Peninsula Repair & Remodeling

This is a follow-up to my September 6, 2013 review of our bathroom remodel performed by Todd Osburn's crew at Peninsula Repair and Remodeling (PR&R). You can read my initial review and Todd's strange reply under PR&R's “Handyman” reviews. I take issue with virtually everything in Todd’s rebuttal but I was going to let lying dogs lay until the most recent disaster that resulted from this contractor’s work. A couple of months ago I noticed that the drywall in the hallway on the other side of the shower installation was soft and rippled; I could push my finger into it in some places. I tore into the wall and discovered that the new shower had been leaking through into our hallway wall and down the wall and into the oak flooring.  It must have been leaking from day one because when I started tearing out the wall the sheetrock (can’t really call it “drywall”) was mushy, the insulation was soaked and the framing was totally saturated. I contacted two tile contractors to review the situation and both came to the same conclusion: the surface under the tile was not properly prepared and the only way to fix this leak, avoid future similar leaks, eliminate the perpetual pool on the shower floor, and remove moldy framing was to tear out the shower and wall and start over. The cost will be ±$5,600 and that’s with me tearing out and rebuilding the hall wall. Todd was not exactly accurate in his reply to my review when saying that I still owed him money.  I paid every cent that he ever billed even though he had not finished either of the two bathroom contracts.  I paid 100% of the general bathroom contract and everything he billed on the vanity contract.  He never sent a final bill on the vanity contract because he never finished the contract.  He said he ordered a replacement door for the vanity but it was never installed. Before this is over I’ll be billing Todd for major repairs. Todd also suggests that the problems with the lack of quality control were all in my head because he does beautiful work. The tile contractors who have looked at the shower disagree; they identified multiple problems with the shower. My wife also disagrees; the grout had hardly dried before she asked me if we could afford to tear the shower out and have it installed correctly. What Todd doesn't appreciate is I very much wanted this remodel to work out well because we had plans for a $175,000 addition and we wanted Peninsula Repair and Remodeling to submit a proposal for our project. That of course never happened. Todd suggests that I am mistaken about the age of the wax ring (it was ugly) used to reinstall the old toilet downstairs but the fact remains, they did not properly install the downstairs toilet and I had to pull the toilet and install a new wax ring to stop sewer gas from flowing into the house. A new wax ring solved the problem. Todd also claimed that I berated them and that he finished the job and told me he was finished. What is true is that I had to perform my own quality control and meet with him to point out significant problems with the fit and finish of both the tile job and the vanity job. I also pointed out that he had no quality control (berating I guess) and did not properly supervise his laborers and he admitted that his employee who normally handles QC was in jail. I consulted with Todd when we were alone and I never personally berated a member of his crew. The last time I saw Todd here he said that he would be back soon to finish up the loose ends that needed to be taken care of. He never returned. Todd claims this was all **** ** him and his crew. I guarantee you it was much harder on my wife and me. They left; we have to live with this mess. And last but not least, after telling me about this great new jig that he had for installing cabinet hardware, Todd later told me that since our vanity installation contract did not specifically include the installation of the hardware, he was not going to install the hardware. Great. So I installed the hardware and all the wood trim in the bathroom. I have years of experience dealing both personally and professionally with contractors and I can truthfully say that this is the very worst experience I’ve ever had with a contractor. If you are entertaining entering into a contract with PR&R, I strongly recommend that you make sure every, single, tiny detail is addressed in your contact. And good luck.

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Todd did a great job, and trying to contact him to do my kitchen, so that should say it all.

Few, but honest words.

Todd came in and fixed the work that I had someone else doing.  I wanted to put in lights on the ceiling of my bedroom and install a ceiling fan, then place all the switches near the door.  The old arrangement had a few lights mounted to the wall with the light switches scattered throughout the room where the lights were.  There was also no pre-existing spot for the ceiling fan.
I hired someone else to do this, but they did a horrible job and after they had done some damage it was obvious that they didn't know what they were doing.
With this being said, Todd recommended a solution and gave told me the easiest way to fix the mistake.  Unfortunately, due to the previous contractor's error, he had to tear up much more drywall then what should have been required for the work which significantly affected the price overall.
Todd kept me updated throughout the project as to how much it was going to cost, and the final price seemed sort of pricey compared to a second quote he gave me just a few days before completion, but the fact that he had extra work to do due to the previous contractor i wasn't expecting it to be too cheap anyways.
I'll for sure be using him again.  I feel like he gives a fair assessment of the situation and does a good job at pointing out small things which you might have not thought about on your own.

