Extreme Makeover Custom Home Repair Handyman, LLC

I have used Extreme Makeover previously for interior carpentry work and was entirely satisfied with their professionalism, punctuality and high work quality,. In my mind there was no other option but to have John and Mark perform this project. The Master Bath was completely gutted and we had a new oversized shower stall with bench, tiled walls, new vanity with granite countertops,tiled floor and all new fixtures installed. Their prep work with shower wall sealing and floor sub-lay insures a quality product for many years. There is no shortcuts with this company. The half bath was done with similar planning. The wood and tile work is expertly done along with the necessary plumbing and electrical. The guys always keep you in the loop. They lay down tarps and are very considerate of keeping the area as clean as possible. They are very personable and made this major project a pleasant experience for us. You will not be sorry with Extreme Makeover. I will definitely use them again.

Extreme makeover did a complete gut and custom makeover of our kitchen and bath (with the exception of our bath floor and shower, see our review of Rebecca's flooring design, as we highly recommend her as well). John and Marc were very professional, personable and very easy to work with. They were also flexible as we had limited space to work with which required some amendments to our original plans. They were willing to do whatever was needed, whenever it was needed. The quality of work was exceptional in all areas of expertise, carpentry, kitchen cabinets, flooring, drywall, painting, electrical, plumbing, etc. we highly recommend them and you can be sure that you will be completely satisfied with how your job turns out and will enjoy working with them. We will be hiring the again for future projects.

He was great!! Very clean and fast!! Will definitely use him again - kudos

This project was a renovation of a 2 bedroom condo that we wanted to stop renting so we could sell it. John was very prompt in starting our project, fitting us in between jobs in a timely manner. We had some problems with the delivery of kitchen cabinets from the provider, which he had to work around. This put us back at least 6 weeks and he worked diligently to keep the delay at a minimum. His crews were very professional and responsive, especially during the kitchen installation. The tile floor in the kitchen was installed beautifully. The plumber installed a shower valve upside down, which had to be redone. A few things were installed hastily, so attention to detail could have been better. There were a few small items not on the list that he attended to willingly.

It went great. I needed a door replaced on my rental property. John worked with the tenant to discuss the project, coordinate a time to do the work and was able to get the project done the following day. The door looks great, and the tenants are very happy with the new door, the workmanship and the professionalism that John displayed throughout the project. I was away on a business trip and was able to easily coordinate this work with John remotely. He was very quick to respond to my questions and we were able to work out the scope of the project quickly over the phone and text. Overall, both myself and the tenants are very happy with John's work.

John was very professional, kept me informed of each step Along the way . was right on schedule with the project. cleaned up each day.WAS Sensitive to our needs since this was the only shower/tub in the house. Was extremely pleased with the final project!

John (Extreme Makeover Custom Home Repair) was very responsive and professional when requesting a quote and description of work details. He came out to the house to assess what would need to be completed and provided a detailed estimate in writing within a short period of time. While performing the work the kept the work area very clean and neat making sure to minimize the impact to the rest of the house. The area was covered to prevent cold air coming in which made it a little more difficult for them to complete the job but keeping minimizing the impact to the rest of the house (family was very appreciative of this). I believe the installed door has been installed better than originally done when the house was built.

I dealt with John directly to help order a front door and sidelite from a Harvey catalog (. Our original front door and sidelite were in poor shape and no amount of weatherproofing would keep the cold air out. John removed the storm door and front door/sidelite and installed everything to perfection in a few hours. There was no mess to clean up and all went well. He even accommodated my need to pay with a credit card. Most contractors won't take credit cards even for expensive items, not sure why since their business would get extra work. He did charge an extra fee to use credit (something like 7%), but I was fine with this since I didn't have another option.

Exceptionally professional, both accommodating and pleasant to work with, the workmanship was great. The only problem with writing a positive review is that he will get more work making him busier. I understand why he is 'busy' to say the least, he's responsive and does excellent work.

The job was performed quickly and with attention to detail. I appreciated the care taken to keep my home clean while the work was performed.

Thru it all John stayed in communication with me as to dates, what was to be done and how long. John's crew was professional and made this easy. I had in mind what I was hoping it would look like at the end of the job. It looked better. I know who to call next time I need another project done. Thanx John, U Da Man!

It went very well. He got back to me within a day of me calling him. He was out the next day to take a look and give a price. He was out at the next convenient day for us to get the work done and completed the work. It was a wet rainy day and he took the time to lay drop cloths down to keep the floors clean. The work looks great and he left the place spotless. I was surprised to find how responsive he was for a little job. Thanks John.

