Unique Construction Concepts

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Workers were on time & professional with the removal of old countertops & installation of new.

They have been working on job for a several weeks now between the holiday. They always arrive right on time. When they say they are going to be here, they are here. The job is expected to be finished this upcoming Monday. These people are Christians, hardworking, and do beautiful work. Communication has been excellent. We have used their services once before for a smaller job as well. I couldn’t ask for a better company!

They were custom cabinets that were built into the wall. They were warped from the water damage. They took measurements, did all of the cutting at their warehouse. They cut out the damaged pieces and put in new. They were able to remove all of the damaged and re-install them. They completed the job in just a couple of hours. They did an incredible job. You can’t tell there was ever any damage. Under the sink there was damage as well. They also re-did the flooring under there. They were very good with all of the work. They were very professional and presented themselves well. They did a wonderful job!

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First thing to say, I really liked JC Hill, the contractor. He's just a laid back kind of guy with a good sense of humor and bad knees. Easy to talk to and understood what I wanted done. That's why I hired him.

Secondly, for the most part I like the finished product a lot. They were very fast. The remodel only took about 3 weeks total once they got started, which was way faster than I imagined it would take.

Now, the problems. Some things were done badly. The people he had working for him, while very nice, didn't know how to work with wood. Any wood they finished or refinished was badly done. I had them touch up some interior doors and they look worse now than they did before.  I also had them replace the bifold doors leading into the laundry area and they installed doors that were and look cheap.  In the course of the remodel new baseboards had to be installed. I didn't realize until after they were all installed that the new ones aren't even wood. They're some kind of pressboard. The day after they left I was hanging a key caddy on the wall and it fell and put a hole in the baseboard. I thought what? and then picked up the piece that fell out and it was just like cardboard. I was stunned. The light fixture in the kitchen was hung at least 6 to 12 inches too high. It looks ridiculous. Several pieces of the backsplash tile on the stove side of the kitchen are cracked. Why would they install cracked tile? The backsplash tile on the sink side of the kitchen looks like a child installed it. Some tiles stick out and some are sunk in. No smoothness to the surface at all. When I pointed it out to the sub, he said he'd fix it and the result was even worse. The ceiling in the back hall and the laundry area, while painted, looks terrible. Again, I think a child could have done a better job and they put the old dirty a/c vent back up without even painting it. I had to go around and do a lot of the touch up painting myself, which I didn't mind so much but sheesh.

I called JC and he came out and looked at the problems. He just shook his head when he saw the backsplash area but said it couldn't be fixed. The tiles are all set. (I don't believe it can't be fixed. It would just be a major, expensive fix and he doesn't want to do it.) He said he'd fix the staining and varnishing of the doors, replace the baseboards with wood and have the light fixture lowered. He said he'd have another of his contractors call me and the work shouldn't take more than a day. Time went by and no call. I called JC again and he told me the guy had been really busy on another job but that he was finishing up and would call me. Time went by and again no call. So I called JC again and again he came up with some excuse but for sure now the guy would call and come out. More time went by. We're talking not days here, but weeks. This is now at least 4 weeks out from when he was here and said he'd have it fixed. I called him a 4th time and this time his connection was so bad I couldn't understand him. I gave up. I told him I wouldn't call again. So, now I'm stuck with living with an expensive remodel that looks bad and needs fixing or hiring someone else to fix things I already paid JC for.

If you hire him, do NOT give him his final payment until at least a week or two after the final work is done. This will give you time to really look things over and make sure they were done correctly and to your satisfaction. Afterall, you're paying for it.

All the above ratings would have been all A's and B's if he had just had things done correctly or fixed the problems.

UPDATE 9/17/14:

About two weeks after I made this post, JC called me and told me he had been out of the country but he was back now and he had a subcontractor free who could come and help fix things. The guy and his assistant came (nice guys btw) and worked for about two weeks on fixing things. They lowered the light in the kitchen to the proper height, they replaced the baseboards with actual wooden ones, they did their best fixing the backsplash problem. (It's very difficult to replace individual tiles in a backsplash but they did really a pretty good job). The doors leading from the kitchen to the garage and from the kitchen to a bedroom were also replaced (at my expense) as well as the bifold door in front of the laundry area.

