Brian Weinstock, Watertech Inc.,Home Intallation Professionals Very dissatisfied customer Libertyville Illinois

This is a letter of recommendation for Brian Weinstock & Home Installation Professionals. We are in the finishing phase of our project, a design & build project which doubled the size of our 1350 sq ft, 2-3 br 1.5 ba 50+ yr old brick cape cod style home, and turned it into a 4-5 br, 3.5 bath with home office with a 2 story 20ft X 34ft addition. We move back in next week, on schedule.

We started our search for the builder to do our project 4 years ago - we interviewed just about every Lake County/North Shore builder, including Brians company. We took our time because of all the horror stories we had heard about addition nightmares. We called a first round of references. We then asked Brian and 3 other companies to bid on our project and Brian came in significantly lower (approximately 30%-50%). We were on a limited budget and most of the builders we interviewed were out of our range.

We checked references for Brian, and visited a job site of his; a larger project than ours in Libertyville, during different phases of the job. All checked & looked good. We felt comfortable and signed with Brian.

We started the project in March, with Brian keeping close communication. Brian designed it all from scratch, using our wish list. Brian helped us with material & option selection, spending large amounts of time and being very helpful & patient. The whole process has been much easier than expected, primarily due to the close control Brian maintains on the jobsite, his desire for total customer satisfaction and his diligence in maintaining good communications. We have been very impressed with the quality, speed & coordination of the job.

It is evident that Brian takes great pride in his work. It shows.

Brians crew is unbelievable. Very hard working, very professional and they all take pride in their work there were very few days when there wasnt some work going on, including weekends. These people are really good at what they do. We are very impressed.

Brian is able to give upgrades on many items. We never would have been able to afford putting in @ 1000 sq ft of 4 plank oak floors, the huge whirlpool and the

multi-jet steam shower in our master bath with the other builders and still get the addition space we wanted within our budget. With Brian, we got all that plus a lot more.

Overall, we are very happy we found Brian. We feel we got the best value by using Home Install Pros to do our addition, and we cant recommend Brian and his crew enough!!! In fact, our neighbors across the street are now using him to add a master suite to their house. I wouldnt be surprised if he winds up remodeling more homes in this neighborhood.

Brian and his company Home Installation Professionals have earned our highest recommendation. Anyone interested in contacting us please go to the Home Installation Professionals Web Site, Google it, leave a message on the contact form there and Brian will send you our contact information in Lake Bluff along with many other great references we are sure.

SS. Lake Bluff, IL

I do not see much value in responding to Mr. Weinstock's ramblings above.  I think they speak for themselves.

  However, it is worth adding a few facts that have come to light since my original posting:

1.   Following my factual and unfavorable review on Angie's List (where I originally found Mr. Weinstock), a number of new favorable reviews were added to Mr. Weinstock's company's page.  Soon after, Angie's List penalized Weinstock and Home Installation Professionals for "self reporting."  You should be wary of any customer recommendations he might provide.  Insist on speaking with a person live and also make sure to ask them if they have any other relationship with him (his most ardent reference to us we later found to be his girlfriend he was living with).

2.   After my original posting here, Mr. Weinstock posted false statements about me personally (under the alias "John Forest" (((Redacted))) on this site.  I have demanded a retraction.  Mr. Weinstock wrote to me from his "John Forest" email, the following threat:   "Information has been disseminated already,  it takes time to proliferate but wihtin the next two weeks you ll be able to search hundreds more sites, blogs, forums in the US and worldwide,  many sites blogs and forums critical to your business and your customers use for this and allot of other similar true information from a plethora of different credible sources, not just one. There are many professional PR firms out there that do both negative and positive PR multinationaly. Many of them are located off shore."

3.   Mr. Weinstock put the company we contracted with ("Home Installation Professionals, a division of Watertech, Inc.") into bankruptcy in June 2009.  He has formed a new company "Home Installation Professionals, Inc." and continues to try to do business.  From a few of his newer customers who have contacted me, it appears many of the same poor business practices are continuing.

