HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST

The provider was not able to work on the Northshore. Services not performed. I got my money back.

It was not very good. I didn’t end up using them. It wasn’t very helpful. I never got any plan or anything. They didn’t really do much to the table. They just didn’t understand what we were trying to do. They weren’t really creative. We had some ideas that they kind of shot down and we ended up doing them anyway and it came out great.

He was responsive initially. But then he was supposed to send his engineer out to take measurements. A week has passed and I haven't heard anything from him at all.

Came and took measurements. Estimate and drawings were received almost 4 weeks later at a cost I would never consider (> 25K for cabinets).

He was very professional. He came out in force with lots of people, did a good job

Form the first meeting I could tell that they were very professional. They listened to what we had to say. They seem like they are going to be easy to work with. They seem like the type of company that you would want to work with. They also came at the time they said they would come and two gentlemen came out. Each one explained what their duties were for updating our kitchen.

They were a little above my price range so I went with someone else. Awesome people though.

The member requested an estimate for remodeling his kitchen and he asked for the price to be broken down . The provider refused to break down the prices for the member. stating that it was a bundle project. The member did not want the bundle package. The provider still refused to break down the prices. The member is still looking for a contractor. However, the provider was on time.

I WANT A DRAWING !! WITH MY EXSISTING CABINETS=== ONLY THING I GOT WAS MEET ME HERE MEET ME THERE MEET MY CONTRACTOR MEET ME TO LOOK AT THIS AND THAT YOU LOOKED AT MY HOUSE I TOLD YOU WHAT I WANT ==DRAW ME SOMETHING ITS SIMPLE!!

Extremely well. They were very punctual The work men were professional and cleaned up after themselves each day.I am very satisfied with all the work and will definitely use this company gain.

I wanted to have my bathrooms remodeled, but I was afraid because of all the stories you hear about contractors. I called several contractors to get ideas and prices..Three companies came out and I looked over their plans and prices. I decided to go with Home Improvement Specialist because 8 years ago they remodeled my kitchen and garage and I was very satisfied. The work was great and on time. Mr Halprin came with Mr. Freedman and they went over the work. Mr. Freedman said he we would take me shopping to buy the bathroom tub, shower faucets, vanity, and floor tile. He put my at ease because when they.did the work the first time my husband was alive and he picked out the material. I would recommend Home Improvement Specialist to anyone who needs a good and fair contractor

