Italy American Construction, Inc.

We had a budget of $100,000 for an addition with a new kitchen. A year after giving them $4000 deposit and chasing them for 2 months they handed me plans for $200,000! That’s with us painting and putting in the floor. Never received a refund of the $4000.

I needed my kitchen remodeled and contacted Italy America and boy am I glad I did. Tony drew up the plans and turned us over to our project manager Doug. Both men kept in contact with us through the whole project. The workers that came to the house were very professional and did a fantastic job. I am very pleased with the completed job. I was so happy with there work that I had them put in a garage door and a drive way in my second house. My son also had a porch replaced on his home by this company. Every job looks fantastic and was done right. I would recommend this company for any home improve projects that you need.

Beautiful quality work. Fabulous customer service. Outstanding overall experience. We worked with Frank and we were so impressed with how effortless he made this project for us. Italy American Construction has been in business for a long time and it is easy to see why....it is an honest company with exceptionally high standards. It was a pleasure doing business with Frank and with Italy American Construction.

We hired Italy American Construction (IAC) to put an addition onto our house and remodel our kitchen. It was a large project with the total area around 800 square feet. IAC built the structure to the point of getting it paint ready. I did all the painting and I installed the floors and the majority of the trim work. They did install the baseboards we purchased separately which was a pleasant surprise as I was expecting to install them myself. Overall, we are happy with the result and love our new home. In mid spring we met with the owner, Frank, and before we knew it, we had signed a contract with IAC for the job. The contract is a carbon copy document compared to detailed printed custom proposals/contracts we received from other contractors. We had to make multiple requests to get a copy of the budget price breakdown. When we did get it, it was obvious prices had been adjusted upwards to get to the quote originally given. We didn’t realize that was the official contract until much later. While that did raise flags and concern us, the main selling point for us was that Frank told us the workers were all in-house and he didn’t use subcontractors. That is not true. We’re sure some of the workers are in-house, but it was clear others were subcontractors, most likely subcontractors IAC prefers to use regularly. All workers were very polite and professional. Dustin was the man in charge of our project. He did the architectural design/layout and coordinated everything with the subcontractors and other workers. Dustin was easy to talk to and to approach with any issues as they occurred. He was very involved every step of the way. He responded with quick feedback/action to any questions/issues we had throughout the project. He was often at the house putting in work himself on areas that needed attention. Dustin was fantastic to work with, made the project go smoother, and we would work with him again. IAC broke ground in late August and, with the exception of an item or two, they completed the job by Christmas. Todd and Steve were the ones that built the addition structure and tied it into the existing house. I talked with them every morning and any time I had questions. They took the time to explain to me what they were doing and why it needed to be done. They were a pleasure to work with and they did a great job. Sharon’s Heating and Air Conditioning did a quality job on the HVAC and gas pipeline work. The electrical was installed by Tony and his employees (I believe the name of the company is J/Zac Electrical). They also did a quality job. I was expecting to install the island pendants we purchased ourselves; however, Tony went ahead and took care of it. Having Tony install them perfectly was truly appreciated. The siding was installed by Dave, who did a fantastic job. IAC was able to get the exact same siding