- Vincent Taylor, Barrington, IL (((Redacted)))

Out of 80 large and small projects we completed in 2008, with all but five being extremely happy with us and our project outcomes there were five customers that did not work us through this finanacial crisis and Vince was one of them. All five of these projects occurred during and because of the first severe part of the economic downturn, not before this in 35 years of service to our customers in Northeastern Illinois or since.

I have not been affiliated with his project since November 2008 and just now he is deciding to go on line.

Vince is a not a contract lawyer by profession in this State, he is not licensed to practice any kind of law in Illinois. Vince is an employee for counseling and outsourcing company, he is not by profession a practicing lawyer in Illinois.

He certainly is not telling truth on the basics and not telling the whole story.

His arbitrary number of $170,000 of contract overages was solely his choice since he was the sole general contractor after he and I parted ways, it was NOT our miss bidding. He elected to fraudulently order products off my accounts, any products, doors, windows, millwork, and cabinets with any value he wished far outside my allowances in the contract never giving me an option of review or right of refusal on any product he ordered. He also elected to make significant changes to the project that has been independently verified over and above our original contract adding to the overall contract overages and time it took to finish the project, his overages and time line was caused by him Not me. Had he allowed me to provide the services and onsite management that I asked him many times to allow me to provide (I have many emails to him requesting just that) I would have brought his project in under budget, in the projected time line within the contract parameters as I have done thousands of times in the past and have done many times since. Had Vince worked with me just little he would have found that to be the case as thousands of my others customers have happily found through the years. His refusal to accept my continual offers proves to me that all he wants is money and that's all he ever wanted. Now he sees that possibility diminishing all he can do is lash out with rubbish on forums like Rip off .com

From day one (after contract) Vince was overbearing, extremely difficult to work with in all ways perhaps contributing to my negative approach with him on occasion. From the beginning he wanted much more than the scope of our contract allowed in all ways, blaming everything on me, not giving an inch, not understanding that sometimes things go wrong however best laid the plans are. His response was you're the contractor aren't you for things that happened outside my control such as windows and doors that the factory back ordered for example with many others as well. It was he who did not communicate with me, only demanded. For a man who consuls corporations on team work he did not know how to do it, only demanded and expected me to jump and say how high on the way up, no understanding, sensitivity, synergy or team work of any kind .

When I asked him to work directly with my trades to protect him, he agreed. When there was a significant amount of money left in the contract I offered to do many things for him including on site management, finish work, trades work, even building his stage three, with no charge to him, he refused because all he wants is money.

He says he was paying me so it should not have impacted his project. I spent over 100K on his projects that he had paid me, I provided receipts for all of it. I turned the project over to him when trying to operate and manage 15 other projects with the economies free fall happening last October and November and all our credit lines, vendor lines shutting down and suppliers going out of business all at once, it became impossible to cumulatively deal with, this is why we turned the project over to him with a significant amount left in the contract to protect him. We are entitled to operating expenses and profit as any business is. He continued to use all of my trades and subs at my cost, my vendors at my discounts under my permits and licenses, this alone saved him thousands and thousands of dollars on his project and he knows it. Had I had other plans and didn't have his best interests in mind I would have had him keep paying me, kept his money and not paid the trades, this is what a dishonest, unethical contractor would have done.

Yes we are only working through title escrow financially now which we are not doing in Vinces case or with the other 15 projects we had going on at the time, because we found in a better economy we hadn't needed it prior to October/ November 2008. This now protects our customers from anything like this ever happening again. Even though we did not under price Vince Taylor project, under pricing is impossible under our off site, third party, professionally financially managed title escrow program by our professional construction coordinator because every component of the project is budgeted, listed and detailed and all trades and vendors are paid directly through title program. We now provide a full performance bond on all our work as well. Please see our web site and this link for a full explanation of what happened during the worst part of this economy, what we are doing now and what Title escrow is Vince Taylor doesn't seem to understand this please go to this link for more information and read about what the vast majority of our customers have to say about us. http://www.homeinstallations.com/New%20News%20-Better%20Serving%20our%20Customers%20in%202009%20and%20beyond.htm

