Alternative-1 Home Improvements

Nothing went well. I had to pay someone else to come in and complete the work that Stephen DiPhillipo didn't bother to finish.

It took over 3 months to do what he said would take 3 weeks. The workmanship was shoddy and unprofessional. They would come and do an hour here and there. The subcontractors they hired were hopeless, the plumber was pathetic and I've had to get some of their work redone. I had to tell them how to do their jobs. Stephen seemed like a genuinely nice guy trying to at least be nice and he was always friendly. He was way in over his head on this straightforward remodel. All the appliances were not level. The granite guys came out to measure and laughed at the island. Told me to get the contractor back to level it before they could fit the granite. Avoid.

TOOK 50% DEPOSIT FOR MATERIALS TO START THE WORK. HE WAS ON THE WORK SITE ONLY FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM AGAIN. HE USED TO DO BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME CAFCO TILE AND HOME IMPROVEMENT. HE USED TO SOLICIT BUSINESS FROM CRAIG'S LIST. HE ADVERTISED LOW PRICES. THAT IS HIS LURE. HE ADVERTISES HAVING A HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTORS LICENSE, WHICH HE DOESN'T HAVE. HE COMES ACROSS VERY COURTEOUS AND PROFESSIONAL AT THE FIRST MEETING. HE PRICED OUT THE JOB AT $12,500 AND HE ASKED FOR 50% DOWN, SO I GAVE HIM $6,000, $5000 FOR THE JOB AND $1000 FOR THE DEPOSIT.

Initially the project went well. The demolition went quickly and the construction of the new wall was completed in a mostly timely manner. The door in the doorway was installed backwards and improperly so that it wouldn't close. Stephen actually planed away part of the door to try to make it fit into a warped doorway. The trim was not mitered or sanded. All of this work had to be redone at my own expense. Initially Stephen was quite responsive. Once he got into work that he seemed unqualified to complete he was unwilling to find the resources he needed to do even a passable job. He was always paid on time.

Stephen comes across as a nice guy. On a personal level, he seems sincere. Some things went well, some things went very poorly. His estimates were below average. When he is doing the work or closely supervising, it's OK. However, if he is off-site, then that is when things can go wrong (at least with the crew he had at that time). Very poor follow up and attention to detail after the majority of the work was done. His quality subs include electrician and blue board, poor subs are plumber (literally destroyed our heating system) and tile.