Home Solutions Renovations, LLC

I provided the skylights for the job and they were on hand well before work began.Contractors promised start date was postponed due to weather from Wednesday to following Saturday. Work could have started on Wednesday as the roof was not cut for over a week. Contractor did not show on Sat. After I called he apologized and promised Monday. On Monday he showed up with one workman (who I believe he subcontracted the job to). They looked at the site, made a list of materials, asked for $300 for materials (gave check) and disappeared for the rest of the day. The following day they arrived with materals and tools, stored them in my garage. The contractor left and the one workman disappeared into the attic. He did a lot of measuring and most of the day was spent locating the area of the ceiling that was to be cut open for the bottom of the light well. The third day the workman cut the ceiling (drywall) opening. The only provision to retain the dust was a tarp on the floor. As the kitchen adjoins the living room we (the homeowner) covered all our furniture with sheets as the dust was widespread. The workman then spent the next days trying to frame the opening from the attic area as there was no scaffolding provided and the ladder they used was too short. The mess continued. It was obvious to me that this was at least a two man job and much time was being wasted by the one workman who was trying to do the job shorthanded without the needed resources. After some heated words with the contractor he promised to provide a scaffold and additional help and said the job should be completed by the following monday. They next day(friday) nobody showed up. More heated words. Sat and Sunday there were two men on the job and some progress was made with framing. On Monday the one workman showed up alone and cut open the roof and set the skylights in place. More mess. The job progressed slowly for the balance of the week (the second week) with the contractor showing up occasionally to assist the workman. I then gave the contractor an ultimatum that the job be finished by friday or he could take his tools and materials and not come back. The job was mostly finished by friday.(still painting) The contractor had previously promised that his wife who had a cleaning service would come to clean up the kitchen and living room. He came to the job late on friday morning and said his wife was too busy and he would do the cleanup himself. He did clean the living room but couldnt clean the kitchen as the workman was still working there. He left the site and the workman finished the job, packed up his tools and left. The contractor called late that afternoon and asked if we could "settle up". I told him to come back on monday and clean up and remove the materials from my garage after which I would pay him. My wife and I then spent Saturday cleaning the kitchen and other areas that the dust migrated to. Summary: The skylight looks good and doesnt leak. The taping and finishing of the drywall leaves a bit to be desired. But overall the job was satisfactory. The job took two weeks to complete during which time we lived with mess in our main living area, much of which could have been prevented. I believe the job could have been completed in a week or less if the proper manpower, planning and resources were provided.

Frankly I was not that happy with them; the small stuff they did fine but I could not get them to show up on time. They were supposed to repair leaks and the first time it rained everything leaked. They came back and worked on it again and then only one thing leaked. I hate to be difficult but that is not really acceptable so I did not hire them for additional work. I had gotten some additional bids and I thought their prices were high. I will not use them again in the future. The sad part is that I liked these guys; they were nice and polite and I gave them several chances at projects but I just could not put things together.

This was the biggest home project that I have ever hired contractors for. I'm a do-it-yourselfer but with 3 kids and running my own business I just didn't have the time to take on this project. For years we had wanted this room done but had put it off mainly because of our reluctance to work with contractors after having heard so many horror stories. I must say that I'm happy to report that this entire project went very smooth and in the end the room looked even better than I had hope for. The company owner, John, was very easy to work with and listened to all of my ideas, questions, and concerns. His workers were friendly, quiet, and cleaned up after themselves. Since the room posed a bit of a challenge because of the brick surface and the unorthodox windows that were already in place they included me in several brainstorming discussions throughout the project to make sure that I agreed with the approach that they were taking. They didn't just assume that they knew what I wanted. In the end there were no surprises and I was very pleased. I went into this process very apprehensive about working with contractors but after working with Home Solutions all I can think of is what do I want them to work on next. I recommend them highly.

Great good well done.