By The Hour
About us
Owner operated.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Plumbing, drywall & finish carpentry, electrical, interior & exterior painting, tiling
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
77% | ||
6% | ||
7% | ||
3% | ||
6% |
I had a kit for a large garden shed. My brothers offered to help when they came to visit. We started moving dirt and put some of the base together to help with leveling the ground, but we realized that leveling the ground without a tractor was a big job so I decided to hire Jim and let him do the whole thing. He is a neighbor and he told me when we first met that he does all kinds of jobs. He offered to build the shed, had a tractor to level the ground, etc. I gave him the make and model of the shed asked him for a quote to do the entire job (NOT by the hour - the entire job). The manual and other information about the shed is available on the company web site. His quote was just a bit higher than another quote I got, but I decided to give him the job since he was a neighbor. Before he started I gave him the instruction manual that came with the shed. I arranged to meet him on the day he was supposed to start to take the shed out of my garage. Other than that day I generally left for work before he arrived and came home after he had left for the day so I had to check on things at night then call him if I had a concern.
1. After the first day I saw his truck had put what looked like grease tire tracks on my driveway (I had put in a nice driveway made of pavers). He told me no problem, he would clean it when he was done. He continued to park on the driveway.
2. I had 2 piles of dirt that he used to make the level area. He took dirt but left the area with the "dig marks". It would have been very little work to simply level it. A relatively minor point, but by the time he was done I realized it was one more indication of a lack of professionalism.
3. He quoted a price plus the cost of the wood for the floor. He told me how much wood he would need and how much it would cost. After he started the floor he told me he needed more wood so I had to buy more. This made his price even more than the other quote I received (which included the floor supplies). I had to pay for the wood immediately, and I did.
4. Before the floor was finished I noticed that one of the pieces of wood did not go to the edge and barely overlapped with the lip of the floor support. I called him and told him about it, giving the exact location of the piece. He immediately said he had already fixed it. After I hung up I thought he had answered too quickly and I called him back to be sure that he knew the side I was concerned about. Again he said he understood and had already taken care of it. When I got home the floor was complete and the problem had not been fixed. Clearly he had not listened to me - twice. I called him the next day and he said he thought I meant the other side (it was obvious that the other side had not been finished yet so I would not have commented on it). He then assured me that he had put extra support underneath the floor and there would be no problem. Again, I gave him the benefit of the doubt - trying to be nice to a neighbor.
5. There were 2 sets of hold-down spikes and wire. He told me he did not put one in because he did not want to chance hitting a pipe running to the house. I said OK (he did not say he would do it after the pipe was marked, just why he did not do it). The other hold down was not done correctly. The instructions (including a picture) clearly showed it turned all the way down. He turned it halfway. I decided it was not worth trying to get him to do the other hold down after I checked on the pipe location since he clearly had not done the other one correctly
6. There seemed to be a lot of extra screws and nuts. I realize some kits have extra, but I found at least 1 that was not put in the roof. I have no way of checking the floor support to see if all screws were put in. Again - if this was the only thing it would not be worthy of a poor review.
5. He did not finish the work when he said he would - it took a few days longer. I did not hassle him at all, as I was not in a rush. When he was finished (on a Friday) he left an invoice that included an extra hour of charges. He had not mentioned it when he told me the work was done and the invoice was left in the shed. I got home too late to pay that night and I e-mailed him to inform him I was getting home too late to pay that night. Although he told me he did not work on weekends he wanted to come get the check on Saturday. He told me the extra charge (above our agreed upon price) was because the job had taken much longer than he expected, he had to pay his helper, etc. I refused to pay the extra since we had made a deal for his originally quoted price. I also reminded him that he had not cleaned the driveway as he said he would - but he promised he would do so. I amended the invoice to the original agreed upon price, wrote that he agreed to clean the driveway and had him sign it. I then paid him in full as he requested (a mistake). Again, trusting that a neighbor would be true to his word.
Unfortunately he has not been true to his word - he was dishonest when he agreed to clean the mess he made on the driveway. It has been very frustrating trying to get him to complete the agreed upon job ( leaving my driveway as he found it)
I repeatedly e-mailed him (no response) and called leaving messages asking when he would clean the driveway. The only way he answered the phone was if I called from a number he did not recognize (like a friend's cell phone). He kept saying he was busy, he would do it, etc. At one point he even said he had washed it and perhaps he could not see the dirt when the pavers were wet. The dirt is quite obvious when the pavers are wet, and there was never an indication that the driveway had even been hosed down. He was either lying, or was incapable or unwilling to notice that whatever he did was completely ineffectual. When I told him the driveway was no cleaner than it was when he first made the mess he said he would clean it. This has gone on for over 2.5 months. I have given him every chance to finish the job he was fully paid for, which includes cleaning the driveway. This is not a simple case of hosing it down! At this point I have given up on him ever taking care of this. Putting this shed together was not "rocket science". Given the sum total of his work the only conclusion I can come to is that he lacks the ability or professionalism to do a good job. He is not true to his word. He is easy to reach when it comes to taking a job and getting paid, but he refuses to answer when he is being asked to finish the job.
