Joel Cole Construction LLC

Charged for giving bid ,ordered supplies we not agreed to , told city wrong work that was supposed to be done, kept changing start date as our project wasn’t enough money for him to bother with. Was avoiding our calls and messages. If could give minus rating I definitely would . Never even consider him again. Left some supplies in our yard after having Bayview deliver them for almost 1 month not being used. I also found out Joel’s mother in law hired another company to work on her house instead of Joel Cole Construction.

Their team doesn't communicate worth a darn, and don't know how to pick up a phone. You should also take any time estimate they give you and multiply it by four. We were initially told a 4-6 week wait and a 1 week construction time, it ended up being an 18 week wait with a 4 week construction time.

We contacted Joel in late January 2019, and he came to our house in early February to give an estimate. He said they were backed up and would start work in 4-6 weeks. We made sure he knew it was our only shower and it was currently unusable and we were showering at the YMCA every day, so time was important.

At around 6 weeks past this point we started calling the company to ask when the project was to start. We couldn't get anyone to pick up the phone, so we left a couple messages. Several days later someone called back saying "Oh yeah! we were just about to call you! You're next on the list." Around two weeks later we finally received an invoice, and paid within a day or so. This was April 3rd, 8 weeks after our initial consultation.

At that point we were elated. We thought our wait was over. Unfortunately this ended up not being the case. We didn't hear from Joel Cole for weeks, and when we finally called we were told once more "Oh, we were just about to call you! Your cabinets are delayed, but it should be in on (specific date)." That date came, passed, and we called to hear "Oh, We were just about to call you!" They confirmed our cabinets came in, and said someone would call us to schedule the job soon.

Work finally started on our bathroom on the 20th of June. 18 weeks after our initial consultation. At first it seemed like it was going well, especially when we found there wasn't any floor damage like we thought. Towards the end of the first week when it became apparent the work wouldn't be done, we started asking questions of the one guy here doing most of the work - questions like "When will you be here tomorrow?" and "Do you know when this'll be complete?" to which he could only reply "I don't know, I just go where the foreman sends me each day" (that's nearly verbatim). So we began calling the company, but no one picked up. We left messages, and 2-3 days later someone would call us back giving a rough schedule for the remainder of the week (it was usually Wednesday or Thursday, so a weekly schedule didn't do a ton of good). This pattern kept up for the rest of the work. Someone would come work for an hour or two a day, and might be here 3/5 days of the week, and we'd never know what hours or days.

Finally the work was completed on July 18th. Four full weeks from when work had started and we were quoted a week to completion, and 22 weeks after our initial consultation... Except they had put in the wrong sink (a circular one instead of a square, in a custom cut counter top cut to match the sink), and the wrong bathtub (a 30" one instead of the 32" they promised). Additionally there were lots of small details wrong, most of which they fixed.

We sent them an email with this information, and rather than apologize for the trouble, or offer to fix it, they gave us a $100 credit on the bill for a "sink discrepancy," and then got in an argument with us over who's fault it was and who would pay to fix it. It took forwarding them an email we sent them confirming our sink choice to prove to them that it was indeed their mistake. They didn't list our tub, cabinet, counter top, or sink choices in their invoice.

We told them we'd rather have a credit to our bill than have them in our home again, given the problems with scheduling, communication, and delays. Joel Cole seized on that information to say "As a contractor in the state of Washington if I am not given the opportunity to return to make corrections then you, as the homeowner, accept the project complete 'as-is'" and declined to fix further issues, such as the tub drain not sealing fully, so the bath tub won't fill and can't be used as a tub, and the cabinets missing shelves. He did end up giving about $600 off the final invoice of an $8000 bill, so that's something.

In fall 2018 we decided we wanted to add a small deck to the backyard of our home in Elma, WA. We wanted it to be professionally done. We contacted Joel Cole construction after I read some positive reviews. They very quickly did the first estimate. They did try to save us some money by specifying the lower end Trex composite decking but I wanted the high end Trex. I went to the materials supplier in Olympia and picked out the board and color myself and let Joel Cole know my selection. They promptly re-did the estimate within just a few days. They also spent time going over our wishes for the deck and were very helpful with a couple of design questions. We agreed and paid 50% down. The price was in the moderate-high category but it seemed appropriate for the level of professionalism they displayed. They were conservative with their timeline and said it would be 3 months minimum before work started.
Well before 3 months had passed, they called and said they could start work early, and wanted to get my deck done by Christmas for us. I was very impressed and thankful. They sent a crew of very professional and courteous guys who built a fantastic deck exactly to our specifications. Sometimes the guys were working in the pouring rain, and they only took a few days off because it was just too wet. The deck was completed within a 2 week time span.

Fantastic service. Nice people. We will certainly use them again!