NOT RECOMMENDED, NEVER AGAIN, EXTREMELY POOR QUALITY Hopefully this review will help others avoid this situation. *Always retain an attorney, wish I had. *Insist on a highly detailed, itemized, signed contract and insist on a one year warranty; *NO trust. He has many good things to say about his work, qualifications, I believed him. He seemed so nice; I trusted him. Ceiling drywall 5 rooms; taping, seams, uneven paint in all except tiny bath; cracks most length, width in 2 largest rooms fewer than 10 days later; other contractors who viewed it say: bad job, always cover floors 1st, cracks follow outline of drywall sheets, joints/tape; insufficient mud, lacks skimming (should be 3 coats) He says he always uses 1 coat paint on NEW drywall PRODUCT SPECS say 1 coat primer+2 top coats New drywall sucks paint, uneven, splotchy; mud splots, not smooth, poor sanding; other contractors say Need remove tape, redo: mud seams before taping, tape, remud on top of tape (at least 2-3' wide, 3 coats), skim coat, sand, paint for 3 rooms; 1 room must remove start over; he didn't hit the ceiling joists on any but a few screws on any of the ceilings; he had to have known that, there's a definite feel to hitting solid wood with a screw and not. If he had taken the time and effort to look, all ceiling joists are 16" on center - duh!! It all has to be redone.
He insisted no need to cover/protect wood floors - WRONG! I accepted the cash payment price he offered, he invoiced the higher price and invoiced painting the ceiling of a room he did not paint. His attorney offered a settlement for $5K just minutes before the hearing but was unacceptable since the damage and redo of work exceeds $10k. See Washington County MN small claims, its public information - court says he did the work I have to pay the invoice; hire attorney appeal cost $$$$+; another $$$$$+ to fix everything.
Your insurance company cannot pursue his insurance company if you go to small claims court and don't win. I'm sure he knows this so he lawyers up right away. I recommend that you first consult your insurance company and an attorney. This contractor knows how to escape responsibility. It worked in this situation, I hope you don't have a similar experience.
A real nightmare experience. Certainly not what I hoped for based on reviews on Angi's list.
Clearly, good work, accountability and honesty is subjective. I sure am not happy with the outcome. Funny thing is, if I had not filed a court case, since there was no signed agreement (just verbal, texts) I could've just not paid. I've never done that. I did try to negotiate with him prior to filing the claim; his 1st statement was denial, 2nd was that he would contact his attorney. That's when I should've been sure to hire one too. This is a new experience for me, so I have learned alot. Oh well. You also can't file a complaint with BBB if you filed a legal case and the Dept of Labor & Industry only takes complaints on licensed contractors. The best thing is to have a detailed contract; it helps everyone. I absolutely do not recommend hiring this contractor. He gets a minus 1,000,000 score.
I have found a great contractor now. Thank goodness!!! read more