Exceptional Property Services

I do not usually take the time out to write detailed reviews, but I am writing this one in the hopes that someone else in my situation may make a better choice than I did for a contractor. I would say that it is also to help the contractor learn how he can improve – however in my opinion I doubt that this one will ever make strides towards improving his work (unfortunately). Most people requiring handicap accommodations in their homes rely on contractors for services, and unfortunately, they are sometimes preyed upon. There were several unprofessional issues, but I will just highlight a few: • Tile removal on the floor resulted in my entire subfloor being ruined due to the way it was demoed. His crew bashed through it using hammers. Now, the tile floor was from the ‘30s and was set in some thick mud. I expected there to be some damage from a power tool to get it out. I ended up with huge holes in my floor (see pictures). When I asked about this, I was told it would be perfectly fine, with a layer of cement board over it. I hesitantly agreed, and Dave put cement board over it, and placed some “screws to nowhere” (see pics) to hold it in place. Once I saw this, I told him that I needed the subfloor fixed. It was bowing when you walked on it, and totally unsafe. He argued that it was totally safe, as he stepped on it and shifted his weight (he is at my estimation at least 275lbs of muscle) and it bowed beneath his feet. Even the guy he had as a helper with him agreed with me that the floor was not solid, and also not level so he was not sure how it was ever going to be tiled. Reluctantly, Dave put down the ¾” ply for the subfloor, on SOME spots, and did not forget to tell me that this would all cost extra. • I asked if I should continue to remove the old wall paper backing that remained on the bottom of one wall. I was told “No, don’t worry about it.” I thought this meant that he would remove it. Nope- he tiled over it. I found out, when the plumber came in to hang a sink. The backing absorbed enough moisture to be dripping when the plumber cut into the wall, and the once solid sheet rock crumbled all over the floor. Almost the entire bottom half of this wall needed to be removed by the plumber who I had to pay extra, and replaced and re-tiled by Dave. Somehow, Dave said that the plumbers work ruined his timeline, and that he was performing extra work. There was never any responsibility taken on by him about the fact that he did a really poor quality job because he could get away hiding it behind tile that would probably stick for long enough for him to high tail it out of my house a week later. If he did the right thing, and didn’t sandwich old wall paper backing between wet thinset and sheetrock – he would never be in that situation. (I do not know why I did not discontinue his services then) • I asked him to widen the doorway to 30” to accommodate for a wheel chair (it was originally a tiny 23” wide). I had plenty of room on either side to do this – very simple 2x4 cutting and replacing. Not a load bearing wall. We went over this, he made marks, and I showed him the door that was to hang there. Somehow, I get to the house and see that it is cut to 36” wide. When I ask him if he really plans to trim it out 6”, he claims I told him that the opening had to be 33”. There is no door in the US that is 33” wide unless you custom order it, and the door was sitting in the house in the same spot I showed him. Come. On. This extended the work schedule as well, because it had to be fixed. There was no way to accommodate a 36” barn door in the space. He sorta complained about reframing it, and stated “(sigh) Well I was really hoping to be out of here by Tuesday.” OK?...Then I channel my father telling me as a 6 year old to measure twice and cut once. I really did not know what to say to this guy. • Tile. About 50% of the shower tile looked OK. The other 50% has large lips between rows of tile, and none of the grout lines are straight. The floor tile had to wait to be installed until he fixed the door opening. Somehow, the pre-spaced 12” x 12” sheets of tile I provided were slapped in so that there were literally no grout lines possible between some pieces, and large gaps between others. (see pics) When I called Dave to ask him about this the next morning, he started yelling and cursing at me on the phone telling me I was a “real pain in the a**,” and that I was “really p****** him off.” He also told me the reason it looked like that was because I walked on the floor. I did not walk on the floor. I discovered the tile situation at 1AM right before locking up, because it was the first time that day I had a chance to get to the house to look at the bathroom. I have laid enough tile to know that this meant it needed to be ripped out and re-done; wasting more time and money. The next morning when I brought this up to Dave, between him yelling and cursing, I was told “you’re a pain in the a**,” and “you’re really p****** me off!” This is when Dave was asked to take his tools and leave the job, to which he replied “I’m not leaving until you pay me the rest.” “The rest” of his original quote included trim work, completion of tile (I literally still have missing pieces of shower tile, cove base tile, and no floor tile), grout, and door hanging. He did not even complete half the job correctly, but was threatening me to receive the rest of the cash he wanted. To sum it up - totally unprofessional, unreliable, and disorganized. (Also not the way to be a good human being). There were times where he said he was coming to work, never showed up after I went to the house to let him in, no communication, and then texted after missing a day to say “sorry I couldn’t make it YESTERDAY, I had my son.” THEN, he complained about how long the project was taking him. A picture is worth a thousand words, check them out.