Provider was unable to make the appointment on Mon, Oct 5 and cancelled that same day via text. I suggest cancelling via phone call on same day in future. Provider failed to respond or follow-up. It would have been much better if the Provider would have honestly said that he was too busy to take on additional work or work was not sufficient

Project work start: 10/1/14 Project work completed: 10/14/14 Contract Negotiation Start: 7/8/14 Contract Negotiation Complete: 9/8/14 Contract Addendum Added: 10/3/14 Project Bid Cost: $11,250 Project Final Cost: $11,722 Project Description: 1. Replace front door with new door with minimal windows in door. 2. Replace siding damaged by woodpeckers and moisture. Repair deck stairs and warped boards in bench seat. 3. Pressure wash house, deck, and moss on back foundation. 4. Paint house with one coat of oil based primer and one coat of latex paint. Optionally, add one coat of latex paint if approved by home owner. 5. Stain deck with one coat of opaque stain. 6. Use "California Paints" products on house and deck. 7. Provide mechanism for raising and lowering woodpecker deterent strips(BIRD-X strips) on four house corners. Summary of Results: 1. Siding and deck board replacements were acceptable with some reservations as noted in the detailed results section. 2. Painting and Staining are a major failure after going through one winter. There are extensive areas on the deck that have peeled off and several areas on the house that have peeled off. Also there is extensive cracking of the paint on the house(precursor to peeling). Detailed Results Description: Contract Negotiation: John and his assistant Mark came out to the house two times to take measurements because I had added the front door to the list of things to be done. On the second visit I gave John a detailed write up of the items to be done so as to avoid any extra charges(several reviewers have indicated that any extra work is unreasonably expensive). When John sent me the contract he left out several items, so I updated the contract with the missing items and sent it back to him. When it became time to sign the contract John tried to get me to sign the original contract with the missing items. I refused and eventually he signed version of the contract that listed all the items to be done. During the negotiation, I had asked John(via email) for a payment schedule, but he did not answer my question. Consequently, I told him (via email) that the only payment that I expected was on completion of the contract. After three days of work, John asked for $4000.00. At that time we negotiated an addendum to the contract that specified an initial payment of $3300.00 and the balance when the contract was completed. The addendum also included a written guarantee of the work for one year. John continued to ask for more money up front(in violation of the contract) at various times during the project and in each case I refused. John complained that I was a stickler for the contract. Apparently, he is not used to following the written contract. It should be noted that John, initially, did not want to provide references, as he expected me to evaluate his work based on reviews. Eventually, He provided only three references, one of which provided some useful information. Contract Performance: 1. Front door was replaced with a lower quality door than the previous one and the dead bolt was not as heavy duty as the previous one. However, this work was judged acceptable. 2. Siding replacement and deck repair: The siding was beveled properly and nails countersunk below the surface, in contrast, to original builder who had the nails flush with the siding surface. Since nails usually work their way out over the years, the countersunk nails likely will take the siding with them. There is already some evidence of this over the winter as you can see some dark color (previous color) at the joints where the siding was replaced. On the deck the steps tops were misaligned with the base. When this was pointed out, John had Mark sand down the overhangs. It would have be better to pull the nails and align the tops of the steps with base and then re-nail the tops of the steps. Work judged acceptable with reservations about the appearance of the misaligned steps. 3. Painting and Staining: The stain on the deck peeled off in at least 20 different spots on deck after going through one winter. The paint on the house has peeled off in at least 5 spots and there is extensive cracking in at least 15 spots. I consider this a major failure as the previous times 5 times that the house was stained nothing like this happened. I suspect that problem with the deck occurred because it rained during the staining of the deck and the rain spots had to be touched up. As for the house, I know that John painted the primer in the grooves of the shiplap siding and put 2 coats of latex paint on all within 6 hours in one day on the west side. It is probable that the same procedures were followed on the other sides, but I wasn't paying that much attention to the other sides. Since, the paint specification calls for 4 hours of drying time between re-coats, the minimum to do this work should have been 8 hours plus the time to apply each coat. Whether this has any effect on the result will be up to the paint manufacturer's representative to determine. Also the John and his assistant, Mark, left early 3 days(Oct 7th, 16th, and 18th) due to rain which may have an effect on how the paint dried. In violation of the contract, John added the third coat of paint without obtaining my permission. 4. Also, there were paint spills on the windows, window frames, and on the slider door handle. The window spills were partially cleaned up. However, this would not have occurred if John had followed the contract and covered these areas as specified. 5. Mechanism for raising/lowering woodpecker deterent strips: This took 3 tries. The first time the setup would have required me to disassemble the mechanism to replace the strips when they wore out. After complaining, John put clips on the mechanism so that the strips could be easily changed. However, about a month later, the mechanism jammed. At that time John replaced the pulleys with metal rings. Now, the mechanism is mostly working except is difficult to align the strip with one corner of the house. 6. Overall: I had to spend quite a bit of time watching John and his assistant to make sure that the work was done correctly, especially the last day. On that day, John tried to walk off the job with only 1/2 the deck stained. He demanded extra money to paint the bottom of the deck in violation of the contract. Consequently, I was forced to pay extra. John's original bid was $3000.00 above the two lowest bids, so he made plenty of profit. Guarantee Performance: I notified John of the paint/stain peeling and cracking on 7/23/15. First, he wanted to touch up the spots that were peeling and cracking. I said, "No, that is likely to end up with the same result. The paint/stain manufacturer's representative needs to come in determine the cause of problem." As of today, I have just heard from the paint/stain(California Paints) manufacturer. Depending on the result of this and John's actions to correct the matter, I may change grading of the work. Grading the work: key: A=excellent, no problems B=good, mastered the craft, minor issues C=fair, only partially mastered the craft, significant issues D=Poor, has not mastered the craft. major issues F=Failure Contract performance: F -John follows the policy of dropping items from the work description so that he can charge extra. Several reviewers have verified that the same was done with them. -Several parts of the contract were not followed. -Constantly asking for money in advance in violation of the contract payment schedule. Construction work performance (siding repair): B -Misaligned stair steps on deck. -Countersunk nails when they should have be flush. Painting/Staining work performance: F -Extensive peeling and cracking of paint/stain after one winter. Treatment of homeowner: F -Constantly complaining about paint taking too long to dry, the house absorbing too much paint, and complaining about the homeowner "being a stickler for the contract". If you're a contractor, you should follow the contract. -Too much time spent by homeowner doing oversite to make sure the work was done right. One of the references provided by John also made this same complaint. Overall grade: F Conclusions: You should expect that John will always find work that he calls "extra" even if it is already in the contract, so it does not matter how closely you check over the description of the work. This "Extra" work will be ridiculously expensive. Also, expect to have to watch him every minute of every hour if you want the work done according to your expectations. Consequently, I do "not" recommend John Leahy at this time to other homeowners. However, if he makes good on the guarantee I may change his grade.

