S Fink Inc
About us
Owner operated. Uses subs for large scale plumbing & electrical. Cost is determined by the job. No travel charges. No service charges. Extra charge for after hours service may apply. May contact through email.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Carpentry, ceramic tile, decks, doors, garage doors, handyman & drywall., painting interior & exterior, porches
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 70% | ||
| 11% | ||
| 11% | ||
| 7% | ||
| 0% |
We had hired Steve to do some general handy work from an Angie's deal. We liked him a lot, he was responsive and did good work. He mentioned he did tile work and we wanted to support him so we asked him if he wanted to do 2 rooms, our kitchen and upstairs bathroom. He said he did. I should have recognized that we might have problems because it took several calls to get the measurement done and to schedule a time for the work to be done. But, again, because we like Steve, we were patient and probably waited 6 weeks to get it all set up. He began the work on Monday AM, 6-2 and was done on Saturday, 6-7. I had thought it would take 2 to 2 1/2 days. I can't tell you how disappointed we are with the way everything was done and the end results. The tile looks ok. But, I cannot begin to list the many little things that were not done well or correctly. I am not sure what the issue is - it may be that Steve is overextended and could not dedicate his attention to the work - or it just may be that he is not detail oriented. For example - he took the door off the bathroom and needed to shorten it - but he cut about an inch off the top of the door instead of the bottom. I can see how that might happen but he should have marked the top and bottom before removing it. Instead of telling us what had happened he glued the top back on and hung the door back up. In fairness, Steve has now replaced the door after we purchased a new one - but we had to identify the problem. The woodwork in the bathroom was removed and when replaced it is very chipped and visibly not right. In the kitchen, the woodwork was not removed at all - the tile is installed right up to the woodwork which means that if we ever want to replace the woodwork we will have to remove the tile. The grout in the kitchen is cracking and coming up in the following week. The air vent in the bathroom was not put back securely and, because of the way the tile was laid, it appears that we will have to have a section of the new tile taken up and replaced so that the vent hole does not show in front of the vent. Other woodwork in the kitchen was broken and Steve did replace that. Also, we have a counter in the kitchen that is supported on one side by a leg. Because the level of the kitchen floor was being raised by the tile installation, the leg would have to be shortened. I had advised Steve to remove the leg and take the 1/2 inch that needed to be removed from the top. Initially, he just lifted the counter up before the tile was grouted, and put it back on the tile. The counter was clearly bent upward as a result. So, I told him again to cut 1/2 inch from the leg and that it would be necessary to remove the leg and take the 1/2 inch from the top. I found him on his hands and knees with a hand saw trying to cut the 1/2 inch from the bottom while the leg was still attached. He said he thought the counter would fall if he removed the leg but, he never mentioned that when we talked about the problem.
I feel badly writing this review because I genuinely like Steve, but we are very big proponents of Angie's List and I would hate for someone to hire him based on our previous excellent review and feel it is only honest to let others know what occurred during this event. I think that there is general thoughtlessness on Steve's part and a lack of care for the home.
We hired this work done because we are trying to improve our home - the work he did has caused us additional work and expense. The quality is extremely disappointing and, where we should be excited and gratified that this work was done, we are disappointed. We could have hired a professional to do the work (and I believe for about the same cost), but we wanted to support a small business owner in general and frankly, Steve in particular.
We will be much more careful in the future.
I bought the $199 for 6 hrs of work Angie's Deal. I knew this was extremely low pricing, but bought it for the reason I assume Steve put it out there; to find a handyman I could trust to use for other projects that need work (I have several). I assumed he was trying to build a business base.
