Kerry's Handyman Service

As a woman, I was excited about the prospect of working with a female contractor. However, I was extremely disappointed with Kerry's unprofessional manner. I didn't have any work done by her (thank goodness), but in the short time that I was in contact with her, she bailed on me twice and then became exceptionally rude via text. FIRST, she told me to call her between 2 and 6PM to discuss the project. I cleared my afternoon calendar and told her I'd call around 3:30. At 3:15, she told me not to call because her children's bus comes at 3:30 and then she's "off and running." So much for being available between 2 and 6. We then set up an appointment via text for her to come to my house for an estimate. SECOND, the day of the appointment arrives and she texts me less than two hours before she was supposed to arrive that she has a "girl scout emergency" and can't make it. She did ask if she could come much later that day, but I already had plans. THIRD, she randomly texts me after 9PM last night (Sunday) and asks, "Would you like me to come on Friday or later Tuesday?" I respond, "We've decided to go with someone else. Thanks anyway." Her response? "No problem. So glad I didn't waste my time." Seriously? You may not have wasted your time, Kerry, but you certainly wasted mine. (Photo of text attached) She has kids, I get it. I'm a full-time working mom too. But if you're going to run a business, you need to be able to keep your personal and professional lives separate. Also, she needs to work on her customer service skills. They're really lacking, to say the least.

I asked Kerry to update a small half-bath off of our den. We wanted to replace the sink, remove old wallpaper, remove a medicine cabinet and update the lighting. Sounded rather dull and routine to me. To my delight, Kerry was full of ideas to make the project interesting and fun! Her suggestion was to put in vessel sink (it looks beautiful!) with a pendant light above it. Old wallpapered walls were smoothed and painted (also beautiful). Another idea of hers .... wallpaper the ceiling. Who knew? Looks amazing. Her work is excellent .... but her ideas are priceless.

The projects were not completed due to lack of contact between me and them.

I had a long list of things that needed doing around the house. These things were widely varied ... from paint work to clogged gutters to a broken garage door opener. I called Kerry, and was delighted to learn that she was quite willing to tackle them all. In one afternoon, she and her partner Jay worked about my house crossing things off my list one by one. Not only is the garage door fixed, but it shuts tighter and snugger than it ever did before. Every single thing I requested is done .... and done well! Thank you, Kerry!!

I have nothing but cheers and applause for Kerry's work in my home. We wanted a tile backsplash, and she installed it perfectly. It looks great, even around some tricky areas (window frames, corners and electrical outlets). At her suggestion, we updated the lighting, putting hanging lights over our sink, and under-the-cabinet lighting to brighten work areas. And to my delight (her suggestion again), these lights are on dimmers, making morning coffee (in the dark) much easier on the eyes with this special dimmed lighting. Her attention to details while painting is extraordinary. I am a detail-noticing person, and she totally surpasses my expectations. Kerry also installed a new oven and had to re-build the area to fit this oven which is larger than the original. Very pleased with all of her work.

She said she was able to repair roofs and agreed to come out and look at mine. My husband used to be a contractor but we are older now and did not want to crawl out on the roof. She stated she needed to come back when it was dry, I said ok. She was very nice. She called after a few days and said she could do it that very day. I stated it was still wet and husband verified that there were still puddles on the roof. She then advised that I have my husband go out and dry puddles with a paper towel. I told her that we did not want to go out on the roof due to our age and that was the whole point in hiring her. She called back at a later day and was just plain awful! She was so very rude and viscous. She called back to tell me that someone had witnessed our previous conversation and me yelling at her and how dare I speak to her that way. I told her that I had initially told her that this is why we were hiring her and quite frankly was offended that she request that my husband crawl out on the roof and dry it with paper towels. We ended up having someone else repair our roof. I would not recommend her and advise to stay away!

Our kitchen cabinets are old.... and they looked it. As a homeowner, I considered painting them as a do-it-yourself project, and painted a small area to see if I could tackle the whole job. To my horror, that small area of paint scraped right off with my fingernail. There were also some repairs needed for loose drawers, so I quickly realized that I needed a professional. Kerry was amazing. She removed every door, and every drawer, and as a first step, sanded everything thoroughly. After that there were coat(s) of a gripper product that was applied before she turned to the actual paint. Several coats later, the cabinets look absolutely sensational. And.....Kerry saved us some money by recycling the hinges. She made them look like new. Very very pleased with her work. I will definitely have her back shortly to do more work in my kitchen.

