Ocean's Remodeling Group Inc

The owner of this company is the most unprofessional individual that we have ever dealt with in our lives. He does not care about his customers. He does not stand behind his work or his product. Hire at your own risk.

The two young men who did resurface did a great job.  In 3 days they were done.  Took a bit of time to do the work but done in one day & looks great.

This is a difficult review to write; I have never rated a company other than "A" on Angie's List until now and am trying to condense 15 pages of notes.  We encountered Oceans at the Ft. Lauderdale Home Show in late May and scheduled an appointment for an estimate; the contract was signed May 30, with work scheduled to begin Monday, June 17, at 8 AM.  The salesperson, Mike, is apparently the only Oceans manager that deals with this process; he stated that he would be here every day supervising and monitoring the progress.  On June 4th I sent a fax to Mike identifying 8 questions and concerns; he never responded. On the 30th he had shown us 4 color samples; we selected one of the 4 for the first duplex unit. On the 17th, we called him when no one was here by 10.  He stated that they were "loading supplies and would be here in an hour."  At 11, he called and stated they were "loading supplies and would be here in an hour," apparently forgetting that he had already used that excuse earlier.  He also said that he was "right behind them," so would be here early afternoon.  (He showed up on Thursday.)  Miguel and Henry arrived shortly after noon and began the work.  Throughout the following month they were polite, professional and pleasant, although neither spoke much English which made our questions and concerns difficult to resolve.  There was no attempt at providing a meaningful schedule, so every day required sitting and waiting to provide access.  (Doctor, dentist and vet appointments all had to be cancelled.)  Work actually started each day between 1 1/2 hours to 9 1/2 hours later than we were told; and only once were we advised of a delay.  Process on the first duplex unit was finally completed on Saturday, June 22, at 6:10 P.M.  The floor looked great, however, and we were excited to continue on the second duplex unit.  Work commenced on June 24, and progressed smoothly; by then we were used to having no scheduling information, and all personal appointments were postponed to mid-July.  No color had been selected for the second unit, since that unit had Mexican Tile molding and an entryway that needed to be matched.  Late afternoon on Wednesday, June 26, we were emailed a couple of photographs showing the planned color and marbleizing. They looked fine, but we requested that Mike show us a small section before completing much of the floor.  He arrived about an hour after Miguel and Henry; did not notify us he was here, and was nearly done before we saw the floor.  Happily it looked good.  So work continued on the other half of that duplex, with the usual scheduling issues, until July 8. The work could have been completed on Saturday, July 6, but Miguel and Henry were not scheduled to be here that day. When they had not shown up by early afternoon on the 8th we called the office and talked to Diane, who was empathetic, pleasant and reassuring, but who been been given no information on the schedule.  Communication between Oceans field and office personnel seems no better than communication with customers.  The last section of floor was finally completed that afternoon, and we gave Miguel the final contract payment.  If it had all ended there, these ratings would have been A's and B's, in spite of the lack of scheduling and communication, and the general inconvenience of sitting and waiting for someone to show up. Unfortunately it did not end there.  
