DO NOT EMPLOY BENCO CUSTOM BUILDERS OR AJ LALL.

The following are undisputable facts captured as written statements or during recorded conversations (yes, it came to that). Be wary of any response Benco Builders or AJ Lall provides to this review that appears to offer a reasonable explanation or counter opinion- he lies for a living.

Pure and simple, this builder is an amateur. He will cite years of building experience, however the bulk of this “experience” was acquired by selling windows at a home improvement store. His amateur status became apparent to us once we were forced to employ a real home builder to hold his hand and supervise his work. Our lives painfully played out like an episode of Spike TV’s “Catch a Contractor”. My wife and I are not builders so we initially believed his incorrect explanations (lies) and stories when we first began discovering problems. Mistake after mistake, yet none of them were ever his fault. There was always someone/ something else to blame. At one point we even had to hire a structural engineer to produce a formal report for him to finally fix the massive crack present in our newly poured concrete patio that he repeatedly claimed was “within acceptable limits”.

He bids low because he leaves out-of-pocket items out or grossly miscalculates/underestimates what things will actually will cost. We paid over $25,000 more than he “expected” for the foundation excavation alone. He can also bid low by hiring non-English speaking subcontractors who no one has ever heard of and that cut corners on materials. We found out after the fact that his roofer didn’t even use roofing felt on our roof!

Every area home supply company representative (lighting, plumbing fixtures, door hardware, etc.) we dealt with either rolled their eyes, muttered something negative about him or flat out stated that they would not work directly with him. We wish we had asked around with such industry folks before we hired him! We recommend you do if you don’t believe us.

My favorite moment occurred when we brought in the experienced builder as a silent observer (unbeknownst to Benco) and we requested that Benco again explain to us why our basement ceiling was 6 inches lower than it was supposed to be (an error we caught, not him). The legitimate builder quickly picked apart his story (lies) such that AJ Lall turned to us with his tail was between his legs and said “what do you want me to do?” Finally his lies were being uncovered!

I could write a novel regarding this experience, In summary, if you want to be cheated and be left with ice cold drafty doors, mismatched stucco, cracks in concrete, squeaky floors, salvaged items charged to you as “new”, sloppy painting, a leaky roof, complete lack of insulation in key walls, air ducts full of construction debris, mold in your basement and kitchen because of standing water, raccoons damaging your home because of persistently incomplete soffit work, etc., etc. then by all means hire Benco Builders and AJ Lall.

After researching (and finding nothing negative) Benco's reviews we chose to build our home with him. We learned quickly that this was a mistake. The lack of attention to detail, communication and overall poor management of the build lead to costly permanent mistakes. We would strongly recommend AGAINST hiring Benco to anyone for their building projects.