Handyman-D

It did not go well overall. From a promising start (planning a week's work, said 2 weeks to be safe), ended up disappointing. I was on a deadline as my family were arriving from overseas and I needed working showers. Contractor did get sick during work which was unavoidable but it was disappointing that he did not communicate well about when he would come back to work after a few days off. My fiance and I had to finish a lot of the work because nothing looked complete or good when finished. Probably a reminder that you get what you pay for, as we will also have to get a plumber to repair both showers and sinks.
Highlights
- Much less expensive than other quotes
- Able to start at short notice
- Tile doesn't look bad
- Nice enough guy; means well but I think overestimated his ability or underestimated the job complexity
- Probably fine for simple jobs (our shower has lots of angles that needed complicated tile cuts)
Lowlights
- Poor quality work (eg. failure to grout properly with gaps showing sealant underneath; tub enclosure not properly caulked; holes left in walls and ceiling around new shower; both new shower heads leak; shower enclosure and window not sealed
- Unreliable schedule and timeframe: arrived at 8am a couple of days, otherwise around 11-12, one day arrived 2pm and was still cutting tile at 10pm when we asked him to leave so we could go to bed
- Used a LOT of tile (I bought a lot extra and have none left over), including a whole box (12 pcs) of accent tile that was $5 per piece (made into a pattern at his own initiative that was not discussed with us)
- Leaked water downstairs into my kitchen via downlight through ceiling and then was unable to repair leaking sink and advised us to get a plumber
- Random assistants came on various days, one was very loud and swearing/singing etc in the house each day
- Work estimated at 1-2 weeks took 3.5 weeks and is still incomplete