Starlite Maintenance Services

My newly purchased house was undergoing extensive remodeling. I heard of Starlite through word of mouth, and was impressed with Mike's 'can-do' attitude and reasonable prices when he came to give me an estimate. Mike and his work partner Bill (I think that was his name) provided good quality service at an affordable rate. They had other jobs going at the same time, and my timeline was more flexible than their other projects, so Mike would call me each day to let me know what time they would arrive. While I was not always at the house when they arrived, to my knowledge they were punctual. They would usually spend about half a day at my house. Great Things #1: The Starlite guys were willing and able to entertain my idea of installing ceiling lights where none had existed before by cutting through the floorboards in the floor above-- another service provider flatly refused to do this. As a result, there was no ceiling cutting except for the hole for the light fixture, and very minimal wall cutting that had to be done to install new lightswitches and finesse the wires down to the switch from the fixture. All this meant that there was very minimal drywall repair and retexturing required. And because the floorboards are now re-covered in carpet, the cut marks don't show (all the floorboards were screwed back down again). The living room installation is perfect. The master bedroom ceiling fan installation required a bit more drywall cutting to position the lightswitch near the door, and therefore some drywall patching. NOT-So-Great-Things #1: The patch is not perfect, as it makes a slight rectangle-shaped 'lump' with different texture than the rest of the wall, but it is not very obvious. Great Things #2: Starlite installed four new faucets and drain sets on the granite countertops in all the bathrooms and vanities. They were careful to protect the granite and mirrors, and also fixed some minor leaks under the sinks at no extra charge. They even taped the little faucet-installation and warranty booklets inside each vanity cabinet for future reference. NOT-So-Great-Things #2: I did notice that one of the faucet's drain-handle (the one you lift up to plug the sink) was a little bent after installation, but it bent back into alignment easily. Otherwise all has been wonderful. Great Things #3: The Starlite guys cooperated with my Spanish-speaking painting team, in spite of the language barrier, and I had no complaints about them being in the way of each other. Mike was especially personable, and I felt very comfortable having him in my home. At first I was wary of his assistant Bill, who looked a little rough and smelled of cigarettes, but it turned out that Bill was just quiet; he worked diligently and skillfully, and did not smoke on my property. Great Things #4: When unexpected projects popped up, Mike was quick to accept and give an on-the-spot estimate. When my refrigerator turned out to be 1/8 inch too tall for the space under the cupboards, Mike was able to solve the problem by shaving the edge of the cupboard. I think he did that job for FREE! Another day, when my friend and I were unable to figure out how to completely remove the old over-the-range microwave and install a new one, Mike saved the day again. He really knows his stuff, and is flexible to respond quickly to a variety of home improvement projects/disasters. I rated Starlite a little lower for professionalism for a couple of reasons: 1) They did not always clean up after themselves, especially sweeping the floor. However, the house was in general disarray from a variety of projects going on so they may have felt cleaning up was futile at that stage. 2) Mike preferred to be paid in cash, which felt a little strange. 3) They didn't look very 'professional'. Their truck was just an old pickup with its bed full of tools; also, they didn't have uniforms or anything. But apparently, they got the job done well for a good price, so I guess appearances are not a big deal! Overall, I was very pleased with the work Starlite did for me, and I would hire them again.