Bottom line is that Vince elected to inflate his project well over our contract with his choice of changes and materials he chose without my input in any way and now expects me to pay for his extravagant choices that I had no part of. He tried to take advantage of me and my company based on the poor economy in all ways as did the other rip off .com report. Vince is of a vast minority (one of five out 80 extremely happy customers on 2008 and thousands since 1973.) The Rip Off Reports that I have just been added recently have been only on work that was started and progressed during the worst part of this economic recession. Rip off report has been around for a long time and we have never had another report or any other negative report prior to this period in 2008 . We also have an A plus BBB reliability report and thousands of extremely happy and satisfied customers. Please read a few comments from just some of them below. Please come and see our work, talk with our customers that we have completed recent projects for well over Vince Taylors projects value, they will tell you about our honesty, reliability, follow trough, management, quality of staff, unbeatable pricing. And our life time warranty on everything we do. We just yesterday went to a clients house in Libertyville, a large project we did four years ago because they were having a few condensate issues, and a ceiling crack issue. We repaired the condensate issue and will repaint all of their ceilings even though it a small area that's effected next week. Their neighbor we did a complete renovation the year before had their Steam unit fail in their master bath, the manufacture would not back it up so I did and replaced the Steam unit and controller for them, a value well over $1,500.

Vince is correct in one thing that our old corporation Watertech Inc. is now bankrupt, only because of the devastating effects of this economy. We have however turned the corner with a new company ( same skilled trades and professionals that even Vince and the other Rip Off report were happy with plus some great new ones) with a great new professionally managed title escrow program and polices that protect our customers in all ways. We have many current customers, sub contractors and vendors on this program that would be glad to let you know how it goings as will our professional construction coordinator at Chicago Title Company. Please look at our background and customer satisfaction levels prior to the devastating effects this economy had prior to 2008, you will find that in 35 years of doing business in Northeastern Illinois we never had an issue, lawsuit or complaint or challenge with customer satisfaction in any way, in fact all of our customers to that point in 2008 have been totally satisfied in all ways, 75 out of 80 in 2008 and those five were only because of the economy and many many happy customers so far in 2009. When the economy started free falling we had a choice of going out of business all together and I use my degrees, background and experience and do something else along with Watertechs bankruptcy ( I think that's what Vince and a few others goals are, that's the only reason he would be going on line in forum that does not verify anything, just prints anything anybody says about anybody) , but decided to stay with it continuing to satisfy our customers as we have for 35 years and because we love to design, build and satisfy our customers. We now get it and have changed our way of doing business to protect our customers and to meet the challenges of this new economic reality we all find our self's in and it its going very well and we will continue to make sure that's the case and continue to provide the same level of quality customer care and professionalism that we have for 35 years but with new programs, polices, tools and some better new subs and vendors to better serve and protect our customers.

Thank You
Brian Weinstock
www.homeinstallations.com

Please visit our web site www.homeinstallations.com and ask our many hundreds of satisfied clients who work with us through large projects, much bigger than this one as a team about our work, our integrity and honesty.

Here are letters from just four of them below.