I do not usually take the time out to write detailed reviews, but I am writing this one in the hopes that someone else in my situation may make a better choice than I did for a contractor. I would say that it is also to help the contractor learn how he can improve – however in my opinion I doubt that this one will ever make strides towards improving his work (unfortunately). Most people requiring handicap accommodations in their homes rely on contractors for services, and unfortunately, they are sometimes preyed upon. There were several unprofessional issues, but I will just highlight a few: • Tile removal on the floor resulted in my entire subfloor being ruined due to the way it was demoed. His crew bashed through it using hammers. Now, the tile floor was from the ‘30s and was set in some thick mud. I expected there to be some damage from a power tool to get it out. I ended up with huge holes in my floor (see pictures). When I asked about this, I was told it would be perfectly fine, with a layer of cement board over it. I hesitantly agreed, and Dave put cement board over it, and placed some “screws to nowhere” (see pics) to hold it in place. Once I saw this, I told him that I needed the subfloor fixed. It was bowing when you walked on it, and totally unsafe. He argued that it was totally safe, as he stepped on it and shifted his weight (he is at my estimation at least 275lbs of muscle) and it bowed beneath his feet. Even the guy he had as a helper with him agreed with me that the floor was not solid, and also not level so he was not sure how it was ever going to be tiled. Reluctantly, Dave put down the ¾” ply for the subfloor, on SOME spots, and did not forget to tell me that this would all cost extra. • I asked if I should continue to remove the old wall paper backing that remained on the bottom of one wall. I was told “No, don’t worry about it.” I thought this meant that he would remove it. Nope- he tiled over it. I found out, when the plumber came in to hang a sink. The backing absorbed enough moisture to be dripping when the plumber cut into the wall, and the once solid sheet rock crumbled all over the floor. Almost the entire bottom half of this wall needed to be removed by the plumber who I had to pay extra, and replaced and re-tiled by Dave. Somehow, Dave said that the plumbers work ruined his timeline, and that he was performing extra work. There was never any responsibility taken on by him about the fact that he did a really poor quality job because he could get away hiding it behind tile that would probably stick for long enough for him to high tail it out of my house a week later. If he did the right thing, and didn’t sandwich old wall paper backing between wet thinset and sheetrock – he would never be in that situation. (I do not know why I did not discontinue his services then) • I asked him to widen the doorway to 30” to accommodate for a wheel chair (it was originally a tiny 23” wide). I had plenty of room on either side to do this – very simple 2x4 cutting and replacing. Not a load bearing wall. We went over this, he made marks, and I showed him the door that was to hang there. Somehow, I get to the house and see that it is cut to 36” wide. When I ask him if he really plans to trim it out 6”, he claims I told him that the opening had to be 33”. There is no door in the US that is 33” wide unless you custom order it, and the door was sitting in the house in the same spot I showed him. Come. On. This extended the work schedule as well, because it had to be fixed. There was no way to accommodate a 36” barn door in the space. He sorta complained about reframing it, and stated “(sigh) Well I was really hoping to be out of here by Tuesday.” OK?...Then I channel my father telling me as a 6 year old to measure twice and cut once. I really did not know what to say to this guy. • Tile. About 50% of the shower tile looked OK. The other 50% has large lips between rows of tile, and none of the grout lines are straight. The floor tile had to wait to be installed until he fixed the door opening. Somehow, the pre-spaced 12” x 12” sheets of tile I provided were slapped in so that there were literally no grout lines possible between some pieces, and large gaps between others. (see pics) When I called Dave to ask him about this the next morning, he started yelling and cursing at me on the phone telling me I was a “real pain in the a**,” and that I was “really pissing him off.” He also told me the reason it looked like that was because I walked on the floor. I did not walk on the floor. I discovered the tile situation at 1AM right before locking up, because it was the first time that day I had a chance to get to the house to look at the bathroom. I have laid enough tile to know that this meant it needed to be ripped out and re-done; wasting more time and money. The next morning when I brought this up to Dave, between him yelling and cursing, I was told “you’re a pain in the a**,” and “you’re really pissing me off!” This is when Dave was asked to take his tools and leave the job, to which he replied “I’m not leaving until you pay me the rest.” “The rest” of his original quote included trim work, completion of tile (I literally still have missing pieces of shower tile, cove base tile, and no floor tile), grout, and door hanging. He did not even complete half the job correctly, but was threatening me to receive the rest of the cash he wanted. To sum it up - totally unprofessional, unreliable, and disorganized. (Also not the way to be a good human being). There were times where he said he was coming to work, never showed up after I went to the house to let him in, no communication, and then texted after missing a day to say “sorry I couldn’t make it YESTERDAY, I had my son.” THEN, he complained about how long the project was taking him. A picture is worth a thousand words, check them out.