Home Expo/Home Remodelers

The estimate and planning process went well, and Mr. Fell told us, repeatedly, that he (and his wife, who handles the designer elements) would bring expertise, experience, meticulous attention to detail, full service, and a professional crew to our project. But in our opinion this was an exaggeration. Here are examples of why we feel as we do. - When we were selecting flooring, we decided on Porcelainosa tiles. They told us that they were very familiar with Porcelainosa products, had been dealing with them for years. We traveled to the Porcelainosa showroom, selected a tile, and also found some attractive vanities and fixtures, selecting one for our project. When we discussed this with the Fells, they were completely surprised that Porcelainosa manufactured anything other than flooring, and blamed their "rep" for their own ignorance about the other products. Then, when they ordered our vanity, they ordered the wrong model, and we had to wait for Fell to figure out what had gone wrong and then correct it. He later explained to us that they had had no idea how to order it, but had gone ahead and included a note with the order detailing the specifications (instead of calling their rep or someone else to ask how it is correctly done). - On several occasions after we made our contractually required progress payments (by check, hand delivered), at least once after a check had cleared, we received inquiries from Mrs. Fell, who was confused about the amount we'd paid, what was covered, when the payments had been made, etc. This seemed disorganized to us, since we had paid exactly what they asked for when it was due. - When Fell's crew installed the vanity, fixtures and medicine cabinet in our WC, based on Fell's measurements and design, there was a conflict between the faucet and the medicine cabinet door (the faucet was too tall to allow the door to open). Fell began fretting and talking about having to lower the vanity or relocate the cabinet, and all the extra work that that would entail. He told us that he had never had this problem before; that he had never installed a vessel sink, vessel sink faucet and medicine cabinet together before. We looked at it ourselves and then suggested that getting a shorter faucet might solve the problem without the need to make major modifications. We were told that that might work, and because Fell was so busy, it became our responsibility to find a suitable faucet. We surfed the web, found one, and Fell ordered it. - One day when when we were about 99% done with the project, Fell looked into the WC and said: "I guess we should have put a backsplash in there." He talked to us about options/materials, and we settled on glass. He then told us about the glass company he uses, which turned into him complaining about how far the firm was and how expensive the time would be for him to go or send someone there, which turned into him giving us the name and number of the company and telling us to get it done ourselves. - When the crew was installing new molding around a pocket door opening, one piece was damaged (there was a significant gouge). We mentioned it and were told it wasn't a problem, that they'd repair it and it would be fine. Then they painted over it without making any repairs. Then, after we brought the unrepaired damage to Fell's attention, it took several more attempts to try to get it right (they didn't) before they finally just brought in a new piece and installed it. - After they installed the pocket door for the WC, the door, when open, extended about 3/4" inch or so beyond the frame. This was a big puzzle for Fell. He repeatedly told us that he'd been doing this for years and had never seen the problem before. He speculated that the door was the wrong size, or the supplier had provided him with the wrong components. He just could not figure out what was wrong. Finally he called in a finish carpenter who took one look at it and immediately said that nobody had installed the stop. He installed it (pieces of wood on the door frame), and that made the open door sit flush with the frame. Mystery solved. - The crew was consistently inconsiderate and disrespectful of our property and us. They used our refrigerator and microwave without asking permission. They dumped waste water containing paint and chemicals in our landscaping. They were frequently tardy without calling to say they'd be late. They opened one of our 5 gallon drinking water bottles (we have it delivered), which we store on our front porch, and used/drank a portion (without asking permission) and left it. They left trash in our potted plants. They did not clean up after themselves on a daily basis, as we had been promised. On several occasions they left for the day without informing us that they were done and leaving, including occasions when they left our front door standing open and our front screen door propped open too. On one occasion we gave them our cell number, left to eat lunch, returned home a half hour before they had stated that they'd be finished for the day, and found them gone and our front door open. They had left our house unlocked, open and unattended. - The crew's work quality was marginal, sloppy and not self-correcting (e.g., texture an area of a wall, leave part of it smooth, then paint over it; the pocket door molding I mentioned; a wall mounted vanity they installed, on a wall they built, is not level (back to front), and we were told that that is as level as it will ever be; when screwing down a sub-floor to eliminate squeaks, they missed the joists in an area and ignored the continuing problem). When I would walk the job w/Fell to ID problems, and he'd point out to his crew issues that needed their attention, as often as not they would ignore the tasks the next time they came to work (e.g., mud splattered on our dinette window was ignored through numerous visits to "clean and detail," problems with paint and texture, the pocket door molding, etc.). It also seemed that as we got closer to the end of the project, whenever they came to complete or fix something, they managed to overlook or create another problem (e.g., painting a wall or ceiling and then leaving one or more spots unpainted, leaning a ladder against a freshly painted wall and scuffing it). Fell himself frequently commented "Why would they do that?" "Why didn't they handle that?" "I know I told them to take care of that." - After his crew had moved our refrigerator, the water dispenser stopped working. When I informed Fell his first response was that it was not his problem; that I couldn't prove that it was the result of anything his crew had done. After lengthy discussion, he agreed to pay for repairs if a qualified repair person determined it was his responsibility. He asked us to use a particular appliance repair firm. We did. The technician discovered that when the refrigerator had been lifted it had been lowered onto the water supply tube. When I informed Fell about this he grudgingly accepted responsibility and reimbursed us for the service call. - We had a dispute with Fell over discoloration of our new paver driveway that occurred under where his crew had set up. After multiple conversations, and then consultations with the paver installer, the paver manufacturer and Fell, he (Fell) agreed to attempt to solve the problem by scrubbing the area with a brush and cleaner (provided by the paver installer). After that did not fix things, Fell asked us for his final payment ($500), and we told him that we wanted to get a resolution on the driveway first. Our next communication from him, with no notice or further conversation, was a mailed intent to file a Mechanic's Lien (for our final payment). When we asked him about it, he said that he was required to do so by law. He then pointed out that his contract held him harmless for any damage to curbs, driveways, landscaping, sidewalks, etc. This was a good lesson learned for us about reading contracts. - This was a job that was quoted to us as about 3 weeks (in the absence of unforeseen or unavoidable problems). Instead took over five months to close out. Granted, the 3-4 weeks of delay are attributableto the roof replacement and the driveway dispute, but we're still talking about four months instead of three weeks. We feel that the majority of the delays were due to Fell's mistakes, and to his crew's lack of professionalism. So, while we acknowledge that we are basically satisfied with the work competed inside our home, and with Fell's sub-contracting out of our emergency patio roof replacement, we are not satisfied with our experience with Home Expo/Home Remodelers. It was an ordeal filled with unnecessary delays, unnecessary multiple corrections of work that should have been right the first or second time, and unnecessary hassles. We would never use this firm/contractor again and we would never recommend it to anyone.