Different Strokes

Description Of Work: I own a small apartment building in Santa Monica. I hired Different Strokes and his workers to sand down 2 sets of stairs, rails and landings and a two security bars, paint my kitchen, living room and back bedroom in my own apartment unit. I paid the Different Strokes, Bill Durst, over $7,200 and spent about $1,800 on materials. It took me almost 2 years to finally get a judgment from agreeing to attend binding arbitration with the Contractor's State License Board--the award is for $5,444.55 and all the claims he asked for were denied. The Contractor suggested, applied and use the wrong product all over two sets of stairs, risers, molding, landings and trim and it is all cracking and chipping all over and the entire stairs will need to be torn out as the project never properly adhered. I am writing this review to protect other members from having to go through the hassles I have gone through in trying to get money back to fix my job professionally. Good Luck choosing your contractors,

I have been working with Bill Durst, owner of Different Strokes for about 7 years. He has completed many projects for me. I hired him upon seeing his work at a neighbors house. I was painting my condo for the 1st time and adding splashes of color. Bill was professional and helpful. He walked my home with me discussing color and the best Ways to accent my walls. He emailed me an estimate that included the number or workers And approximate time line. He completed 2000 square feet of work within a few days. This included putting back furniture and rugs, hanging the window treatments, sealing the The stairs and any settling cracks. He finished within the allotted time and came in slightly under budget. I appreciated most that he communicated with me throughout the entire project. I then hired him to work on the outside of the condo. As the homeowner association President, I reviewed bids among many contractors. The anonymous vote Was for Bill. He provided a bid. And as he did in our personal transaction Included receipts for all items purchased. There was no mark up. I paid what he paid. There was a section in the building that needed repair that would take us outside the Initial bid. This was fully disclosed before any additional monies were spent. I have since moved into a 6800 square foot home. I immediately called Bill. He Painted the house within a week. It was new construction so little hiccups were happening On property while Bill was there. He jumped into to help without being asked And without hesitation. He is honest and respectful of other people's belongings, Animals and children. He has repaired furniture, hung pictures, cleaned windows, And even taken out my trash cans. (I was 8 months pregnant.) I can also Add a gentleman to that above list. This level of service is not exclusive to me, as I have referred him To many friends over the years.... They will all tell of a similar experience. I call and will continue to call Bill for all of my painting and household handy Work. He gets the job done professionally, timely and ethically. My last project was one room..but his service Has been consistent since meeting him in 2005. I should also add that he has worked In a single room, completely did my condo and then my larger home. He Is a quality person doing quality work. He is a complete must have in your phone book.

Bill Durst gave us an initial quote for the job saying it would take four days and cost approximately $4700 which we accepted. The quote is in writing. When the job was completed he gave us a bill for $8900. When we asked him about this he said that the quote was an approximation. I explained what approximate meant and he said that that is the cost. When I confronted him about the bill, he said the quote does not matter as he bills by the hour. When I look at the bill, I see that he over-billed the hours. He also billed for supplies he did not use. When asked about this, he refused to show me where he used them and would not leave the supplies in the house. No custom colors were made and everything is returnable which made question his intentions. Unfortunately we've been using him for nine years. Last year, when he was out I found drug paraphernalia. I confronted him about it and he said he didn't know anything about it, that it must be a neighbor. I gave him the benefit of the doubt even though his work seemed to be slipping and hired him again. After this job we found drug paraphernalia again. Having never seen anything like that before and then finding them again when we hired him back proved to be too much of a coincidence. I am currently making a complaint with the Bonding Agency and also the State Licensing Board.

It went very well. The cost was $25.00 per hour and he was amazing. I recommended him to the neighbors and they also used him. They even cleaned up after themselves daily.