We selected Piotr and Frida Construction based on their 5.0-star reviews on Google, Yelp, and…read moreThumbtack, as well as the beautiful photos displayed on their website. However, our experience suggests that these reviews may not be accurate. In reality, Frida Construction and Piotr Dudarenka are unlicensed, inexperienced, inefficient, irresponsible, disrespectful, and unprofessional.
*Unlicensed
The Frida Construction website, Yelp and Thumbtack page advertise home renovation, remodeling, and reconstruction services. We assumed Frida Construction held a valid contractor's license. However, after terminating our contract, we discovered that neither Frida Construction nor Piotr Dudarenka is listed on the Contractors State License Board.
According to California law, it is illegal for an unlicensed individual to perform contracting work on any project where the total cost of labor and materials exceeds $1,000. Our contract with Frida Construction was far exceeding this legal limit.
Additionally, Frida Construction appears to be a one-man operation, despite its Thumbtack listing claiming it has five employees. In reality, only Piotr worked on our project for the entire month.
*Inexperienced and Inefficient
Our kitchen and bathroom remodeling project should have taken a licensed contractor about a week to complete. However, Piotr spent an entire month and only managed to complete minor tasks. Larger tasks were started but never finished.
Two licensed contractors inspect Piotr's work, and they identified numerous safety hazards and deficiencies, including:
An improperly installed J-box in the dining room ceiling that cannot safely support a chandelier.
A shower drain set too close to the wall, leaving no room for tile installation.
A miscalculated fridge cabinet modification, exceeding the intended height by one inch.
*Irresponsible
We scheduled the appliance pre-installation meeting at a time Piotr agreed to be present. However, he left the site before the meeting started and did not return, despite our phone calls notifying him of the team's arrival.
Piotr also blamed us for not ordering enough tile, even though he was responsible for coordinating with the supplier. He also accused us of not preparing materials for him, yet spent excessive time traveling back and forth between Home Depot and the project site almost every day. An experienced contractor should know what materials and quantities are needed upfront to avoid such inefficiencies.
*Disrespectful and Unprofessional
Piotr worked only at his own convenience, arriving late and leaving early. We warned him about the deadline. Instead of putting in additional effort to catch up (such as working longer hours or bringing in extra help), he ignored the urgency.
On the last day, when we expressed the financial impact of the delays, Piotr dismissed our concerns, stating that he worked for pleasure, and his family was his priority.
His behavior was aggressive, with frequent angry outbursts, and he used racist and demeaning language. Due to his hostility and disrespectful attitude, we terminated his contract one day before its official deadline.
After being notified of the termination, Piotr refused to return our house key or remove his tools by the requested date. He brought his wife, son and two young daughters created a loud and hostile scene outside our home, using offensive language. Their racist remarks and aggressive behavior left us feeling extremely unsafe. Fortunately, we had hired a security guard while he retrieved his tools.
Even after termination, Piotr continued to harass us--sending photos of his children, calling us "monsters," and claiming he was unable to buy food for his family because of us.
Piotr threatened legal action and claimed we could not sell our home unless we paid him approximately 85% of the contract amount. We disagreed unless he can provide proof of his
contractor's license or the licenses of the
professionals involved. In fact, I have not seen any other professionals in my home throughout the entire month. We need to pay a licensed contractor the full amount on top of the 1/3 we have already paid Piotr to redo much of his work, due to his lack of licensing and improper workmanship.
Additionally, Piotr's actions led to numerous additional expenses, including Emergency rekeying, Security guard, Security camera, Extra rent and mortgage, Legal consultations and rescheduling fees, and Emotional distress caused by his hostile behavior and ongoing harassment.
Working with Piotr and Frida Construction has been a nightmare. If his harassment continues, I will take legal action and demand he returns the money he has already received.