How did it go" Frustrating, seriously delayed, mediocre work. An "F" for failed experience! [Photos are available to support all claims made below] Contract signed in July, 2013 and final work completed on December 20.2013. 1. The bathroom lights were installed improperly (we were without lights in the almost completed bathroom for 3 weeks!) so they were ripped them off the wall (now, no lights now in the bathroom) with NO DATE for reinstallation. (photos available of before and after) 2. Trim work unfinished for weeks. When finally finished, floor panels which were removed to install tile were disposed of and therefore not available for matched under the trim completion (Photos available) 3. Work delayed because contractor said that, "since vanities were delayed we can't continue." When vanities came in, one was moved and left for a week, directly in front of dresser making it very difficult to get to clean clothes. There was no need to wait for the vanities. In addition, care was not taken when vanities were installed; crew stepped on the vanities during wall repairs and renovation, using them, apparently, as a ladder. While the vanities were screwed to the walls permanently, none of the hardware was installed. (Photos available) 4. Wrong size panels (6-foot) of man made granite instead of ceiling to floor panels for shower installation ordered by contractor. Contractor became angry when we did not settle for the 6-foot panels with a trim and 3-foot panels at the top. Thank goodness we had the words, "floor to ceiling panels," one pieces handwritten by us on addendum to contract. We were told that it would take an additional 20 days for the new CORRECTED order, even though the folks who make the stuff said (we called) it would take 5 -7 days to get it ready. Passive aggressive punishment by contractor because we did not agree to the configuration that he wanted which would have used the incorrectly ordered slabs affecting the appearance of the finished work. No shower, no lights....etc. (Photos available) 5. For six weeks, debris has been left in our house as if it was a construction zone. Bags of trash left in the bathroom on several occasions and now, even though the painting is over, for the most part, painting gear left in the corner of our bedroom, where we sleep. Did they forget that people live here? (Photos available) 6. Other miscellaneous failures (wrong door handle installed, dirt and debris left in the two new vanities, parts of known good hardware thrown out, etc.) (Photos available) 7. Dust everywhere. curtain and furniture covers not used during remodeling. Imagine your master bathroom a contraction zone, with garbage and debris, dust everywhere in your connected bedroom. Our bed and dressers were covered with dust! Did they forget that we live in this house and have to breathe here? (Photos available) 8. A working door handle and other hardware were trashed before discussing it with us. As it turns out we purchased an unneeded door handle for the guest bathroom, installed incorrectly (we fixed it). When we went looking for the old working in good condition door handle, it was gone. Contractor promised to be replace the door handle. We are still waiting (1/8/14!) This all started in September, (9/5/13) when the plumber came to rip out the shower and left, without doing anything because a valve wasn?t purchased (what valve, what?), even though I was available to go buy the specified valve while the shower was removed. This delayed everything for 1 week. Still don?t know why. My strongest recommendation to anyone using this service (why would you?) or any other contractor in Louisiana, is to DEMAND A TIMELINE/TIMETABLE AND SCHEDULE FOR JOB COMPLETION. If you do not do this, you are the mercy of folks like this who will fit your repair or renovation in between what ever other project they are trying to manage, If the management is mediocre, like we believe was the case with this company, you will have the unfavorable experience we had. Seems like the work is done at the convenience of the contractor who had multiple projects. The management of which were pathetically poor as work that could?ve taken place did not for over 13 days, during the period from 9/5/13 to 10/29/30. Nothing was done except for trash left, dust left, and half of the work completed. Perhaps this contractor has never been overwhelmed with projects and thus never had customers who new better to note the horrible management of the renovation. Hard to believe he has such high marks as a contractor. Never would guess, again, that he may have been overwhelmed. Together with passive aggressive behavior (seemingly delaying the installation for the correct size shower sections instead of using what was incorrect and modifying it so it would cost him less) in combination very poor management by and overwhelmed contractor equals a terribly extended long drawn out, ?can?t wait for these bastards to get out of here? attitude and feeling about Louisiana sluggish contractors. A very, very disappointing experience that I would hope no one else experiences. Yes, we did have restrictions of time but were willing to start at 7:30 in the morning, even though wife works evening shift and has multiple sclerosis), but they missed too many day opportunities to work to bring the project to an earlier completion. We were available on weekends and had at least one full day off during each week, ignored by the contractor. The contractor told us that we were, along with ?only one other? customer from over 10 years ago, that ?gave me trouble.? Apparently his 10-year old customer were also forgotten, or were considered less important than his other projects. Perhaps his ?customer from 10 years ago,? chose, like us, not to tolerate his less than medicare management. Perhaps 10 years ago he did a poor management job with that customer. Think about it: we signed the contract in July and finished in December, with weeks of zero work completed (we had most fridays off, so did they!), work competed at their convenience, wrong basic parts ordered, property thrown out???. you decide! Beware of this contractor! Apparently he has his friends and sub contractors, who like to work with this individual, write positive bogus reviews. Response to response made by Howard: We WERE NOT informed that we had to have a plumbing part available when the job began with the removal of the old bathtub/shower. What part? we were told a valve was necessary. What valve. We are NOT PLUMBERS and if a plumber was coming why didn't he bring the part. And why did he have to have BEFORE the plumbing was worked on? It seems to me that first you tear out the old bathtub and shower (2 hours minimum?) and then get the plumbing ready for the new work? Right? In those two hours I could've complied with a request, after being told what plumbing part I needed (i was NEVER INFORMED!), and I could've have gone to Home Depot to buy it. Right? No. The plumber left before starting. Why? Howard had other things for him to do, as he did with his crew over and over again during this dismal display of incompetence. And... How do you explain the no-work days? Six months to finish the project, more than 30-40 days of us staring at an incomplete bathroom! Why? Good job in explaining your poor management, Howard: Attack personally by calling your customer a control freak and explaining that everyone else is satisfied. My guess is that we helped make other customers happy satisfied because you screwed around with our job, not competing it on time, doing other things with other customers while we waited tolerating an uneven schedule, leaving garbage in our house, moving a two sink cabinet in front of a dresser in the bedroom so we couldn't get to clothes, etc. All because of your poor management of our job so you can get to your other jobs. Great excuse. Why don't you simply admit that you messed up on our project and get on with your business. You failed us.

