Craftsmen Home Improvements

It was a very good experience from start to finish. Pete came to the house, suggested a new configuration for the bathroom that incorporated all I wanted and improved the flow of the room, then met with me and helped me pick out tiles, cabinets and fixtures. He gave me an estimate that included absolutely everything for all the remodel materials and work (excepting granite countertops and kitchen appliances, which I had to buy separately). There were no subsequent additional hidden costs or "surprises." It turned out that the old baseboards in the bathroom which we had planned to reuse did not fit the new configuration so I had to buy new baseboards, but this was the only minor deviation from the estimate. The project took a bit longer than first estimated, because of a concrete (not concrete board) subfloor in the bathroom, which took longer to remove, and because there was such extensive tile installation in the bathroom. Another delay was having to order and stain new baseboards, but the work was substantially completed and the bathroom was completely functional so there was no inconvenience. Eric and Ken, the ones who did the work, impressed me with their professionalism, craftsmanship, and pleasant personalities. They cleaned everything up after finishing each day, and having the work done was really only a minor inconvenience. I had heard countless horror stories about how inconvenient and obtrusive and dirty remodeling projects can be, even if everything goes well, so I was prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised that it went as easily as it did. Of course, I know from my own experience of life that everything takes longer than you think it will, so I was not bothered by the fact that the project took longer than we originally thought. I would certainly consider Craftsmen for additional work, and would recommend them.

During the month of October 2010, I was interested in having my basement finished. I had appointments with several contractors. The first was with Craftsmen. The individual that showed up was on time, initially polite and well dressed. He looked at the basement area and took a few measurements listening to what I basically wanted (# of rooms, etc). He then did inputting (which I did not see) on a laptop which. He then gave me a power point presentation on his laptop explaining how his company worked. Then he provided me a small piece of paper with his dollar quote on it and proceeded to pressure me to make a decision and sign with his company to do the work. He wanted to know the names of the other contractors that I was scheduled to see and had the attitude that his company was the only one that could do the work. Also, the estimate did not include tasks such as painting the walls, which I'd have to get done separately. The estimator had only one solution to my basement and it involved very expensive materials. He did point out that all walls would be using purple board (similar to what is used in a bathroom shower wall area) and proceeded to seel this solution based on the inevitability of flooding in my house. I politely asked the individual to leave and he did. All the other contractors that came later took a week to prepare a bill of material showing labor, material, etc. These ranged from a single sheet of paper to a detailed spreadsheet. They also provided a rough sketch of what the basement would look like and offered different options on materials. What I did not like about craftsmen was that they insisted on the most expensive materials from what i could deduce. Also, their sales pitch was based on fear of impending flooding. Further, they provided no details as to what went into their price quote and wanted a decision right then. I eventually did have the basement done but not by them.

.Great. The only delay was getting the staining company to stain the windows. This had nothing to do with Craftsmen, the staining company was just overwhelmed with all the year end requests.

I had major work done with them. My daughter used them recently and she also loved them. They just did everything professionally. The guy who comes out was able to solve problems that another company wasn’t. They did what I needed them to do. They were prompt, clean and polite. My daughter did some kitchen work with them a year and half ago and we were there last night and she mentioned that she is going to use them again for some bathroom work. She wouldn’t even get estimates from anybody else because she was so happy with them. She is really happy with them.

Usually showed up on time, and would call if they were going to be late. Very professional and pleasant to work with.

The job was excellent. They are on time and friendly.

We were very satisfied with our experience with Craftsmen. Our designer from Craftsmen was Doug Readnower. We found him to be excellent. He listened to our wishes and concerns and then provided a design plan that exceeded our expectations. The skilled workmen that did the work were top notch. Over all, we were very satisfied with our experience with Craftsmen Home Improvements. The price was not cheap, but we felt we got excellent value for our investment. Larry Kelley

During presentation of estimate the SALESMAN had no figures of his own but said they would do it for the price listed on the insurance adjusters report. The SALESMAN wash as pushy as the proverbial used car salesman. Bottom line, I did not trust what was being said and with no written paperwork of their own I said "Thanks, but no thanks."