We needed new doors that all actually closed and looked updated (1950's home). The work went smoothly and, at our request and cost, included the ordering and pick up of the materials. Doors are tricky and there were 2 mistakes made which were fixed at no additional cost. We're bringing them back for more work, including more doors.

I actually called Kerry on two different occasions. I had originally called her to help investigate. She didn't call back for two weeks and in the meantime I had someone else perform that work. She did finally call me about two weeks later saying she had been on vacation. Fair enough. Recently I wanted to tackle the final repair. I decided to give her a second chance. This time, she took a full 24 hours to reply. I described the work and sent her pictures. She gave me a quote, which I was fine with, with the caveat that she didn't get to inspect it in person. I said I understand, as long as it wasn't a huge discrepancy. I just want the work done--I'm not penny pinching. I care much more about workmanship and reliability than price. She says she wants a small deposit to lock the date, then 50% up front, and 50% upon completion. I thought the deposit to lock the date was unnecessary, but whatever. I just wanted to get it done. I also thought asking for 50% up front for such a small job was overkill since it's not a lot of money we are talking about, but no big deal. Since we weren't going to actually meet, I thought it was fair. Finally, she asks me for the name of the owner, so I provide the name of my LLC which is the legal owner of the house. Well, this really threw her for a loop. Right away she said "I don't think this will work. But thanks for contacting us." All because the house is owned by an LLC? This is after going through and providing all the info. She kept insisting for a person's name. I told her to put it to my attention, but the legal owner of the house was the LLC. She said she needs a persons name in case she needs to put a lien on the property for nonpayment (which she was getting %50 up front anyway). The LLC owns the property--not me. She'd file any lien against the LLC. She couldn't get that through her skull, so she said forget it. The whole conversation was like "who's on first." All this communication was via text, and she got a little rude. I guess she doesn't work on many rental properties. Otherwise she would have worked for an LLC. Between the deposits and lien talk she seemed very preoccupied with making sure she was getting paid. The total job size was $650. I wasn't going to argue about payment unless she really screwed up or didn't do it at all. I can't imagine her stipulations for bigger jobs. Good riddance. When someone is that difficult up front, it's a huge red flag. She seemed very insecure.

Personalable and easy to work with. Guided us in decision making without taking over...but supplied enough expert opinion to help us make good choices. Everything was explained up front, we chose to have them shop for our materials and pick them up; we knew up front that would cost us some time (fair). Found replacement materials when what we wanted was out of stock with zero hassle, and in one case saved us some money. Work was done quickly. Work was in a tight space with no damage to anything around it (especially a bath fitter tub). Everything looks great, everything works, and the price was fair.

She was overbearing, rude and nasty.

We needed a complete overhaul of our living room, dining room, hallways and foyer area. These were all covered in old wall to wall carpeting, and the paint was badly in need of a re-do. As a previous customer of Kerry's, I did not hesitate to call her once we decided to go ahead with this project. She was (as usual) responsive and personable, and eager to get started. Her excitement about MY project was delightful, and it just made me feel so good to see my contractor so vested in making my home look good. She LISTENS. As we walked around and discussed the things I wanted to do, she was clearly "present" and took it all in. And then .......... she SUGGESTS. This is one of the things that makes Kerry a treasure. She has an "eye". She sees and thinks of things that I would never dream of. I trust her completely, and when she suggests a tweak here or there, I always yield to her ....... and I have NEVER been disappointed, not one little bit. If you hire this contractor, I sincerely recommend that you listen to her suggestions. Believe me, she comes up with amazing things. Kerry painted all of my ceilings, (some unique and difficult spots). Then she and her helper, Jay, pulled out all the wall to wall carpeting from both rooms and all the steps. If you've ever seen ripped out carpeting, you know there are a ba-zillion nails and tacks and staples all throughout and around the perimeters of the floor. They were relentless, removing every piece of everything. I have no worries about walking in bare feet on these floors, they are like GLASS. They sanded and treated and shined the floors .... they are beautiful. Kerry and Jay worked over every inch. (photo attached) They also painted all the woodwork and the walls, and a very difficult oversized paned bay window ... all beautifully done. Making a color choice for such a big project can be a nightmare. Kerry took me through this process with great patience. She pointed out the subtle shading differences in colors and helped me find a "pure" shade. She brought samples and painted these samples on different areas of the walls so I could live with them for a few days. Kerry made the whole process fun and stress-free. The end result is outstanding. As per Kerry's suggestion, we replaced several lighting fixtures. Made a huge difference. She also suggested replacing the doors on a centrally located closet ....... a sensational improvement (they look awesome). Another suggestion was to paint the interior of our front door. I never would have thought of that, and yet it was absolutely a perfect idea. It simply "finished" the room! If I had to choose the one thing about Kerry that I most appreciate, I think I would sum it up as QUALITY. There were several times throughout this project that I was completely satisfied with a portion of the job, and yet she was not. Her eye sees things I simply don't. She is not satisfied with "OK"..... it has to be perfect. She will rework the spot until it is up to her standards, which are exceptionally high.

