CMRS Construction

I found this company on Angie's List and decided to give them a call. I am renovating a 1.5 million dollar property and recently joined Angie's List to help me sort through the winners and losers in the construction world. Daryl was over an hour late for the appointment. He knew that it was a property I had to drive 45 minutes to get to because I don't live there. I knew precisely what I needed done to the property and he didn't take a single note. Of course later when he did his bid many items were missing, or the repair was improperly stated. I also discovered he didn't do a lot of the work but subcontracted it out. When I called his recommended subcontractor, they did not promptly return my call. I asked that Daryl please break down his pricing on each of the projects instead of bunching the price together. This is when I started noticing some big numbers for some very small projects! It was if he was determined to be paid $5,000 a week no matter how small the projects requested of him. That was a huge turn off. I started gathering other bids and they were consistently lower than Daryl's. I even gave him an opportunity to match some bids and he couldn't. So I asked for an updated cost after pulling out the project he didn't want to compete with - surprise, surprise, the cost of doing LESS work was still around $5,000.00!!! When I commented on the fact that a big project had been deleted and a 5 minute project added (because Daryl forgot to put it in his original bid - along with a plethora of other things he didn't write down or never bothered to price out like a simple wood frame around a door) yet the price was still the same, I was confronted coolly with a "Yes, that's right." I sought out other licensed contractors who had no problem outlining the cost per project and I let Daryl and his wife Liza know, and Liza proceeded to insult me to a harassing degree. I've saved all her emails. She called me all sorts of names to the point I had to legally let her know she was no longer allowed to contact me any more. I've renovated numerous houses all over the million dollar price and know when things don't start to add up or people aren't being forthcoming. Save your sanity and your dollars and use another company.

Daryl and LIz are a class act. They gave me an estimate that was fair, and came by and did the work. The gate looks good. It's a little bit lighter weight wood than I expected, but Daryl actually told me it would end up that way, because the quality of the wood is actually superior to what was there, apparently before. (The previous gate didn't close right, and was riddled with termite damage). He built and installed the new gate. He put the latch at the very top, so I emailed them to come back and put it back where it was on the old gate, more towards the middle. He did, and let us know that he couldn't paint where the latch was, because we weren't home and didn't leave the paint out, which is fine. It'll take me 5 minutes to touch that up. Gate works perfectly, looks clean. The only other issue I have is that there are slight (maybe 1/8" to 1/4") gaps between the boards, and I notice that I can see that the sides of the boards are not painted. Probably not a big deal. There was also sawdust and chips on the ground and just inside the adjacent garage, so it would have been nice to have that cleaned up when he left. But again, no biggie. The bathtub had old caulking around where it meets the tile, and he came in there and banged that out no problem. Overall, I say hire Daryl - he's a cool gent that obviously can take care of most any job. And the pricing is very fair.

He was punctual and professional and successfully repaired the damage.

Overall, we were very happy with their work. Liz was very nice and helpful. She emailed and corresponded promptly. The guys who did the work were incredibly tidy and precise in their work.

I contacted Daryl Vidal, who came to see the job, recommended that the door be ordered from a big box chain, and estimated that the installation would probably take a day. Even though the installation had to be postponed on a number of occasions for various reasons, Live Handyman was wonderful when it came to communication and follow-up. I could be certain that I would receive an e-mail by the end of a given day with a new time or date for installation or an update on the progress of the order. When the door was ready, Daryl sent a really good carpenter over to install it, someone that was polite, exact and punctual. Daryl reviewed the installation and went over some particulars with me, such as when the door would be ready for staining or painting.

The projects were broken into two phases for our convenience. Communication went very smooth from the beginning, getting our quotes through completing the jobs. The work took place on time and quickly. Overall, everything was completed as we anticipated.

My experience with them was excellent they were very responsive.

Professional, no flakiness in terms of showing up or being on time. I felt comfortable enough to give my keys and go out of town so the work could be done while I was gone. Great job done on dining room paint job.

The price seemed reasonable and the expense have to be approved by the board before anything happens. But they did give me a 30 day guarantee on the bid.

Overall, everything has gone very well. The only surprise was the bid for the bench included a low grade metal finish when I had specified that I needed the piece to have maximum protection from outdoor elements. The additional cost to get a higher grade finish on the metal increased the price of the project by over 25%. This said, the original bid had been comparatively low and the final cost was still within range of the other bids. The piece is beautiful and structurally very strong.

