Alpha Handyman

We had a long term tenant move out of a North Park apartment. The apartment was pretty much 1950 style and in need of remodeling the bathroom and kitchen, the popcorn ceiling being removed, closet doors removed and replaced with mirrored closet doors, replacing the carpet with wood laminate, and several other items. We researched Angie?s List and picked two top rated handyman contractors to get bids from, one of which was Alpha Handyman Services (bonded, insured, and has a general contractor license). We contacted Mr. Fred Pratt (owner) and he was able to meet with us in a timely fashion. He was professional, very knowledgeable, and we had a relaxed and thorough conversation on what work needed to be accomplished. Mr. Pratt then prepared a detailed estimate that covered all aspects of the proposed job and sent it to us the next day. Alpha Handyman was very responsive and proposed starting the job the following week. Both the contractors we met with were very good and it was a difficult decision on which to contract with. We went with the other contractor because his proposal had each work subcategory separately priced, but Fred could have done the same thing if we had asked. I am confident that Fred Pratt could have completed the job to our satisfaction and I would use him in the future without hesitation.

This is the second job that Fred has done for us and it went just as well as the first. He was on time, fast, and did very high quality work. The medicine cabinet looks great, as well as the patching. He always cleans up afterwards like nothing ever even happened. Responds promptly to texts and phone calls. Very pleased with his work, will use him again in a heartbeat.

This was the first job I had Fred do. He was the first to respond to me and came the same day to give me an estimate. He was able to start the work that same week. He was on time, courteous, and took care of my house in the process of removing the closet (put down paper on the floor to keep it clean.) The job took 1.5 days total which I was expecting, and the end result was perfect. He left the house clean, it was like he was never there. He went over everything with me beforehand, every detail covered. We were putting in a new IKEA closet once he was done so there needed to be very tight specifications. The closet went in perfectly and everything looks great, overall wonderful experience!

Called me back a day later and asked for pictures. I sent the pictures the same day, no response. Asked for feedback via text after 4 days, no reply. Asked again today (day 5), no reply. Unprofessional. Would not recommend.

Eleazar did an AWESOME job getting the oven and microwave to fit perfectly into a space that was a questionable fit! He was prompt,neat, and his craftmanship really showed! Without having to do a complete overhaul of the countertop he was able to use the existing space to install these built ins. Thanks so much for all the effort, it looks and works wonderfully!

My wife and I have gone thru two kitchens and one master bathroom remodels at our previous house in LA and our new house here in San Diego. We have only used highly rated Angie's List providers but every time we finished a remodel we would swear to never use the contractor again. We also learned that you need to have a detailed list of what you want done and that every major job has surprises that you do not anticipate in the original scope of the project. The difference between a good and a bad contractor is how those surprises are handled. Our house is a 1928 built house and as a result we had surprises with the plumbing, the flooring and the electrical. Fred was present at the job site almost every day overseeing all the details and keeping us appraised of the progress and providing options when necessary. We had to change the positioning of the door going out to the deck, the location of the tub, the height of the shower floor, and several other minor details. For every problem that was encountered Fred found a solution and I felt that the additional costs were quite reasonable compared to what I had experienced in the previous remodeling jobs. My wife and I are very picky when it comes to details and I must say that Fred surpassed all of our expectations. The job started out as a $12K job and ended up being a $14K job but we love our bathroom. We have asked Fred to quote on a couple of additional jobs and are looking forward to using him again.

Fred's team did a great job, and they were very respectful. They prepped the work area with plastic and paper to protect the floor and room objects. They completed all the specified work in the time period specified in the contract (5 days) and at the price specified in the contract. Fred was open to any concerns that I had about the work and fixed any problems that I pointed out. Although Fred's price was not the cheapest bid I received, I felt the level of responsiveness more than made up for that. I would definitely hire Alpha Handyman again.

Fred, the owner, was very helpful in guiding me about shower detail. His number one guy, Danny, was tidy and hardworking. I will definitely be using Alpha Handyman in remolding the rest of the bathroom. Thanks Fred!

