Long overdue review! We hired United Pro Handyman (led by Ilya) in January 2024 for a remodel,…read moreincluding relocating an entry door, adding a partition wall, closing off a fireplace, removing built-ins, interior painting, and exterior stucco work. Unfortunately, our experience was extremely disappointing.
The main issue arose with the exterior stucco work, which began cracking within days. Ilya sent his guy to fix the problem and his guy just applied another layer of stucco to cover the cracks! After one week, the cracks became evident and had worsened. My husband and I have decided to go with a different contractor to fix this issue. I had informed ILya about this and he initially agreed to reimburse us for a stucco patch. During this time, we decided to legalize the remodel. From the city inspection, we found out that the problem wasn't just superficial--underneath the stucco, we discovered improper waterproofing, incorrect lathing, and screws that did not comply with California code. This oversight could have led to much larger structural issues in the future. When I explained that this was not simply a patch job but required a complete redo of waterproofing, lathing, and screw replacements, Ilya became unresponsive.
Alex, the manager, visited our site multiple times during the project in January and even guaranteed a one-year warranty, promising to provide a formal contract after we made full payment. Despite repeated follow-ups with Andrei, the estimator, we never received that contract.
If you're considering United Pro Handyman, I strongly advise you to demand a binding quote or contract that includes all warranties before making any down payment. Be cautious of their "choice" between a 10% discount but you pay for the materials or no discount but they will shoulder the cost of materials--insist that they cover materials, especially for larger projects. They purchased unnecessary items, including insulation pads that were never used, resulting in a complete waste of money.
As of today, our newly stucco wall is now ready to be painted. We passed all inspections and it feels so good to know everything was done correctly.
We regret our decision to work with United Pro Handyman and recommend others proceed with extreme caution.