The House Doctor

Good guy. He did what we ask. On time and professi9nal.

unknown

Best contractor we have ever used! Professional and cleaned up every day! We will be using them in the future!

I arranged a month an advance to meet him at my mother's house, because I live 12 hours away. I called the week prior to make sure our appointment was still set and he confirmed. We discussed the moisture issues, which he said sounds like a leak, not to worry he would bring hoses and everything needed to find out where the problem was. He came to the house when promised. Looked at the wall and said yea he believed there was a leak. He couldn't tell from where it was coming, but told us when we find the leak let him know and he would come out and fix it. I was confused. He was on the phone when he came in and seemed in a hurry to leave. I did as he suggested and had a friend stop by that's a contractor from a different state, there on vacation. He took about 30 minutes, climbed up in the attic and figured out what needed to be done. I called him back the same day and continued to call trying to get him back to do the job, since I was only in town for a short time. He returned my call 2 days later, as I was on my way back home. I decided to leave to return home because I wasn't getting any assistance. I told him I was on my way home and didn't need his services now. He did apologize and explained he had gotten tied up with a remodel job and couldn't get back to me. Which was of little help at the time. This project was the reason I joined Angie's List. Not to worry I have made a few good contacts through your service.

In my opinion, which I still hold after 16 years, The House Doctor was over priced and extremely over rated.  Or, he did not care.   Then why did he accept my job and take my $3544.68?   Unprofessional, at the very least.

One unskilled worker did all the work.  Total infrequent work sessions was over about a two week period.

The House Doctor never came by to check on sole worker as I had asked.

Several cabinet doors were not aligned and had to be rehung by follow up workers.

Different hinge screws, standard and star, varying lengths, had to be replaced by follow up workers.

Entire kitchen was painted white (contractor supplied), with "old, used" 4 inch area brush which had to be cleaned with wire brush before each use.

Clean up after each 2-3 hour session was hap hazard, incomplete.  Tile floor was never cleaned up behind/underneath refrigerator.  Discovered by follow up workers.

Contractor/worker was paid $1800 advance, then repeatedly asked for remainder $1744.68 during the course of the job.  Paid in full on last day of job.

After 4-6 weeks the white paint began to turn yellow.  Two of the cabinet doors began to sag to the point of becoming unusable.

I then called the House Doctor with my concerns about the quality of work and the fading paint color and asked that he come out and take a look at the job.

After one visit the House Doctor agreed to have a follow up crew of two come out and check/rehang cabinet doors as required.  He also said he gave the sole worker a new set of brushes specifically for that paint job, but never explained why he never came out to check on the sole, unskilled, relative.

The two follow up workers apologized profusely for the  lousy job all way round and repainted the cabinets and kitchen with white paint.  They also cleaned up the paint under the refrigerator,  which was found for the first time, when they came out to re-paint.  This paint was also provided by The  House Doctor.

That white coat of paint remained sticky until the cabinets were removed last week, was extremely hard to clean, and wore off quickly along counter top railings.  Sixteen (16) years later.

They were nice people, punctual and if they needed to come back, they came back right away. We were happy with them. He takes time to thoroughly discuss the repair.

We haven’t had anything done. He did not give me an estimate. He was good, very helpful and knowledgeable.

This company never responded to my husbands messages.

The House Dr stepped in when our kitchen cabinet installers general contractor backed out (job not big enough for him).
We were very impressed with the House Dr's help both the  plumber and carpenter, were diligent, careful and professional and did an excellent job. 
They quickly identified problems with the kitchen cabinet installers measurements which meant no issues when the cabinets were installed.
When we did have issues/questions House Dr was readily available

They surveyed the job and said they would remove and install new cabinets, remove the microwave and install new microwave making it flush with the cabinet using a filler also move the microwave outlet in the cabinet to the correct side of the cabinet.  They also measeured for a countertop and sent us to a location to pick a product.  He also indicated we might get a better price if we had it quoted without his installation, just using the countertop outfit.  We went to countertop place picked 3 styles and sink and waited and waited for quote.  Apparently the quote went to the contractor directly and they would not quote us directly.  So we purchased our countertop from Lowes.   We went ahead with the cabinet quote and plumbing.  The plumber did a great job installing the faucet and disposal in a timely and proffessional manner, he was not accompanied by the owner.   When the Cabinets came in the owner and helper arrived on time with the cabinets that matched our already installed cabinets.  Our Cabinets were Jim Bishop cabinets so we looked for an authorized provider, which they were.  They started the removal process and it seemed very unproffessional.  The owner had one worker with him and he treated the worker very poorly.  As the removal process began the owner started to complain about portions of the job, it would be easier if we didn't have to put this filler panel in to make the microwave flush or if we didn't have to move the electrical outlet.  We were only replacing the microwave cabinet for the purpose of making it look correct "FLUSH".  My husband said we would not have purchased that cabinet if we knew you were not going to install it as quoted.  The owner got mad and said you can't do this now, we said we only wanted what was contracted nothing more nothing less.  He seemed to have a little fit and told the worker to start cleaning up they were leaving.  So at this point we had 2 removed cabinets and a microwave removed and 2 new cabinets and filler panel sittling on the floor.  They left the job came back with a $7 check for the difference in the $1060 deposit and work performed.  Needless to say we DO NOT RECOMMEND  the house doctor.  My husband and I installed the cabinets and microwave ourselves and are very satisfied with our own work.

The House Doctor did an excellent job. Great attention to detail. The cabinets and drawers are beautiful. It looks like a new kitchen.
 I would highly recommend this company.

They were prompt and polite.

See comments above. 

I have been very disappointed.  At least the provider4 could give me a call and explain their lack of timely action.

It went really well. I had used them again.

Never returned my phone call.

They didn't resolve the problem because it was electrical I think to make them do it. I was annoyed that they can't fix it. I would use them again.

There is no start to finish. The contractor did no work and still has not given me an estimate.

Fantastic!  Would hire them again for any job around the house they would be willing to do.

Dan was very professional and thorough.  He took down all the information and gave us feedback on our vision while he was there.   We still haven't moved forward on the project but it had nothing to do with Dan.  It was the economy.

Job was not done. After questioning some prices that I thought were
really inflated- the aloof Mr. House Doctor decided he didn't want to
remodel my bathroom. He was more than 2x the price of the lowest bidder.
I expect to pay well for quality work, but his pricing and
explanations of his prices are apparently not to be questioned- 
Beware.

Dan was very responsive to my request for an estimate and had some very good ideas on how to achieve what I wanted to do.  He and his associate were responsive in getting the work done.  His associate, John, had an outstanding work ethic, very professional and very precise.  He made sure everything was done correctly and that we were satisfied with the outcome.  Each day he left the area clean and useable. 

Overall I would hire this person again.

prompt, thorough service

cabinets look fantastic.  it's like having a new kitchen!

**update as of 2 March 2012**

I made contact with the house doctor and found out that he had not been getting my messages.  There was a communication error on the technical side and he had not received either of my requests.  I scheduled a estimate with him and he showed up on time as he said he would.  I am awaiting a proposal.

We haven’t gotten the bill yet for the job that was done.  They created a hole in the wall which I wanted to give us extra storage.  They finished the wall and ran some wiring.  They put up some crown molding.    We really liked everybody.  We had some tiles put in the tile guy was great.  The drywall person was wonderful and his work is really nice.  The carpenter and his skills were great.  The person who runs the company is really nice and very workable.  They always showed up when they said they would and they were punctual and nice people. There were so many parts to the job.