Restoration by Phoenix LLC

DO NOT HIRE Restoration by Phoenix. This is your warning based on our experience. Tim, the owner talks a good game, but he utilizes inexperienced contractors and claims to stand by his work. We originally hired Tim and his company for a kitchen remodel consisting of sanding/staining our current cabinets, install backsplash and installing new counter tops. We paid a down payment on 3/15/19, the check was immediately cashed. Work did not start until Tim’s wife came to the house on 4/4/19 and removed all our cabinet doors and drawers. (this was supposed to be the date for the staining guy to come out and do samples of stain, but he didn’t.) From the start, the work was below par and his contractors managed to damage several sections of our cabinets just prepping the area for stain. The work itself was horrible with appliances being damaged and not protected, to cabinets not properly being sanded, taped or prepped prior to staining. This resulted in uneven applications and a non-consistent pattern, against the grain, and completely different colors. This went on for 3 weeks. We had a sit down meeting with Tim on 4/28/19 and addressed our concerns regarding the major inconsistencies with the stain application and the length of time it was taking, already 3 weeks in, and 6 weeks after our check was cashed. Tim would always assure us that the problems would be addressed and corrected. This should have been our red flag, but we hoped for the best. After another week of continual inconsistent applications, late contractor start times (they would arrive around 10 and leave around 3) and consultation from other contractors regarding the quality of the work, we had lost faith that he was able to deliver a basic level of quality. We were left with no option but to fire Tim, Restoration by Phoenix and his contractors. (This happened on 5/4/19). Immediately Tim started to blame me and my husband and that this was completely our fault, had his contractors grab their equipment and left. In good faith, we allowed Tim and his company 30 days to resolve the matter, but they never had any intention of resolving the problem or working with us on a resolution. Tim told us, he required a 50% deposit for the overall project at the start, which would’ve been $6500. However, he and his “designer” Tracy said the down payment was $8,000. I was naïve and handed them $8,000. I mean, he had a “5 Star rating”, so I went along with it. (my mistake). After they left the job, leaving us with destroyed cabinets, appliances, floors and walls, he did not return ANY of the money. The staining portion alone, was $6,500 and they never made it past the staining. After 4 weeks of sanding and staining, they weren’t even close to finishing. Even if they had done the sanding and staining to industry standards, which they did not, he neatly pocketed an extra $1500, which was supposed to go towards the entire “project”. He refused to return ANY money. He stopped responding to our calls and texts. Not only did he neatly pocket an extra $1500 for work that was never started on the countertops, they lost one of our drawer covers. They couldn’t find it and they didn’t offer to make it “right”. After we released them from this job, we had 4 other contractors give us bids to repair the damage he and his employees caused, and bids to start the kitchen renovation over. The comments we received from the other contractors was that of shock. That someone claiming to be in the business for 45 years and be an expert, could allow this type of work and damage to occur, was inexcusable. DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY. In our experience, they cannot be trusted and we wish that more reviews had been posted prior to us hiring them. Tim can do his best rebuke our review, blame us, chalk it up to misunderstanding, etc, but photos, texts and audiotaped conversations don’t lie. There is no excuse for theft, especially for work that was never started. At this time all we can hope is to save someone else from the expense of wasting hard saved money for a makeover that Restoration by Phoenix cannot deliver. Additionally, please beware, you cannot trust the people giving 5-star reviews of their work, as he posted a plea to friends, to come over to Thumbtack and give them a 5-star rating. He always said to me, he was great at what he did, because “that’s how you get a 5-star rating”. Apparently, it’s not. *The photos that are attached, are after 4 weeks of work. These are only a small sampling of the work.