I would rate the fact that after all this time someone did come and try to fix things as an "A" rating. However, all the above problems did happen and people should be aware of them and because of them I'm leaving the above ratings as I first had them.

Two more things to say: First everyone who worked for this company that I had any contact with were really nice people. Easy to talk to and easy to have in your home. Secondly, read your contract. If there is something you don't understand or seems like a gray area, talk it out with JC and have the contract written in a way that you both understand exactly what each point means. He was very good to me on that and I'm glad I did because there were a few areas that would have been problematic if I hadn't had it clarified.

Although there were some delays with subcontractors who did not show up at scheduled times, the work was done well, and the result was both beautiful and functional. This was in spite of the fact that my house also provided some surprises including a thicker foundation slab than was expected as well as pre-existing plumbing and electrical issues. Mr. Hill was always responsive, and I would have no hesitation about recommending this company.

I was quoted about $3800 and 5-10 business days. The day work started (beginning of April), the contractor came with one gentleman who was introduced as his brother in law - the contractor made a joke about "nothing wrong with a little nepotism, right?".  The brother in law was left to do all the demo himself - turned out that behind the tile on the walls, it was cement and not sheetrock as the contractor originally thought, so for the entire day he was there, he barely got half way done with all of the demo.  He was supposed to be back at 8:00 the next morning, but the contractor called me to tell me that his brother in law was sick and wouldn't be out.  So the 2nd day, no work was done. The contractor was very apologetic and assured me this is not how they do business. Already off to a bad start.

The wall guys came the 3rd day to finish the demolition work.  They did not plastic off any of the doorways, so our entire front living area, two guest rooms, family room, and kitchen were COVERED in dust, not to mention carpet in the hall and guest rooms was ruined - it was terrible! (We eventually had to pull all the carpet up because it was unsalvageable.)  They put up new sheetrock to replace what was concrete in the bathroom and in the shower area.  That evening after they were complete and had left, I realized they had not built in the soap nook I had requested (and was paying extra for) in the shower area.  The tile guys came on the 5th day to finish demoing the floor tile and to put up the backer board in the shower. I mentioned to them that the wall guys had not put in the soap nook, so the tile guys were really nice and pulled down all the sheetrock in the shower to build the soap nook, only to realize absolutely no insulation had been put in (the shower is against an outside facing wall.)  The tile guys stopped what they were doing to go to the hardware store to buy insulation to install (this obviously wasn't their job.)  Once they installed the insulation, they added sheetrock, and then finished the backboard.  The tile guys were very friendly and very talented.  However, they hadn't been given any direction by the contractor.  They had no idea which way the floor tile was supposed to go (I had picked out rectangular tiles that were supposed to run perpendicular to the tub) and had no direction on what grout color I had picked out at the tile store - I had also given the names of the grout colors to the contractor.  Neither grout colors were ordered, so again, the tile guys had to go to Home Depot to get grout.  The grout color on the floor turned out fine, but the grout color on the subway tiled walls was incorrect.  I wanted a grey grout to stand out against the white subway tile, but they used white grout that blended in.  I didn't know it was incorrect until the entire room was complete since I was trying not to hover, so I never said anything as the renovation that was supposed to be 5-10 business days was already well into day 10 at this point.

The plumbing team came out next - there were about 5 gentlemen that came out to the house.  I was responsible for purchasing the shower finishes prior to them being there - shower head, spigot, and knob. Once the plumbers got to work, they told me I was missing a part. I had no idea what they were talking about as I thought that all I needed were those 3 items. I had the boxes that contained everything needed for the renovation in the guest bedroom, and one of the plumbers proceeded to go into the bedroom and rummage through all of the boxes. I told him multiple times that I did not purchase the piece he was looking for, but he continued to rummage, going as far as opening up shoe boxes that contained shoes. At that time I called the contractor because I was so frustrated and had no idea what piece I was supposed to have purchased and did not know what next steps to tell the plumbers, and the contractor basically told me I should have known to buy it, as it is a common part that can be found in the shower head aisle at Home Depot. I had no idea as I don't typically renovate bathrooms and was very frustrated at this point. I had not been given a checklist of items I was supposed to purchase, even though I had asked for one at the beginning of the relationship, but I was made to feel like it was my fault the plumbers didn't have what they needed.  The plumbers eventually went to their truck and ended up having the piece they were looking for, but it did not match any of the fixtures I had purchased (the piece they had was Delta and I had purchased Kohler or Moen I believe) so I had to return all my fixtures and purchase new Delta ones so they would be compatible. I still to this day have no idea what the part was that I had not purchased.

