Sometimes making the wrong choice brings the right one into clearer view…read more It's with this mindset that we post this review for Chris Marshall, the choice we should have made that we didn't. We had just experience plumbing-related, water damage to our home. Our floors were removed and the tile exposed now was breaking up and being tested for asbestos. Though we were a ways away from the reconstruction phase still, we started researching contractors/contracting companies. We found Chris, who looked wonderful "on paper" and gave him a call. It's been roughly six months now since I made that call, so I'm not sure if he answered right then or called back, but I ended up talking to him the same day. It was late in the work day, so when he offered to come by to just talk to us and check out the damage, we were really surprised--and thought there wasn't any way that would really happen. At about 6 p.m., he called and said he would, in fact, come out that evening, if it was okay. We agreed, and he did. He was professional, very easy to talk to, patient, and seemed willing to work with us. In the days and weeks that followed, he quickly responded to all our calls and messages; made a couple more house calls; referred another industry service provider (another mistake we made: not going with his recommendation); provided impeccable documentation for his licensing, insurance, experience; invited us to check out his work personally by visiting a home he'd just built; went back and forth with us about estimates, and adjustments to those estimates, and scheduling. While his quote ended up being higher than we could afford, in retrospect, it wasn't unreasonable. At the time though, we couldn't get our insurance to play ball and didn't feel confident we could absorb the difference between the settlement and Chris' quote. During this time, my husband considered a contractor whose family attends the congregation we also attended. The family had fallen on hard times recently, and his thought was, "We're going to give the job to someone; why not bless a family within the congregation?" I was strongly against this as 1) I worried about the possible pitfalls of doing business with someone too familiar, and 2) I was already settled on Chris. He'd already gone over and beyond as far as I was concerned. Despite these concerns and reservations, I appreciated my husband's heart and decided to support and trust his decision. Regrettably, it turns out I was right. (This is a conclusion he reached on his own as he saw corners being cut, expressed concerns disregarded, and diverse workmanship issues.) That arrangement went horribly, and, in the end, we had to fire this contractor before our home was even far enough along to move back in. Thankfully, family and friends came to our aid and helped us finish up well enough to get us back in our home, refusing to take any money from us at all. Our home insurance co. assigned a post-reconstruction clean-up and restoration service to clean the place up--work that cost thousands of dollars (to give you an idea of the state this contractor left our house). We are thankful to be back home but, here and there, still notice the evidence of poor workmanship and work ethic (taking advantage of our absence from the home during most of the remodeling), which at this point is still more confounding and hurtful than anything else given the somewhat personal connection. We should have gone with Chris, who had proven himself well before he even had the job. And YOU--whoever you are, reading this--provided you are comfortable with him and his quote is budget friendly, should go with Chris. We cannot recommend him based on work performed/service rendered--he doesn't need us for that: his work and reputation appear to precede him, but we can and do highly recommend him based on his character, professionalism, and well-documented experience. The "world of contractors" is an all-day, all-out dirty, murky trap; there aren't enough Chris Marshalls out there. Choose wisely.

Chris Marshall was a godsend. He renovated my house after two incidents of water damage two months…read moreapart, with asbestos being found, causing me to have to live in a hotel for one year and two days. My first flood was caused by a pipe bursting in four spots in the attic causing flooding of the three bedrooms, two bathrooms, family room, living room, dining room and kitchen, essentially that whole side of my house except for the foyer. Those rooms had to be demolished down to the studs, which meant taking out the ceilings, walls, much of the plumbing, electric in the walls, light fixtures, kitchen cabinets and floors down to the concrete slab. Then asbestos was found which caused the demolition to be put on hold until the asbestos was removed. Two months into this, the other side of my home, the studio above the garage, the garage and my master bathroom below the studio flooded because a pipe burst under the studio sink. To say that second water damage was unbelievable and further depressed me is an understatement. I had to move to a hotel as the demolition took a frustrating six months and the demolition company still did not remove all of the water damaged areas. After two months of working with contractor #1 and then #2, I was totally upset at how slowly things were progressing. Each failed to get their renovation bids approved by the insurance company which threatened to stop paying for my hotel if renovations didn't start soon. What does this have to do with Chris Marshall? Absolutely nothing except that by this time I was so stressed out and skeptical of contractors that when I ran across the GOOD reviews about Chris Marshall and North Star Companies, I did not believe them. In hindsight, when I called and Chris said that he could meet with me that next day, I'm sure that my skepticism was obvious. He surveyed my disaster zone with a friendly and confident professionalism and reassured me that my house could be renovated back to a home better than it was before. His experience with building new homes, renovating general as well as water and fire damaged homes and working with the insurance companies was invaluable. He tirelessly supported me as I worked through the resistance and red tape of the insurance company, no easy feat, to get the rest of my house demolition approved and all of my renovations reimbursed. Chris, his crew, which are like family to him, and his subcontractors were friendly, efficient and professional, treating my house like it was their own. Chris saw more than my vision for just restoring my house and made suggestions for changes in design, repairs and improvements in functionality that I hadn't thought off. I never had to hunt Chris down; he always returned my calls and texts when I had questions. Chris is detail oriented and was diligent in keeping me informed of any unexpected issues and what stage the construction was in. They performed quality craftsmanship and Chris's integrity gave me new trust in contractors. Chris said that his job was to complete the work to my satisfaction. He exceeded my expectations so much that by the time he finished making my house a home again, I asked him to work into his busy schedule renovations to upgrade my rental house. Family and friends have visited and remarked at how wonderfully improved my new house looks and functions. I told them that they could have Chris's contact info only after he finished working with me. But I've complemented him so many times that they know his website (my house pics are under "water damage Fort Washington"). I was so fortunate to have found Chris Marshall; I have no reservations and only accolades for his level of professionalism and expertise.