Fresh Starts Home Improvement LLC

everything went well. Brian and his team installed fairly large swing set. they worked on it 2 full days. First day from 9 till 8 and second day a little less. I wouldnt be able to install by myself, and it would require a lot more of my time. They did a very nice job, as more than a year later, everything seems sturdy, and I swing my kids high and fast. They did this job as they would have done it for their family. They were professional, punctual, and did quality work.

We were extremely dissatisfied with both the quality of the work and the response to our concerns. After reading reviews, looking and photos of previous work, and meeting with Brian, we were told that a professional carpenter would be completing our job as he had completed others from the company in the past. An estimate totaling $2752.00 was quoted, and this is market value for the work of a professional familiar with industry standards. We were quoted a completion date of September 13. On October 13, nearly one month later, the cabinets were installed in our home. We were shocked by their quality and appearance. They contained surfaces that were improperly sanded; many of the surfaces had sanding residue in the finish; there were many unsquared and chattered saw cuts; there were exposed plywood edges, miss-cut trim, inappropriately gapped margins, and they had an overall rough surface texture. They were painted with one coat of paint using a cabinet roller, and some of the surfaces were not painted at all. (Photos are provided here). They in no way met industry standard, and not only a professional would see that; it was obvious to even the inexperienced. While we acknowledged that they were not yet fully finished at this phase, the majority of the quality issues that existed should have been addressed in the shop prior to installation. In addition, while installing them, Brian and his crew sawed into our existing drywall, inappropriate cut our current wood wainscoting, failed to cover our furniture, and left layers of dust and debris throughout our family room and adjoining eating area that we were left to clean. Because of this quality of construction, we were hesitant to allow Brian to continue with the job until we could meet to address the issues. We sent him items of concern, and each was negated, with Brian simply indicating that the job was not yet complete. In an attempt to set up a meeting to discuss the manner in which to move forward, he wrote that he was “not interested in discussion that involved a negative financial impact to myself or my company.” This was after we had invested $1376 as a down payment for materials. When Brian did agree to meet at our home, we learned that the carpenter who had previously worked for his company no longer did, and that our work had not been completed by the professional that we were told would complete it. Brian seemed to have no knowledge of industry-standard carpentry, telling us that he was “aware of aesthetic issues,” but never addressing the quality of the construction or a reasonable manner to solve the construction issues. He often referred to “industry standards” as something that we should have established as our expectation before he started the work. After the meeting, we prepared a request to remedy, which was based in Brian beginning with a sample of the work that would be performed from there on as the job was completed – we wanted to see a finished sample of one door and one shelf before allowing further work. It was an assurance to us that the cabinets would meet the quality standard that is established in the industry. Brian twice refused our request, stating that “he didn’t have an interest in continuing to go back and forth as all that does is continue to raise costs.” To us, this was not additional cost – it was work that would need to be completed regardless in order to finish the job. It also indicated that he cared more about his bottom line than customer concerns. At this point, we are over two months into this process, and we have paid $1376 for cabinetry that is of no use to us and of an unsalvageable quality – it must be removed, and the damage done to the walls to which it is attached, the cut in our drywall, and our inappropriately cut wainscot must also be repaired at our expense. Brian has only used some of the materials listed on the initial estimate, but is charging us for all of them AND the labor beyond that. He refuses to refund us our money for the creation of an inferior product or simply even refund the money beyond the materials installed in our home. If you are looking to begin any type of home improvement, we cannot recommend Fresh Starts Home Improvement based on our experience. The work that we received was not the work advertised, and our struggles to have it remedied have consistently been met with opposition.

This business was recommended fairly recently on my neighborhood social network, so I don't think it's out of business. It's listed as active on the Ohio Secretary of State website. But the phone answering message says nothing about the business or the owner's name, so I suppose it's possible it's a wrong number or that the business has recently become inactive. I left a message and got no call back in 5 days. I would have appreciated some kind of response even if it were negative.

Great, professional!

Dave did the tv mount on my wall and he is very proficient in his work. He completed the job very well mannered with detailed explanation on things what he is doing. I totally recommend this company for any kind of home development, remodeling work. Brian his boss worked on my back door fix, he is an amazing person very responsive. Very reasonable at Quoting the work. I recommend his company.