Hiring Kaiser Construction for our home renovation was a disastrous mistake. What should have been an exciting, rewarding project turned into a two-year ordeal filled with deception, incompetence, and negligence, leaving us emotionally drained and financially devastated. If you're considering Kaiser, think twice--or better yet, don't.
From the start, Kaiser promised premium materials like Sherwin Williams' Emerald paint for our interior walls and equivalent high-quality products for the entire project. They even used Emerald paint for color samples--props in a calculated ploy to gain our trust and convince us of their supposed "commitment to quality." Once work began, they swapped those premium materials for cheaper, contractor-grade substitutes. For our walls, they used Ultra Spec 500, mockingly nicknamed "Ultra Subpar 500" in the industry. For our kitchen cabinets, they replaced Emerald paint with Sherwin Williams' Solo, a product designed for doors and trim--not cabinets. The result was a peeling, sticker-like finish that ruined our kitchen.
The exterior work was no better. Kaiser used Sherwin Williams' cheapest paint, A100, instead of the durable, long-lasting product we paid for. They skipped essential prep, like priming the raw stucco, and applied only a single thin coat of paint. This poor application compromised the finish almost immediately. Despite these shortcuts, they charged us $36,300--an astronomical price for work that was anything but professional.
During arbitration, Kaiser claimed to have applied 115 gallons of paint to the exterior of our home--a ridiculous amount that could cover two houses. Their receipts, however, told a much shadier story. They purchased 40 gallons of untinted paint with cash, followed 16 hours later by 40 gallons of tinted paint on a credit card. Worse, these purchases were made seven days--a full week--after they had already started painting our home. Why untinted paint, and why so late? Untinted paint can be returned to the store, while tinted paint cannot, suggesting they planned to return or stash the untinted paint while using leftover A100 paint we never approved. The claim of 115 gallons was equally absurd. It didn't align with the size of our home or the visibly poor results. Their timeline didn't add up, and their excuses were as thin as the single coat of paint they slapped on our home.
Beyond the substandard work and material swaps, Kaiser broke the law. They demanded an illegal $51,000 down payment--blatantly exceeding California's legal limit of 10% or $1,000, whichever is less. They also failed to pull permits for our bathroom remodel, which led to a hidden plumbing leak that caused black mold in our supposedly "renovated" space. Their vague, non-compliant "wiggle" contract let them swap materials and cut corners without accountability, leaving us with a disaster to fix and serious health risks to manage.
Project management was nonexistent. Workers were unsupervised, deadlines were repeatedly missed, and communication was abysmal. At one point, we even received a vulgar and threatening written message from their crew, forcing us to call the police for our safety. Imagine trusting someone with your home only to feel unsafe in it because of their actions. It's an experience we never anticipated and one we wouldn't wish on anyone.
Kaiser claims the project was stopped "mid-construction," but that's a misleading half-truth. They reported it as 73% complete. In reality, their work was so poorly done it had to be redone entirely. Halting the project wasn't a choice--it was necessary to prevent further financial loss and damage.
Kaiser also claims they weren't cited for any violations, but this is also misleading. Arbitration lacks the legal teeth of a lawsuit. Had we pursued civil action, their illegal practices and shoddy work would have been fully exposed. However, after two years of stress, financial loss, and delays, we couldn't justify the additional years of litigation or the tens of thousands in legal costs it would require.
Despite winning arbitration--thanks to overwhelming evidence, including a third-party consultant's findings that Kaiser "failed to meet an acceptable standard of workmanship" and "failed to procure a permit prior to the commencement of work"--we still endured significant financial loss and emotional stress. The CSLB arbitration process provided limited recourse, and while we were vindicated, the damage had already been done.
Kaiser Construction failed us in every way: legally, ethically, and professionally. Their unprofessionalism, dishonesty, and disregard for their obligations turned what should have been a dream renovation into an unrelenting nightmare. If you value your home, your wallet, and your peace of mind, avoid Kaiser Construction at all costs. Transparency, integrity, and quality are the bare minimum for any contractor, and Kaiser couldn't even deliver that. read more
