H & S HOME IMPROVEMENT

I hesitated for a long time to write this review. I am not really sure how this project went quite so wrong but it did. We had talked to several deck builders and Chris seemed to be the one that completely understood what we were wanting, showed up to appointments on time prepared and gave us a comprehensive bid in a timely fashion. We had photos of a deck exactly like we wanted and he indicated it would not be a problem. The plan was for a square landing with stairs leading down from the house to a deck only about a foot-foot and a half off the ground. When the piers were poured we immediately questioned if the deck would be much higher off the ground than planned and he said it would all work out. What all worked out was a major change in the deck plans. Chris said he spoke with the building inspector and explained modifications we would need to make to the deck regarding the stairs from out of the house and stairs on the other side of the deck down to the yard. I have reason to believe the building inspector that spoke with Chris did not last long on the job. I saw a job listing for a new building inspector and then the next inspector was another member of the department staff. (It's a small department in our rural county.) The next inspector did not pass the modified steps from out of the house initially and reluctantly relented when the decision was appealed. The changed plans didn't meet county codes on further issues that were not negotiable . Additional expenses resulted when we had to order more materials and wait for them since they were special orders. Chris did install the stair railing which we would not have needed with the original plan without charging additional labor. The railing however still did not meet codes and we had to special order additional railing to install another section to meet codes. We did this part ourselves. We ended up doing other major work to get the deck to pass county inspections. We had to bring the grade up on both sides of the deck and build pavestone retaining walls to maintain the grade. We had to build a 20 foot by 3 foot solid landing across the entire length of the other side of the deck since we had stairs the entire length from the deck to the ground. The deck eventually barely passed inspection. I had pulled the permit myself and the inspector asked me why we changed the plans so much without going back to them to make sure the modifications would meet code. It is not the deck design we wanted. We had always been do-it-yourselfers and this was the one time we simply wanted to pay someone else and get a job done. In hindsight we should have shut the project down when the piers were poured until the change in design was addressed. Everything that went wrong after that was because of the initial huge change in the design plans. If we had not been able to physically do the additional work ourselves the budget would have been completely shot. So, my hesitancy to write this review is because Chris seems to be an extremely nice guy. He is a very hard worker and the quality of what he built even if it was not what we wanted was very good. Even when things were going wrong he continued to communicate with us and returned to install the railing after a considerable wait for the materials. I realize we were to blame for part of the issues. We should have insisted on the original plan. We were depending on our builder to know code requirements.

Excellent Service from beginning to end

Chris did the tearout of our kitchen cabinets, and then came back after a cabinet maker installed the new ones. As always, he gave us a reasonable bid for the work he did. He did the tile work, and the flooring installation once the cabinets were installed.
He has repaired cracks in our walls, and done inside and outside painting. Chris replaced almost all of our windows.
He always comes when he says he will, and makes sure everything is done to our satisfaction. He has come in emergency situations over the years, and it's good to know that he will be responsive to any problems that may occur in our old house, which was built in the 1930's. Chris is the first person we call when we need any repair work done. From beginning to end, he does a good job at a fair price.

Chris arrived when he said he would ready to begin. He was very courtious and began work right away. He installed th ceiling exactly as we wanted it and in the agreed to time. His work was professional and he communicated with us his progress each day. He cleaned up his work area each day and was very careful of our things when bringing materials in for the job. At the end of the job, which was finished ontime, we were very pleased with the result and would use Hand S again for other projects.

Chris keeps his appointments, or calls if he cannot come. He gives a fair bid for all the jobs he does, and he finishes the jobs in a timely manner. It is rare for one man to be so competent at so many different types of home repair. We feel very fortunate to have had the benefit of his skills for many years.

I called to ask about having the basement ceiling finished. Chris was very responsive and called back right away. He was easy to talk to, professional, and polite. He called the day before to verify the appointment and time. He was on time and started the job; he obviously had done this before and knew what he was doing. The first day, he and a helper worked all day and made a lot of good progress. He had to retrofit some ceiling supplies my husband had purchased that were not an exact match for the old materials that were already up. My husband and I had purchased some materials, but they weren't enough, so Chris had to go to town to pick up additional materials as well. I really appreciated that he picked up the supplies, rather than stopping the job or asking me to try to pick them up. We agreed that he would come back in two days to finish the project, and he again showed up as planned and finished the job that day on his own. He cleaned up at the end of each day before he left. He and his helper were very polite and professional. I reimbursed him for supplies after the first day, and he did not ask for any payment for labor until the entire job was done.

It was such a relief to have the ceiling finally finished, and it was so nice to work with a contractor that was zero hassle and did good work. I am already planning my list of things to ask him to come back and fix ! I would definitely recommend him and would definitely use him again.

Chris did a great job. He was punctual, responsive, professional, accomidating and overall very helpful. From experience I know some contractors can be troublesome however Chris set himself apart from those. Specifically on this job Chris came in and picked up the pieces where another contractor failed. Chris was good to work with, is very customer oriented and knows how to get things done. I highly recommend him to others.

He donated the work to us and we just paid for the materials. We have used him before and our experience has been amazing. He does really great quality work. He knows what he is doing, which we have learned in the last six months that not everybody does. We are really happy with what he does.

They were very reliable. The price was good.

I have a great level of comfort in recommending Chris and H and S Home Improvement because my personal experience exceeded my expectations. We are living in the understated elegance of a beautiful working family home, and Chris' skill and eye are reflected in every detail of the remodel. The end result exceeded my expectations, and that is due to a very successful small business, H and S Home Improvement.