Fred and his crew did a great job in our bathroom. We had issues in our shower for years and now we have a completely new shower! We had faux marble in our tub surround and our shower. All of that was removed. The tub surround was replaced with subway tile. The shower was taken down to the studs and everything was replaced. Brand new hardibacker, restored plumbing, new shower pan, valve and fixtures and finished with beautiful subway tile. All the areas that needed repair after demo were done and painted. They also laid a new tile floor. Danny is the one who did the work along with his helper. The most hardworking crew I have ever seen. I was really amazed how they worked and were very professional and cleaned up after wards everyday. The project was completed ahead of schedule. Fred our contractor worked within our budget and was always very responsive. Whenever we had a question it was no problem contacting him. He checked in everyday. We are just so very happy with the work. Thanks to Fred and Danny we have a new beautiful bathroom!

It went great! Fred and his team were thorough, professional, and organized. This was our first time doing major repairs to an older house that needs a ton of work. He explained what was going on as the process was continuing and was in constant contact throughout the job. We would book Fred without hesitation for any future handyman needs, large or small. You should too!

Fred was able to come in and do this work for a rental condo while we were out of the area. He kept us updated with electronic communication and pictures after the work was done. He was able to schedule us last minute, finished the work quickly, and provided quality results at a reasonable price. Highly recommended.

Absolutely no further communication from the contractor; Very unprofessional and I will never call this business again!! He was only looking to get a really big job I guess. We have lots of work to be done but have to prioritize since we live of the area and have to get the most important things done first. We have to travel to San Diego and spend money on a hotel plus the extra gas costs to be there driving around. When we spend our time and money to come to San Diego and get work done on our rental property to have a contractor(s) NOT follow through with a bid or any communication makes our trip a complete waste of the expense on our end to be there. The contractor has NO accountability or concern for needs or respect for the time and expense to be there. Fred Pratt of Alpha Handyman Services should be removed from Angie's List. After all how would he like it if we did not pay him or decided to pay less if we were not happy with the quality of any work he might have done. I can assure you he would file a lien against the property for collection. We have been working all year working on the property from installing new windows for $15K, New plumbing for $13K and we have a contract for a new roof for $10K, a painting contract for $7K. We have currently spent over $30K this fixing up our rental property and I can supply the contractor information for your verification of the work we have done. We pay our bills in full and expect any contractor we do business to professional, Fred Pratt is not professional in our experience. He may have been professional with other clients, but certainly NOT with us. Duane Saavedra

Fred and his crew were without a doubt super easy to work with, professional and did a beautiful job. Danny did a majority of the work and was absolutely fantastic. We had plumbing issues (cast iron leaking) and had ripped the bathroom completely apart down to the studs (including digging up the foundation and leaving a big hole of dirt) Alpha Handyman came in and fixed it all up. Poured and repaired the foundation, added recessed lighting and more electrical boxes, built a tiled shower out of river rock and 12x24 tiles with double shower niches and laid a faux wood tile floor. The tile I had choose for the flooring didn't have a bullnose option as I wanted the flooring to follow up and be the shower dam as well, but Danny showed his skills and cut the tile at 45 degrees leaving it looking awesome and with a minimal grout lines as we wanted! I'm kinda OCD when it comes to things being equally spaced (as in grout lines\tile placement) and every thing came out perfect! We also reframed the hallway closest and reversed half of it so we would have shelf space in the bathroom. Fred gave us a time line of 10-15 business days and the work was completed in less than 10! I even ordered the wrong sized medicine cabinet and after reordering it came broke ( this was after the job was already finished.) No worries though, as soon as it came in Danny came back and put it in. Any changes we made during the process was easy and Fred really worked with us. You would think a contractor already has you sucked in and could essentially take advantage of you by pricing things up, but any changes we made were super fairly priced. Also - Alpha Handman's initial bid was HALF of what other contractors quoted us. Seriously HALF! This was our first time using a contractor for home improvements and we would definitely call Fred back for a second job if\when we need it :)

I would definitely use them again. Fred and his men were on time to start every day. They took the time to lay tarps over floors so that there was no tracking of dirt or dust. Talked to us daily about progress of job. Always kept us informed about any changes or problems with the job. Both bathrooms look fabulous!

