**Do not hire without a contract, set timeline in your contract. Did not complete work.** After he failed to complete baseboard installations, we began doing some research and I was unable to identify his name on the NV Contractors licensing board on http://www.nvcontractorsboard.com website. Also, a search for his business and business ID on https://esos.nv.gov/EntitySearch/OnlineBusinessAndMarkSearchResult yields no results.
We hired Dexter through Thumbtack (under Aloha Stone Care). Unfortunately, our experience is similar to some of another review here on yelp (look at hidden reviews) in terms of communication.
We initially hired Dexter to install floors and baseboards on June 18. When we first met, my wife requested a contract written up prior to starting the job, however he convinced us that we could trust him to complete the work. He stated that in fact, you can report to licensing board for any uncompleted or unsatisfactory work. Little did we know that he didn't have a contractor's license or at least we are unable to find his name on the website above.
Initially before the project started, we told him our deadline. He agreed and he seemed very motivated to complete the project. However, as time went on, we started to have a harder and hard time to get him to finish the floors in a timely manner. We completely understood when it ran a few days behind. However, he then would share with us that his dad fell ill, was given wrong medications, was in and out of the hospital for several days, and had to alternate schedules with his sister to take care of his dad - all prolonging and extending into months. However, I am looking at reviews now and it seems that he was taking other jobs during the time my house remained incomplete. We trusted that he was sick and his father too, however now looking back the things he would share with us do not add up.
However, I made the mistake of paying in full - which is a big no when you hire someone to complete a project. We kept all invoices and communications with him. We were initially charged for baseboards. However, he left the baseboards incomplete on the staircases and didn't finish the caulking (please see pictures for invoice and incomplete baseboards). He stated that it would cost an additional sum. Although, it was not communicated by Dexter initially, we agreed to pay for the work to be completed. We were pretty nice with him and understanding - unfortunately, there were periods of time where he would stop communicating with us. Meanwhile, he kept his machinery in our house and garage for about 2 months while no work was being completed. The day he was scheduled to come, he put on the doorstops, and then he took all of his machinery and tools and left without completing the baseboards on the stairs. We tried calling him and texting him to inquire what happened. No response. We tried really hard to accommodate him and do everything possible to have a good relationship with him, so we were very confused when he left without a word. He left the baseboards as seen in the pictures. We want to be fair and also acknowledge that he did completed 90% of the work as well as some smaller tasks at little to no charge. We put 2 stars because he left without completing the work he agreed to do and for not communicating with us, leaving us in the dark.
Now we are learning that it's possible he is not a licensed contractor and have found some fishy things online when I type his name. I found this Yelp review on his Yelp page. https://www.yelp.com/biz/aloha-stone-care-las-vegas The hidden reviews are a bit alarming that mention Dexter.
We Increased security and asked neighbors to look out with their cameras. We also have a family member staying with us, which provides a peace of mind. Reading the yelp reviews and researching online made us distrust him after he did not show up and went through long periods of not communicating. If you plan to hire him, complete a contract (there's no reason not to), do your research if you are willing to hire someone that may not be a contractor, because there may be legal ramifications. read more