I generally do not like to give negative reviews, especially for small businesses. However, given…read morethe impact of a home renovation on a customer, I am writing this to inform potential customers of my experience with Home Remodel Pro/Home Pixel.
For reference-I signed up for a kitchen + master bathroom remodel.
TLDR: Do not go with this contractor. Between delayed schedules, wait and hurry up rush work, alleged non-payment of sub-contractors, nickel-and-dime line costs, and communication capability - there are many other great contractors in the area to go with for your next home renovation. I am also currently under threat from three sub-contractors for mechanics liens and am aware of other clients who may be pursuing legal action.
Quality: B-
Final quality of product is good, but with many small defects and issues. All work is done through sub-contractors - none were employees of Home Remodel Pro, so the overall quality I attribute to the sub-contractors work and my ability to be at the site daily. I saw John on site 5 total. Many of the defects were due to "wait and hurry up" where no work would occur for days/weeks, and then suddenly subs would show up in the evening or near the weekend and rush to finish the job as quickly as possible - many telling us so they could get paid.
Cost: C-
Even though John quoted us, shortly after accepting and giving the 50% deposit (thus the point of no return) there was an immediate and constant stream of things either not done or not included as well as extra charges that put him in line with a higher cost contractor including:
- I chose to do flooring myself, so demo was agreed to clean the place and prep for flooring. When the old flooring turned out to be more difficult, I was charged $3k to level the floor. Pictures included of what Home Remodel Pro felt was "complete enough".
- Removal of base board resulted in a quote for thousands (which I turned down), leading to issues. In the kitchen, the leveling only went to the baseboard, so when I removed the baseboard I had to chip away at the uneven parts in order to install the floor. For the bathroom, the sub contractors only tiled to the baseboard while I was away, so we were unable to tile the wall due to the gap.
Additionally, timing of payment and completion of work was tenuous. Countertop material due 10 weeks before installation. Also, I had to pay up to 95% as "cabinets were in" even though everything around them, appliances, and finish work was not. I would recommend to any potential client to lay out in full detail everything that is included at each stage, and to not accept any verbal/hand shake agreements.
Communication & Schedule F
Schedules have been awful. We are in week 13 of a 6 week kitchen project. The 3 week bathroom project took 9 weeks. Having said that, I was in constant texting/calls with John to push for the schedule to move forward the entirety of the process.
It is very easy to get ahold of John when money is due for the project. Other than that, it is nearly impossible. He is always in the middle of a meeting, dealing with an emergency, or having a family problem.
John also informed me on purchasing incorrect items. He approved a hood/vent combo that ended up not being compatible and so additional cost needed to be incurred in modifying the hood. He also advised on the wrong tub, leading to a week and about $1500 in extra costs.
Customer Experience: F
This was an awful experience. I needed to constantly push John and work with subs directly to get anything done. I often felt as if I was the GC myself. Trash was often left at the house for weeks, we had to reach out to sub-contractors directly to beg them to come work on the house, and all the while John was either unavailable or unwilling to solve many of these problems.
We are also now under threat from 3 subs who say they have not been paid for work 14-30+ days old, and we have paid John in full(except the last 5% which is far less than what the subcontractors are claiming they are owed) .
Do not go with this company.
