Z Remodeling & Home Improvement of Louisville

Recently my wife and I had a construction project done at our house that was a complete disaster due to the contractor we hired. After it was all said and done I had 22 pages of notes and issues documented and decided instead of writing out a long review, I would have some fun with the awful experience and do a mini series podcast. For those interested in learning of our experience and of a contractor to stay away from here is the link. [*** Link removed ***]

I echo everything the other negative review says, and more! I was taken in by their positive ratings on BBB and houzz.com. These are a fraud. BBB and other review sites are easily manipulated. Please people, leave negative feedback where due to protect the public! I needed a General Contractor to complete a whole-house renovation that I had started but couldn’t complete because of a job relocation. I wrote a “Scope of Work and Terms for Bid” (SOWTFB) outlining the scope and the bid requirements. I had two bids and several no-bids, and awarded a $72K contract to Jack S. of Z-Remodeling. Apparently, Jack had no intention of complying with the Terms for Bid. 1. His contract states “per Scope of Work and Specifications”, which can only refer to my document. Yet, he ignored the $27K of material allowances. At the 20 week mark, with the house at the drywall stage and ready to purchase materials that were governed by material allowances, I find out that he didn’t figure in my allowances. Worse, he was apparently “playing it by ear” because he could not tell me what allowances he had planned. At this point, I had paid Jack nearly $60K, and, minus the material allowances, he owed ME money. Yet, he wanted another $4500 payment for the recent drywall. After a couple of weeks, he presented his material allowances which were $12K less than what I had stipulated and could not have given me what I asked for in the detailed Scope. He refused to negotiate a middle ground. 2. Jack then refused to pay the drywall sub, who threatened to put a lien on my house. (Yes, they can do that! Our laws are f####d up when it comes to consumer protection.) I had to pay the sub $4800 for an incomplete job and a big mess left behind. 3. The SOWTFB requested a binding completion schedule. Jack’s contract specified “about” 12-14 weeks. As I stated above, we were only at the drywall stage (~50% complete) after 20 weeks! There was a 2-month period where only 1 day of work was done. Jack likes to take vacations with your money (4 times in 4 months), and then wait for another sucker to pay his ridiculously high up-front contract fee so he can do a little more on your project. 4. The SOWTFB specifies that, logically, all codes and regulations are to be followed. After I declared Breach of Contract in August, I learned that the rough-in plumbing was done without a permit! According to Z Remodeling’s plumber, Jack told him not to bother with a permit! The electrical rough-in had a permit, but many circuits did not work! These issues caused a lot of delay in getting other contractors to bid on finishing the work. It was December before I had three bids to finish, and the cheapest was more than the original $72K contract with Z Remodeling that I had already paid $62K towards! No contractors want to come in and clean up and take responsibility for someone else’s mess. 5. My relationship with Jack started off well. But he quickly turned passive-aggressive. I can identify the turning point. Jack needs a lot of hand-holding, but gets nasty when you try to hold him accountable. 6. Jack has a fondness for saying that a proposed change is “about the same money” then sticking you with a change order fee after doing the work without anything in writing. This happened twice to the tune of about $3500. In retrospect, I should not have paid because this is an illegal practice. Even after I said no more changes without a written change order, he tried to pull this stunt one more time. 7. The Z Remodeling web site is even a fraud. It features family pictures of the son of the proprietor that are meant to manipulate your emotions. (“Oh, what a nice young family. They must be good and honest.”) In truth, that son only seems to be in charge of damage control and the propaganda machine. You will likely never see him. Also, be sure to ask if the pictures on their website are stock photos or their actual work. If the latter, ask Jack to prove it. Ha! I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Stay away from Z Remodeling.

Do not hire this contractor he is a scam. His name is Jack Sullivan and he has been sued and has many liens against his properties over the years. He has taken our $6000.00 deposit and has not replied to any communication. Stay away from this POS