The first week they tore up the flooring and cut out a wall. The second layer of floor was put in with old screw-type nails and it was taken all the way down to the joists above the basement. We had a pocket door that had to be removed in order to cut out the wall. These guys earned more than they got paid - priceless is what they did. The crew always was respectful of us and our needs. They built a 'bridge' so we could walk over our entry way floor the day it was tiled (baths and bedrooms were on one side of the entry). They went above and beyond to make us happy. Jim never questioned me about anything. "Yes, we can" was his motto. Matt never stopped working. They left for a quick 20-minute lunch and were never late. Hank kept on top of our job in spite of his own rotator cuff surgery. I talked to other contractors. One poked fun at me about considering Craftsmen. He was extremely expensive and said all they did was 'take out the old and put in the new.' Well, guess what - that was exactly what we wanted with an almost 60-year old kitchen and we got a cut out that opened up the entire kitchen in the process. The other guy wanted money up front before he would even talk to me at all. Not Craftsmen. They come out and talk to you and measure. Hank had a plan drawn up for us to begin planning before I had decided who I was going with. He was not pushy - only professional and knowledgable. When we get some more money, they will be the first ones we call to do our 60 year old bathrooms!

My overall experience was negative.The bathroom remodel took two months. The toilets they recommended were'nt worth 2 pennies. They needed to be replaced 5 times in 1 year! Something else they did was installing the wrong tile. After it was up, they showed it to me and I explained it wasn’t what I ordered. After looking at my order and confirming---they took it down and replaced it. The end product shows a lot of flaws in the tile work. I'm sure there are other crews, I just happened to get a crew that was less than satisfactory.

Their sales rep. David came and gave us a very detailed estimate, and break down of all the work that would be done. We ordered cheapest counter we could afford, bought our own sink and faucet from big box store and ordered our own dishwasher to save money. Also , in order to save more money, we opted to dispose of old sink, counter and other materials. Since our counters were not perfectly centered in kitchen, we had them remove old counter top on Monday. Contractor came and measured our countertop so it would be cut properly. Spent next few days waiting on counter top. On Friday Kevin came out and installed new counter, dish washer, and sink. Replaced the disposal. Skim coated the wall a few inches from where the old tile counter top was removed. replaced plumbing under sink. Ran electricity to the dishwasher. Sealed and caullked all seams. And cleaned up very well before he left. I felt very safe with this contractor (or sub-contractor... I don't know) in my home. He was very considerate, polite and got the job done quickly and properly. We are pleased but perhaps we would have saved more money paying someone directly instead of a larger company who contracts out jobs. Overall, we would hire again and will recommend them to others to call and get their own quote. VERY PROFESSIONAL and KIND people.

We had two other estimates and their estimate was pretty high. They were punctual and polite. They were just expensive. We would consider getting another quote from them.

They did an amazing job and I was very pleased with them. They sounded good over the phone which favourably impressed me in the first place. I was also very impressed with their representative who came to our house to do free estimates. He gave me all the information about what they would do, when the crew would come in, how much time they needed and by when they would be finished. Everything went exactly as he had said. There was no high pressure to sign up with them as I normally get turned off by service providers who give hard time for not signing up. Their price may have been good and comparable but I don't have a way of comparing that. They were able to fix some problems that I had which other service providers wouldn't do. My daughter will be moving to a new house soon and will be using them for remodelling of her kitchen.

We were sent to another company to pick up the specific slabs. We picked them and then they came out about three weeks later to install it. I would use their services in the future too.

The workmen were very professional, polite and punctual. They cleaned up after themselves. I also had upgrades done in the bathroom (new tub and surround, new countertop, new toilet). The crew arrived when they were scheduled and did the job efficiently. They completed the work on schedule and I had no problems with anything they installed.

The workmen arrived when they said they would and got right to work. Allowing for ordering of materials and work time involved, a two week start to finish schedule was established and the job was completed on time. Everything was done exactly as we contracted. There were no problems and no hidden charges. The original estimated price was exactly what we were charged. The sales rep at the showroom helped us with suggestions for selecting styles and colors that would complement each other. The results are beautiful! We couldn't be happier. I definitely plan to use this company again since I have some other work planned for the future.

Very well. The sales guy was nice, very thorough bid. The installers were very experienced and took pride in their work. Eric and Ken are top notch. There were a couple minor issues after the install, they responded immediately, got it fixed professionally, and without drama. I don't mind minor issues, as long as the company responds well to get it fixed, and they did. I couldn't be happier with the final results, and our overall experience.

