Seattle Handyman Crew

We started a greenhouse project with Seattle Handyman Crew in January 2020 and it is still not technically complete. We take responsibility for our share of the issues that happened with communication regarding the project, but, we cannot in good faith recommend SHC. We took a long time deciding whether to write a review or not pending legal advice and deciding whether to go to small claims court. In the end, we just want to share our experience. I posted on FaceBook that we were interested in remodeling an existing old greenhouse on our property into a functioning greenhouse. Lauren reached out to me and said that her business would be able to make us a wonderful greenhouse. I forwarded her message to my husband and said that I knew Lauren through other channels and that she is a good hearted, decent person. My husband didn't ask for references or do any background checks. When it came to bidding the project, we found it really strange that they refused to come out to the house to look at the existing structure, they would only accept photos and make a bid based on that. Lauren reassured us in text that they would be able to make us a beautiful, functioning greenhouse that we would be really happy with. I think it is possible that they assumed they were building a greenhouse from a kit. If they had come to the house, they would have understood that they needed to stick build a greenhouse on top of a partially built structure. I don't think they really understood the scope of the project although it was clear from the pictures what they were starting with. The first warning sign that all was not going to go well for us was that they insisted that their contract is standard industry practice: 50% up front, 30% partway through, and 20% prior to completion, plus we had to pay for supplies on a daily basis as they bought them. (They did not survey what supplies we had on hand). We do not believe in paying for work that isn't complete, but they insisted that is how handymen do their work. None of the other contractors we work with charge this way. In retrospect, we never should have signed this contract. We couldn't find any other contractor who said they could build a greenhouse... so we decided to trust them. The first workers who came out to work did not know what they were doing. Despite working in a garden in wet season, they did nothing to prepare or protect the ground, so, over a year later, our garden is still damaged. A simple layer of straw or some planks to walk on would have protected the grass, but it's still a mess. Without telling us in advance this was going to happen, the first day of work, one of the subs called us at 7 am from Home Depot insisting that we pay for supplies, sight unseen, without first figuring out what would be needed or telling us what would be purchased. This set us off on a bad footing. With all of the other, substantial work we have done over the years, contractors have purchased materials and gotten reimbursed. Next, they agreed to trim branches off a large cedar tree overhanging the greenhouse. We were horrified to see them dangling from the tree with no safety precautions. Our neighbor called on us to stop the work immediately because they were breaking OSHA rules. They then broke the neighbor's fence and didn't fix it. The workmanship overall is shoddy. For example, one time the workmen forgot the keys, so rather than waiting for the keys so they could go through the door, they climbed through the structure damaging the louvres in the process, which are still damaged. Gabriel is an kind, good hearted man, and he was visibly distressed at the incompetence of some of the guys he was trying to use as subs. The work dragged out over months, partly due to COVID, partly due to difficulty with their subcontractors. In the end, the worst part is, we didn't agree on the scope of work. Lauren overpromised and did not deliver. Our expectation was that we would finish up with a fully functioning greenhouse complete with electrical work. They asserted, despite the contract and verbal assurances, that they made no promises about electrical work. They refused to paint the structure, insisting that we had not contracted for painting. We have to hire another electrician to install the wiring and we will have to paint it ourselves. I think if you were doing a very small, discrete, simple project, with an extremely clear scope of work, understood the contract ahead of time, had a clear understanding of the timeline, and are prepared to pay for work before it's complete, you could probably have a satisfactory result. On the other hand, I notice things wrong with what they do every day. Most recent is the door they installed isn't fully installed - the shims weren't even glued in let alone fastened so are falling out. They left screws off of the lock hardware. Really shoddy. I see from the other reviewers that we are outliers. We regret hiring Seattle Handyman Services and cannot recommend them. We are deeply disappointed in the outcome.