Veteran Contractors

Contractor did a fine job. The porch was rebuilt using composite materials. Contractor was able to keep the look and feel of the original porch. It looks beautiful. Contractor also was very timely and finished the job quickly. Would recommend without reservation.

We hired Mr. Pizzarelli of Veteran Contractors in February 2015 to remodel our kitchen and dining room. The work included removal of existing floor and kitchen counters/cabinets, removal of a couple of walls, removal of an old ceiling, tiling of floor, installation of new counters and cabinets, installation of a new ceiling, plastering and painting of walls, installation of a new island, and plumbing, electrical and gas work. During the time that Mr. Pizzarelli was working, we were satisfied with the demolition and the installation of the necessary support beams. His painting job was also done to our satisfaction. We however started having issue after issue with Mr. Pizzarelli over time, which ultimately lead to his firing. Mr. Pizzarelli did not adhere to the approved kitchen plan, which was professionally done and had all the necessary information. During the course of the work, Mr. Pizzarelli inexplicably lowered our kitchen ceiling, which caused some of our cabinets to no longer align and our fridge to not fit. A few months after we fired Mr. Pizzarelli, we started noticing cracks in the tiles that he had installed in our kitchen and dining area. Mr. Pizzarelli repeatedly put the blame on us, stating that our choice of tiles was the main reason for the cracking. Subsequent assessments by a number of tile experts and by the RI Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board debunked Mr. Pizzarelli’s assertion. Mr. Pizzarelli also improperly installed a wall shelf holding all of our dishes and glassware. Mr Pizzarelli used wrong screws, and did not attach them to studs, causing the shelf to detach from the wall. Mr. Pizzarelli would often get defensive and raise his voice at us if we ever questioned his work. Mr. Pizzarelli even threatened to walk off the job, which would have left us stranded. Mr Pizzarelli put up a number of canned lights in our ceiling, but the holes that he drilled weren’t aligned - when we pointed them out to him, he refused to admit any wrongdoing, and said that our eyes were crooked (a subsequent inspection from the Rhode Island Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board sided with us). When Mr. Pizzarelli first bid on the job, he assured us that he would bring in a licensed electrician, plumber and gas person to do the work. We were also told that our flooring would be done by his “tile guy”. None of these people came to do the work, and Mr. Pizzarelli ended up doing the electric, plumbing, gas, and tile work himself. We terminated the contract and fired Mr. Pizzarelli after we found out that he did all the electric, plumbing and gas work WITHOUT A LICENSE, and WITHOUT THE PROPER PERMITS. We were frightened and we were unable to use our gas cooktop when we found this out. We filed a claim with the Rhode Island Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board in August 2015. The case number is 8627. The status of Mr. Pizzarelli at the RI Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board is currently in VIOLATION as a result. We were also told by the RI Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board that FINES would be assessed against Mr Pizzarelli. See: [*** Link removed ***] On February 8, 2016, members of the RI Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board came to our house to inspect the work done by Mr. Pizzarelli. The Investigative Report from the RI Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board stated the following: - Section of the kitchen ceiling that was not framed at the proper height according to approved kitchen cabinet design. - Recess ceiling lights don't line up. - Insulation improperly installed many drafts. - Tile flooring and sub flooring installation improper - Wall shelf installation improper - Contractor worked on Plumbing, Mechanical and Electrical which requires a Licence The opinion of a tile expert who reviewed Mr. Pizzarelli’s work is as follows: “The installation of the backer-board was not properly done. It was not cemented/glued to the subfloor (per installation guidelines), and the subfloor had a paint product over it. This paint product would have had to be removed before the thinnest could be used for a base for the backer-board. The fasteners used to fasten the board to the floor are not a recommended fastener for this installation. Several tiles show lippage, cracking and chatter in various areas of the floor.” A second tile expert had the following to say upon inspection of Mr. Pizzarelli’s work: - Upon inspection of jobsite done by previous contractor the following items were found to be done in an unprofessional manner and will need to be completely removed and redone to bring it to an acceptable level of workmanship. - Where the two subfloors meet in an attempt to level the floor tile is cracking and failing. - When lifting up other tiles in room it was found that the proper thinset mixture and trowel notch was not used in installation resulting in product failure. - Cement board was not properly fastened to underlayment also resulting in tile failure - would need to be screwed and thin set down for adhesion. - In order to ensure crack suppression due to un level surface Ditra mat crack suppression should be applied over cement board to level out floor. - Also a premium thin set should be used to ensure flexibility due to the nature of the house structure. Mr. Pizzarelli told us many times in the beginning that he is a “perfectionist”. His business tagline says “Professionalism at its best”. We’ll let the quality of his work, and the fact that he performed gas, plumbing and electric work without a license or permits, speak for themselves.

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All work was done professionally, in a timely manner. Workers were helpful with suggestions, and were very courteous.

The whole project took approximately 3 days and I was very pleased with the results. My home was built in 1932 and they took care of my home like it was their own. I recommend veterans contractors for any of your home projects, you won't be disappointed!

Veteran Contractor owner, Lewis PIzzarelli, came to our house several times for new estimate requests. He was very professional and didn't complain about making several trips knowing a contract is never known/promised. He was very professional, very friendly, and was great with our kids.

Once we decided to go w/ Veteran Contractors, they started as soon as their previous commitments were completed. The contract was clear and concise. Once the job started, it was much less painful of a process as I thought it would be. They made great strides to keep the house clean and organized each day once they left. They also took extra care with ensuring the house was safe (no loose nails) since we have two small children.

Communication was excellent. Every change or challenge was discussed on the day it was observed with us so we could make the final decision on how we wanted them to proceed. Costs/Fees were always upfront and they provided us with the actual receipts of every purchase. The owner's attention to detail, focus on communication, and being very organized made this process that much better.

The overall job turned out better than what we had envisioned. We had a lot done and he did a great job -- often going above and beyond. The staircase and fireplace were the best examples of that. The staircase treads had to be custom stained to the pre-finished hardwood floors that he had installed. He had to re-create an almost-near-perfect stain for our stairs to match the floors. He spend a lot of time doing that but we were all impressed with how closely he came. It's a sign of his perfection and attention to detail and commitment that he didn't want to settle and just give us something close. I feel many contractors would have given up and given us something close. Then, there is the fireplace. A 100% custom fireplace that he re-created based on photos and drawings. He was dedicated to making sure my fireplace was exactly what I had wanted. And as always, every step of the way, he kept the communication open and we discussed it together. There were no unwelcome surprises. The fireplace turned out more beautiful than I could have expected. It has become the focal point of our living room and no one will ever have one like it. He saved us a lot of money by re-creating it himself and not purchasing something online. We had done our research.

We would hire him again and we would recommend him to anyone.