There was originally wallpaper on the walls, which needed to be torn down and changed to just regular textured walls.  The contractor and I had discussed that I just wanted orange peel texturing.  The texture guys came out, and when they asked for me to see their work after they were complete, they had done some texture that was NOT orange peel.  It looked as though it had been scraped over for a flattened look.  When I told them its not what I wanted, we called the contractor.  He proceeded to tell me I had not said orange peel, I had said something else. I knew for a fact I had told him orange peel because I don't know any other types of wall textures!  Just the one we talked about!  The texture guys were very nice, although obviously frustrated, and came back out the next day to redo the texture.

The trim guy came out to do the trim around the doors and the crown molding.  I believe it was the same guy that did the demo (the brother-in-law.) Once the work was done, I took a look and was so unhappy with it, I requested that the contractor have him do it again.  The angles were completely uneven with huge gaps between where the wood meets, and nails hammered in at such angles that they were jutting out of the wood preventing the doors from even closing.  I understand that you use caulking to cover up nail holes and seams, but this workmanship was unacceptable and would have been much better with correct measuring and carpentry skills. The floor board in the closet in the bathroom was reused, even though it was obviously damaged - it was also put over areas in the wall that had huge holes in it from where the original floor had been demoed.  I could literally see into the wall right above where the trim was put in the closet - I later filled all of the holes with a bunch of caulking.

Once we were getting close to completing the renovation, there were a few adjustments to the invoice that needed to be made. The contractor had ordered bullnose tile that we didn't end up using, so I wanted that removed from the invoice. Also, because there was so much additional demo needed, he had quoted me an additional $200, but had put $250 on the revised invoice, and then he had not put the Angie's List 10% off discount that the give, even though it had been on the original invoice.  He made those changes, but when I asked about returning the entire box of subway tile that had not been used, he told me he was comfortable with the amount that he ordered, and was not going to return that.  He then proceeded to TAKE a bunch of the subway tile for himself, leaving me about half of what was remaining in case we had to do repairs. Shouldn't that be MY tile since I paid for it?  Why did he get to take it?

Overall, there were several things that would prevent me from using this contractor again:

-Lack of communication - I never knew when workers were coming to the house or what time they would be there if they were coming. The contractor also didn't give clear direction to the workers on what needed to be done, from the grout color, to what the t

It went very well.  I LOVE our new ceiling and accent wall!  They were willing to do whatever I wanted, within reason.  The boss, Terry, said that the wall that had the small area that fell, should be painted, too.  I now have a beautiful, flat ceiling that looks like the sky.  It's a very pale turquoise.  The accent wall is a deep green turquoise.   I LOVE IT!! 
The contractors that work for Terry were very friendly.  They didn't mind answering all my questions.  I now have friends and family go into our master bedroom to see the new ceiling and accent wall.  We've gotten a few "Wows!" and "It's beautifuls!".
The one thing that was frustrating was how long it took for them to get started.  It was 2-3 weeks.   But!  There was a very good reason.  They are in demand!  Would I recommend them?  Oh, yeah!!
Can't wait till we can afford to call Terry about renovating some of our home.
Cheryll

The  job was started in late April and completed in early June.  The Jacuzzi tub was installed and ready for use in late May but the final installation of the heater for the tub was delayed due to ordering the wrong model and having to wait on another one to be sent.

J.C. Hill's  crew, a husband and wife team, did an excellent job.  Always keeping dust and debri cleaned up at the end of each day.  I would definitely use this firm.

