

I could write an entire page on the shortcomings and hassles of working with their concrete contractor. In the end I’m stuck with swirls and significant cosmetic flaws plus two door aprons that started spalling a week after they had been replaced for a THIRD time. I’ll have them ripped out and reinstalled a fourth time on my own in the spring.

To Cleary’s credit they agreed with all my claims about the concrete and worked to get it fixed but removing a 65’x40’x4” mesh concrete floor for cosmetic issues wasn’t realistic to either of us. Cleary should have done a better job vetting this contractor but they didn’t shy away from the responsibility.

UPDATE May 2020. Months after the building was delivered their subcontractor placed a Mechanic's Lien on my property for unpaid charges. The concrete work was contracted to Cleary and I paid them for them for the work in full. As we stand today I paid for and accepted defective work poorly performed to close a dispute yet a lien is issued. Dropping rate to 2 stars.

This was absolutely the worst experience of my life. Was told the barn would be completed 5 different dates. Month later still not complete. Barn cost 10000 more than other quotes. Thought going with a larger company would be a good thing, save your money and go with smaller company. Phone calls were nonexistent on why they didn’t show up would have to contact them. I have never wrote a review on anything this is how disappointing the experience was