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Aslan Construction

4915 Lackawanna St
College Park, MD 20740 301-905-7657

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Consumer Ratings for Aslan Construction — 1 Ratings

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Consumer Comments for Aslan Construction

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Consumer from HYATTSVILLE, MD
Feb 22, 2015
Not Recommended
We met with the owner, Doan Toparlak, in March to discuss a fairly extensive renovation to our 1926 bungalow. We needed the following work done: install additional structural support in the basement, remove the old roof, remodel the attic/second floor into a dormer master suite with full bath and walk-in closet, install central air conditioning throughout the house, and add on a new roof. He assured us that he could do the work for less than $100,000 (above that, it would have made more financial sense to purchase another, larger house), so we committed to using him and the architect that he recommended. He was working on another project that he expected to wrap up in late May or early June, and he said he would start our project next. Late June, he said that his last project was delayed by a tree falling on the home. In addition to redoing his work, he needed to build a new second story for that house. He said that he would start on our project in August. In August, he said September. He finally completed the first step, applying for a permit, at the beginning of October. Our county permit office is notoriously slow, so he warned us it would be another six weeks. Toparlak asked us whether we wanted to start work as soon as the permit was ready, or whether we wanted to wait until spring to start construction. By October, we'd already been waiting six months for Toparlak, so we said we would like him to start in December. He said okay, but that he would be away during part of the month. He also said that his crew could work in his absence. In late October, the county requested revisions to the permit application, which we heard about from the architect. The architect submitted revised drawings etc. in early November. The architect told us at that time that Toparlak had put us on his work schedule for March or April 2015. This was completely opposite what we told him we wanted. When confronted by us, Toparlak claimed, variously, that he didn't know we wanted to start work as soon as the permit was issued or that he never told the architect that he had scheduled our project for the spring. In addition, the architect also told us that Toparlak was using someone else to interact with the permit office on our project, leaving him free to work on other projects (contrary to his assurances that we were his next project). Given that we had to sign and notarize a form authorizing Toparlak to act as our agent at the permit office, we were not pleased that Toparlak brought in someone else without telling us. Wedidn't know the permit agent's fees or our liability. We wasted nearly a year of our lives waiting for Toparlak. Needless to say, it wasn't worth the time or the aggravation. By the time he "gave us permission" to talk to other contractors, it was mid to late November. No other contractor wanted to start work in December, either, and since they hadn't promised to, I didn't blame them. We ended up buying another house. Toparlak mailed us the county permit on the 30th of December 2014, ending a saga that began in March, with very little to show for it. The best part of working with Toparlak was his recommendation for the architect (who wasn't even Toparlak's first choice).

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