This is my story of the complete shit show that is Solid Rock Builders, LLC. – Principal owner Vinny Russo

I’m a homeowner who was looking to have my mother live with me. As she gets older I want to make sure she is with family, not a nursing home. My wife and I decided to have an addition built. Finding a contractor was a very difficult process during covid, but we eventually hired Vinny Russo, and his company Solid Rock Builders, LLC. This is my account and experience.

I met Vinny Russo, the proprietor of Solid Rock Builds, LLC., in spring 2022. My initial impressions of Mr. Russo was that he was friendly, and forthcoming. He visited our home several times during the initial bidding process. Amidst the challenges of Covid, finding a reliable contractor was tough, and Vinny stood out because of his commitment during this period. While not the most budget-friendly, he appeared kind hearted and honest. He really sold us on his experience and his understanding of what we were trying to accomplish.

We broke ground in November of 2022. From the onset there were a series of mishaps. Within a week, trouble started brewing. He cut through our sewer line, causing the contents of every toilet flush to empty into our backyard. Shockingly, he failed to inform me and his crew tried to cover it up, by placing a rock in the pipe 🤯🤯🤯. When I raised concerns, Vinny dismissed it as inconsequential. Although fixed three days later, enduring days of sewage leakage was unsanitary. Since this was fairly early into our job, and wanting to preserve a good relationship, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I commended his promptness on repairing the issue.
The issues continued after that. During the coldest week of of December where we experience several days of minus temperatures, Vinny decided to removed insulation under the upstairs bathrooms soffit, causing our pipes to freeze—fortunately, they didn’t burst but took two days to thaw.

Another blunder occurred when he punctured the vapor barrier on the day of the concrete pour, contrary to the architect’s specifications. Despite being alerted, he proceeded, leading to an inadequate job. His makeshift concrete spreading apparatus resulted in uneven surfaces, creating discrepancies of up to 2 inches between rooms and a completely uneven, unlevel surface.

Despite witnessing numerous errors, I foolishly extended the project to include windows and siding replacement. What I didn’t expect was how poorly Vinny’s execution was. The incompetence continued: improper installation of house wrap, flashing of windows, disregard for waterproofing measures, such as a sill pan. When I confronted Vinny regarding the lack of a rubberized flashing membrane around the windows, he said it was not needed, I had house wrap. WHAT??? Did I hear him right. He then went on to ask me if I wanted him to build for leaks. WHAT??? I really thought I was losing my mind. He was trying to explain to me that he doesn’t need to use flashing because he’s doing such a great job, it will never leak. OMG, this fucking guy. I just ended the conversation for the day and laid down in order to digest what the clown tried to explain to me. Eventually, I called Andersen and ask them plain and simply. If flashing is not used, is your product still covered under warranty. Their answers was no, no we will not cover your windows if proper installation techniques were not used, which includes, but not limited to the use of rubberized sill plate and flashing. That means about 25% of our windows are not covered. I didn’t have the luxury of time, or else I would have demanded the windows to be removed. But honestly, at this point I didn’t trust that he would not do more damage than good.

Other subcontractors echoed my concerns regarding the botched concrete work. The issue finally came to a head when Mr. Russo began installing the Vinyl flooring. The moment I walked on the newly laid floor I was immediately alarmed. One moment it was solid, the next you felt like you were stepping off a cliff. I mentioned to Vinny, how it didn’t feel right and that some sections were downright awful. He said he would address the really bad sections. The hackery continued for another day, before I had enough. I told Vinny he would need to take up the entire flooring and fix the issue. No more, patch a little here, patch a little there. I explained to him that I wanted the entire floor leveled. He then had the audacity, with a condescending tone to tell me level and flat are two different things. No shit, but honestly I don’t think he knew what either of those things were. To try to smooth things over I offered to chip in for self-leveler. I really didn’t think he was going to accept the offer, but I’m a fool as you can tell. The man took my cash and did a shit job. Even after using self-leveler there were noticeable undulations in the floor as you walked through the space. Because Vinny was incapable of methodically applying self-leveler he was never going to get it right. I had to accept adequate, and move on.

The framing phase dragged on. I discovered very early that the “crew” was Vinny and his associate Jimmy. His claim of having a crew was false—they typically worked short hours, till around 1:30 PM. The project dragged on for 3 months over what would be considered ample time. It’s a one-story, 650 sq ft addition, with a 125 sq ft rectangular mudroom. Simple stuff. The most complicated part was the fiberglass deck, which, thankfully, was outsourced. Vinny completely wasted time on this project. If he had put in full workdays—maybe even worked until 3 or, heaven forbid, 5 PM—he could have finished by April or May. Instead, the whole mess dragged on until I finally stopped calling him in late September. I’d had enough. I couldn’t keep letting him “fix” things just to end up redoing them myself.

The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was when I realized the hack had damaged the baseboard copper pipe. The baseboard used to run the span of the family room rear wall. We removed the window to open up the room to what is now the mudroom. The remnant of the baseboard heater was split in half, with a 3 foot run on each side of the opening. For months we noticed a moldy smell, but just assumed it was from the standing water when the baseboard was cut. I should have realized something was wrong, because it was the middle of summer. The water should have evaporated fairly quickly. Since the hack was on the job for almost a year, it was beginning to get cold in the mornings and at night. We turned on the heat. Luckily, I was working in the family room, completing work that Vinny was already paid to do when I noticed the carpet was soaking. Ugh, the baseboard heater pipe was cracked. That moldy smell back in the summer was caused by a leak in the pipe. When I called Vinny to have it repaired, he said he would have a plumber come out and look at it in a few days. After several cold days, the plumber finally made it over. He said he didn’t have the tools to repair the leak, big surprise there. Vinny said he’d excavate the foundation, so the plumber could get access to the copper line. When he came on site he had the nerve to suggest the leak was there for many years. I almost lost my F’ing mind. I asked him, does this shit work on old ladies. No, the leak has not been there for years. Under the carpet is linoleum tiles, and if there was a leak they would all have popped off. He seemed to realize that I was not in the mood for his bullshit. After excavating the foundation, he said the plumber would stop by in a day. After 2 days and no plumber, I said fuck it and fixed it myself. This is the story of this entire project. I had to either, fix his work or complete his work. Such terrible craftsmanship. I really can’t understate that.

His irregular payment schedule was also frustrating. While we paid for the contracted work, Vinny failed to acquire all necessary materials, forcing us to spend more money, and our own time to complete the job. His subpar performance and the accumulation of issues suggest previous positive reviews might be biased, likely from acquaintances.
Overall, Vinny Russo proved to be an inept contractor. The thing that bothers me the most is the lost time fixing his mistakes. Time I’ll never get back.

You may ask why someone would invest the time to create a review site. Well it’s not because I think Mr. Russo set out with the intent to defraud. I think he might honestly think he’s a good contractor. I thought about it long and hard and at the end of the day, I want to at least inform others that he’s a hack. He’ll cut corners, the wrong ones, and at the end of the day you’ll be left to pick up the pieces. I encourage you to read my posts and form your own opinion. Did I expect too much? I don’t think so. I wanted it done right, and that’s far from what was delivered. It may take me awhile to completely document the shit show. The pictures alone speak for themselves.

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