Home Builder reviews in Columbia, Maryland

Set up an appointment for an estimate, Brian didn't show and said, "Sorry, I was on a roof and lost track of time." I can understand things happen, so we rescheduled again for the following Sunday. Didn't show again. Sorry, but if you can't even show up for an estimate twice in a row, I have a hard time trusting you with running my home renovation project.

If I could give zero stars I would. Contacted them for a roof estimate because of my aging roof. A person named Roger came out. Claimed to be the owner. Not exactly professional with shorts, a tshirt and a giant beard and quoted me a price that was ridiculously expensive. When I said "no" he got extremely rude. Would NEVER use this company based on the way he acted.

I love my new master suite. Starcom listened to my needs, budget and time restraints. It is rare to find a contractor who is so reliable. 10/10 for Starcom Design Build!

Starcom Design Build built our 12,000 square foot repair center over 20 years ago & recently after a car hit our building Bob's crew came right out erected temporary walls & did a great job repairing the building. Highly Recommend Starcom Design Build

no refund after disturbing asbestos tiles without approval. paid over 10k. they never ordered flooring we paid for flooring. flooring company emailed us AFTER starcom had been paid deposits and 1400 for flooring upgrade and started work that they would not be ordering flooring for a quite some time. left debris around, project managers woudlnt reply to us. after we told them to stop work, they showed up to pressure us at our house. very scary indeed.,

They stole our money. We met with Bob, then saved for two years for the investment. We contacted Bob again and gave him the down payment to start the plans. Bob was on vacation and scheduled Jerry to meet with us. Jerry forgot, or so it seemed, and I’m pretty sure he created the — what he called plans— minutes before we arrived. They were not plans at all, but more like something from a free online construction app. No dimensions nothing to scale, rooms with no entry ways and roof lines that connected to impossible exterior wall representations. Crazy impossible angles. (Hey Bob— did you eve even review Jerry’s work?). When I tried to contact Bob and Jerry in follow up Jerry told me that any additional drawings or correspondence and work would be billed at an hourly rate. Our $2000.00 bought us nothing of use, only fear that any further correspondence would result in a bill and / or a law suit. So disappointed — and was astounded at the lack of conscience in ripping us off so badly. One star is too much. Should be STAR-CON.

Months ago, my boyfriend and I went on the hunt to find the perfect company to remodel our 30 year old kitchen. Upon searching through countless reviews and sites, we thought we had finally found the perfect one, StarCom, but we were sadly mistaken.

Our first interaction with our salesman, Mike, seemed ideal as he really knew his stuff! We discussed adding cabinets, countertops and finding the perfect spot for our kegerator (as we love to entertain!). They led us to believe that they could give us the best price & service for everything that we wanted with a smile and friendly demeanor. Later, we found out they only fed us what we wanted to hear.

Weeks went by after we signed the contract with Mike, took out a loan before any communication. We were then contacted by the project manager, Don, during the weekend and were told that they were be starting demolition that Monday. With such little notice, this forced us to have to move our whole kitchen into our living room and making our main floor basically unlivable. When asking about the delay in contact, they informed us that the salesman was no longer with the company.

Demolition was completed very quickly. I work nights, so I am home during the day when they were working on the kitchen. There were 2 men, Donny and I didn’t get the younger ones name! I made small talk with them in passing but was stuck keeping the dogs upstairs as our bottom floor was now in disarray. After about a week of having the same 2 men working on my house of whom I’ve become comfortable with, I started receiving inappropriate Facebook messages from Donny. This now made me very uncomfortable with allowing them back in my house while home alone. I forwarded these messages to the project manager, Don, who immediately contacted Donny’s boss, Travis. I received numerous apologies from of them and was informed that Donny was fired the previous day for “drinking on the job.”

After that fiasco, we then came to the next hurdle…our original plans were “not on their blueprints” and “not possible”, so our kegerator will no longer have a home in our kitchen as planned. We were sold on this project as they promised that all of our requests were going to be met, this being the biggest. Trying to just get this project done to get back on with our lives, we requested cabinets where the blank space in the plans are…their response was $500 more dollars.

This was the last straw and I reached out to the owner Bob to express my disappointments and frustrations with the project. I left a voicemail with his secretary to please call me. Bob however, “didn’t have the time in his schedule to speak with us.” Don, the project manager, did the right thing and ordered us the cabinets free of charge after this happened.

We have been debating on pulling the plug on this renovation since the first week of demolition and the only reason we did not was because of the amazing attention Don gave to us. He was professional, understanding and most of all attentive and could be reached by phone or text any time. Other than Don, I do not recommend StarCom to anyone looking remodeling!

