Herb Travis Handyman Services

Excellent, will use again. Professional, courteous, very neat! Job was a little complicated, but Herb did a great job!

I purchased a $99.00 - two hour coupon from Angie's List for Herb Travers Handyman services. Herb called me the same day that I purchased the coupon and we made arrangements for him to do the work. He arrived exactly at 9:00am. I had a list of the things that I needed to have done for the two hours. I had the wrong faucet and he went and purchased the correct one. He finished all of the things on my list. I am making another list and I will call him when that list is complete. I found Herb Travers to be friendly and very professional. I got a excellent bargain for two hours of handyman services for $99.00. I was very pleased with his expertise and how he cleaned up after his job. He didn't recommend any extra work. He is advised me not to put too much money into a specific project. I will definitely recommend Herb Travers Handyman services to all of my family and friends.

Let me start off by saying that Herb is a very nice guy and a hard worker. It took me a long time to formulate this review because I wanted some time to sit and I wanted to be fair. Let me also say that Herb does some things very well and tries hard, but I think people should be aware of both what he does well and what he does not do well. I decided on Herb in part because of the schedule he represented (I was having company in a few months and he said he could complete the bathroom on time) and in part price, though he was not a lot less expensive than others I solicited bids from. In any event, we chose a date with a clear understanding of the date it needed to be completed by. I live in a older home (built 1925) and it has only 1.5 bathrooms. Much of the the bathroom was original when I bought the home a year ago. The bathroom is small and there were no plans (or room) to expand. It was almost a gut job and replacing tubs, tile, flooring, sink, etc. Some of the drywall (plaster in this house) stayed as did the ceiling. I also explained to him three times the detailed plan for what I wanted in the bathroom including "shampoo boxes" that are built into the walls of the shower area. I also explained that they were labor intensive because of all the tile cutting. He signed off on it. (I even had the specs of the boxes.) This was not my first bathroom remodel so I was prepared--I knew what I wanted. The demo went ok. The original concrete floor was much thicker than we anticipated, but Herb got through it and the demo was complete in about a day and a half. Although, in the process, his team cracked and ruined the walls of the adjacent bedroom, stairwell and ceiling below. (For the most part, he repaired those.) I was rolling with it since stuff happens. Almost immediately, I noticed his team dropped by one person. It was now Herb and one assistant. That is all fine except his assistant was not allowed to do anything independently. For example, when Herb was tiling the shower area, his assistant could only run up and down stairs to cut tile instead of working on the plumbing or other items that needed to be done. He was basically a "gopher" though I am sure he could have done more. Herb did a good job shimming up the floor joists and making the walls square. That took awhile, but is obviously worth it. He gave me an estimate of 2 weeks to finish the job and said that he would work late and weekends if necessary. By the time he was putting the bathtub in, more than one week had passed. It was obvious that the bathroom would not be finished on time. The tiling was painstakingly slow. It must have taken 4 full days to tile the shower area. I used subway tile, so it was nothing fancy. The shampoo boxes, though they turned out great, took forever. The whole 4 days, his assistant was not allowed to do other work, e.g., the electrical for the heated floor, any plumbing or anything. In any event, needless to say, his promised day came and went and the bathroom was nowhere near ready to use. Meanwhile, my two kids and I are going to my mom's house to shower. And my company came and the house was a construction zone. To cut the story down, by the time he left, he was so out of sorts because he had gone way over on time on the job, that he rushed out and made some terrible choices. My dad is STILL fixing some of the issues we encountered, 2 months later. My bathroom is not finished. In all fairness, I did represent to Herb that we would paint. Easy enough and I have no problem doing that. It is a good thing too because his finishing work is terrible. Here were some of the problems: his trim pieces were too big and not beveled or mitered. They stuck out and looked terrible. We replaced those. He put the curved shower rod so far into the shower that we immediately replaced it, which required us to remove some tiles, replace, and regrout. He literally took a dirty finger and caulked around the tub so the caulk looks awful, like yellowy; it is terrible against white subway tiles and a white tub. That still needs to be replaced. The marble threshhold he put in was cut wrong and caulked terribly. We still need to replace that. I went out of town (after the job was supposed to be finished) and had a nightmare that the new toilet blocked the small closet door near it--remember I said old house--quirky too. Sure enough I came home and the toilet was blocking the closet, yet he still put it in and hooked it up! The rough in was 15 inches, not 12, yet he failed to discuss that with me when I purchased the toilet, nor did he discuss the option of moving the rough in. On a day when I just wanted to be able to shower (and should have been able to if the shower rod had been installed) he spent 2 hours in the morning cutting a hole for the new fan only to then read the instructions and discover I needed a hot wire or something different. I told him to put the old one back up and I would fix it later--which I did. That two hours could have been spent getting my kids and me into a usable bathroom. What Herb does well includes working hard, precision work (the tile job looks great) and being generally nice and understanding. I really feel like he misrepresented his team (he is really a solo guy) and project management. My bathroom is still not totally finished. The drain in the sink is slow and the drain was put in crooked, so I want it reset so the gasket does not show, among other things. I really like Herb and I would recommend him for smaller jobs or jobs that don't require finishing work. In addition, the owner of the property should be present to avoid mistakes because his judgment, especially on aesthetics or design, is not up to par in that he hadn't worked enough with these items to have any knowledge that something was not done right. In fact, he seems like he hasn't heard of many things like shampoo boxes, heated floors (this was his first install) and a curved shower rod. It was interesting. If I needed new drywall, if I needed a fence replaced or a window redone or a deck replaced, he would be great, but a whole bathroom was too much for him. All that said he was also receptive to feedback and wants to do better.