Everything about this project was a nightmare. We had trouble from the very beginning, and we had to ask for a second crew because the first crew was so incompetent, but the second crew was just as bad. They used a dry concrete saw, which sent clouds of concrete throughout my entire house. There is no way to simply wash off the concrete dust, so I had to hire a professional cleaning crew to come remove the dust from the ceiling, as the dust had covered our walls, ceilings, our dishes, and every other part of our home. We also had to repaint the entire house because of the concrete dust. When they took out the toilet, they did it on a Friday morning. They then left to get their paychecks, and did not come back for three days. We had to stay nearby because we had animals on the farm that needed to be fed, so we had to pay for a hotel room because we had no working toilet. They had to remove a wall, and when they rebuilt the wall it was not plumb. They used filler to make it appear to fit. They had a high school dropout doing our electric work, and I went down to the county office to make sure they had pulled the permits, and found that they had not pulled any at all. We had tile put around the bathtub, along with two ceramic shelves. Three weeks after the shower was completed, our daughter was taking a shower and the shelf fell off, cracking the tub. They sent someone else out to fix the shower, which was still under warranty. The repair place put a lien on our property because Craftsmen did not pay the $200 bill, and they never fixed the cracked tub. We had to have bathroom fitters come in to cover up the brand new tub. We had to ask them to park in the yard because the oil from their pickups was dripping on the driveway. Their workmanship was pathetic, and I would have been better off walking up to the local high school and getting three kids of come in to do our plumbing and electrical work. We ended up finishing it ourselves. The Better Business Bureau did not help us, so we hired a private lawyer, but dropped the suit because it would have cost more than we were willing to spend. We just wanted to be reimbursed for the cleaning of our ceiling from the concrete dust and the hotel room it was necessary to rent. I had an independent inspector come in to objectively grade their work, and he agreed that it was sub-par. The original quote was for $16,000 but, with all of their mistakes, it ended up coming to around $20,000. The inspector said that it was an $8,000 bathroom job. He thought that the $8,000 we gave them to begin the work was all that it should have cost, and that because they already had their money, they were likely not motivated to complete the job. The fixtures we bought from their showroom were 1980s fixtures?they were not even current, according to the inspector, who told us that we have a nice bathroom for 1980. Before we gave up on Craftsmen, one of the partners in the company told us we still owed $3000 and assured us that he would personally stay on the job until it was finished. Of course he did not, and it became obvious that they simply did not care. The partner told us, ?Well, some jobs just go south. Yours went south.? They were not embarrassed when we asked them about the permits, and they kept telling us how much it was costing the company because of how long the job was taking. I did learn so much from this project?I know to ask for bonding papers, I know how to check with the county office?but it was a hard lesson learned. That is the year I learned about Angie?s List, and I will never go through what I went through again. This is a company to be avoided at all costs.

The kitchen is beautiful and much more useful. I would call them again.

They installed the bathroom in a small space. We had one problem but they followed up and resolved it.

Perfect. They worked on our bathroom for the estimated time and it looks great.

Four companies were interviewed for this remodel, and all were excellent. However, Craftsmen provided ''one-stop shopping'' at their showroom, and the invaluable assistance of a specialist/designer who evaluated and encouraged my own ideas while presenting his. Once all supplies arrived in the warehouse, the installer and designer examined the bathrooms to familiarize themselves, and me, with what to expect. We all had copies of the agreements as a reference. The installer was punctual, tidy, polite, and meticulous in his work. Both baths were completed in 2 1/2 weeks. The specialist/designer visited the house as part of an evaluation of the work completed. A few, barely noticeable cosmetic changes, that most homeowners would not see, were listed and will be remedied. We trust this company and will call them for any future remodeling.

EVERYTHING WAS DONE AS PROMISED AND ACTUALLY TURNED OUT BETTER THAN EXPECTED. ONE OF THE GUYS HAD STOPPED SHOWING UP, BUT THAT WAS BEYOND THE COMPANY'S CONTROL. THEY JUST HIRED SOMEONE ELSE WHO DID A GREAT JOB.

CRAFTSMEN HAD SOME HARDWORKING MEN TO DO THE WORK THAT WAS PERFORMED. THEY ALWAYS MADE SURE EVERYTHING WAS GETTING DONE RIGHT AND THAT EVERYTHING WAS SATISFACTORY TO EITHER MY HUSBAND OR I.

THEIR PRICE WAS KIND OF HIGH FOR WHAT THEY DID. BECAUSE MY BASEMENT WASN'T VERY BIG. THEIR RESPONSIVENESS WASN'T VERY GOOD. BUT THEIR PUNCTUALITY AND PROFESSIONALISM WAS PRETTY GOOD.