America's Best Home Improvement - Miami

I recently purchased a house and it came with roof leaks and birds in the attic. Emo fixed the leak and put up screens. The birds returned and so did Emo with a wire screen. He did a good job and I intend to use him again.

They do a fantastic job and we are extremely happy with the application. We were having chronic roof leaks but this stuff is a very thick polymer that you roll in real thick and it totally fixed all of our leaks. Communication could have been a little bit better but the workmanship was good. They came back to inspect and the owner had them do some things that he spotted. You don?t get follow up like that very often. We are happy with them.

It went very well. See above.

Emo had done work for me about a month ago - roof repair and some other handyman type repairs (renovate shed, caulk fascia boards, etc.) He was very punctual and thorough and did an excellent job, hence the reason I called him out again. Again, he did not fail to live up to expectations. AND, on top of that, he cleaned up afterwards! I must also add that when he came out to look at the ceiling, he didn't automatically assume it was the roof. He checked to make sure it wasn't the roof by running water over the areas of damage for about 1/2 hour. Satisfied that it wasn't a roof leak, he told me that it was owing to the hot moist air from the shower. Of course, I knew it all along, but I wanted to see if he would taken the extra step to investigate before making quick assumptions. For the price quoted, he replaced the steam-damaged sheetrock, plastered and painted. He even added 1/4" round moulding to the ceiling, replaced the screen for a reinforced metal screen and changed the window crank.

The owner was an easy-to-like, knowlegable individual who heard my needs and promised the stars, the moon, and the highest quality job. It turned out he was just a salesman who did not do the work personally, have his own crew, or even closely supervise the work. Our job was done by subs that apparently did not understand the scope of work/our expectations and (from what we saw) were not adequately supervised by the owner of America's Best. The deck job started with pressure cleaning the deck, which was done so carelessly that all debris went into the pool and broke the filter. The perimeter tiles were simply replaced without reinforcement. Thin-set was used to "mud" them underneath-- no rebar and certainly not adequately reinforced. 1 tile broke the 1st time the lawn service mowed the lawn that same week. The awning was never removed, so neither the lag bolts were replaced or their holes sealed. The only work we could see done was a lot of caulk. As for the flashing, the workmen bent it by hand on the pool deck, resulting in a very unprofessional look. When I pointed this out to the owner, he said they did not have the machine to professionally bend the copper--- something he should have told me up front before he accepted the job.

They were professional, responsive and punctual. Their pricing was reasonable and the quality of their work was good.

It went wonderfully. He is very easy to get along with and very courteous. I even gave him a key to my house which I never do.