Excellent professionalism and quality of work. He returned calls and emails promptly. He did the work even faster than he thought yet the quality of his work was excellent. I would definitely use Chris' services again whether for handyman work or for bigger construction projects.

J.C took time to show me a kitchen similar to what I wanted to do. He also helped me with the design process. He has great taste and is excellent at what he does. Our kitchen is even more beautiful that I would have expected. The Outdoor Kitchen is also great, and J.C. went the extra mile with the city to exceed my expectations on the Outdoor Kitchen. I would use him again and recommend to other people.

Steve was very helpful, especially in the planning stages. The quality of the work was what I expected but did not exceed my expectations. The project was suppose to have been done in 5 weeks and took closer to 10 weeks which is the reason for the "B" rating.

JC Hill and his guys were great. They did what they said they would do when they said they would do it. We love our newly remodeled bathroom and huge shower. They even refinished an old table that was built more than 50 years ago. We almost trashed it...and now its a beautiful focal point of our living/dining area. We loved the work and will hire them again when we're ready to remodel a second bathroom. (After we finish paying for this job!)

It went excellently. Everything J.C. Hill with Unique Constr. Concepts said he would do he did. Also, he was available by phone 24hours a day. He would always return your call in a timely manner. All of the people

who came in to do work were very considerate and professional. They new what they were doing. The project was completed in a timely manner. We contacted up to four different contractors. If you want a contractor who gives you a fair price and is considerate of what you want and says what he would do.

Unique Construction Concepts is the company to use. I will definitely use them again.

Thank you,

On time daily, within estimated cost, took a day or so longer than plan, cleaned up every day and at completion and took all off.

Unique Construction Concepts was very excellent in their work.

Everything went very well.  J.C. did a excellent job on coordinating everything.  J.C.'s foreman was very good on keeping us updated on what was going to be happening next.  J.C. and his crew were always on time for the appointments.

They did a beautiful job.
Thankfully, we were able to be out of town for most of the work, so we didn't see how bad it was to live in it while it was going on. But the finished product was just what we wanted.

a few delays due to weather but over all it went as planned.

I must give credit to the individuals who did an excellent job on all of the tile work and painting, perhaps this is because JC didn't perform these tasks, subcontractors did these. 

 However, buyer beware and I urge everyone to read ALL of the reviews of this organization.  Many of the same issues we experience also happened to previous customers.

- Misrepresentation of professional affiliation;  not a member of NARI as indicated on his website.

- Lack of supervision or project management on this job site; we had to bring to your attention all of the "mishaps" and constant mistakes.

- Shortcuts were taken at our expense.

- Product(s) from a previous job were used and we were charged for it.

- Lower cabinets were installed over holes in the wall and the problem was ignored  until we complained. 

-Upper cabinets were installed without the popcorn ceiling be fully removed.

-Preventative measures were not taken; the shutters in the kitchen were not covered during the remodel as you promised, nor was there plastic covering the area during the remodel as promised.  Again, only after we complained and were insistent did a limited remedy happen.

- Final outside cleanup ? didn?t happen.  We had to do the final clean-up of the garage our self.

- Garage door was damaged during this remodel (repaired by JC but after 5 days).

- Holes in the wall from the demo (repaired by JC, but only AFTER we complained and took at least a week to be completed).

- Washing machine was broken during the remodel, had to call an outside service to repair.  We were reimbursed for this expense, but once again only after we complained.

- New oven was not properly installed, warning label left on the door of the oven stating, "Do not operate the range without anti-tip bracket in place and engaged".  When I questioned him why the anti-tip bracket was non installed he responded, "I've never had a problem before". 

 -It became very apparent from the beginning that one of us had to be here at all times not only to protect our personal property but to see what was really going on. There is no telling what would have taken place had one of us not been present at all times.

they were excellent.

They were good.  We spent a few thousand dollars on their services.  It was a good experience because they did it within our budget and pretty much what we wanted.  They were flexible.  We tried to call them to do another job but they never called us back.  We would use them again if they called us back.