On Sunday, July 14, we noticed yellow blotches appearing in a large section of floor in the first unit. That is when the real problems began.  We called Mike to advise of the problem; he said he was too busy to look at it on Monday, which was understandable, and would be here on Tuesday; he said he would call in the morning with a time frame.  We did not hear from him by 2:30, so called.  He said he was too busy to deal with it, and would be here around 2 P.M. on Wednesday.  He also said the yellowing was probably caused by exposure to sunlight.  (?!)  We pointed out that the house in question faces North/South, so gets minimal direct sunlight at this time of the year.  And that the affected area is mostly between the windowless front and back doors.  On Wednesday, July 17, Mike arrived in the early afternoon to look at the problem.  He agreed that sunlight was not an issue, but probably too thick a layer of the clear-coat.  He stated that he would be back Thursday "around the same time" and would work on the impacted areas to see if they could be fixed without having to redo the floor.  On Thursday, July 18, we had not heard from him by 4:30 so called and left a message.  He did not return the call.  We called the office on Friday morning. Diane checked with him and said he would be here around 2 to do the work.  At 2:45 Diane called and said he would be here by 4 to do the work.  He arrived at 5:20; walked around for about 15 minutes and sanded down a couple of areas, but had none of the supplies to try correcting the color.  Said he would be back on Saturday morning, by 11.  He called at 11:45 to say he was on the way. He continued to sand down some of the areas and repainted.  The result, unfortunately, were large gray-brown areas on the tan floor, which look dirty.  He returned on Monday, did a couple more areas, which also left muddy-looking splotches, rolled on the urethane and left.  We called again and advised that this was unacceptable.  Mike agreed to meet again at 5:00 on Thursday.  Diane from the office called at 3:30 to cancel and rescheduled for 5:00 on Friday when the person who lives in that duplex will be home from work.  On Friday Mike called and said that no one was available at 5; that he was too busy to deal with this issue at all; and that Miguel and Henry would be here between 3 and 4. They worked for about an hour with some improvement, but one large area is still gray and several yellow spots still remain. Mike still maintains that we picked too light a color, although it was one of his 4 samples. He also accused us of calling the office "every time they are 3 minutes late," although we have called the office exactly twice, first after waiting 6 hours for Miguel and Henry,  and second when Mike missed an appointment without calling or returning our message. He also accused us of talking to his boss, although we have only spoken to Diane at the office.  We assume he is dealing with so many complaints that he gets us confused with others.
He has repeatedly made it clear that finishing this job is a low priority and has stated that he will only deal with it at his convenience.  He has never once apologized for our inconvenience, for the delays, or the fact that we were then into the 6th week of a 3 week project.
On Monday, July 29, we emailed photos and video of the floor to Diane at the office.  She called and stated that Mike claimed he was "willing" to redo the whole floor.  We reluctantly agreed and set up the appointment for the morning of August 5, before 10.  This would necessitate repacking everything in the three rooms, and again removing all the furniture and appliances. We expressed several concerns.  We needed to select a new color; no color photos or samples were provided.  We questioned the actual process; the question was ignored.  We asked for details about the time frame; ignored.  Oceans agreed to help us remove a couch and refrigerator; we requested assurance that they would help put them back promptly.  No response.  By the end of the week, we decided that redoing the floor was just too risky.  No guarantee that that they would do a better job than either the first time or than the repair attempts.  And of course we had learned that appointments were meaningless, so no guarantee that it would be completed in a day, a week or even a month.  We called