we had installed a few years earlier. With the same siding and the great job Dave did, you cannot tell from the outside that an addition was put onto the house, which is exactly what we wanted. We absolutely love our new kitchen. The cabinets were installed by John, while Mike and Joanne did the tiling for the backsplash and fireplace hearth. Mike and Joanne, along with some help from Dustin, also ripped up the additional layer on the kitchen floor to make sure the floor was flush with the new addition. When it came to cleaning up after their work inside our house, Mike and Joanne were the only ones who really focused on how they left us. It was noticed and truly appreciated. There was an initial problem with one wall of the cabinets not being aligned correctly and it was an eyesore. One cabinet was higher than the other two on the wall. When we discussed this with Frank, he explained to us that we just didn’t understand and a little unevenness with the cabinet alignment was ok as the ceiling was uneven. This was clearly not the case. We didn’t believe that and even consulted another contractor who let us know that it should be corrected. We requested it be fixed multiple times, but it still was not addressed. When Mike was eventually given the task of aligning the cabinets, he did it very quickly and with no issues. It was odd that we needed to insist on something so obviously wrong. With every project there are cons. We’re not sure of the company that did the drywall, but this was the one area we were most displeased. When they sanded the drywall, the rest of the house was not properly sealed off. The openings to the remainder of the house were closed off by plastic sheets partially stapled to the wall and the basement was left totally exposed. The dust was everywhere in both the basement and living room. Furniture, electronics, kids’ toys, Christmas presents, all kitchen stuff that was stored during construction – all covered in drywall dust. We knew some dust was inevitable, but this wasn’t just some – it was layered. We lost multiple weekends cleaning drywall dust off everything. After we cleaned once, we told IAC we needed better seals. It continued to happen despite our plea for consideration in this area. In hindsight, we should have hired a cleaning crew and deducted the amount paid from what we owed for the construction job as the house was not properly sealed off, or IAC should have provided a cleaning crew. After speaking with friends who’ve hired contractors, we will make sure this is written into the contract for any future work. Other than the mess from the drywall, there were a few other areas that could have been improved upon. While we were asked to pay the price we were quoted, we have no idea what the actual cost was because we were never provided with any invoices. IAC did provide us with additional things originally not in our contract, likely because our project was under budget. But not knowing or being apprised of expenses throughout the project was very annoying. The price quoted and paid appeared arbitrary without this information. In terms of the actual structure itself, the only area we were not totally pleased with is the lack of attention to the details. The fireplace wall is wider than it should have been (which throws off the spacing on the drywall between the windows as they do not match), the air vents were not centered on the wall under the windows (off by a few inches so our corner piece entertainment center can’t be used as it would cover up the vent), and the custom-made soffit in the kitchen was a few inches longer than it should have been (looking odd with the cabinet crown molding). These are not big issues, but they are things that did show a lack of attention to detail, especially with the price we paid for the project. In the end, we are very pleased with the completed job. We will be looking to add a master bedroom above our garage in the future and we will ask Italy American Construction to come back and give us a quote for the next project. We would want Dustin to lead any project. It was great working with him and we do hope to work with him again in the future.

