Mell's Kitchens

Aside from the fraud they committed with regard to collecting their money in full prior to completing the remodel (but we didn't realize it until Roman Marble advised us Jeff hadn't paid any money towards the $2100+ items they manufactured for us), below are the issues:
1)   Several times I had to remind them to ?spin? the dials on our lock box because I came home to find they had left it on our combination?s correct numbers that unlocks it & gives anyone access to our house key, & thus our home & all of our
belongings in it.
2)   Original sub floor was clearly not fit to install a new bathroom on. It had slight rot damage to it, had pieces that appeared
to have been replaced over the years by owners prior to us, & because of this had an un-levelness to it in several places. I had to point this out to Jeff, and tell him that it needed to be taken out and a new sub floor wood installed, because we could not afford to invest all the money we were on the total remodel cost only to place it all on sub quality sub flooring.
3)   Wrong shower/tub handle?s mixer installed even though I showed him the Moen and Delta sets of plumbing hardware and told him the Moen?s handle was to be installed, & only Delta?s shower head and tub faucet were to be installed of its set. He knowingly made this choice on his own, & did not bother to call and tell me that Moen didn?t include a mixer in their set until I arrived home that day & he had already installed the wrong one earlier in the day. Correct mixer was finally reinstalled after I begged him to do so, & ordered one that would be compatible with the Moen handle.
4)  I pointed out to Jeff that the original studs didn?t appear to be in the right position for the new medicine cabinets or wide
enough for them. He ended up having to cut an area of the existing studs & install a couple supporting 2 x 4?s in the immediate area to accommodate the 15? x 26? medicine cabinets.
Had I, myself, not realized this issue in advance, Mell?s would?ve been at least 75% into the final stages of the remodel before they realized it & it would?ve been too late to do anything about it because this issue would?ve had to been fixed before the new drywall was installed, finished & painted?..
This is just 1 of many lack of attention to detail issues on his part along the way, since he ? the experienced contractor - didn?t have the foresight to realize it himself, but I as the homeowner did.
 5)  Mell?s installed a 2nd light switch approx. 15-17? away from the bathroom door next to an electrical outlet which would be next to the main mirror. Advised them this was unacceptable & it needed to be moved.
6)  Light for middle of room was advised by Jeff to be exactly centered in room. Once installed it was painfully obvious that this
wasn?t sound advice from him, & the light actually needed to be centered left to right with the bathroom?s door & window across from the door. Once it was moved, it was very clear this was the correct aesthetic choice.
7)  Ceiling?s popcorn finish mudded over for smooth texture. Jeff chose to mud over the popcorn instead of scrapping it off & mudding/spackling any areas that would need repair afterward, which is what would normally be done if the
contractor isn?t comfortable completely removing the ceiling?s drywall. Scraping it off would?ve been much less work & time invested for him and would?ve created a more level/even surface to the ceiling.
  We now have a ceiling that is uneven & was noticed by the painter while he was repainting the ceiling. He had no idea
why though.  Only after he told me about it & I then explained to him that Mell?s simply mudded over the popcorn, he then
expressed his shock over the decision to do it that way & said, ?ok, that makes sense as to why my roller kept getting stuck in several areas.?
8)     I requested the pony/shower wall be extended out 34-36? from the beginning & again in a meeting had with them while we stood in the bathroom during the week of 2.23-2.27. I arrived home the day it was installed, on 3.4, to find Jeff made a decision on his own to not honor my request but instead to install the drywall for the wall so it would end right at the edge of the tub. When I asked him why he did so & reminded him that we had just discussed it during the previous week?s meeting, he stated that my request wasn?t a good idea because of potential water from the shower coming out & causing damage to the drywall. I advised him then that any future decisions to override my choices needed to be discussed with me 1st.
9)    Drywall structural issues with (2) areas jutting out where it meets the ceiling on the pony-shower wall. New contractor has
advised us that Mell?s cut the sheets too long which is why they bow out, & the only way to fix this would be to remove the tub that has been mudded in, remove the bullnose tile and floor tiles in the area, remove the drywall & reinstall the drywall & the other items again.
10)  Drywall structural issue at the bottom of the pony-shower wall with an area a good ¼ inch being slanted backwards at an angle ? not straight, & was visible once the bullnose tile was installed. This had to have spackle applied, dried, sanded & the process repeated 6-9 times to build it out to where it wasn?t as noticeable.
11)  Drywall structural/finish issues of a ?rolling? effect of mud/spackle applied in a corner of the bathroom. Not smooth/level.
This could not be fixed without more time and cost for re-mudding & sanding to be done several times.
12) Countless drywall finish issues of pin holes, lines, divots in the ceiling and walls that they ended up leaving & painting
them anyways. This has since been fixed and repainted as noted below in #21
13)  Cracking in caulk around ceiling medallion was visible within 1st-2nd day of it being applied &
painted. This was eventually fixed by them with re-caulking it.
14)  Cracking in caulk and paint around the window?s new trim installed. This was visible within 1st -3rd day of it being applied and painted. This was re-caulked & repainted by the new painter hired.
15)  Cabinets? ?boxes? were built with melamine even though the original vision and contract was to have real wood used because it was going to be stained. They never gave us a choice about this change to the cabinet?s material but just told us this was the best material to use now that we were having them painted. When I arrived home to find it installed, I addressed this with them & told them it looked like particle board. I was then told that they chose melamine because wood can be damaged with the moisture in a bathroom. I established that once again they made a decision that affected our vision of the bathroom?s
design, without making sure I understood what the outcome would be &look like, & have me agree to that difference in aesthetics.
16)  Cabinets? ?boxes? were also being painted with a roller instead of being painted with a sprayer, which I established from the beginning needed to be sprayed because I wanted a ?smooth as glass? finish on them. Mell?s insisted I would still have that finish. However, the new cabinet maker/carpenter has since advised me that I would never have had the cabinet quality & finish that I wanted bec

I wouldn't have anyone else do the work. It's him, his wife, and young son. They are the best I've ever had. They work together like a well oiled machine. They are there to work and do a great job.