Martin Custom Builders, LLC.

I would not recommend this builder. His attention to detail was poor. Five years after the house was completed we still have problems with everything from plumbing, heat and cooling, irrigation and even drainage issues. He blames everything on the subcontractors, but never monitors the work done. Anyone can fabricate a glitzy web site. The following is a list of our many issues with this builder. 1.) Sump pumps filled with trash and debris and the pumps placed in the trash. All sumps were cleaned by myself and all three pumps replaced at three years.. 2.) Gas leak in basement the first day we lived in house. Contractor called but did not come. I had LaClede Gas come to the house and the basement was full of gas. After constant phone calls the plumber was summoned to the house. 3.) Nails placed in water pipes. Fortunately the leak was found early by wife before the house would have had major damage. I called my own carpenter out since the contractor did not answer his phone for 36 hours. After finally responding to my call, the builder contacted plumber, carpet layer, drywaller, painter, etc. To this day, some if not all of these people, were never reimbursed for their services. 4.) High humidity in upstairs of house. The moisture would approach 70%. Mold grew on some of the registers. After two hears I hired experts to check the upstairs situation. The heating ducts in the attic were not insulated properly and in fact the entire attic insulation had to be redone. The existing duct work was leaking into the attic and had to be removed and rebuilt. Mold was growing in the attic. The builder did nothing. I became my own contractor to remedy the poor construction. The heating and cooling company was very responsive and worked professionally with us but the contractor was not to be found. If the construction site was monitored professionally this would not have happened. Of course the contractor blamed everything on the subcontractors but he was suppose to monitor the home while it was built. 5.) More than half of our high end Marvin windows and deep scratches in the glass from when they were cleaned. Marvin said they had never seen such carelessness. 6.) Poor materials used in exterior drainage pipes. The connections were not ever screwed together just taped. Many were crushed after placement and I had them repaired. The subcontractor even admitted the material used were not ideal. 7.) Sloppy painting. the house was not kept clean during construction and the painter just painted over saw dust. Much paint had to be redone. We bought custom milled high end mill work that was just slopped over by the painter. 8.) Concrete driveway was replaced after two years. No other driveway in my neighborhood was in need of replacement. 9.) Plumbing hooked up wrong in Kitchen sink with hot water coming out of the cold side. It was finally fixed after 2.5 years. 10.) Holes left from master bedroom and living room indirect light areas in ceiling into the attic. So when it was cold outside there was a draft in our master bedroom and living room. The interior ceiling temperature was 30 degrees. It took months to find the cause and remedy the situation. 11.) When we first moved into the house, there was literally no humidity during the winter months. Our contractor had placed simple evaporator type humidifiers instead of power humidifiers, which are what the manufacturers suggest go with our units. Our crown molding and baseboards were separating from the ceiling and walls throughout the house. We complained to our contractor bitterly for months. Finally, we made a blind call to the HVAC Company telling them we had a humidity issue in the house. We inquired what humidifier system was suggested with our HVAC system in the house. They told us what we had was totally insufficient and we definitely should have either powered or steamed humidifiers. We called our contractor and informed him what was recommended. Finally, after numerous threats, these units were exchanged for the proper humidifying system. The next winter we did not have that problem. 12.) Mr. Martin infuriated the neighbors with huge amounts of water running on their properties. There were complaints about him to Saint Louis county and the county put a stop work order on the house. I even received a certified letter from a neighbor about his lack of aggressiveness to satisfy their legitimate complaints. 13.) Defective railing around patio. The paint peeled off the railing from the first day it was installed. The contractor was no help. After threat of suit the railing was removed and was sandblasted and refinished. We went without hand railing for five months. 14.) To our knowledge to date, Mr. Martin did not pay the subcontractors for warranty work after we moved into the house. The subcontractors told us this. For instance when the carpenters put nails in a water pipe, he did not pay our carpenter, plumber,mold removal company, carpet layer or the drywall finisher. They would no longer come back to the house since they were not paid by Mr. Martin.. 15.) Utility room door was severely dented and scratched, It was never repaired or replaced adequately. 16.)The gutters always lapped water and there was a recurrent hole forming in our yard even after we filled it multiple times. We called the gutter company who came out and looked at the situation and said everything was fine. The gutters were clear. The hole was the yard settling. After 3 years of these recurrent problems, we discovered that the buried corrugated drain pipe had been crushed during construction. That did not allow the gutters to freely drain and it allowed the dirt to constantly wash away, thus forming the hole in our yard. Is it too much to ask for the Mr. Martin to dig around the area for 1 minute to check why we had a recurrent problem. Suffice it to say, when they replaced the corrugated pipe and reattached it properly, we have not had a problem with either the gutters or the reformation of the hole. 17.$20,000.00 Breach of contract- Prior to starting construction and having a signed contract, Mr. Larry Martin (Martin Custom Homes – contractor) requested $5,000.00 to review plans and offer possible suggestions and an additional $15,000 at the time of signing the contract. He stated and wrote in our contract, if he is our contractor of choice, he would “deduct from the Contractors fee evenly over the first four payment requests for payment of this contract”. Mr. Martin began deducting these funds on the 7th payment request and did not fulfill his financial obligation until the 19th payment request, taking him 13 payments (9 months) to fulfill his contractual agreement. 18.Our porch screen door had inherent problems from day one of moving in to the house. First, it did not function well and it did not have a threshold, leaving a large gap between the concrete floor and the door. We told the contractor of these problems. He informed us he would contact the company to see what to do. He then informed us that there should not be a threshold for the door and adjusting the door would not benefit our problems. We eventually contacted the company ourselves. They came to the house and adjusted the ill-fitting door. They also said this door definitely should have a threshold. They promptly installed the threshold. They also informed us that our contractor never contacted them regarding the threshold or the door.

Our firm contracted to provide the footings and foundation for a residential building. The project went as planned and we were supplied exceptional supervision throughout the projected. Payment was promped and accurate.

It is our pleasure to be a contributing member of the Martin Custom Builders construction team. Their desire to produce homes that reflect the design and craftsmanship that their clients seek is the hallmark of their success. Communication and attention to detail are the pathways to insure that they meet their clients expectations. We are gratified at the trust that Martin Custom Builders has placed in us and we will use our best efforts to continue their tradition of a client focused building experience. Charlie Morts Design Consultant Countryside Flooring America

Some of the nicest work around. We provide service to a few other builders and Martin Custom Builders is by far our favorite. We recommend working with Larry, you won't be disappointed.

We have been doing business with Martin Custom builders for quite a few years. I think that if I was going to build a house I would consider using there Company to build it. We have built a reputation as being one of the best Concrete companies in St Louis and we do quality work just like Martin Custom Builders and I believe that is why Larry uses us. He buildes a quality Home at an afordable price.

I have worked with Larry on numerous projects over the last few years and found him to be a true professional. He is a good listener who cares about his client. His knowledge and experience are beneficial when he makes recommendations for projects.

Martin Custom Builders built our beautiful custom home. They were wonderful to work with, honest and helpful during the entire process.