Todd was outstanding, his quote to me was right on track and he treated my wife and I just like he said he would like family. His customer service and quality of workmanship are far above and beyond all of his composition. He has my full trust, just this month he called and came by the house to ensure everything was good with our new shower and laundry room. He is the only one I will call next time I do some work around the house.

This bathroom remodel was a horrible experience.  To start with, I made it very clear before the contractor started that time was of the essence because my wife has bad knees and it?s difficult for her to go downstairs to use the second bathroom.  I emphasized that once they started they should work straight through to completion.  I was told it would take about 5-10 days.  It was agreed that I would demo the vanity and it?s associated plumbing before they were to start on March 21st.  I did but they didn?t show up until the next week and the job took over a month to get it to it?s current state.
I have building experience: I built a very large and complicated timber framed house, I helped frame two other houses, and I remodeled parts of three houses.  I know about quality control and how to work with contractors and subcontractors.
Here is just a sampling of some of the problems we had:
1)  They did not protect the 2-panel Douglas fir door or the cedar log walls before commencing the demolition.  I even suggested that they remove the door.  They put several scratches in the door and they scratched and dented the log wall in the bathroom.
2)  They put the shower floor drain in terribly crooked.
3)  The tile in the shower was very sloppily installed.  Grout joints were supposed to be 1/8 inch wide but they varied from 0 (no gap) to 1/4 inch.  The grout lines were not in alignment, especially at corners where they were often off as much as 1/4 inch.  They also installed tiles that were chipped and should have been discarded.  The shower looked terrible.
4)  The floor tiles were quickly and sloppily installed.  The floor tiles were uneven to the extent that some of them were uncomfortable to walk on with bare feet.
5)  They did not put a pipe through the tile at the showerhead while they worked in the shower.  Twice the shower valve was bumped on and the water drained down the inside of the wall.  The first time it was a small leak and the contractor was present when it happened; the second time it flooded our downstairs bathroom and hall carpet.  We had to run a dehumidifier for a week to get everything dried out.  No help from the contractor.
6)  When they moved the toilet downstairs they did not replace the 22 year old wax seals and they did not get the toilet aligned properly with the sewer pipe.  Sewer gas began leaking out.  I notified the contractor twice about this problem but he never responded.  While we had guests staying downstairs the smell got so bad I had to pull the toilet and put in a new wax seal.  After I properly reinstalled the toilet there was no more sewer gas.
7)  On the day that the crew was going to grout the tile and finish the job I wouldn?t let them in the house.  I met with the contractor later that morning and pointed out all that was wrong and he agreed to fix the drain and the uneven tile.  They broke up part of the shower pan and straightened the drain and they pulled out and replaced ±4 dozen tiles (some twice).  The cutting and grinding associated with this much tile demolition created a huge mess (fine dust everywhere).
After the repairs the tile job was acceptable.  There are still some grout smears on the tile and a few tile are out of alignment but the overall job now looks OK.  We still have a couple of other minor issues.  I?ve asked twice to have the new toilet straightened and the timer switch on the fan has malfunctioned and needs to be replaced.  The contractor does not respond to my emails so I discontinued trying to get these things fixed some months ago.
This contractor has no quality control plan.  He runs around all day picking up and delivering materials and he does not critically inspect the work done by his somewhat marginally skilled laborers.  If I hadn?t done my own inspections we would have had a truly ugly bathroom.  I told him as much several times and I suppose that may be why he will not come back to fix these last couple of problems.  I reinstalled the downstairs toilet myself and I will end up straightening the upstairs toilet, replacing the fan switch and hopefully finding a grout removal product.  
I truly do not understand all the positive reviews this contractor has received.  I have NEVER had a worse experience with a contractor.  Maybe we had the ?B Team??  But, maybe you?ll get the B Team too if you hire this contractor.

The shower wall was replace with the correct type for a shower wall.  Stone tiles were then attached to the wall and new fixtures added.
The stone work was excellent and reaches from the shower base to the ceiling giving a grand effect to the shower.  An additional job was to remove an old stove, patch the walls on the inside and outside of the house. A final job was to drywall six former heating vent openings.  All of the dry wall work was excellent.  The stove removal was also accomplished with care for my home. 
All of the work was done very professionally.  I am contacting Peninsula Repair for a second job at the present.

Excellent!  More help in a phone conversation then anyone has given me in person! Kudos guys!

