Kaya Home Improvement

The bathroom called for removing a wall between the two bathrooms; demoing the entire space; installing a new tub, tile, toilet, vanity, mirror, flooring, exhaust fan that vents outside and a pocket door. The contractor put an exhaust fan into the ceiling, but did not vent it outside the house, as the contract stated (which is out of code for DC). This was not an oversight; when I mentioned it to her, she was not surprised and said, “it’s really hard to punch through brick. But, in a year or so we can come back and vent the fan into the attic.” (Yes, she wanted to introduce moisture into a warm, dark space, which is also out of code). The pocket door is not hung well and bangs into either side of the wall as you open and close it, damaging the door each time. The flooring in the addition was not level and was about 3 inches lower than the rest of the house. Kaya was hired to level and raise the floor. There were so many issues with this project. The contractor did not employ any dust management procedures, meaning that the dust from breaking up the existing tile went all throughout the house, including the duct work. Because it was winter and the heat was on, it pushed dust everywhere: in my cupboards, my closets, my bedroom, my bed, my pillows. I came home and there were 3 cms of dust all over everything! When I mentioned this to her, including a picture of all of the dust (because it was clear that she was not coming here daily), her response was, “I know it’s uncomfortable.” It was very clear that the contractor used day laborers and not verified contractors. The concrete was cheap, mud-looking concrete, and not a finished concrete look. In addition, the concrete was dusty, so each time you walked from that room into the rest of the house, you tracked dust through the entire house on your shoes/feet. The biggest issue is that the floor was not level, it was a wave of different heights, varying up to 1 full inch between the lowest and highest levels, which her contractor verified with a laser level. The worst of it was a huge puddle in the middle of the room, where they tried to put self-leveling floor resurfacer (see attached photo). Then, they sloppily slopped this grey concrete paint all over the floor. When I asked the contractor if they would live with a floor like that in their home, they stopped working and demanded payment. She also said to me, “concrete is not our expertise.” After calling in other contractors to get quotes on how much it would cost to fix their mistakes (mainly, the floor and the bathroom fan), we came to an agreement on what the remaining balance of the contract was. It was at this time, the contractor told me that I (me, not her, but I) overspent 50% on the supplies/design budget. While the contract had a line item in it for project management, the contractor did not track expenses throughout the project. I asked the contractor in writing 3 times to return my key, once in a certified letter that she signed for and twice in email. She refused to return my key and at one point said to me in an email, “you know where I live; if you want your key come get it.” When I explained to her that the law says she can’t keep my key, so I’ll buy a new door and take her to court for reimbursement, the key was in my mailbox that evening. Luckily, this work was financed through my mortgage and the mortgage company was willing and able to back me up when it came to protecting me and my property. I would not recommend them and would not suggest that you hitch your wagon to them.

While I am ultimately happy with my kitchen, this is because it was finished by two friends of mine. The project was only half completed by the providers, as the workmanship was of low quality--the particular cause of the breach was the lack of use of levels, plumbs, and accurate measurement. Several walls were taken down to studs and re-framed, and those walls should, by all accounts, be straight; however, they are not. The corners are all visibly misaligned. The lights are not evenly spaced, despite my request that the electrician measure the distance between them instead of "eyeballing" it. The work on the door and the reframed wall is particularly egregious; nothing is at 90 degrees, level, or flush. The floor that was to have been leveled was also a problem; the leveling compound was used, and it is better, but it is clearly--to the eye--not level. I am confident that at least two of the workers hired were picked up from the Home Depot, which is fine--but the foreman could not communicate with the workers effectively. The work may have been well-performed had I been there at every step--but then again, I am not sure, because I was constantly told by the foreman that he knew what he was doing and it would look good when it was finished. Because I elected to have them leave early, they still charged me essentially the full price, as that quote was for "all the work to be completed." I would not recommend this company.

This company is very responsive.  They returned my calls and immediately addressed all concerns/questions that I had along the way until completion.  This company was also very punctual and completed the job when promised and according to my expectations.  I was VERY PLEASED! They were very courteous, worked clean, and left my house clean!

This company is very responsive.  It returned my calls and immediately addressed all concerns/questions that I had along the way until completion.  This company was also very punctual and completed the job when promised and according to my expectations.  They were also very courteous, and they left my house clean!  I was VERY PLEASED!  I always wanted to have an exposed brick wall in my house, and they exceeded all of my expectations!  The wall is BEAUTIFUL!