MARIS BUILDERS

I recently inherited a 2-bedroom condo and before moving in, I needed to have kitchen remodeling done.  I'm young, just starting out and have no experience with home remodeling.  Based on a friend's recommendation,   I hired Mike Maris to do the job which involved drywall installation, electrical work, cutting a hole in the kitchen wall for bar area, install new cabinets, install tile flooring.   He was also hired to rip out all the carpeting and install wood flooring throughout my 2-bedroom condo.   He had a contract for me to sign - which I did.  The cost of the job was to have been $8,000 all together.  He said the entire job from start to finish would have taken 4 to 6 weeks. He said he'd have 3 total workmen doing the job.  In mid-January, I fired him.  His work is HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE and he is dishonest!   First of all, there was only ONE workman - Mike himself.  I never knew when he'd be going to the condo.  He wouldn't tell me what is work schedule was and because I'm not living there yet, I'd check on my lunch hour and at the end of the day, but I didn't always see evidence of him having been there.  After he finally started the demolition and started doing the drywall, I noticed that it was not taped, wasn't smooth, there were cracks, and it wasn't even.   I had ordered new cabinets based on measurements that Mike gave me.  A few days later, Mike phoned me and told me that the kitchen layout measurements provided by the cabinet vendor were incorrect by 7", and denied responsibility.  I had to contact the vendor, cancel my order and place a new order. So his measuring skills are awful.  I ordered tile for the kitchen.   I ordered more tile and grout than I needed.  Somehow he used all the tile I'd purchased and I needed to buy more.   He claimed the tiles I'd purchased were broken.   He couldn't show me broken tiles.  While waiting for the new cabinets to arrive, he started laying the flooring in my bedroom.   Now, I'd ordered plenty of hardwood flooring.  By the time he finished just one room, he'd used all the glue, all the underlayment and much more wood than he needed.  The planks on the floor weren't laid straight, there were major gaps between the end of the plank and the wall, and also major gaps around door frames, broken planks and dried glue on surfaces.   One day, he was in my bathroom using the tub and doing some unauthorized plumbing.  He created a leak that went into my downstairs neighbors bathroom.  That's another story.   It was about this time that I fired him.  I didn't want him to do anything else.  My place still needs to be done.  I still cannot move in. Mike took $6,000 of my money before the job was even 1/2 done.

Horribly. The electrical portion is the only item that seems to function correctly. The kitchen cabs were installed incorrectly. It wasn't until the cabinet salesman came out & told the contractor they were installed incorrectly were they corrected. The drywall isn't level & therefore the cabinets aren't flush with the walls. Three cabinet pulls were installed incorrectly. They offered to pay for the replacements. The range hood was installed incorrectly. One side isn't straight. Trim piece above cabinets installed incorrectly. Contractor ran out of trim and jammed a small piece into gap to make it look 'complete'. Base trim not cut correctly. Closet door won't shut. Area cut for fireplace surround, not symmetrical on either side of fireplace opening. Sink drain not installed correctly and leaked until I had to have it fixed. Neither kitchen sink or bath sink sealed correctly under vanity top. I had to seal with silicon before damage occurred. I'm sure we will find more.