He was supposed to come and didn't. He also never called. We played phone tag for a while as well.

The kitchen and bath sink faucets were tough jobs. He had to lie on his back in the cabinet in the kitchen, working around the drain line and dishwasher connections. It didn't look comfortable! He and his helper persevered and kept at it until it was finished. The bath sink was a real pain as well. The sink had to come out of the vanity in order to remove the old faucets which were soldered in with very short stubs. Again Herb and his helper kept at it until it was finished. The basement sink job was a breeze. The drain line was installed fairly quickly. I liked herb in that he explained everything he was doing and ever got aggravated with the tough jobs. Just kept plucking away at it until it was done. The cost was exactly as quoted. Another big plus as far as I was concerned, was that he didn't leave my job to go to another while in the middle of it. He started and stayed, except for breaking for lunch, until it was completely finished.

great. Had 3 light fixtures to install. Paid Angie's list for 2 hours service. When the time was up..he notified me. I had 1 fixture left to install. I will definitely call him back to install the third and a lighted mirror in the bathroom.

Herb showed up on time the FIRST time and promised to quote me several jobs. I did not hear from him for several weeks until I contacted him. I DID NOT RECEIVE A SINGLE QUOTE FROM HERB. (this is my fault being a first time home owner he could easily take advantage of) Herb is NOT a licensed plumber nor electrician so I opted for a PROFESSIONAL to do the SKILLED work. Once it was time for Herb to come out he made it seem as though he was doing me a favor just for showing up. He may be busy but I cannot understand why. In the end I received SUB PAR work, water in my basement, and a smile while I was gouged for 2 hours of work. ($356 - $56 of materials = $150/Hour) Also just an FYI - although he did not enforce it he charges a fee just to be paid by check (I believe $8) and a fee (I believe $25) for every day he is not paid. In the end i'm thankful he did not do anymore projects as the damage could have only been even worse!

That went OK. It was what he didn't do. At the same time I asked for a quote on replacing my kitchen door, adding a storm door and an awning. I would buy the parts. It took him a month and only after I asked again, he give me a quote for just replacing the door and not even the correct door. Another four weeks later I still do not have a quote. When he came to replace a shut off valve under the kitchen sink he found out that my main water shut off valve was corroded and could not be turned off. He told me to call the meter dept and tell them that I had an old meter. Herb said the water dept would replace the shutoff valve at the same time as the meter. Three weeks later the meter was replaced but I was told that the inside main shutoff valve is the responsibility of the homeowner. Three weeks wasted. He should have known this. After I told Herb about this he has said nothing about replacing the main shut off valve and completing the work. Then I found water still leaking from my upstairs bathroom. Thinking it had to do with the new toilet I called Herb. He came in a couple of days and looked at it and determined that it was the sink drain pipe that was leaking and he would have to open up the ceiling to get at the pipes. This was on a Friday. He could not do it then. Two weeks later the sink is still unusable and I have not heard from him. He has mentioned several times how busy he is. I told him that I was no longer interested in his services. I need a real handyman and plumber in the Providence area.

He was very punctual, the job went very smooth with no problems.

Nothing. I purchased 2 hrs of service close to 3 weeks ago and meet with the contractor on Saturday, May 11, 2013 to reivew work that needed to be done at my property at 197-199 Carleton Street, Providence, R.I. 02908. Since the first meeting I have been in constant contact with the contractor as I was not provided a definitive time and date of when repairs would be applied for the various issues that were pointed out to the contractor. The contractor explained time and time that he was preoccupied with larger projects and would get around to the work that was listed for the aforementioned property. There was one particular issue were leakage was occuring for the 3rd flr to the 2nd flr and needed immediate attention. I now have a completely damaged ceiling due to lack of attention to the issues reported. I have had to contact a new contractor and would like to be fully refunded for my purchase of these services. PLEASE REFUND ME TOTAL OF $99 for service that has not been performed.