The workers are punctual, professional, and cleaned up thoroughly after completing the job. We have used this company on several occasions and have always been pleased with the quality of work, price, and professionalism. We recommend them highly.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that I purchased. It went fine. They didn't understand what I wanted.

They were great, punctual, enthusiastic, professional, friendly, the whole deal. They spent a lot of time and effort to see that we were happy.

We hit a couple of snags with our choices and Home Improvement thought outside the box in order to get us what we want. First class professionals. Everything was talked through. He listens to what his customers want.

They gave me an estimate. Everything went well.

Unfortunately, I then had several family emergencies that caused me to be in & out of town for several months. As a result, I did not return their calls to set up a follow up appointment.

The gentlemen that came out from Home Improvement Specialists were very nice and knowledgeable. They came out twice and provided a computer generated drawing of the cabinet layout for the bathroom remodel. No plans or blue prints were provided. All I got from the deal was the cabinet layout, which I had already received from the cabinet store. I did not get what I was expecting. I have not yet decided if I am going to move forward with the remodel.

Really went well. I wanted some unusual features in kitchen, and Mr Freedman understood, and did not try to talk me out of these features. Be sure to stick to your guns. I got a bosche dishwasher panel front dishwasher, which called for an extra couple of panels, which came out well. This did entail more time that neither of us expected, but it was worth the wait. I did pay for new sink and dishwasher myself, as agreed at contract signing. Mr Freedman took me to big box store for purchase of these items. He always responded quickly to any questions or concerns I had. Price was about what I expected, given extent of work needed.

My wife and I wanted additional work space in the kitchen. HIS sized and sketched an island then scheduled a meeting with a cabinet showroom. After visiting the showroom, It was evident to us that a more economical approach would suit our needs. We took the sketches to a local cabinet shop and contacted with them for the finished product.

There was no design. The proposal did not break down for each are of work and what the cost would be for each item. It was just a lump sum. I was disappointment with that aspect. I met with them twice and they were pleasant people.

We were pleased with the price and the professionalism. Also, with the scheduling and promptness of the contractors. We were pleased, overall, with the quality of the work. Our concerns dealt with the sometimes inattention or overlooking of details. Did not feel the provider had an eye for detail, such that it was necessary for us to get mistakes corrected that the provider should have overseen. We have an old house that is not plumb making the countertop work difficult. We had to have the granite installers come back to make adjustments.

They were great we were extremely happy with the results we just love it

It was slow starting because we live in a tree preservation district, requiring we and the contractor jump through some extra hoops. In all their years of experience, contractor had not encountered this. The delays were not the fault if the contractor. Once started, the work went relatively quickly, with delays caused by inspections not the contractor. There was a bit of a language barrier with two of the actual workers, but we worked through it. Any time there were concerns on my part, not only were they resolved near-immediately, but the owner came by to confirm that it was resolved. They were very hands-on. Additionally, I have a two year old. They were all great about working around her and her schedule, to the point that they took lunch or did quieter tasks during her nap time. I can not say enough nice things about Home Improvement Specialists. They have become my go-to contractors.