THE BATH ROOM

Very bad experience. They refused to install units we bought ourselves, insisted to do the ordering. We asked for a specific kind of switch; they brought something else, and when we objected, said "this is the style now and we have to install switches that are in style". (Probably they didn't want to go back and get a different switch.) On the line item for paint "touchups" around the new switches, asked for $400, which should have got us the entire rooms repainted. (We were able to reject this, but not to lower the price; the result was very ugly damage on walls that we will have to get repainted later.) The outside vent is ugly. The electrical switches get warm with use; we will have to hire someone else to fix. They seemed surprised that we should ask them to take care of the permit. They left holes and cracks in the walls (from installing the switches). They were rude. Comments from the workers hinted that they were not treated very well by their management.

The owner and his crew were very friendly and polite, but we had big problems communicating, especially when the project leader turned out to be someone other than the owner we had initially talked to. We had hoped for a lot more creative input and solutions for practical, space-saving or unusual design; mostly we were offered one or two standard solutions ("this is how you do it"); some features we asked for (floor heating, straight instead of rounded counter edges, and no pony wall, for example) we had to push for, and the floor heating did not happen at all, because the tile went in before we noticed that the item had been forgotten on the newest work order. In Bath #1 several measuring and cutting mistakes (counter and shower enclosure) delayed progress and completion for weeks, and Bath #2 started with a couple of days' delay, so we decided to cancel Bath #3, so we would not be at risk of being without a bathroom altogether. For Bath #2 we did make some changes after starting construction, that cost us probably 1-2 weeks (our responsibility), but with this bathroom also measuring and cutting mistakes happened (holes for sinks in counter were cut out wrong, mirrored wall behind sinks is too short; they had to shorten it to get it in, because the sinks, cabinets and faucets had been put in first and were now in the way). The workers were really friendly and mostly competent in their specialty; however, they arrived some time between 9 and 10 am and left between 3 and 4:30 pm, with a reasonable lunch break in between. Sometimes they stayed away or showed up unexpectedly. The second bathroom was only done (incl. final inspection) middle of June '08. Instead of 2-4 weeks (or max. 6, factoring in our extra requests) as promised, each bathroom had taken almost three months from start to finish.

The original manager, Tooraj Hashemzadeh kept the project on track and organized. However, there were some moments of shoddy workmanship with the plumbing and wiring. The tile guys, Consado and Gordo were excellent, though. Our current worry is that the wiring for the heater/vent is dodgy: it stopped working several months after the work finished, and we showed the melted wire screw cap to their electrician, and he shrugged saying "It looks fine to me up in the attic, where the wiring is." Unfortunately, Tooraj is no longer working there, and Rick doesn't seem as knowledgeable or as attentive as he Tooraj was. :-( However, we are happy with the end result, as it's great to have a functioning bathroom! We just need to get some competent, robust electrics redone...