The Original Home Solution

My husband and I were remodeling our home, tile floors, kitchen update, etc. We got Bruce Howard's number from a friend who recommended him. Because he was recommended we didn't go through the normal vetting we would if we didn't know the contractor. We gave him money up front which was half the estimate .. then we ended up giving him another 2,800 dollars because we thought he didn't have the money to buy the granite which agreed upon. The job was supposed to take 3-4 weeks and we had other estimates that were similar. We told him in the beginning we had a time restriction because we were going on vacation. I asked him in the beginning can you call the granite guy so I can choose the granite and backsplash. I asked him every week. When we got to April (This started in the beginning of Feb.) I asked him again and he blew me off again. We thought he might have a cash flow issue so we paid him more money .. and again no granite. He had also been showing up to work on our house Tuesday thru Thursday 12PM to 3 or 4PM. He literally was working on our house for 10-12 hours a week and we had a deadline. He kept telling us about all his personal problems like he had a huge attorney bill because he was suing his ex wife for back child support .. This isn't our problem .. Then he came to the job many times with his feet swollen from Gout and was unable to work. If I knew he had Gout I would not have hired him. I asked him a week ago about the granite, etc. and he went off on my screaming and saying things like "He's not going to drive to Almeada to pick up our tile" which was the only store that had it. My husband offered to go pick up the tile and he has not returned our calls. So, our floors are torn up right now ... He's pocketed 10,800 of our money and we have a few painted walls and some of the tile floor completed. I read another review for him somewhere else and he asks for all the money up front and then skips out on the job. Do not hire this person. I don't know if Bruce Howard is his real name or not but he uses Reliable Local Contractor. Our contract stated that he was to pay for the granite, backsplash and cabinet stain. He then tried to say he wasn’t paying for the granite that went on top of the kitchen island. I don't think he's licensed either. He also has a very bad temper and I didn't feel comfortable around him.

He did not finish the bathroom or the entry hallway. The corners of the hallway were rounded, not straight lines. He left equipment behind that he never came back for. He lost his driver’s license, and he decided to go take care of that instead of finishing my job. I called him when he never showed up, and he got upset with me, even though he never called me to tell me why he wasn’t showing up. I said he should deal with my job before he takes care of his personal needs. He got upset with me and said I was a whiner and he had worked very hard for me. There was a lot of unfinished work left to be done, and after a very bad conversation, I said I wanted half my deposit back. He said he wouldn’t do that, but would give me $100 back. I said that wasn’t enough, and he hung up on me. I later had a text message conversation with him, and he offered to come out the next day, which is a Saturday. I said that did not work. He will not respond about refunding my money, and he wouldn’t comply. I haven’t heard from him since.

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