Job went well. Provider worked steadily and stayed on the job until it was done. Removed the old storm doors. 2 of the old storm doors did not shut properly and the new ones that were installed were fitted appropriately. Also, one of the inside doors was hitting the top of the door jam and that was fixed. New door knobs and locks installed on 4 access doors, including deadbolts. Old doors and locks were taken away and work areas were cleaned up. Very friendly and personable service.

never got estimate know call or anything. would never hirer him .

I was very skeptical as I have had some really bad contractor experiences. They did a great job. The final product was very professionally finished. The framed lattice looks great and the screen porch is better than it ever was. They used an aluminum screen system and it really came out very nice. The posts were wrapped in vinyl sleeves and the sills were replaced with azek. The net result is a beautiful maintenance free screened in porch. John and Mark showed up on time everyday, were very polite and respectful, cleaned up each day and communicated proactively. I would use them again.

I had a coupon for two hours of service. I called in June twice and did not receive a call back. I called again in August and he told me he would call me back to confirm the following Wednesday or Friday after 3:30. I never heard from him. I did not feel comfortable having someone like this come to my home and do the preparation for painting a room when he did not seem to be taking his commitment seriously. He made it clear that extra time would require extra payment and that two people would be working for 1 hour, but he never got back to me after several conversations.

John responded to my phone call right away and met me to look at the job. He had an estimate to me within a few days and we set up an appointment to do the job. John showed up on time, cleaned up and got everything done by the end of the day. We are very pleased with his work. He even brought our deck stairs up to code; since there were actually missing a step. We would definitely hire him again and would recommend him to others.

John and his helper were here on time and performed all work in a very professional and conscientious manner. By the time that the job was completed, we could not have seen better results. They had to co-ordinate their work with that of the granite installers. This required changing their schedules twice to get the job done in a timely manner. Which they did, even-though it was obvious that they they had commitments for several other customers.. John seemed to be able to successfully manage his very busy schedule while keeping everyone happy. Not an easy task! The things that stand out the most was the speed and quality of the work as well as the thoroughness of the cleanup.

This has been the second time John and Mark have performed services at our house. From obtaining a quote for the repair of damages, to scheduling and execution of all required work, we could not be happier with the results and how it all worked out. The quote was so exact that it got approved by our insurance right away and John and Mark were even able to start two days earlier. Our projects took 2 weeks and when John and Mark wrapped up for the weekend the areas of the house that needed repairs were cleared of all tools, paint etc. so that we did not have to look at it all weekend long. As a matter of fact at the end of every day, all areas were cleaned and cleared. Once everything was completed it took us no time to make the house look like the construction has never happened. Due to water damage, the entire garage had to be painted and everything was put back in its place afterwards. John and Mark are very creative, accommodating and a pleasure to work with. We are currently in the process of planning the next home improvement project with Extreme Makeover. I highly recommend this company.

It went well -- design through implementation.

They were prompt in coming out for an estimate, gave me options on different door manufactures and options, very nice guy and competitive pricing. We ended up not going with him as he is not licensed in MA, though I believe this work didn't required pulling permits we just wanted to go with someone licensed in case there were issues.

I didn't actually use him because I had already made arrangements with someone else, but his bid was competitive and he went out of his way to make himself available in case my first provider didn't work out. I would definitely give him a chance in the future,

Very Professional and Punctual. Excellent Communication and Excellent Quality of Work. John made it very easy for us by coming in on time, getting the job done and accommodating our specific timing requests. I would definitely use John's services in the future and I highly recommend him.