Customer ReviewsforKowalski Construction Inc

I had ******* and his restoration team out to my house on a Sunday after a plumbing leak flooded a portion of my home. ******* communicated each step of the clean up process, almost daily. He answered my calls and addressed my concerns. They helped me move large items and cleaned up the site after they were done. He was patient with all my concerns and I was thankful I could trust them in my home while I was gone. *****, on the inside was also very helpful and kept me briefed on the process. I would definitely use them again!

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are thrilled to hear that you loved your experience with us. Your kind words mean a lot to our team!

They were timely , courteous,performed good quality work and cleaned up after themselves ??

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this review, we will share your positive comments with the appropriate staff members!

Most unprofessional company ever. My place caught fire and that was not nearly as bad as working with them. My place caught fire in October. I'm still waiting to get some of my items. They had my items "cleaned" in December, never told me and didn't talk to me until they heard the insurance company sent me a check. I gave them the check and only half of my items were returned. And some still smelled like smoke. Now I'm arguing with them to get my cloths. They asked when I'm free. I said 3pm. I heard nothing for 20 days. They blame me for not communicating and claim their warehouse closes at 2:45. I have to take off work in order to get my items they should have already gave me. They can't even work ********************************************* my items that they have had cleaned since December. It's April 4th. They also refuse to clean items they said they cleaned that still smell like smoke even though they told me many times they would clean those items and haven't.

We sympathize with our client above. A fire is a traumatizing situation, and our goal is to always work with our clients to restore their home and belongings to pre-fire conditions. We do our very best with every piece that is given to us, cleaning them through industry standard methods. Unfortunately, sometimes, regardless of how much cleaning is done, the fire smell is difficult or impossible to resolve. That was the case here, and for that, we can understand Mr. Harlow’s frustration. Our project files indicate that due to the intensity of the smoke, many of Mr. Harlow’s items were not able to be cleaned. In a continuing effort to work with him, we even put several of his items through our cleaning system several times to no avail. Once it was established that the smoke fire could not be removed from our heavy clean, we determined that the items were a total loss. It is true that resolving this issue was challenging. Oftentimes, our clients are very busy resuming their schedules, while dealing with insurance and restoration issues. That can contribute to difficulties in setting up schedules and returning items. Our project files indicate we were working for several weeks to inspect the items that still smell like smoke to reclean onsite if possible and to return the remaining items. We were not able to determine a time when this could be accomplished that fit both Mr. Harlow's schedule and ours. We were also told that Mr. Harlow’s apartment was being restored, so keeping some items at the warehouse was necessary until the apartment restoration was complete. We did offer options to Mr. Harlow for the delivery of his items, since scheduling was so difficult with his work schedule. We suggested we could leave them with the front desk, that the front desk could open the door for us to deliver inside the apartment, or perhaps a family member could help. Nonetheless, to accommodate for this difficulty, we provided Mr. Harlow a credit as a sign of good faith. Once the insurance company paid Mr. Harlow for the remediation, he mentioned that he wouldn’t pay for our services, wouldn’t pay for the cleaning of his items and would instead simply buy new stuff. We explained that since the work was done, he was obligated to pay for that work. Mr. Harlow had signed the initial work authorization, initialing he knew and understood all the conditions. As a family owned business for more than 57 years with an A+ rating with the BBB, we take all reviews and concerns to heart. We never want difficulties with our clients who are often going through such a difficult time. In light of the misstatements however from Mr. Harlow, we felt we had to respond and explain the truth of the situation.

We have been working with Kowalski for a while now. We find them to be a fair and ************ of people. The office staff is responsive and the project managers are friendly and seem to really care for the clients they are servicing. We feel confident recommending Kowalski Construction to our friends, family and clientele.

Thank you so much for your kind words about working with our team , we greatly appreciate it and strive to not only give our customers but those we work along side with the exact same excellent service.