Summary:
Unprofessional and poor quality work:
could not properly estimate time needed for the job, wood needed for the floor even when he was provided with the instruction manual. Did not properly set the wood for the floor, did not properly install the tie down spikes.
did not complete the cleanup despite signing the invoice saying he would do it. Update - I am going to need to get someone to pick up at least one of the pieces of wood used for the floor. It is flexing badly and is probably not correctly attached to the support pieces.
"I quoted you 4 to 5 hours, the job took much longer, and I was willing to bide by my quote, that was just for the shed. I came over as a neighbor just to help out with my tractor to bring the ground level up for free, and yet you had to make a fuss over that even. No problem but then you said you had issues with tractor tires leaving marks on your driveway, so I went back with power washer and sprayed them off free of charge. You then said they were still there, which I found hard to believe but I went back again and barely saw them. So again I power washed and saw them no more, and yet you still made a fuss. I don't think any one would be able to satisfy your needs regardless of how much they charged or how good their work was."
Arrived with very short notice. Worked nonstop in difficult conditions.Did a great job at a fair price.
Both Mr Flynn and his partner are very professional and courteous.
I would not hesitate one second to recommend them.
Provided a sketch of the results desired. He took measurements and gave an estimate of $1500/labor plus $250/parts. Promised to match bar cabinets adjacent to TV cove for shelves and drawers. Talked about his and quot;custom cabinet workshop.and quot; Left without taking a copy of sketch provided.
Returned the next week as scheduled and began ripping out parts of the unit. Did not have enough drop-cloths to cover the work area floor (I provided heave weight plastic sheeting used for painting for one area).
Purchased supplies - drywall NOT the same thickness as originally on the unit, so dining room side of the cove was concave - baseboard/floorboards would not fit flush. I used shims to plumb the wall to match and allow baseboards to mount flush. He used lots of plaster to make transitions sort-of blend together. And, let's not forget the mud-sprayer. It took me two hours to cleanup that mess from adjacent walls and use my tools to flatten down the globs. Yes, you even asked me to sand the area, but took the sand paper.
Increased height by six inches to accommodate wall-mount flat panel. mounting system specifications provided during original design review, but he decided to build a set-in, so TV would be imbedded. Unfortunately, the set-in was not measured and/or constructed properly - TV would not mount. Area had to be totally rebuild.
The top is 30and quot;D x 72and quot;W. It is not level - there is a 3/8and quot; difference between the two ends. When TV mounted on wall, the difference is notable. Jim said, you know you TV is not level. Well, Jim it is level. Three difference levels verified that it is and the top is not - the bottom is also not level or plum.
Remember the cabinets? I am looking to hire a professional to redo this part of the work. The two drawers that were constructed are not squared, but then again maybe that is because the mounting 2x4s were not squared, or that the one on the right didn't even fit between the two outside sole plates. The finished draw facing was mounted so that it looked level to each other, but that was to cover up the structural issues. The drywall around the openings was not square (oh, I squared them before he returned with the drawers.).
Jim said he would build the drawers in his cabinet shop - my patio is where they were cut and built. Jim put C-channel around the drawer opening's drywall and when I asked why it showed - don't worry, just paint it.
Jim, I think you are a nice and well intentioned individual. But quality construction is not a skill you possess, in my opinion.
I wish you the best, but would not recommend you for any but the most limited jobs.
I came home the first day on a two or three day job and was a bit disappointed. First of all, they asked my wife for a payment before the job was finished, which she did do. I would have waited until the job was done to pay. On the last day, I questioned the bill to estimate as the count of running feet that I had measured was considerably less. The handyman agreed that their estimate was just a guess and agreed to revise it down.
As far as the quality, they fixed issues and addressed my concerns. We very much enjoy the baseboard, it gives all rooms a very finished look.
I found his services on Angies List and called soon after the plumber left. They had just finished a job and came right over, within an hour or so, very speedy service!! I thought I would have to wait for days to get someone for the job. They cleaned whatever mess they had made and the price was very, very reasonable. I would highly recommend By The Hour!!
"I don't know who actually you had hired to do this job, but it was not me, Are you sure you have the right company?"
Licensing
State Contractor License Requirements
All statements concerning insurance, licenses, and bonds are informational only, and are self-reported. Since insurance, licenses and bonds can expire and can be cancelled, homeowners should always check such information for themselves. To find more licensing information for your state, visit our Find Licensing Requirements page.
*Contact business to see additional licenses.