This was my first experience with America's Best Home Improvement and I will continue to work with Emo and his guys again We purchased a home in Coral Gables and needed some immediate work done on the house. The previous owners took good care of the house, but the outlets were ALL two-prong circa 1960 ungrounded plugs. They spent $20K on impact windows, but I guess they must have enjoyed being shocked occasionally. I digress... We needed someone to do 25 outlets and some other miscellaneous things, mostly electrical. Emo (the boss) and his professional crew were punctual (almost too punctual! but flexible if we were running late) and very thorough. I explained we needed some immediate work done and possibly some other work done in the future, pending this first job. During the walk through, Emo pointed out some things we hadn't even thought of, let alone considered. He quoted a reasonable price for our electrical work--that he explained was "higher than others, but for the quality of the job, you won't get better." What was most amazing and comforting was that he was going to start the work the moment we closed on the house; we had Direct TV coming and wanted to be able to plug in the TV into a grounded outlet... For the timing, attention to detail, and flexibility, we could not be happier. Emo was actually waiting outside the house waiting for our call that the closing was done and he could start work! As with any new house and its home improvements, there were the inevitable phone calls from Emo (or any contractor, for that matter) going something like "Ugh, we have some problems here with ___." But I have to say that he was extremely diligent about being honest with what he found (example: some outlets weren't even wired to ground at all!), showed me, and then proceeded to do the extra work anyway for no additional cost. He basically ate the extra labor. Speaking of additional costs he ended up eating in the end... When it came time to upgrade the breaker box to 200A, Emo searched all over Hialeah looking for the proprietary GE breaker our box would require. Having done his research, he accurately quoted the initial cost for the part. But did that part actually exist in South Florida? Of course not! Why would it be that easy? I mean apparently GE doesn't like to actually make parts for the proprietary circuits it sells. General Electric? More like Selective Electric. Anyway, after endless searching for days, Emo gave up - I don't blame him at all - and says, "well, we're gonna have to order a whole new breaker box - it's the only GE 200A (or similar) GE breaker that is gonna work with all your existing breakers. And it's bigger, so we;re gonna have to cut some drywall out to install it. It's gonna cost ya." *Heart, Wallet drops* Now I see how GE makes its money. Emo, the MAGICIAN!, works his magic! We get the new box, figure out that with a little ingenuity and a sawzall, we can make the existing box work and squeeze the new 200A breaker in." No cutting drywall, painting, or sick GE marketeers. All I paid extra was the cost on top of what he quoted me for the original - nonexistent - part. And he showed me the receipts to prove it. ***In the end*** Emo is a stand up, honest guy. He's personable, extremely punctual, and attentive to your every need. He's in this business to be the best. I only give a B for price because he may not be the cheapest, but the quality of parts and labor is top notch. It is, of course, Miami, so you if you are OK with how most businesses work around here, then you should be fine. If you want every i dotted and t crossed, i.e. do the job perfectly and pay the exorbitant bill, look elsewhere. If you want a reliable, sound, high cost/quality ratio in an interactive semi-DIY-have-someone-else-do-the-heavy-lifting format--perfect for savvy young professionals who value quality at the right price, Emo is your guy. I look forward to working with him in the future.

The results were excellant and his employees are well qualified. Mr. Vargas was on-site a large percentage of the time. Very detail oriented and extremetly helpful and knowledgable in suggesting alternatives.

Our house needed attention in a number of areas. Beginning with repairing and painting the roof, replacing doors, screens and a number of smaller jobs around the house, Eufemio showed that he knew what he was doing. He used some of the best materials available on each part of the job, and helped us obtain good prices on several of the large purchases we had to make such as the metal doors. He had a solution for every problem he came across; often they were ingenious and effective, and the exterior looked excellent when it was finished. He is a particularly skillful exterior painter. He can bend metal to good effect for door jambs, storage boxes, and covers. Near the end of the job, we disagreed with him on an estimate he gave us, but when we let him know about that, he backed away from it. One thing that I liked about his way of working is his intense focus on the main job he is working on. He and his men were at our house almost every day during the four weeks it took him and his crews to finish the job. Overall, we had a positive experience with him, and the house looks very good and is much tighter than it was before. We would go to him again for work around the house.

Emo was prompt in getting back to me and even accompanied me to the home improvement store to buy the doors and fixtures. He picked them up the next day and installed them. When we realized that we had bought one door that swung the wrong way, he helped me negotiate with the home improvement company to switch the door out with the proper one and reinstall it all at no additional charge. He and his crew even worked until 8:30 one night to make sure the job was done before we had family come to visit for the Holidays. Exceptional workers who do top quality work!

He was just fine. He was a sweet man, and his prices were reasonable. I was happy with his work.

They were good.

They were here when they said they were going to be. They did a really good job and we had no problems with the work. I would recommend them and use them again.

I like that he called me back right away. He was able to start the job the next day. It only took him one day to do the job. He was here early in the morning and worked until 9:30 PM. I am really happy with the job that he did.

This time it was a total disaster. They took three times as long as estimated and they ruined some of my furniture, even though we had moved it upstairs. The amount of dust and sawdust raised was incredible. I had to fix the molding myself after they left. They did not bring their own clean up equipment and had to use my vacuuming cleaner and brooms and mops. I withheld 400 dollars from the estimate and I should have withheld more. For other things, they did fine but never again for floors.