I bought the deal on 2/24, and was not contacted. Angie's List emailed me to ask I'd heard, I responded I hadn't. Usually you then get a call or email. No call, no email. However, since the job wouldn't be ready until 3/20 (after the plumbing work was done), I wasn't worried. I called Steve, and he was friendly and had no problem with the job starting the following month. I told him I'd call closer to that time which I did. He came out, but didn't know his schedule for the week of 3/24 (I could work from home three days that next week). By Friday 3/28 he'd not called or shown up, so I called him (again). He'd forgotten to contact me, as he was busy (from the deals he'd accepted). We arranged for him to come out to my place on 4/4 between noon and 12:30pm. I gave him my address and phone # again (he couldn't find it from his visit the week of 3/19, but I want to give him the full benefit of the doubt and am pretty sure he was caught off guard at a job site).
On 4/4 we had that mess of a snow storm. However, as he'd not called to cancel or move the time (and he'd told me his job site that morning was very close to my house, also in St. Louis Park) and the streets were plowed and melting by noon, I thought he would be here. I finally called him at 1:00pm, and it honestly sounded like he'd forgotten (again, let's give the benefit of the doubt and he was busy). He agreed to come between 2:00pm and 2:30, and he did arrive around 2:30pm. Unfortunately he was only able to get a 2X4 in (for part of the sheetrock, which was an area extending about 4" from the shower walls) and a layer of sheetrock and patch. I really felt bad for him as it was about 5pm, so offered to have him come back to put up the shower doors (and he said he needed to do another coat on the sheetrock).
This time we BOTH checked our schedules and set a time for 2:30-3:00pm on 4/8 (and I was going to help him with the shower doors, which really needed 2 people he told me). Because he had never contacted me at any time previously, I specifically asked him to call me to confirm that he was on his way. By 3:30 on 4/8 he was no call, no show. I left as I needed to get things done (I'd taken a week off work to finish the basement work and a few other things that needed to be done during business hours, so left as I figured he'd forgotten. Regardless, starting work at 4pm is far too late in the day; see below).
Steve called me at 4pm, indicating he was at my house. This was an hour to an hour and a half late, and was the first time he'd ever initiated contact with me.
With regards to the work he did; he did not put any kind of protection down for the tile floor. He did not clean at all on 4/4 when he left (understandably; a long day for him). But when I cleaned, I found he'd not even ensured that the protective plastic (still on 2/3 of the shower base) was pushed back, so there was a very thick layer of of sheetrock dust (about 1/4") and actual bits of sheetrock IN the drain. This was ok, I vacuumed it out. However, under the piles of sheetrock bits and deep dust on the floor (again, I'm trying to be fair, but the bathroom was a mess) were also quite a few spots of patch. This is not coming off the floor, and I will need to go to the store to figure out what will pull it up. There is absolutely no reason to do this type of work without tossing down a tarp and keeping the floor surface protected.
The job was to sheetrock the 4" or so around the shower, put the shower doors on and cut some plastic backed carpet squares (the edging for two sides of an 8'X 9' bedroom). As it stands, I paid $199 for 2 1/2 hrs to partially sheetrock around a shower, had to do the cleanup myself and still need to hire someone to finish the sheetrock, the carpet tile cutting and putting the shower doors on. Given the quality of the work -there are several VERY rough areas around the shower, and patch is on the shower walls/top in several places, the issues noted above, the lack of responsiveness, being late each time- I honestly can't recommend Steve. I understand he took on too many clients with the Angie's List deal, but all he had to do was tell me that and refund my money, and this would have been a very different review.
I had a couple of bathroom tiles along the floor line that need to be put back on. There was so much adhesive on the wall, that some needed flattened out. I also had a job him to putting the latch of the door in correctly by moving it down. Lastly, I needed him to stain a patio door that I had put in place.
He did not flattened out the area of the tiling like I specifically asked, so now the tiles stick out. Nor did he clean up around the tiles. He did correct the latch, but he did not fill in any holes. The most upsetting thing was the brand new patio door that I needed stained. I think it's fairly common that you do a light cleaning, sanding, and wipe off what had been sanded before using the varnish and stain. He brought no materials, so I gave him everything. I ran to the basement, and while I did, he just went ahead and started working on the door, without any prep work. There are oil hand prints on the door that are now going to be permanent.
He did everything I asked of him, he just didn't do it great. The price was great but it was shoddy workmanship.
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