Herb came, and he and his helper raised the panel, found ways to reattach it to the galvaniczed pipe supports, and went an extra mile fixing and patching lesser damage throughout the fence. They went the extra mile to give me good value in spite of having to work with far less than optimal material...and did more than they'd been asked to accomplish. They were sweet, helpful, and went out of their way to to work with me -- and were highly informative about other work I need done that I asked them about, without being pushy at ALL. Tehre are few times you can ask a craftsman about future jobs without feeling chivvied to commit immediately. Herb was helpful, talked intelligently and had good options for me, and still left me with the freedom to time it in keeping with my own budget and income. Great guy, and he's getting more work from me in future.

We saw the deal for this company and thought we would give him a try. When Herb came to my house (after having to call to get directions - doesn't use GPS) he complained that the door under my sink was small and that he was a big guy and it would be hard for him to fit. He had difficulty getting the old faucet loosened and had to remove the sink. At that time he said that the sink was rusted and suggested that I replace the sink. I did make the decision to put in a new sink and he made the trip to Home Depot to get the sink. It took almost 3 hours to have the sink and faucet replaced. Before Herb left I mentioned a few other repairs around the house that we were interested in getting quotes for. Herb said that he was going to email me quotes for them. I never heard from him.

He had to completely dismantle the walls and replace the main valve for the shower line. He was very professional. I do trust him and that he was honest with the price. I feel that I did receive good value for the price I paid. I would definitely use him for additional projects.

herb arrived on time and finished the work quickly and proffessionally

herb arrived on time and completed the jobs as asked.

The problem began Friday night with hopes of home pluming skills as a remedy. By Sunday I was desperate! I called Mr Rooter, the ad stated that the company was recommended by Angie's list. A Sunday service call "started $200-$400". I was so unsure I joined Angie's list to check them out. They weren't listed but Herb was listed first. He answered on the second ring. He could come 'now' but asked if I could hold out till Monday I could save myself some money. He arrived Monday as he promised. worked till the problem was resolved and cleaned up the water and mess. He asked $250.00 an honest price for 3 hours work and parts. Then left on good terms .

I used him through a big deal on Angie's List. He was good. He responded quickly; few messages with him, we talked on the phone a lot. I picked out the toilet I wanted and he went and got it for me. He came when he was supposed to. It was all good.

Mr. Travis finished the plumbing job and gave me a receipt with details about the job just completed. He took the time not to rush me even though he had another job to go to in another town. He was courteous and a professional.

Herb called promptly, showed up early, and was very straightforward about what he would do and how much it would cost. He did a great job, cleaned up as he went, and I love the new faucet.

Herb Travis Handyman Services showed up on time and did everything they needed to do and more without complaining.

I discovered I had a burst heating pipe in a back bedroom that had been closed off late afternoon. Luckily, I found it early - there wasn't too much water damage! But I called Herb, (who I've used numerous times before and have recommended to others) and even though he had an evening appointment he couldn't break, he came over to make sure I had everything shut off right and to assess what needed to be done. He came back the next day, bought the necessary parts (piping, new baseboard and valves, etc) and fixed the problem completely. There is heat throughout that bedroom now and everything was repaired and cleaned up afterwards. Herb is the best!

Unfortunately, Mr. Travis did not complete the job and his work was neither professional or workmanlike. Herb Travis did not finish installing the sink properly, disconnected my supply line to the outside faucet and did not reconnect it and his plumbing connections were amateurish. He took approximately 12 hours to construct the copper connections to the new faucet's supply lines and he complained about the job constantly saying that he had spent too much time already and wasn't making enough money. He then returned to work another 3-4 hours yet still did not finish. It was not a pleasant experience, especially since I was left with an incomplete project. Now I will have to hire someone else to finish the job properly, at an additional cost to me. During the project Mr. Travis left to attend to other jobs and returned after business hours to complete his work. When I told Mr.Travis that I would withhold a portion of the final payment until the job was finished he became quite belligerent and angry. He had already taken the copper fittings and valves that were part of the existing plumbing, without asking. I feel taken advantage of and totally disappointed with this experience. I hope that this review will prevent other home owners from having a similar disappointing experience. I do have pictures but couldn't upload them into the review.

He was easy to get in touch with and stay in touch with. He seems to always have his cell phone handy and will answer it. He is a very nice guy and easy to talk to. He gave us an extremely reasonable price for all the work and tried to accommodate our busy schedules.

All the work was completed in a day. Three fixtures were already owned by the homeowners. Herb had to get a new box for the outside light and a new fixture. He also had to get a switch and light fixture for one light in the basement and moved another light to a new location.The house is 85 years old so he had to do some new wiring in order to connect the fixtures.

Overall, Herb proved himself to be the professional needed to fulfill the job. The new porch railings look great! It took him just a day to complete the job and worked very long hours until he was finished. However, he did not skip steps or cut corners just to complete the project. We are very happy with his work!