They were prompt from start to finish. Whatever Job they were doing, they were very focused on their Job. After each job, they were very good about cleaning-up in the work areas and removing the rubbish that accumulated, away from the premises. I highly recommend these people for any Handy Man Job and would gladly call again for their services, if I needed to.

Honestly, the owner is a little nutty, but the final product turned out very good. The guys he hires to do the work are excellent. I think he gave me a very fair price. The railing for the staircase took a lot of discussion and rethinking, and in the end I got exactly what I wanted. He did a great job with that.

The problem had existed for a number of years. Mr. Vargas met with me to inspect the job. The next day he was there bright and early to complete his inspection and give me the price estimate. A contract was to be faxed to me, but as I was unable to receive faxes we ended up working off a handwritten contract. The next day he and his crew were there bright and early. There were always 3 to 7 men on the job each day by 8:AM. They work steadily for 12 hours each day, only taking a break for lunch. Their work was of excellent quality. Although I added a number of projects to the job they completed the work on time.

Wow, this company was amazingly flexible! They got started right away. Mr. Vargas is prompt in answering calls and resolving issues quickly. They worked extremely fast and put in long hours so that we could get the work done as soon as possible. They also hauled away all the old fascia board. I was impressed with the work and with their professionalism. I was so happy that they were able to do all of the above, where with other roofing companies we would have had to hire someone to remove and replace the screen and someone to remove and replace the awnings and someone to paint and someone to repair the doors, etc. All of which, on my preliminary estimates from other roofing companies would have made the job cost twice as much and take a lot more time than it did.

Most of the work was accomplished by "Emo" and just one or two assistants thereby extending the job time to well over a week. "Emo" has a definite "can do" attitude which sometimes exceeds his ability to accomplish. For example, his promise to clean up and paint our garage interior was frustrated by a defective Behr product which failed to cause the final floor coat to adhere properly after it dried and peeled off when the car tires rolled over it. However, to his credit (and Behr's) he returned weeks later and redid the entire floor at his and Behr's expense until the problem was corrected. I thought the wood replacement and painting around the front entrance was innovative and nicely done as well as his cost effective solution to replacing the old sofitt screens. On the other hand, his resealing of the driveway did not go well and he agreed to a price concession as a result.

The prices in the contract did not include the materials. I was told this after we went through the contract together. Then he told me after the work was complete that the debris left from the job was going to be my responsibility. He offered to have one of his guys come and take it away for $150. I wasn't pleased with this but I agreed. We had some problems with the man showing up when he was supposed to and then once he did he told me it was going to cost $300 - twice as much as what was stated before. This was unprofessional.

The prices were reasonable but they left a mess. I had to call them several times to come back and clean. By the time they came out to clean it up I had already done so. They were very nice and went with me to pick out the door and hardware. He was able to accommodate my schedule and was very knowledgeable.

When I got the estimate of $2700, I asked the contractor how long the job would take... he replied more than 5 days. I asked further how many men would be on the job ... his reply at least 2; sometimes 3. So I presumed that at least 75-90 man hours would be worked on the jobsite. After 2 days, a total of 4 hours had been worked on the jobsite. I was concerned and spoke to Cole M at Angie's list. He advised me to call the contractor to discuss. The contractor was not happy when I questioned him about man hours, but we did finally agree that at least 50 man hours would be worked on the jobsite. The work was completed in 8 workdays and 30 man hours on the jobsite. The work was of good quality, except for 1 open item [glue used to secure the coping stained the pool surface] and $200 was withheld. I expressed my dissatisfaction with paying for 50 man hours, but only getting 30 man hours. I'm happy to pay a fair rate, but think $90/hr is excessive for this work.

Eufemio is not cheap, but he is excellent and prides himself in detail and a job well done. He is creative and very knowledgeable in all aspects of remodeling. He'll be painting our entire house inside and out next.