Remodeling - General
Work Done:
Yes * More weight is given to a report where work has been completed.
Hire Again:
Yes
Approximate Cost:
$200,000.00
Description Of Work:
We transformed from a 1973 style home with 5 bedrooms and 3 baths to a modern home with 6 bedrooms and 4 baths, along with a larger garage, walk-in pantry, new mudroom, library, basement with walk-out, large master bedroom, beautiful expanded kitchen with granite counter tops and bar, a wet-bar, and of course the huge but cozy great room. Our home is beautiful, with hard wood floors, side-lights to our front doors (thank you for building these in your own shop), new siding and sidewalks, and a completely new profile with the new master over the garage. For most of our project our family of 6 was reduced down to a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home as the team upgraded something in almost every room of the house. With all the dust and personal disruption, I'd do it again to get results like these. I have appreciated your teams engineering, the sturdy construction, close beam-spacing, high quality wood, 6 outer studs, external plywood, and overall high-quality construction in areas that are normally under the hood. I really like all the little extras, like motion/panic lighting and electrical boxes in the eves for Christmas lighting tied to wall-timers in the garage. It should also be noted that your teams worked with me and around
me while I installed all the low voltage wiring into the addition. The guys on your team are absolutely top notch.
Member Comments:
Originally, we just needed to fix our foundation problem and we knew we wanted to expand our house to accommodate our family's needs. You and your architect took our ideas and offered suggestions. The results are perfect. The flow of our home is very conducive to our needs and the work is beautiful. We appreciated your TEAM of professionals. Everyone who entered our door was cognizant that they were in our home. I know having our family of four children around everyday while the men were working was a challenge. But each trade was respectful of our presence and our property. They always cleaned up at the end of the day and kept the work environment safe. In addition, your staff arrived promptly and worked efficiently. In addition, each trade was very talented in their respective specialty. Each offered real time on-sight solutions when necessary. They were friendly and trustworthy. Each trade seemed to know the other and they all have a good working relationship with each other. Selecting a contractor is a very important decision. It's not only about the total cost of the job or the timing of the job. It's about choosing to be in a close relationship while making some big decisions. We feel grateful to our neighbor who recommended you to us. You are trustworthy, on time, knowledgeable, experienced, well known, and reputable. You are a good adviser and are always available. Most of all, we really felt like a team working with you and we truly feel you care about not only our home, but us as well. Since this addition, we have continued to call Brian for other improvements, though much smaller in scope, his professionalism and quality have been a constant. Without a doubt, Home Installation Professionals is an excellent contracting company.
Overall
A
Price
A
Quality
A
Responsiveness
A
Punctuality
A
Professionalism
A


Report Date: September 08, 2008
Category:
Remodeling - General
Work Done:
Yes * More weight is given to a report where work has been completed.
Hire Again:
Yes
Approximate Cost:
$290,000.00
Description Of Work:
Added a master bedroom & bath (including custom cabinets, granite surfaces, & custom tile work), expanded & remodeled the kitchen (including custom cabinets, granite surfaces, & custom tile work), expanded the family room (including custom bookshelves & entertainment center), rebuild the fireplace face with exquisite stone, remodeled the existing two bathrooms &
powder room, finished the basement & added a powder room, opened up a wall between two rooms & expanded the doorways between several other rooms (requiring moving HVAC & plumbing utilities to accommodate the new openings), replaced the stairway from the 1st to the 2nd floor, installed hardwood flooring throughout most of the house, added three skylights, installed 1 inch copper plumbing throughout the house (including a hot water recirculation pump to maintain hot water at all faucets), added & upgraded significant electrical circuitry throughout the house, replaced the furnace & AC system, & replaced the siding & insulation, windows, interior & exterior doors, and driveway.
Member Comments:
In a nutshell, we got a new house. Brian & his crew totally remodeled & expanded the interior & exterior of our 4 bedroom home while we lived in it. This required them to coordinate their work with us, always maintaining living space for us - a kitchen & a bedroom & bath - throughout the project. We found his crews to be very considerate of our situation. While the result is basically the plan we had asked for, Brian took our request & suggested many details and enhancements we had not considered & that added to the livability of the final result. We wanted to open up the house, an early 70's design that had many separated rooms & limited views of the outside. The final product was this & more. Though the work was completed over a year ago, not a day goes by that we don't take a minute to admire the finished project, thankful that we had a conscientious contractor handling the work from start to finish! We found Brian to be truly intent on giving us the results (if not more than) we had asked for. In the ratings below, note that the final cost came in higher than the original estimate because we chose to add features & to make upgrades to the design that we hadn't specified in the contract.
Overall
A
Price
A
Quality
A
Responsiveness
A
Punctuality
A
Professionalism
A

Additional Questions Answered when completing this report
How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? higher than estimate
How does the value of the work compare to the price? I got more than my money's worth
How far in advance did you schedule the work? more than 2 weeks
Did you find the company through Angie's List? no
If no, what was the other source? Work done at other neighbors' houses.
Why did you choose this contractor? reputation
What did you like most about this contractor? His goal is to have a satisfied customer when the job is done.
What did you like least about this contractor? Nothing
What surprises came up during the course of the work? Nothing that he couldn't handle - normal with a project of this scope.
What words of advice would you give other members considering this contractor? The bigger the project, the more details you will have to consider to get the result you want! Check out his website for pictures of the work Brian has done.
What words of advice would you give this contractor? Thanks for being a concerned, honest businessman with many great ideas!
This is your space. Feel free to give us your two cents ... or quote your favorite movie? Keep up the great work!


