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Firebelly Renovations

5256 Dawes Ave #A
Alexandria, VA 22311 703-585-3486

Ratings

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Consumer Ratings for Firebelly Renovations — 3 Ratings

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Consumer Comments for Firebelly Renovations

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Consumer from Mc Lean, VA
Mar 09, 2019
Not Recommended
Firebelly Renovations began work in our home in January of 2018 for substantial restructuring of our master bath, kitchen, and creation of a mudroom/pantry that took space from the garage and extended the kitchen. The contract stipulated that the job would take 60 calendar days. Our expectations were for the project to be completed sometime in April, at the latest. Firebelly did not complete their work until November, 2018 -- TEN MONTHS LATER!! We ended up hiring a third-party contractor to complete remaining punch list items as we had difficulty getting Firebelly to return. While we have a kitchen and bathroom that are substantially complete and we are now enjoying, getting here was a huge life disruption that took nearly a year. As the months dragged on, we observed questionable commitment to the work product, unreliable business practices, and poor project management. Examples follow: + Firebelly installed a new flexible vent pipe through the roof for our new dryer, the design and installation being so flawed that the flexible pipe collapsed creating a water trap for humid air that could have ruined the dryer. + They installed closet doors that block full use of our new Elfa closet system by impeding the full opening of one set of drawers. + New walls are not level or straight, corners deviate from 90 degrees requiring modification of shelving that will be installed in the space, and drywall tape/compound and paint were applied in a sloppy manner creating an unevenness on the walls. + Caulking in the kitchen and bathroom has already cracked (less than six months), the toilet has leaked, the shower has leaked, vessel sinks in the bathroom wobble and are not securely fastened, and the two live-edge shelves installed in the bathroom are sagging. + Firebelly failed to pay a subcontractor, resulting in a lien being placed on our home. + Change orders were started and sometimes completed without our written approval of costs, a contract stipulation. + They often cut short their 8 am to 4 pm schedule. There were instances of Firebelly excusing themselves from our project for an entire week, giving reasons that did not sound credible. They lied to us about a family vacation in July (that delayed our project further). We later learned that this was really an excuse for the owner to work on other projects. + Numerous miscalculations on the quantity of materials; for instance, the bathroom floor tiling required three trips to the store, each time to order more based upon Firebelly's calculations. Yet, when we returned from a trip in August, we were told the tile design could not be completed as planned as they DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TILE! Another example is that we over-purchased speciality tile that could not be returned, costing us over $200. One tile shop made an exemption to their return policy as it had been over six months since purchase - otherwise, this would have cost us several hundred dollars. + Subcontractors were hired only as the project proceeded, introducing delays and resulting in variations in cost. Other frustrations and observations could be listed. We came to question whether they had ever done a job of this size as they did not seem to have the staff or systems to address the challenges our job presented. We went from being pleased with them at the beginning, to feeling we were caught in a hostage situation (May), to thinking the project was cursed (July), to the considering it a nightmare (November). We would not recommend Firebelly for any substantial home renovation.
Consumer from Alexandria, VA
Jun 18, 2018
Recommended
Consumer from ALEXANDRIA, VA
Jan 02, 2013
Recommended

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