Overall, an exhausting and deeply disappointing experience…read more
I selected Ryan based on his consultative approach and positive reviews, but unfortunately I cannot echo them. Exception - the tile guy was great.
I had two projects: bathroom renovation and roof/sunroom repairs. He quoted 3-4 weeks. After 7 weeks, the bathroom was still unfinished and much of the work was poor enough that it had to be redone by other professionals. He never started the second project before going onto other jobs (which I'm now grateful for).
Drywall and finish work were unacceptable.
The walls and ceiling were poorly mudded and taped, with visible seams, blobs, and defects -- especially on the ceiling. I raised concerns early, but he continued painting (badly) over unfinished surfaces instead of correcting them. After five weeks, he left for another job and told me to mark defects with painter's tape for his part-time employee to fix. That employee told me he does not do drywall work. Although Ryan repeatedly promised to bring in a professional, he showed up alone in week seven with excuses and no solution.
A drywall professional later confirmed extensive errors and provided a $3,250 estimate to fix the work. Ryan rejected the cost, and it took me contacting five companies to find someone willing to correct it for less. During this time, I was without use of my bathroom while he repeatedly pressured me for final payment before corrections were complete.
Poor attention to detail throughout:
Trim was unpainted, uncaulked, nail holes weren't filled, doors were poorly painted, walls and wainscoting had paint drips all over. The vanity, mirror, and light were not centered. Trim doesn't meet the cabinets properly. One drawer can't fully open. The toilet doesn't sit flush. The shower door has a crooked fixture. A cat door was installed by cutting into trim (instead of above it), mounted crooked, and the trim was never nailed back into the wall. The floor transition piece was never installed.
Electrical and plumbing issues:
I was charged $400 to relocate the sink drain, which wasn't aligned below the sink. I was charged $800 for electrical work to remove a wire from the panel, move a light, and install a ceiling fan. Yet when I asked for a simple light switch change, he said, "I'm not an electrician." The ceiling fan does not function properly, and I was told to read the manual (which he threw out).
Floors are perfectly straight. The closet is totally crooked and it's very obvious.
Ceiling tiles below the bathroom became waterlogged twice. Ryan initially denied a leak. It was later discovered that a pipe had been left completely disconnected, causing ongoing leakage. I am now fixing the damage myself.
Disregard for my home and pets:
Gates, doors, and sliders were repeatedly left open, resulting in my dog escaping and me having to search the neighborhood. No drop cloths were used during painting; it was all over my bedroom floor. Sanding was done with no dust control and the door wide open, coating my bedroom in drywall dust and triggering allergies. He took the box fan we use for sleep noise (without permission) to use in the bathroom, caking the inside with drywall dust. The basement bathroom was repeatedly left trashed after plumbing access. He also left my water turned off there for over a week after leaving for surgery (which I was told about the day before).
Pressure for early payments: The original contract and subsequent change order both required 50% down and 50% upon completion. I paid 50% for each initially. Despite this, I was soon asked to pay the remaining balance on the change order prior to work completion. He also demanded half of the final payment prior to completion, claiming only a few days of work remained, though the project was still unfinished weeks later. He continued to pressure me for final payment while significant defects were still being addressed.
Bottom line:
Cut corners, risk to my pets, poor workmanship, missed deadlines, constant pressure for payment, and a lack of accountability. After he shared a story about resolving a dispute with a prior client by entering her property to remove materials, I felt compelled to change my garage PIN and add camera monitoring for my own peace of mind. I would not recommend this contractor.