Bottom line: EXCELLENT! We had an area of our home that badly needed roof-attention. It also had a pesky rain gutter problem ...... the gutter leaked oodles of water for no apparent reason. Kerry, on the roof, on her hands and knees, investigated thoroughly. She found the problem and it wasn't pretty. The wooden part of the roof (in that gutter area) had rotted all the way through. Kerry and her helper, Jay, worked diligently to solve this problem, not only repairing the area, but making it stronger than ever. They then continued on inspecting the rest of the roof and covering it beautifully. The work is wonderful, they were punctual, and ........ so tidy! Years ago we had some roofing work done on another area of the house and I remember the mess. With Kerry there was NO mess. No piles of debris on the ground, no stray nails or shingles. Their clean-up was magical.

It was great. Kerry knew how worried I was about a leak in our ceiling, and she checked every single faucet and pipe upstairs. She checked every single bathroom, as well as our washing machine. She even cleaned our drains! Afterward, she did an excellent repair job on the ceiling. She explained to my husband why we had the crack, and assured us that now it was properly repaired, it wouldn't happen again. Such a difference! I trust Kerry for all of our house's needs and would definitely hire her again. Thank you Kerry!!

What a pleasure it was to have Kerry and Jay do repairs to our home! What started as several smaller jobs evolved into the addition of a large painting project due to the superior work they performed on the original contract--in which the pricing for both was very fair. They have been very professional, efficient and have performed quality work. They have been consistently on time, courteous, knowledgeable, and communicated with me VERY well. They got right down to business and had the jobs done in no time with outstanding results. There is no question that we will be using Kerry for future projects around our home.

I am so happy with Kerry's work! When we moved into this house, one of the small bedrooms had a home-made built-in corner desk. Whoever built it had done a fine job, because it was solid and strong. So much so, that although I wanted it removed, I could not even determine how it was attached, let alone consider how to take it down. Actually, about 10 years ago I showed it to a gentleman who was working on another project in my house and asked him if he could remove it. He studied it, mumbled something, shook his head and told me it would be a BIG job, and I should probably learn to live with it. Well, I didn't learn to live with it. I hated it. And I showed it to Kerry. Her response? "No problem!" and, like magic, soon that corner desk .... was GONE! Thank you, Kerry! I've since painted that room, rearranged the furniture and it looks doubled in size. Love it!

I was very happy with Kerry's work! The work was done over three days, and the kitchen was left perfectly clean while it was in progress. I also appreciated that Kerry returned my call quickly and checked in with me every day to ensure that my wishes were always considered and that everything was on track. Kerry was also helpful as a style consultant. She gave me options for paint finishes, and helped me make decisions such as what to put next to our range to fill in the gap between the counter and the cooktop. I always felt I could trust her opinion and expertise.

I'm feeling very lucky. :). Caveat Emptor! After she scheduled an appointment with me for 10/2 ( I scheduled the day off from work), she informed me this afternoon 10/1 that she needed to reschedule our meeting (to provide a quote) due to the rain, and being behind on another project, and that she could come by one day next week. She also said that paying customers come first. I understand the weather conditions, and I agree, paying customers should come first. I also asked if she could refer someone else, or if she outsourced, and she stated she could not. I told her that I would let her know tomorrow, if I could schedule one day next week. Just three minutes later, the next text from her was her informing me that "they were not able to meet my needs at this time, and that they were booked until January". The positive is that her actions clearly saved me from future aggravation, as I am looking for a dependable, honest business to deal with. The "text" interaction, not a phone call, revealed the lack of professionalism. The negative is that this was very UNPROFESSIONAL and temperamental behavior for a business owner. This review is 100% true, and I have a copy of the text to prove it. I'm feeling very lucky. :). I'm a firm believer in caveat emptor.