Wow! I am so glad I chose to work with Starcom for my master bedroom and bath renovation. I have had some bad experiences with contractors being pushy in the past but this was completely different. I felt as if my wants were being listened to and the designer saw my vision. I wish I would have found them sooner! Thanks Starcom!

The company accepted a job that was considered to small to send anyone out---Starcom sent Joe & son out on a Saturday morning. They did a great job----on time,Professional. Quality of work excellent & a good value to boot! Would definitely use Starcom for any job !

We contracted with Starcom on April 28, 2016 to build a front portico with stone porch and stone sidewalk for $29,000. A deposit of $9500 was paid. Starcom decided to opt out of the contract, and has not returned our $9500 deposit.
Most surprising is the “OPT OUT PROVISION” of the contract we signed (on page 4). “Either Starcom or the Owner can opt out of the Contract at any time, upon written notice, at which time Starcom will invoice the Owner for final payment of all amounts due and owing for labor performed and materials then delivered, bought or allocated and/or any obligation incurred by Starcom in the normal execution of the Contract, including a portion of project profit and overhead costs.”
In other words Starcom can decide for any reason to avoid starting any construction, then charge us an amount they determine. In our case, the evidence shows that they decided that they underestimated their contract quote, and asked for an additional $4600 from us. We refused to pay more since we made no changes whatsoever to the contract details and didn’t believe we should pay for Starcom’s mistake. So we now have no portico/sidewalk and lost $9500. Here are some details:
We became increasingly concerned as work on the project still had not started. Three times over the course of 2 months we were sent incorrect drawings for the contracted project; the stone mason and project manager Derek had a version of the drawings we had never seen, including a smaller sidewalk, no demo of existing sidewalk and shallower footing than originally contracted. These “mistakes” were apparently an attempt to reduce Starcom’s cost. Nevertheless, with each drawing mistake and delay, the Starcom salesman, Scott apologized, took ownership, and assured us “It’s a matter of trust” that he would resolve the problems and deliver the portico and stone sidewalk as we had originally contracted. Although we really wanted to get the project completed, we had offered to Scott that we would consider releasing Starcom’s contractual obligations if they would refund our $9500 deposit (if Starcom didn’t wanted to perform the work for any reason). However, Scott assured us that Starcom wanted to complete the contract.
After a discussion about the faulty drawings, Derek and Scott both called us the next day to apologize for the actions of the owner (Bob), and warn us that Bob wanted to opt out of the contract. A few days later, the fourth set of corrected drawings were sent to us by Bob. The new drawings were sufficiently correct (included original contract details, nothing more). We immediately responded with our approval of the drawings and we were looking forward to starting work. Less than 24 hours later we received an email from the owner stating that they were “opting out” of the contract. Moreover, since we had approved the drawings, he would be keeping $2900 of our $9500 deposit if we agreed to release Starcom from its contractual obligations. We refused and suggested that Starcom had the reasonable options to either complete the contract work, or return our $9500 deposit.
In retrospect it seemed like a continuing deception to charge us more for the original contract work, and/or reduce Starcom’s cost by reducing the masonry work with modified faulty drawings, and delaying the project. However, sending us corrected drawings after we were told that owner Bob decided to opt out of the contract, and luring us into approving those drawings with a false implication to start work on the project, was deceptive since Starcom was not providing these services in good faith.

Update: August 16, 2018
As you can see by the response from this company, 2 years later and they are still spinning the truth and making excuses! Read on, there are more than enough negative reviews to show they are a seriously poorly operated company not to be trusted.

There are not enough stars to rate this company on the level they deserve. Amazing project managers and owner who truly care about your project. Very attentive to detail, and willing to go the extra mile on every job. Look no further when in need of any kind of project.

Starcom Design/Build is a well established company in Howard County, known for their amazing work. Their team has a high level of professionalism. I would definitely recommend this company to all family and friends!

I have read every review on google and BBB and here is my assessment of Starcom. Thus far, there were several (not many) regarding higher pricing, late calls, missed appointments, telemarketing, and so on. Let's be truth to ourselves. If we can save a lot of money, we do it ourselves, right? Because our lives are busy and lack professional know how, we hire the expertise. I am a former architect/business owner and I have worked in construction throughout my younger days and I had to get out because of several factors: my body and the profitability. Regarding my body is no brainer; however, profitability was the main issue. In construction, overhead is huge and we must take that into consideration! I will elaborate on that later.