I received an estimate via email of 185, which I thought was a bit high, but liked the guy and accepted. He arrived on time and ready to go. He was right about the toilet, which he fixed perfectly, and he also got the lock to work. I was pleased, and even showed him some additional issues I wanted an estimate on. He left, and I was happy with his work. Later that same evening, when I opened that back door, I noticed it was now making an ugly scraping sound against the threshold every time the door opened or closed. It was jarring and unpleasant. The lock was working fine, but this sound was new. His office manager (I think his wife Liza) emailed me estimates on the new work and when I told her I needed him to first come back out and work on the door some more, she told me that since I had asked him just to fix the lock (not true), that the threshold problem was new and he would look at it again only when I ordered the new services and he'd come up with a price for it. I told her I had initially showed him the unaligned door and had mentioned the lock was only part of the problem. I also added that I felt uncomfortable with her suggestion that he would come back and look at it only after I had booked them for the additional jobs. This time she emailed back claiming that the 185 I was originally quoted was less than their 250 "minimum" anyway, so I would have to pay an additional 65 to have him come back to make it 250. I told her that a 250 minimum had never been mentioned to me so that was irrelevant, and that had the door been scraping like that before he left, I know he would not have considered the job complete. I added that it had not been scraping before he worked on it. She would not budge, and I passed on paying them the additional 65, and now I have a door that makes this awful noise every time it's opened. I think Daryl is smart and an excellent handyman, and I was surprised that they would take the attitude that his job was done even when I was unhappy with his work less than 24 hours later. I paid 185 for about an hour's work, and do not feel at all satisfied with the result. Good guy, badly handled business.

There was communication problems. Did not return calls.

The overall quality of their work was very good. There were a few small aspects that failed my wife's extremely demanding criteria, but Daryl was true to his word that the job was not done until we were satisfied. Overall, despite these things this was the best remodeling/construction experience we've ever had.

I asked for a quote via email and received one right away. Liza (who I dealt with over email) was wonderful and quick to respond to my questions. On the day that Daryl was scheduled to come out, he called to make sure we were home. His assistant Jose set to work; Daryl supervised and checked the work. We couldn't be more pleased - a real professional job (i.e., secured to the studs and neatly done). During the call, Daryl also assessed our rotting deck and promised an estimate. We were very impressed by his honest assessment and recommendation (e.g., to have an engineer look at our balcony). The estimate for the deck also arrived promptly. We've tried working with a couple of handymen and contractors, who were either terribly incompetent or never got back to us (probably scared of the condition of our house!). Our experience with The Live Handyman -- Daryl, Jose, and Liza -- was exceptional. A real pleasure.

Great experience with Daryl and company, he had great ideas about how to approach my particular situation taking into account my budget and the aesthetics of my house. He was able to get on the job quickly and I felt comfortable enough with him to let his crew work on the project while I was out of the country. After he finished the fencing I felt that he was the right person to deal with the pavers. I'm very happy with the results!!

Overall it was great. They were both nice guys. I would call them again and probably will.

He used a pressure washer to clean the entire outside of my home. The outside of my home turned out really clean. He completed the work in approximately five hours.

He painted the ceiling in one of my bedrooms and touched up paint all over the house. He patched up any holes before applying the paint. He did a very good job. He was very clean about the work.

I was experiencing a leak in my kitchen sink. He took the time to figure out where the leak was coming from. He had to change a pipe in the sink. I haven't had any problems since he repaired it.

I was experiencing problems with opening and closing a window in my home. He took the time to look at the window and figure out what was wrong with it. He repaired the window in a timely manner.

The framework in one of the doors in the bedroom was coming undone. He repaired the framework and replaced the doors. Another set of doors were busted and he replaced those with a new set as well.

I had previously had tile flooring installed in my hallway and he matched the tile in the hallway and installed it into my back bedroom. He did a really great job. The finished product turned out beautifully.

Daryl was exceptional from start to finish. He came when he said he would be there, provided detailed information and reasonable estimates, worked with us through the selection process (which color paint, which of the paneling looks best, should the lights go here or there) was flexible when we couldn't make up or changed our mind, and provided quality work at all times. His crew was on time and very nice, they did professional work, and they cleaned up each night. The end result is a really terrific room.

He came with his partner and they gave me an estimate. They returned and one of them worked on the television cabinet and the other repaired drywall in a small bathroom. The television cabinet was not sanded well so the finish was not good. The drywall had holes that I filled myself and the paint he applied did not match. He told me his life story which was unsolicited and made me uncomfortable. I will not be using him again.

Daryl does excellent work. He is knowledgeable and careful to get everything right. He is always on time, kept me informed of schedule changes and accommodated my schedule.