Let me begin by saying that I really wanted to give Ocean's an A, because the pool and patio came out beautifully -- just like we wanted, and we really LIKED the crew members and managers we dealt with; however, due to administrative details, I really can not in good conscience say the overall experience was excellent.  We found Ocean's Remodeling at the Palm Beach Home Show in January, 2013.  We had been looking for a pool contractor for more than a year, and the home show was our last-ditch effort to find someone. We were happy to find Robert, who was the salesperson we had dealt with at another pool company a year before (but who had left -- after he left, that pool company changed their bid, by adding 200 feet to our patio and $4,000.00 to the proposed price), so we thought it was a good omen. We made an appointment then and there, and Robert came out to our house 2 weeks later. His proposal was thorough -- we insisted on it.  Having been around the block already, we wanted to make sure that any and all work was accounted for and included in the price -- we didn't want any surprises or open items. The overall price was extremely fair -- not the lowest bid we had received, but not the highest, either (we had received 6 other bids). Robert promised work would start "as soon as the permits were issued" -- I required that work at least start by Easter (which was  6 weeks away, at the end of March), because my whole family would be at my house for Easter dinner and the pool was leaking and the pump was broken -- our pool literally looked like a cement retention pond.  My only other option to make it look decent was to throw some fish in it.  We signed the contract that day and gave them a deposit for a little less than 1/3 of the contract price which I thought was a little high -- in fact, the whole payment schedule bore no relation whatsoever to the progress of the project.  Looking back, I wish I had negotiated the payment schedule to better reflect what was actually happening with the project. Robert also promised that we would have a project manager who would be "on hand" to supervise the entire project, and that if there were any isses "whatsoever", we could call him and he would help us.  The permit application was made fairly promptly (the permit was issued March 20), but I do not think they ordered the materials until after the permit was issued.  I was subsequently charged $350.00 for a permit processing fee (which was NOT the city's permit fee).  When i asked what this was for, I was told it was for "design drawings" which turned out to be drawings I had given them, and on which someone had highlighted the pool and patio area. They also wanted to charge me $45.00 for recording the notice of commencement.  When I asked why the recording fee was so high I was told that that was what they were charged by the clerk's office -- which was not true, because recording a one-page notice of commencement only cost $10.60.  I did not pay their charge -- I only paid the $10.60.  Even though the permit had been issued on 3/20, we heard nothing about starting the job, and I was calling daily to find out when someone would be there to drain the pool before Easter Sunday.  It finally got scheduled for Friday, but the person didn't show.  It was then rescheduled for Saturday morning, but the person didn't show.  After close to 10 telephone calls to Robert (who did nothing, and who, after taking my first call, refused to pick up the phone) and the owner, someone finally showed up to  deliver a pump so we could drain the pool ourselves (the pump broke before it was completely drained, and we couldn't get anyone to come fix it).   Actual work did not start on the pool until 2 weeks later (despite promises that it would start earlier).  Materials that were supposed to be delivered to the house were not delivered when promised, and with various explanations and excuses that made no sense. When work did finally begin, it progressed in an orderly and efficient manner.  We loved our project manager, Steen, however he was not on site to supervise as Robert had promised -- he was "on hand", in that he was always available by phone, always took the call, and always resolved or attempted to resolve whatever issues there were (as you may have observed, I have a slight case of OCD and am totally Type A, but Steen was always patient, understanding and helpful) -- but he was not there supervising.  There were issues and incidents that arose during the construction that would have affected the quality of the finished project;  speaking with the crew members on site was useless -- they would not listen to me (to the extent they even understood what I was saying).  Calling the office was useless -- they were always busy or "unavailable".  The only time I had no problems with communication was when a payment was due -- on those days, I heard from the Ocean's office at least 3 times. To give you some examples of issues we encountered:  At least 10 waterline tiles were installed incorrectly; prior to installing the waterline tile, all of the old tile was supposed to have been removed.  I went out to watch the progress and saw the crew plastering over the old tile instead of removing all of it;  Once the brick pavers were installed, the crew started the work on the tile and the plaster and dust got on their shoes.  They were walking all over the new brick, grinding the plaster and plaster dust into the brick so the entire patio was covered in white spots.  It required a pressure cleaning (by them) to get all of the white spots off the brick. On the good side,  we had an issue with the tile for the top of the spa because the way our spa had been constructed (not Ocean's problem), the walls were not of even thickness.  This created a problem in terms of how to place the 2"x2" tiles on the top of the spa walls (the cap tile).  The tile installer, Freddy, came up with a brilliant idea for how to position the tiles, and it really looks beautiful.  The crew that does the resurfacing (Kyle and company) was amazing, and very helpful in explaining how to maintain the surface.  So, even though we certainly had issues during the construction, we are more than satisfied with the final result -- the pool and patio look gorgeous, and turned out exactly as we had wanted.  It is my understanding that the owner has taken a more proactive stance and is much more involved in resolving customer issues.  He has hired new people in the office (which includes MORE people) so that customers can actually speak with someone.  Toward the end, we found the front office to be a little more communicative, and a bit more available.  Knowing what I know now, I would still hire Ocean's to do my pool remodel -- but I would have asked more questions about those permitting fees, and changed the payment schedule.