All went smoothly. I added additional work after scheduling was done. They managed to start sooner so project was still finished on time.

I did not hire this company. I explained the job on the phone at the time of first contact, and told Mr. Fred Pratt that I urgently needed a phone line installed in a rental unit, and that in addition there might be other small jobs, but the most critical thing was installation of a phone line. The tenant was already living there and we had just discovered that the phone line had disappeared during construction. He scheduled an appointment for 3 days out, and then came to look at the job. At that point he told me that only the phone company could install a phone line. This of course was not true, and the phone company confirmed this. Another handyman ended up doing it for me. I really have to emphasize that I would not trust this company for anything, given that he was not up-front with me about not wanting to install a phone line. I very simply can't believe that he didn't know it was possible for him to install a phone line. Most upsetting was upsetting was that I really emphasized how urgently I needed the job done, then I waited for 3 days for the appointment, only for him to tell me that he couldn't do the job. He very clearly could have told me that on the phone. The only possible explanation I can come up with is that he wanted to see if I had other work for him. Again, I don't think this is a trustworthy company. I would have given an F, but he did call me back very promptly after my initial call. The other thing I didn't like is that he had staff he was going to use for the job he proposed. I would have preferred if the person who was going to do the job would have been the one to come out and look at the job. Apparently he manages the work.

We had the estimate but decided that it wasn't going to fit in our timeline at the moment. We will likely use Alpha's services later.

Good job, very knowledgeable.

They did an excellent job installing the glass tile and the kitchen looks wonderful. We are a very picky consumer and we were extremely happy with the work done by Alpha Handyman. We were so impressed that we are trusting the remodeling of our master bathroom to them.

We had to schedule appointment at least 1 week in future. This company is very busy. Based on the Angie's list reviews, we expected the services to be provided by a Handyman. This company subcontracts to others - they are more like a general contractor. The prices quoted were outrageous. For example, there was an estimate of $700 to fix a door that was not hanging properly + the haul away expense. My husband took off the hinges and rehung in about 3 hours.

Perfectly. Fred came out and did an initially estimate in a very concise and professional manner. He later sent me the contract and we set up a day for the repairs. Danny came to the house on the day noted on time and made the repairs. The quality of the repairs is excellent. The time taken for the repairs was also much less than I expected before the estimate.

Did a really nice job. Would use them again.

We love my new shower!! We asked for a sleek and elegant look, but safe for a retired couple. We are happy to say we got exactly that. It is so pretty and modern looking. Fred, the owner, came to our home to discuss our plans for a complete renovation of shower and new tile. He listened, gave suggestions, figured a very fair price and was pleasant and friendly. Alex did the demo. He lined all the surrounding flooring with plastic cover and protection from any debris. He carried out all debris immediately and always left everything clean and neat after each day of work. He was there everyday helping Danny, the project manager. Danny, , did the tile work, plumbing etc. and all the steps to prepare for putting up the tile. He was very skilled at his craft and very precise. Any changes we decided on, he happily made the changes. He too made sure everything was left clean each day. We are very happy with our new shower. We highly recommend this company. Jim and Pam Davis

Everything went smooth from start to finish. Fred always responded promptly, was courteous, and professional at all times. I will use him for all my home needs from now on and will highly recommend to anyone else.

Overall, it went well. The project extended over several months at our request. We did the bathrooms first. They turned out lovely with new tiled shower, and bathtub surround tile and updated vanities, vanities, lights and flooring. The garage is clean and fresh and we are very happy to have the new workbench and much needed storage and the redirected dryer vent! You would hardly know it is the same garage. Fred, Danny, and the others were always professional, prompt and pleasant.