Starcom worked on our commercial building and did a wonderful job. Yes, being from the construction field, I saw some things I could have done better...but that was me. Overall, I was extremely satisfied. Due to personal circumstances and NOT money either, I had to prolong a 2 month job into a year. Starcom was very accommodating. If I had dealt with another company, they might have taken my deposit and ran off with it. I remember a construction company who under balled us to do the roof and cost~ed us $25,000 more. See~ the nature of construction business is volatile. Therefore, know who you are dealing with & how long they have been in business. If a telemarketer calls, just kindly call Starcom about the unwanted calls. If calls were not made or forgotten, give a little understanding. Yes~ it's upsetting but try to work it out. The thoughtfulness will come back 10 folds. It certainly did with me.

In regards to price quotation, I found Starcom on the medium to medium/high range. They weren't the cheapest and I expected so because of their reputation. They were once ranked nationally in the remodeling sector. Throughout the project, there were several unexpected price adjustments and increases but that is the nature of beast. Prior to a job, you are quoted for what you want done and can see. Contractor cannot quote you for finding asbestos during a project and have the contractor eat the costs. Therefore, word of caution, give yourself about 15%-20% wiggle room for unwanted and/or unexpected expenses. Be a wise consumer and be upfront with the contractor. Tell them you cannot exceed a certain defined budget.

Now~ as promised, this is where i like to discuss profitability. See~ construction business is a complicated animal and it is very difficult to make it work. That is why construction companies close so many doors and it is the #1 ranked business in the nation to defraud consumers. Do your homework. Florida leads the pack from what I have last researched.

As you might have heard and might of noticed in some of the reviews, there are those who knows the price of everything but knows the value of nothing. Today's labor cost is extremely high. Say~ You have an employee, who you pay, $25/hr, and the employer has to match his Federal Tax, not to mention State, workman’s compensation, Business/Liability insurance, health insurance, property tax, depreciation, and so on... You have very little left at the end of the day. Use common sense about how a contractor charges you. Always remember not to get too crazy about what you can gain for what you might lose. Finding a good contractor is about finding the right balance. Contractors want to make you happy.

In closing, I like to make this remark. Starcom did the work that was expected and did a great job. The cost of the project was perfectly aligned with the scope of the work. I even asked for some extras that were not in the contract and they did it, though I did ask politely and nicely. All in all, I slept peacefully at night knowing I was getting what I asked for. I hope this review helped those who are considering Starcom. Have a wonderful day!

A year ago, we finished construction on a second floor to our 1000 sq. ft. house in Takoma Park. I spoke to two other design/build firms, who told me it couldn't be done for less than $350,000. Starcom got it done for under $200,000, which was all we could possibly afford. Given that limitation, we are constantly surprised by how luxurious our second floor feels. Even with the modest building materials we could afford, our upstairs is incredibly beautiful, and oh so functional. Jerry Harman designed the space so well. It is clever and lovely and has SO MANY CLOSETS! It really has changed our lives. To be sure, we had some frustrations at the very end of the process, where it seemed like it was taking a long time to wrap up the end of the punch list. But from what I have heard this is normal in any construction project. And, since then, as a few issues have popped up, Starcom has stood by its work and come in without hesitation or question when something needed to be fixed. They're good people and they do good work.

Starcom Design Build addressed a unique shop ventilation problem with two alternative solutions that were more appropriate and less expensive than what I had initially requested. Their installation followed through with a custom tailored fit that was excellent. I recommend them as a "first contact" when looking for solutions.

Starcom Design Build did an outstanding job with our master bathroom remodel. They maximized the layout and included so much storage space. It is so beautiful I wish we would have remodeled sooner. I look forward to the next time I work with Starcom.

Starcom is an incredible, family operated business that has helped us with our new build. Carly is very talented and has a great eye for design. You will not be disappointed by selecting this company for your next project!

We reached out to Starcom when we were considering adding a second story to our house. Bill Miner and his project partner took a lot of time to carefully look at our house and explain the challenges associated with such a project. We opted to stick with a single level, and had them replace our roof instead. Even on that comparatively small and inexpensive project, Bill spent a lot of time discussing shingle options with us. Most importantly, his team redesigned elements of the roof to divert water away from trouble spots -- solving our persistent leak. We will definitely consider Starcom for future home projects.

Starcom did a great job with a complex set of renovations which included wall treatments, flooring, stair and railings, closets , doors, painting, etc. This was our third project with Starcom. Each one has been done with great skill and attention to detail and respect for the needs of the client.

We had a handicap accessible addition completed by Starcom in 2023. We are very happy with the work. It's really stressful to go through construction and there is always some issue that comes up. Starcom handled issues as they appeared professionally.

Starcom remodeled a half bath into a full bath in our guest room. We had consulted with many contractors, and starcom was the only one that truly responded to our needs, developed a design as per our requirements and did a good quality work. We enjoy the space very much with the comfort of a full bath. The process of inspections and permits prolonged the project by a few weeks, but all's well that ends well. Thank you for your good design and for listening to the customer's design requirements.