We hired Kowalski Construction, recommended by Buckeye Valley Fire District, for home reconstruction after a fire. Initial positive impression turned into disappointment due to challenges and poor management. Cleaning crew turnovers delayed the project, and the completion date was unclear, promised in person but avoided on contract. The Project Manager was inefficient, leading to mistakes and incomplete work. Communication issues persisted, and a 'FINAL BILL' was paid. Later, Kowalski claimed more payment due to a glitching their accounting system. We reluctantly paid extra and ended up in court over alleged dues. The Project Manager's lack of diligence caused confusion, and our concerns weren't addressed. Kowalski's failures led to delays, unfinished work, and financial disputes. Inadequate management, poor communication, and employee turnovers tarnished the process. Caution advised when considering Kowalski Construction. We signed completion paperwork in good faith assuming accurate billing was to be completed, but the company failed to uphold its commitment to quality service. Numerous negative reviews echo our concerns. Kowalski Construction appears unresponsive and defensive. It's disheartening to see a company exacerbate hardships during a families challenging times.Additionally, it's worth mentioning that Kowalski proudly advertises their 55 years of experience in business, which one would expect to result in a high level of customer satisfaction and effective service. However, our experience paints a different picture, suggesting that their longevity might have given them legal knowledge on how to handle situations where customers have received mismanaged service, as demonstrated in our case. This further raises concerns about the company's commitment to ethical and reliable practices.

As senior members of the Kowalski team, we always take customer reviews very seriously. We want to thank you for this review, as customer satisfaction has been core to our family-owned business operations for almost 60 years now. We understand a home fire can be a devastating event and recovering from the damage even more challenging. No one should have to experience a home fire. When a homeowner hires us, we use our many years of experience in the fire restoration business to ease the burden of our clients during this rebuilding process. Our team has each individually reviewed this matter and read every note in the file. As a Better Business Bureau A+, customer focused business, we are very disappointed you did not have a superior experience like the great majority of our satisfied customers. In going through the entire file, we have confirmed that our company did all that we could to satisfy our contractual obligations in a prompt and reasonable manner. Our team members did what we promised to do and what we were required to do to complete the work in a timely and professional manner. Unfortunately, this matter did go to court, and a Judge at the ************************ confirmed that we satisfied our contractual obligations and sided with our company in this case..We genuinely wish you all the best as you try to move on from this devastating incident.

This company over charges and takes advantage of people during emergency situations that were not caused by me. The tenant of my rental trashed my place and the **************** condemned the rental property. The **************** contacted Kowalski Construction to board up the property and they charged me $1,477.93 to put up 2 pieces of plywood over two windows because I'm the home owner. The two pieces of plywood wasn't even one sheet in total. I could have done this myself for less than $100. I find this billing charge excessive and taking advantage of people during an emergency. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY FOR ANY REASON WHAT SO EVER. YOU WILL REGRET IT! ALL THEY CARE ABOUT HIS RIPPING PEOPLE OFF AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A SITUATION.

******,We are very sorry that your tenant has put you in this position with the ****************.Being in business for more than 55 years now, we have seen this situation often and are regularly called in to help cities and owners take back their property.We have become a trusted business partner for all of these years because of our work ethic, our empathy and our response in critical emergency situations. We are a 5 star rated Better Business Bureau partner, having worked with thousands of satisfied customers across ******* for more than half a century.We are very sorry to hear that youre not 100% satisfied with the work that was performed to secure your property on behalf of the ****************. Due to the hazardous circumstances on scene our technicians were asked to stand by until the situation was under control.Its important for readers to understand that the home had approximately 120 cats inside, with animal urine and f**** everywhere.The City also understood that there were firearms on the property, so our techs were put on standby for any potential issues which increased the amount of time we were on scene and that was ultimately billed for.According to **************** employees, they made numerous attempts to reach you regarding the situation to no avail. Since there was no response on your end, we were called in to remedy a dangerous situation in the neighborhood. Kowalski Construction uses industry standard pricing that we market check each year.Our prices are right in line with the industry averages. We also use a construction specific, specialized software system for estimating pricing which is used nationwide and is accepted by most major insurance companies. We are a family-owned business who prides ourselves on our relationships with our customers. Please reach out to our office if you have any additional questions. Thank you.

We had a house fire/lightning strike 19 months ago and it's still not close to completion. It has been one error after another, poor communication, and submitting sub par estimates. What they will say and do are completely different. They don't seem to care or speak knowledgeable about city codes and details of the job. I don't recommend or have confidence in this company. They seem overworked and not engaged in the project. You know it's bad when after you sign the contract, you are the one doing most of the follow up and feel like you work for the company. They aren't detailed oriented. They will blame the insurance company for not providing funds for damage and things not covered. They either have a 1 star or 5 star reviews. That's not a good sign. Don't do it!!!! We highly recommend a public adjuster as they are unable to effectively deal with insurance. I am writing this review to save you a nightmare.

