Tom Anderson Inc

Initially, I rated Tom high through Handyman Matters and even tipped him, but after we lived with the tile job for a few days, we noticed tiles that were improperly set with corners sticking up that made it painful to walk on. In retrospect, he seemed anxious just to finish the job. He put the baseboards in without grouting to the wall, first, and this has created some holes or gaps between the baseboard and tile where the grout fell down into the empty space. Grouting after putting in the baseboards has also caused the places where he put putty over nail holes in the baseboards to retain some of the charcoal grout and now I have to have them all repainted. Someone else started the tile job and we had to find someone else because his other commitments weren't allowing him to spend the time needed to finish the job, but his tiles are straight and so much better set than the ones that Tom did. On one tile in particular, we pointed out to Tom how crooked it was. He straightened it out, but by that time, the thinset had dried and he laid the tile on top of that already dried thinset. This was one of the tiles that was sticking way up out of the floor and hurt to step on. Also in retrospect, this was an example of how the job was rushed and not done with any pride of workmanship. The dried thinset should have been removed and the tile reset with fresh thinset right on the backer board. Handyman Matters had the really bad tiles fixed by someone who does take pride in his work. He cleaned out every bit of dried thinset to reset the tiles flat. I was not charged for this, of course. It took hours to correctly fix the bad tile work initially completed by Tom. The tile job was upsetting, but the reason I'm giving Tom a straight up "F" is because of the job he did on the doors he was sent to cut to accommodate my area rugs in the foyer. He was scheduled to come out, once again, through Handyman Matters right on the heels of the tile job. He arrived, grumbling about how Handyman Matters had been "running him around all day". He said Marc, another worker through Handyman Matters who had been at my house that day, could have done the doors. I just shrugged at him because it's not my responsibility to schedule the workers, but it made me feel uneasy because it was obvious that he didn't want to be here. I don't hover over handymen. He was here for only about 30 minutes and was cutting down several doors, including the front door. When he finished, I asked him about the front door and he told me it was solid wood and that he cut it off to accommodate the rugs and replaced the weather strip on the bottom. Because he finished so fast, I said, so when I roll out my new rugs, the door is going to clear the rugs, right? Right, he said. I have a lot of other projects going on and the rugs were rolled up and in another room, but a couple hours later, I checked myself and sure enough, the door did not clear the rug. I now understand that in dealing with people performing this kind of work, you really need to "inspect what you expect". I was charged $80 for this and the job was not done. I called Handyman Matters, furious. They sent someone who specialized in doors to do the job. It took him about 45 minutes to do the job because the door contained factory grooves on the bottom to accommodate the weather stripping and he had to cut new grooves into the door after sawing it down. So in other words, if you're still hanging in with me after this long-winded review, I can come to no other conclusion than Tom never cut down this door at all. How could he have if the factory grooves were still in-tact on the bottom of the door? How could he after spending only 30 minutes to cut down three doors? How could he after telling me the door was solid wood, only to be told by the guy who ultimately fixed it that it was hollow core fiberglass? I don't know if he was in over his head and just couldn't do it, or if he was angry at Handyman Matters for "running him around all day", but the job wasn't done and I was told it was. This gets an "F". The door specialist also took down the bathroom door Tom cut and told me it was far from level and said it looked like it had been cut with a butter knife.

It went great every time. He's very responsible and professional. Shows up when he says he will, and he works notably fast. No hanging out, talking. He's there to do the job, do it right, get it done, get paid, and move on to the next job. But he's very nice and personable, and willing to stop to talk if you want, and certainly willing to explain anything you have questions about. I am merely remarking that he won't waste half your day shooting the breeze, when you don't want to, like some handyman types. He's too professional, and he's motivated to be prepared, show up on time, get to work, get it done right, and get out of your hair. As for work quality, we've had no problems, and always been very impressed. In fact, labelling him a handyman is not generous enough. He can do just about anything that a high quality carpenter and home repairman or contractor can do by himself or with a small crew. The size of jobs he accepts (small to medium) tends to be limited not by his knowledge or abilities, but by the fact that he generally works alone. Prices - he's not the cheapest, but his prices seem fair and reasonable, especially if you're someone who prizes the quality of finished product (even on a small, less significant job), and timeliness, professionalism. On the whole, I gave him a "B" for pricing and an "A" for everything else, but I can't complain about his prices. Getting someone this good, and responsible, who knows how to do the job right the first time, and who stands behind his work after it's done, just costs a bit more than some less experienced contractor who is just starting to build a clientele. In sum, Tom Anderson is very good for small to medium sized home repair, carpentry, and handyman jobs, and he's a real nice guy to work with. You can't go wrong. I recommend him highly, without reservation, based on my experiences. I hope this helps.