We had two projects done by Italy America, a kitchen replacement and at our last house, construction of a sun room, roof replacement, some windows replaced, a new driveway and some smaller projects. We were extremely happy with their work, professionalism, and just nice people. I would highly recommend them.

I had a very unique project to construct; an observatory. I spoke with a lot of contractors and felt that Italy American Construction was the only one who could take on such a challenge. To be honest, I was a bit nervous not sure if out could be pulled off. Not only did they meet my expectations, they were exceeded. The attention to detail was amazing. It turned out way better than I dreamed it could of.

Great Work and An Overall Great Experience! The professionals at Italy American made sure to get my work done on time and done right! I tell my friends and family to call them for any home improvement project - and I like that they have been in business for such a long time. I know they will still be here tomorrow if I need something corrected.

Just had an estimate for moving a downspout to another side of the house. The original downspout was placed in the center of the house and the water would exit right on the grass. The estimated cost $3,000.00. Now we need to change all the other gutter which is in good condition and also change the shingles where the downspouts are touching. He wouldnt listen that all I wanted was to move the downspout to the left of the house. He said "I have been doing this 40 years and if you dont go with my recommendation go find someone else" Definitly shop around and get estimates before choosing this company.

We recently chose Italy American Construction to build an addition on our home in Macomb Twp., Michigan. We met and received estimates from several companies. We were extremely impressed with Tony's knowledge and advice in making sure that we were going to get the completed project that we were hoping to achieve. We were also really impressed that they have been in business for 60 years and that Tony who is one of the owners came out to our house and worked with us directly on our plans. We had an 1800 sq. ft. ranch before this process and we now have a BEAUTIFUL 2500 sq. ft. split level which added 2 bedrooms, a full size bathroom with a garden tub and separate euro shower and a loft area for the kids upstairs. Our entire project went smoothly and their crew showed up each and everyday that they were scheduled to. We also had some special requests that could only be possibly granted once they got into the project. We were so happy that they were able to implement our special requests. They definitely went above and beyond making us happy with this huge project!! I would HIGHLY recommend Italy American Construction for anyone with home improvement needs!!!!

After screening 5 companies to build a new garage and second floor addition this is the only company that was professional, experienced and knew exactly what they were doing . I’m an architect and designer and know this industry well. I dealt directly with the owner, Frank, who knew the challenges of the project and the cap on my budget. His vast knowledge and experience of building and getting to know the construction of my 100 year old home was instrumental in the design development process when creating our construction documents. The 2 and a half car , reverse gable, garage with service door was straight forward and built exactly to spec, cost and completed in record time; a week and a half. All the trades involved were on time, professional and experienced. When the Ferndale City Building Inspector came for our finals he thanked me for selecting such a good contractor because it made his job easier and congratulated me on a being the owner of a beautiful and quality built garage. NO violations and we passed all inspections with flying colors. I am very happy with my end product and would highly recommend ITALY AMERICAN and look forward to doing the addition next Spring!!!!

I hired them to do a 2nd story bump out. A project that was supposed to take 6 weeks took 4 months. This company is a joke. No respect to me or my family. Nothing but broken promises & excuses. Their crew never worked a full day and always took days off.

The sales guy was really nice. The problem is that he didn't fully think out everything that would be necessary in the job - which resulted in my actual expense being way off the quote he provided. Had the quote been correct, I would not have gone with their company. The job done was acceptable. All the workers were nice. The job they did - siding my house was acceptable. Cleanup afterwards was terrible. There were tiny pieces of aluminum and nails all over the place. I asked the salesman - whose family is the owner of the company, to send a cleaner and he was great about it. "Oh sure, no problem, of course." Unfortunately, it must have been a problem, because they never came back and never cleaned. The last issue is that they did damage to my house and did nothing to rectify the situation. They unnecessarily demolished my basement window ledges *without telling me first* which resulted in my having to replace my basement windows and have the window company patch the ledges they destroyed. I absolutely regret not selecting Lowes for this job and will *NEVER* do business with Italy American again.

Remodeled front porch and added a bay window. Excellent job but very pricy. The work was done fabulous just wish they can twerk their prices.

Tony and his staff were great! We had new siding, roof and fencing done. The house looks fantastic, exactly like we hoped it would turn out!

Italy American Construction was exactly the company I was looking for. I was able to deal with the owners directly and was treated like family. I quickly received the feeling they would satisfy my project needs even before any work had started. During the consultation I worked with one of their architects to discuss design ideas and I was able to receive accurate pricing for each idea. The project timing, customer service, and attention to detail was first rate. I was impressed with their ability to make such a large decision seem like a walk in the park. I have referred them to friends and family and they have delivered for them as well. I highly recommend this company.

Never got past the initial visit by their salesman. He showed up 40min late for our appointment. He did not introduce himself, just walked in, did not even apologize for being late. Never asked me any questions about what I wanted with our bathroom remodel, and made assumptions that impacted the quote significantly (he assumed the existing tile was ceramic, when it was actually painted plastic - he never checked). Never looked in the basement for water damage under the bathroom (there was damaged that needed to be addressed). When I asked him for a written quote - he asked me how I wanted it!! On the back of a brochure? On a piece of paper? Just verbally? I told him that since it's his job, I would expect that he would know how to do that!! His response was that everyone wants something different, so they don't have a standard format for writing up quotes. Completely unimpressed. Went with another company (see my other review), and was extremely happy - and very glad that I possibly dodged a bullet. If a company can't get that initial visit right, how do I expect them to manage a job?