I had a short timeline to get the work done (about 6 weeks). Todd was the only contractor I talked with who was not intimidated by the request. He moved immediately to get price quotes on materials and drew up an estimate within a few days. As for the work, it was done on time and in budget with very high quality. Todd and crew want to make sure that the work is done professionally and to the customer's satisfaction. He checked back at least two times. Will definitely consider using PR&R again, and highly recommend.

Peninsula's service was outstanding. Todd (owner) was great to work with: he demanded excellent work from his crew, communicated well, priced competitively, clearly had a deep knowledge of construction, worked to find the root cause of damage and was very honest and straightforward with us. The crew was great to work with as well. They communicated well, appropriately cleaned up and performed high quality work -- going for the correct fix instead of taking shortcuts. Peninsula went the extra mile to make sure we had the best solution and work.
Based on this very positive experience we have subsequently hired Peninsula for a larger job and expect to work with them for years to come.

I Don't know if there is enough room in a review to adequately praise this contractors ethics & skill, but I'll try...
After purchasing a new home out of state with no references or resources we had to
look for a contractor to get some things started before we could move
into the house. Blind faith & trust really as we were not there to verify anything. I began my search on Angie's list and completely lucked out! I contacted Todd based on his reviews and his competency for many different types of projects. I then looked through his finish work on his website. I knew he was the guy, but even more so when my call was returned within the day.
I expressed a long list of issues & what needed to be addressed. Todd helped prioritize the sequence and when it could be delivered. Not only was he reassuring, he knew his stuff & had very practical solutions as well as advice or alternative ideas. He is a highly skilled, experienced contractor who comes with a well selected group of other specialist/subs. He is willing to do many concepts. but will explain the realities, expenses or limitations as you go. His communication is exceptionally clear, thorough and respectful. He does not make any assumptions regarding your taste or how you spend your money. He is very direct & honest, if he doesn't have an answer for you, he will find a competent individual who does.
His bid was very competitive & fair. He came in right on the mark with costs as well as timing and completion. His bids and itemization as well as the structure of payment was completely within reason.  He was flexible with our budget & a lot of changes & challenges within our project. Without reservation, don't bother looking around he is a sure choice.
The finished phase one of our project is beautiful! We are hiring Todd to design & remodel our kitchen and bathroom next, then onto an addition! He has great aesthetic & knows how to maintain the integrity of the house while adapting to your lifestyle.

A+

The communications was excellent. I called and asked for a
bid and the owner was at my house in the evening looking at the rotten siding. The repair
was done by a great crew and the work was excellent and there were no
unexpected costs. Very professional, I would hire them again in a heartbeat.

This company was very easy to work with from start to finish.  Any time I contacted Todd I got a reply within a day.  I first got an estimate back in May and even though I let several months lapse before asking Todd to proceed with the work, they were able to do the work within the week.  This was a very large deck and they were able to complete the entire project from start to finish (demolish and remove old deck, build new deck) in less than a week.  Incredible!  I don't know how they are able to do this with so little notice but it was greatly appreciated.  I had gotten several bids for the deck and their prices were comparable, and the final price was even less than their initial bid.  The finished deck is beautiful.  The work that this company does is a great value.

It went very well. During the installation of the new garbage disposal, he found a new leak and spent extra timefixing that.  The bedroom wall was mudded,repaired and he spent extra time matching the paint color as close to theoriginal as possible.I would highly recommend him and intend to request his services in the future.Very personable, and professional to work with.

Todd does quality work at a fair price -- might seem pricey to some, but you get what you pay for. He was prompt, responsive and professional. His estimate was detailed, and the work matched the estimate in the end. The whole project was started and finished more quickly than I expected, so I was quite pleased.  We would definitely work with this company again.

Perfect. Showed up when scheduled, finished on time.

I recommend him to several people. He was very reliable. He did a real good job and I was very pleased. He was very helpful. The price was reasonable.

Todd Osborn, owner of Peninsula Repair and Remodeling, was readily available to evaluate 32 yo ceramic tile kitchen counter top to replace grouting.  He suggested that the lip bordering the counter that was badly chipped could be easily replaced.  He suggested epoxy grout that is supposed to be stain proof.  He was good to his word.  The grout looks great and is, thus far, stain proof.
Great problem solver and very amenable to suggestions.

Contracted with other company to replace tile in kitchen and bathroom.  Rotting wood underneath claw foot tub was discovered in  this 90+ year old farm house.  Todd Osborn, owner of Peninsula Repair and known to us from a previous project, responded within 15 minutes to inspect and advise floor tile reps  what was needed and when he could schedule the repair and replacement of new wood.   Always available by phone, instills confidence, good supervisor hiring qualified people to accomplish the project and finish work.  Motto: I want the job to appear as though we were never needed.