Kerry re-routed my dryer vent, as due to builder design flaws was originally venting about 20feet to another side of building vs. directly behind the vent (1 ft). She and her crew were early, professional, completed work on time and cleaned up after themselves. I'm looking at possible other updates and handy work and will be calling Kerry first!

My bathroom was 56 years old and it showed. (I'lll include "before and after" pics with this review.) This bathroom is attached to our bedroom and is well used every day. Cosmetically a mess, but the biggest problem was the shower. It was a corner shower and was extremely tiny. We hoped that there was a way to enlarge the shower area, and I turned to Kerry for a solution. Kerry didn't even hesitate. She sized up the situation and came up with a plan. By taking just a few inches out of my closet (next to the bathroom), she could turn the shower sideways and increase the size tremendously. We were delighted with the plan. This project involved moving a wall, and so you can imagine the dust involved. However, Kerry and her helper, Jay, work so very carefully to keep all dust and debris to a minimum. They did SUCH an amazingly neat job that we never missed a night sleeping in our own bedroom, even though the work was all being done right there. They were THAT tidy! Kerry is great fun to work with as together we "built" the bathroom. I chose the things I felt comfortable selecting (the vanity, the fixtures) and I turned to her for her expertise in choosing the shower material, the floor, etc. The result is amazing. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Before .... and After!

After a little hiccup with scheduling the first visit, Kerry came and was very helpful figuring out what the problem was and explaining next steps to me. She also helped guide me with respect to mitigating the mold issue between her visits, which I appreciated. She has a busy schedule so it took a few weeks before she could come out to fix the drywall, but she was proactive to trying to come earlier when other appointments ended early or fell through. The work was great, she is a really kind, pleasant person and the price was reasonable. I would definitely work with her again.

During the measuring and discussing of what I wanted done a number of topics came up. First, we disagreed how close I should put my hall tree to the door to the kitchen. Then I was informed on numerous occasions what I wanted was going to be expensive and was given a business card to "Just Cabinets" and told to research those cabinets and/or already made garage cabinets. I did and the ready made cabinetry did not fit my needs. I had already measured all that I was going to put in the garage cabinets, such as shovels, bird feed, etc., and made "blueprints" of how I wanted my cabinets made to fit everything I store in my garage. On April 29, Ms. Merritt called me to tell me that she had taken that week off to work on a broken truck part that to replace would cost $4000 and that she was going to have to bill me. At that time we had spent a total of 17 minutes on the phone and approx. 6 e-mails from April 10 to the 29th.. I don't know what I was going to be billed for as we hadn't even set a time for the work to get started. At that time I decided that I didn't want anything done. I didn't get an estimate and I just lost interest.

I would recommend Kerry to anyone. She not only did a wonderful job - she's fun and personable too! The former homeowners did a lot of the handiwork themselves, and it showed. Kerry came and fixed everything! She's kind of like a handy woman fairy godmother. I thought the work was very reasonably priced, and she saved us a lot of money by recommending something different for our deck.

Kerry has been out to my house previously to replace our back sliding glass door and our front door that was badly in need of replacing. Her team is EXCELLENT and she is very honest and friendly. They show up very prompt and get the job done right. We recently called her back to quote us on replacing our windows. The prices we received were very reasonable for the number of windows in the house. They also corrected some problems that were done by the original builder. I would highly recommend Kerry to anyone looking to get a fair price and a job done right.

(Full disclosure: This is not my first review for this contractor. When you find someone of QUALITY, whose work is EXTRAORDINARY, when you need something done, you repeat. I have turned to this contractor several times, and never ever been disappointed.) The walkway leading up to my front door desperately needed improvement. It was a concrete path, and over the years it had shifted and cracked. I contacted Kerry, and together we chose some pavers that would be appropriate for the job. And then the magic began. She and her helper broke up the existing sidewalk and quickly carted away all the debris. (Not just the big chunks. On hands and knees they felt through the grass, picking out all the little pieces that could cause havoc in a mower. This attention to detail is a signature trait of this contractor.) They proceeded by leveling the ground, and precisely measuring the placement of the pavers. Every piece was treated with care, leveled carefully, and set into place. The finished result is lovely, and I am 100% delighted. Thank you, Kerry!!!