DO NOT HIRE COLIN! IF YOU WANT APARTMENT GRADE no timeline JOB HE'S THE MAN! seemed like a nice guy, but his word became meaningless. waited a yr, felt it was my duty to warn others. Hired him to remodel a condo in Kirkland. brother had to finish job. we insisted Colin be there while we worked 3 wks straight. no guilt. show up 11 by 2. brother became lead (had tools, more knowledge) highlights: 1. provided specs, budget & timeline 2. agreed to demo property & remove debris on X date & he would start the pro Mon. Demo completed. Colin never showed 1st day. Called him, arrived a few hours later. heard him tell someone on phone that he couldn't believe we made it happen & didn't have anyone to start. subsequently told us that he'd have someone there next day. No-one showed for wks. 3. wks would go by when no-one there. excuses or he'd say his painters were on site we'd show up unannounced to catch Colin in his fibs. 4 . Sinks, toilets, tile, lights, flooring, doors, knobs, light fixtures, etc were purchased by me & on site early per schedule. items collected dust even when schedule adjusted. colin never a full day. complaints condo board cuz he'd leave a mess in the garage & dust & debris down common areas. We clean it up & make runs to dump to avoid fines & keep neighbors happy. 5. Workmanship - wood floors never protected (we papered floors), we'd repair rips. Fir drs painted used flat despite specs. clumpy, etc. Had redone Colin didn't understand why. U paint ceilings w flat paint, never molding or doors. 40 yr old pristine bathtub chipped Had to hire plumber drain clogged due to debris put down drain. asked tub edges of the tub be protected after 1st chip. Wks later I masked off the tub edge after 2nd chip. promised to repair never did. Colin provided the sizing specs for master bath dr I ordered. Wrong size. Colin re-ordered. New Dr installed was CHEAP Hollow core, & profile didn't match other doors. he lost the dr handle & thought it was ok to buy & install something cheap that didn't match rest of house. condo listed for 1.37 ... Ya don't have mismatched doorknobs, a cheap shower door nor have an arbitrary mismatched master door. 6. Kitchen Exhaust fan delivered. couldn't find instructions. called manufacture. I found instructions in box, he just didn't' look. 7. I ordered fire boot protectors for the recessed cans. All were delivered at $120+ ea. Colin lost 5. I had to order 5 more which & pride $100 expedited shipping to avoid delays. 8 contractor required to hangpermit on the premises. After sending him a copy of the permit, photos, etc. I finally hung myself, took a photo sent it to him so he knew where location. 9. hired an engineer spec removal of bearing wall. Colin took all 4 months to finish 75% of the 2 day job. brother finished had to redo some cuz colin didn't follow engineering plans. 10. Colin removed a small nonbearing wall in the master bathroom. had to be redone finish work appalling. ceiling & wall weren't level 11. I purchased subway tile for the bthr shower & marble shower floor. Tile guy arrived colin not on site, bought tile w/o looking for it. All supplies within feet of his work area. 12. wanted a barn door shower door. provided photos, manufacturer, website, offered to buy & deliver etc. Collin had his installer buy a cheap apt grade door instead. 13. master bath had every square inch replaced including a new toilet. I noticed the 1970's water valve had not been replaced. this replacement wasn't on specs, but a visible rusty valve in a brand new bathroom was unacceptable.
14. wetbar cabinets installed leaving a 1" gap in the middle. Ie. a cabinet on the left & a bank of drawers on the rt. Simple. not for Colin. asked to reinstall so that there was no gap in the middle & filler left of the cabinet & the right of drawers. 15. installed new molding per specs. WRONG SIZE & profile. Due to poor install, significant amt 1/2" to ¾" of caulking used to fill gap btw wall & molding. removed the excess caulk & installed a few nails - problem solved! we finished the place, listed it, & closed deal within 2 wks. Colin paid in full + additional 60k which included the plumber, electrician, & all contactors, etc. I was cheated, but we needed to close quickly. Later the UNPAID CONTRACTORS TRIED TO PLACE LEANS. Collin is dishonest, disorganized, poor manager, unskilled, irresponsible, etc. Heard excuses via phone to other clients, "they keep changing their minds" when in actuality, Colin doesn't remember or doesn't refer to specs & has to redo things. Save yourself $, time, & high blood pressure! Don't hire In-house remodeling (1.5 guy team) if u need a job well done. Low End Flipper? Then Colin's your man! read more