I e-mailed Todd and received a prompt response even though he was on vacation in Hawaii.
Todd and I met to discussed my list of repairs and remodels.
Todd sent an invoice which included the price of labor and materials.
I agreed to the invoice contents.
Todd and crew arrived on Dec. 2 to begin work.
Each day, my home was left in great condition.  Clean up happened daily.
The drywalling is excellent.
The shower tiling is way up on the Wow factor.
I am so glad to have the use of the door once again.
I am also very relieved to have that old stove removed and the wall ready to repaint.
The work was finished within ten days and with my great appreciation.

We had deferred exterior maintenance for 10+ years, and hired Todd to thoroughly evaluate, repair, and paint our large older farmhouse.  He gave us a detailed estimate, with the proviso that the rot that we could see some evidence of would be repaired on a time and materials basis on top of the estimate for everything else.  He and his crew showed up on time, and the work quickly grew as they got into the house structure.  What had looked to me like some rot in rafter tails and some corner trim was found to extend all the way from the roof to the foundation, requiring the removal/replacement of several studs as well as repair of the wood sill beams.  This was repeated in three other places on the house where we had not suspected rot existed.  The deck repair was on a deck that had been built over a living space, it had leaked several times over the past 25 years, and had been repaired at least twice.  I initially thought Todd had maybe overestimated the work needed, but that was not the case, as they found extensive rot in the framing, ants, bad insulation, and no ventilation.  More alarmingly, a quadrupled 2x10 joist that was holding up much of the upper story was extensively rotted, with only one of the 4 joists being sound.  Todd and his crew were able to remove the 3 rotted joists and replace them with sound wood, essentially building a glue-lam beam in place.  They did this over our living room, with only very minor impacts to the living room ceiling (a few nail pops).  I'm sure anyone else would have had to remove a big part of the ceiling in our living room.  

All along in the process Todd kept us well informed.  Several times one or both of us were out of town during the work, so he took photos and kept us informed by email (it was quite alarming to see the rotted joists from afar, but I was just as glad to not be home for that!).  The extensive rot and structural repair added about 50% to the original estimate, but Todd adjusted that down some in terms of worker hours, and he provided us with a supplemental list of the time and materials used for the extra work.

Once the structural repair work was done, they finished with the exterior prep work, replaced and re-sloped the Gaco deck, custom fabricated flashings for the house and a ventilation system for the deck, and painted.  They took considerable care to do a high quality paint job, and cleaned up every day.  Some of the things that we noted about Peninsula R&R, that stood out from many of our previous contractor experiences, are:

? They specialize in older homes, and their knowledge and passion for figuring out older homes shows.
? They have great tools and equipment.  The on-site fabrication of flashings and a ventilation system was one example.
? For a big job like this one, they bring in a trailer with all tools and equipment.
? They respect the property and the owners.
? They are punctual, and stay until the job is completed.  Todd said he tells the next customer in line that if the previous job runs over, as ours did, that he will finish the prior job first before starting the new one.

We're very happy to have found Todd and his crew, and in fact have embarked on a basement remodel with them, which started yesterday.  I think anybody who wants excellent work done, and is willing to pay a fair price for the work, will be pleased with Peninsula R&R, and especially so if you have an older home.

ps Todd noticed the flimsy and dangerous dryer vent arrangement we had, and asked if he could drop by and replace it when he had time, which he did one Saturday afternoon, at no charge.

We contacted Todd Osburn, owner of Peninsula Repair and Remodeling, as well as  four other companies for approximate bids and ideas to remodel our basement.  Todd's company was on  Angie's List. He was prompt and organized with a bid, ultimately we choose his company. Todd had  great design ideas that we had not considered, such as a transitional opening from the shop area into the hallway leading to the laundry/ office/bedroom/bathroom. He suggested  using granite on the vanity counter in the bathroom, and in the laundry which looks amazing!  Todd and his crew were exceptional regarding workmanship, and consideration. Costs were kept close to the original estimate, with any increases a result of changes we had made to the original plan. Todd went above and beyond to achieve excellent results in what was formally a very drab unfinished basement.

Todd and his crew accomplished this in one day with no interruption in our use of the facilities.  This was appreciated since the job required removing heating ducts and disassembling a portion of the main drain pipe.  We were very pleased with the work done and will call Todd for any future remodeling or repair jobs that we have.

It went very well. One of the great things about Todd is that you make scheduled payments when completion milestones are reached instead of putting 50% down. Todd was very helpful and we will use him for any future remodeling that we do.