We are really happy with our new travertine, and the final appearance of the project.  I would change some of the details of how it happened if I could, which would have made the experience more efficient and pleasant for us, but the final outcome has been very good.  In comparison to other contractors we have worked with, I felt that the managers at Oceans would listen to our concerns and have them addressed, and the individual workers seemed skilled and quite capable.  We were lucky to have Nai to be the installer of our tile, and his work is awesome -- I felt lucky that we had him to be the on-site leader.  Overall, while there is definitely room for improvement in the delivery, I think we will be very happy, and I think the quality (which matters most) will end up being very high.

I decided to go with them because of the pictures that they provided to preview the work. There were several companies that had good reviews but I think that the pictures was the tipping point. They seem pretty good so far. If I call I usually reach them, but if I email sometimes I don't hear back.

The pool work was initiated first. Pool resurfacing was completed on time and to specifications; salt chlorinator installed quickly and on time. Travertine paver installation was delayed several times because of insufficient material delivery, design not being followed (resulting in an additional $600 charge in order to complete the work). Delays also due to installers arriving late or not at all and lack of supervision by the company--no calls received from the company at any time on these issues. The driveway required a permit-it appears the company did not submit the permit paperwork for several weeks which meant the start was delayed by several weeks from time expected. Driveway demolition, though late in commencing, was done quickly and without incident. Nothing went smoothly after that. It took 4 days to dig and pour the footer, caused by workers arriving late, leaving early, and on, at least two occasions, not showing up at all. Pavers were delivered and stacked on the lawn, at least one week before installers began their work, resulting in large patches of dead grass--which they did, eventually, replace. Paver installation took almost two weeks, again caused by workers not showing up or showing up late and leaving early. Workers frequently did not have the correct materials (such as sand, asphalt for patching the street, as required by code, brooms, shovels) for the job. On two separate occasions, workers reported being unable to get to the site as their car(s) had broken down. After all these delays, paver installation was completed and final sand was applied (according to the workers). Final payment was requested but company suggested withholding partial payment until final inspection and completion to customer satisfaction. Good thing as the final inspection was failed-twice. Once for not repairing a potential trip hazard on the entryway porch, not applying appropriate asphalt patches where driveway met the street (code requirement), and for insufficient sand in paver gaps. The second failure was again for insufficient sand in paver gaps. After the company finally sent out a supervisor, additional sand was applied and final inspection was passed. Had the company sent a supervisor to monitor the progress on both the pool and, especially, the driveway, many of the problems may have been handled more efficiently and in a timely manner. While the office staff heard our complaints politely, the response to actual work completion was not as satisfactory. Instead of replacing the driveway paver installers with a more competent team, they continued to send out the same faulty team who consistently ignored what needed to be done to complete the job satisfactorily. This was not the same team that did the pool work. The estimate for the driveway pavers was over by more than 300 cubic feet--which we had to pay for and remains in our garage. This is well above the 10% overage they had told us about. At the initial estimate time, we were also told that the company provides a pool vacuum at no charge for a job like this. We were surprised when we received a vacuum that specifies it is for an above-ground pool. When questioned the company indicated this is what they provide to all pools. When we indicated we would pay the difference for the correct vacuum, we were told we could do that. This never happened.

It went horribly.  They were non responsive, did not start on time, and over promised and under delivered.  They said that they would do all of the work themselves, but actually subcontracted all the work out.  We signed a contract in February 2011 and they did not start until July. 

They constantly blamed an office person that no longer worked for them for not having the permits pulled.  They did not include the outdoor bar in the original permits, so the city made them submit all the permits again for the corrections.

After final payment was made, they did not pay their subcontractor to finish the work on the bar, so they walked off without finishing it.  So we will need to hire a new company to finish the work.

They did a very poor job. The patio is visibly sloped and crooked. The guy was nice on the phone, but not the most professional that we have dealt with. He recommended someone else for a different part of the job who ended up overcharging us as well. We would not recommend him.