When a review like this is written, we feel it is important to share the true and full story. This homeowner contacted us to take care of a rebuild for a home that had been struck by lightning. In addition to the rebuild of the existing structure, the homeowner wanted an addition built onto the home at the same time. Since this portion of the job was new construction, it required additional permits and approvals from the city to be able to add the extra full bedroom and additional bathroom to the home. It is also important to understand that the clients insurance company would only cover a portion of the rebuild, so the funding for the job was not at the level that the homeowner wanted or expected. As a contractor, we were limited in our scope of work to what the insurance approved and provided as payment. There was no any additional funding to complete the project to the level the homeowner desired. In working with their insurance company, the homeowners could not get the approval of the items they felt were important on this job. Our notes on this project indicate regular, weekly calls from our Kowalski staff to ensure the job was progressing on schedule. This is in addition to the constant communication provided by our onsite project manager, purchasing team, ******* and numerous other Kowalski employees. Our project file indicates nothing that our inspectors missed and no estimates that were submitted incorrectly. We do have a note that on one occasion we sent the wrong estimate attachment, but that was immediately rectified with a follow-up email with the correct attachment. The estimates were all approved and signed off on by both Kowalski Construction and the homeowner, and included items that the homeowner requested to be added to the project. We understand that this homeowner is not happy with their insurance company, as they have run out of coverage there. The homeowner even mentioned to us that they were considering filing a claim against their insurance on this project. The issues cited by the homeowner stem from disagreements and difficulties with their insurance company and code upgrade requirements from the city. We have worked with this homeowner throughout this project to help gain approval from the insurance company for items such as some underground plumbing and lintel replacements but ultimately it was their insurance company who continued to deny those expenses. Kowalski Construction is a family-owned business, in business for more than 55 years with the highest ratings from the Better Business Bureau. Our success is built on the relationships we have with cities and towns throughout *******, in working with them to accomplish our clients goals. The issues affecting this job were manifested from a disagreement between the homeowner and their insurance company, and nothing that we have identified or was brought to our attention from the work of Kowalski Construction.

* HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND! * My house burning down was the worst situation I have ever experienced, and this company made it beyond unbearable. I was unfortunate enough to have a house fire and got convinced to use this company for the rebuild. Immediately after signing the contract with them, I found out how big of a mistake I had made. The company does not care about the customer at all. They were rarely at the site to check the progress. All management that was in charge of the project were only at the house once every 1-2 months to check on what had been completed. I was forced to switch the type of tile flooring, fridge, and cabinets I had already chosen since they would not order the materials until three months after I gave them my selections, which resulted in them being five months back-ordered. The site should have easily been completed in 6 months, and this company turned it into one year and ten months long When the construction was near completion, Kowalski told me the house was safe to move back into. Then the same night I moved most of my belongings back into the house, the county came by to inspect, and I was told I could not sleep in the house due to major unfinished electrical work and inspections. I was forced to leave all my belongings in the house for another week and move into a hotel. Kowalski made this stressful and sad situation one hundred times more miserable. Then, after almost two years of dealing with Kowalski and their horrid customer service, they changed the amount I owed to them for the rebuild. I had to fight them over this extra charge that was obviously incorrect. I got told by managers that they had made a mistake and added almost $5000 to the invoice, and it was indeed a mistake. Then after I paid all the remaining invoices, Kowalski decided that it was no longer an error and forced me to pay the amount they previously took off and threatened to send my account to collections and void my warranty. Please stay away!

Obviously after over 50+ years of customer satisfaction we disagree with Mr. ******** statement and the specifics of his postings.All of the time frames involved were consistent with industry standards.We thank you that the correct amount was paid to date exclusive of a pending charge that is under review by Mr. ******** insurance company.We have contacted ****************** in an attempt to clarify the events, apparently, to no benefit.We welcome anyone to review our BBB record and our history at the ************************ for the last 50+ years.We understand Mr.******** emotional involvement in the terrible events surrounding the fire and destruction of his home. We did our best under the circumstances of the supply chain issues and labor shortages that have affect not only us but our subcontractors as well and otherwise to put him and his family back in their home with quality work and repairs.We stand by our public records of performance at the BBB and ********** ** *********** and the many insurance carriers we have worked with over the decades.Thank you for reviewing our position on this posting