My personal review on August & Suttles Contractors- Montgomery, TX

Well… this one is long winded -

This is our latest renovation update - GOING 10MNTHS and 1day! What was supposed to be 3 1/2 month job

When the first contractor leaves you with more problems than you started with, sometimes you just have to break some things, rebuild them correctly, and MOVE FORWARD. 😅🔨August & Suttles Contractors- Montgomery, TX

To say this renovation has been a nightmare would be an understatement.

We hired a company that represented itself as a professional, licensed and insured operation with the ability to coordinate everything “under one roof.” We were investing in what we believed would be our forever home — something safe, properly built, and made to last.

Unfortunately, our experience became the complete opposite of what we believed we were paying for.

Throughout this project, we dealt with work we did not authorize, changes made before we were given an opportunity to approve them, change orders presented after work had already been performed, incomplete work, repeated requests for additional money, poor communication, and serious concerns discovered afterward.

One example: we came home one day to discover that a load-bearing wall had been removed. My husband had specifically said beforehand that if the wall was structural, we did NOT want to remove it. That decision was made without our approval, and we ultimately had to absorb costs associated with it.

Another example: we had already selected the cabinets we wanted and provided the information. Instead, we walked in one day and discovered custom cabinets being built. When we questioned it, we were essentially told that the cabinets we chose looked “cheap” and that we wanted custom cabinets instead.

No — we didn’t.

Whether something looks good afterward isn’t the point. A homeowner should have the right to decide what is being done inside their own home and what they are agreeing to pay for.

And then there was the ceiling.

We wanted tray ceilings. Instead, we came home to a massive opening into the attic because the ceiling had been raised — another change we had not requested. Between the exposed areas of the house and construction access, we ended up dealing with a rat infestation, including rats nesting above areas where our family slept. We had to hire pest control, and eventually the odor became so severe that our entire family stayed with friends.

Again, did the raised ceiling ultimately change the look of the room? Yes.

But that was never the point. We didn’t authorize it.

Needless to say, they were gaslighting us and asking for more money more money but original projects from original contractors and 1st change orders were not even completed, getting the run around of our flooring , stone for arch and fireplace and our backsplash were all on back order …. apparently still sitting in the ocean on a vessel 🚢 (rolling my eyes ) they never ordered it. 🙄 my husband tried numerous times to work with them, even gave him a 15k in good faith to just start the job. Instead he took the money and avoided , giving us the run around excuses . We only had 30k owed to finish the job but they wanted more money 💰 but excuses were being made, so my husband decided to fire them.

The most concerning part, however, was what we later learned about the electrical and attic work.

We hired a licensed electrician, MK Electric in Montgomery, Texas, to inspect and correct problems. After seeing the attic, we were told it was among the worst electrical conditions he had encountered in approximately 35 years of working in attics.

We discovered issues that left us genuinely concerned for our family’s safety, including electrical/fire-hazard concerns and the fact that required smoke/fire alarms had not been installed as expected.

We have also dealt with cracked flooring, HVAC issues, missing insulation in areas, leaks coming through ceiling fixtures, vents coming loose and leaking, unfinished work, and other problems we are now having professionals evaluate and correct.

There were no clear material-cost breakdowns provided to us. We were not given proper drawings or plans. We repeatedly requested documentation and copies of agreements. Communication was inconsistent, schedules constantly changed, portions of the house would be torn apart and then left while work shifted somewhere else, and we often had no idea what would happen next.

At one point we went approximately three months without a functioning kitchen sink or washing machine setup.

Renovations are inconvenient — we understood that going in. Delays happen. Materials get held up. Unexpected problems come up.

But homeowners deserve communication, transparency, authorization before major changes, and above all, safe workmanship.

We paid substantial amounts throughout this project and made payments as requested. Yet we continued receiving demands for more money while portions of the original work remained incomplete.

That experience taught us a very expensive lesson:

Integrity isn’t proven by what you say on a website. It’s proven by what you do when someone places their home, their money, and their family’s safety in your hands.

And when integrity is compromised, eventually the truth speaks louder than the excuses.

There have been tears, anger, stress, financial loss, and more “WHAT IN THE WORLD?!” moments than I can count. 😂

But this has also tested us, strengthened us, and taught us exactly what we will and will not accept moving forward.

So we’re closing that chapter.

We have found a solid, honest, hardworking contractor who is willing to go back through the work, correct what needs correcting, and redo our kitchen the way WE originally wanted it. 🙌🏼🏡

Sometimes the biggest life lessons come with a very expensive price tag.

But we’re moving forward.

Redo it. Do it right. And never compromise integrity. 🤍🔨

And one positive shoutout absolutely deserved: MK Electric in Montgomery, TX. Honest, hardworking, knowledgeable, and now officially our forever electrician. 👏🏼