David Collins remodeling and handyman services

David was on time and seemed to be very knowledgeable. I will certainly consider David for future projects but not this one because his estimate was a lot higher than some of the other estimates that we have recieved.

Dave Collins and his workers were very polite and did reasonable work on a tough project. However, they overestimated their ability to strip our deck of old paint and charged us extra for a second coat of stain. Our house has two decks (one large, one medium) that were last painted around 3 years ago, just before we moved in. The paint was badly peeling on both decks. Unfortunately for us, the paint was a dark brown, which seems to be the color that was used when the deck was first built about 13 years ago. We wanted to strip the old paint off completely and replace with a semi-transparent stain. Another contractor suggested that this would be difficult, but Dave Collins thought he could do it and gave us a quote for the whole job of around $3500. We accepted the quote, and he started work. Unfortunately, Dave and his team ran into difficulties with the stripping. They used a power washer and several different types of chemical stripper but were only able to get about half the old paint off. Dave admitted that he chewed through a lot of money (and days of work) as he tried different chemicals. In the end, he conceded that he would be unable to get all the old paint off, and he recommended a light sanding followed by a restaining with the original, dark brown color. We reluctantly agreed, but we were disappointed to be left with the brown after all the money and energy invested in stripping. Dave and his team did a fine job sanding and staining, but they only applied one coat. A little research online suggested that two coats was generally the norm for this kind of project. When we asked about a second coat, Dave said that would cost us another $1000 (approximately). We reluctantly agreed, but I was a little disappointed that he didn't include two coats as standard, or at least give us a discount. I think he was trying to recover costs, in part, for all the extra stripper that he had purchased. Of course, the original quote didn't specify the number of coats. I'll be sure to get that level of detail in writing on future projects. The good news is that the final deck looks very nice. The staining job is thorough and shows no signs of peeling yet (though it's only been a month). Dave also did a great job replacing some old boards on our deck railing. In hindsight, though, he overestimated his ability to strip our deck, and he didn't include enough detail in the original quote (e.g., number of coats, and what happens if the stripping doesn't work).

He took care that we saw the problems that had been created by years of leaky roofs and worked with us to address them. Very professional and efficient. He and his helper came in and put down tarps and cleaned up afterwards. Each room was done and then inspected by us for approval before he went to the next room. The work was done on schedule and done perfectly.

Tasks varied. He used time to best advantage by providing inside work when weather prohibited primary task of deck restoration. He was fair and flexible regarding pricing, as my ideas changed over the course of the weeks he was with us. When he had to fit us in due to other jobs, he was in phone contact. His work looks great. Can't wait to get him back for the next round of work.