Report Date: August 15, 2008 Category: Remodeling - General Work Done: Yes * More weight is given to a report where work has been completed. Hire Again: Yes Approximate Cost: $125,000.00 Description Of Work: My house was small, plain and average. I needed a major remodeling project done on my house and had heard a lot of horror stories about remodeling projects. I contacted Home Installation Professionals, who were highly recommended to me. I met with Brian, who was extremely knowledgeable, professional, and creative. I was positive Brian would do a great job. Brian and his team put a 2 story addition on my home, doubling the size of my house: new master bedroom, master bath, large kitchen, office, game room, family room. Big project!!!! Member Comments: With Brian's design, the old rooms and new rooms blend so nicely. Brian handled the project exceptionally well! The work was on time, in budget, and the guys worked hard to minimize the inconvenience. The quality of the work is exceptional, the products they used are of excellent quality, Brian and his team are very professional (and they clean up after their work everyday!), and the communication from Brian was wonderful. Brian stayed within my budget, stayed on schedule, and he strove to make sure I was happy with the results, which, as a homeowner, was exactly what I wanted. I am so impressed and amazed by the work that Home Installation Professionals did on my house! Brian and his team transformed my house into a home that I just love coming home to and love showing to my friends and family! I cannot recommend Home Installation Professionals enough!
Overall
A
Price
A
Quality
A
Responsiveness
A
Punctuality
A
Professionalism
A
Additional Questions Answered when completing this report How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? right on
How does the value of the work compare to the price? I got more than my money's worth How far in advance did you schedule the work? within a week Did you find the company through Angie's List? no If yes, which source(s)? website If no, what was the other source? friend and co-worker Why did you choose this contractor? reputation Have you used this company before? this is the first time I've used this company What did you like most about this contractor? He was trustworthy and honest. What surprises came up during the course of the work? Nothing! What words of advice would you give other members considering this contractor? Call him today!!!! This is your space. Feel free to give us your two cents ... or quote your favorite movie? I want to help other homeowners feel as satisfied and happy as I am!


Report Date: August 26, 2008 Category: Remodeling - General Work Done: Yes * More weight is given to a report where work has been completed. Hire Again: Yes Approximate Cost: $85,000.00 Description Of Work: Finished a basement. Construction included a 10 foot custom built bar, fireplace, full bath, bedroom, added shelves in the storage room and home theater area. Member Comments:
I couldn't believe how great an experience this remodeling project was. I have been through other remodeling projects in the past, so I was reluctant to start this process over again. From the very beginning, Brian was always available to answer any questions I had. He would continually
follow up to make sure that we were satisfied with the days progress and if I had any concerns. What I am most impressed with is the professional staff that has been with the company for years. They take pride in their work and it shows. Their knowledge in their particular field is obvious by looking at the small details that make the basement 'custom'.
Overall
A
Price
A
Quality
A
Responsiveness
A
Punctuality
A
Professionalism
A
Additional Questions Answered when completing this report How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? right on How does the value of the work compare to the price? I got more than my money's worth How far in advance did you schedule the work? within a week Did you find the company through Angie's List? no If no, what was the other source? Internet Why did you choose this contractor? I was able to go see a finished job. Have you used this company before? this is the first time I've used this company What did you like most about this contractor? Quality of work in a timely manner. What did you like least about this contractor? Nothing What surprises came up during the course of the work? Inconsistent county inspectors held up construction for 2 weeks. What words of advice would you give other members considering this contractor? Don't be afraid of the process, embrace it and you will not be disappointed. What words of advice would you give this contractor? Thanks for making me feel like I was your only job.
This is your space. Feel free to give us your two cents ... or quote your favorite movie? Character is what you do when nobody is looking.

These are all real evaluations by all these great and awesome clients and many many more are avialable to talk with anytime and come see our work on these projects please vist our web site www.homeinstallations.com for more information.