S & D Improvements LLC

Sam said it would take a week. They started on Monday and ended on Saturday as promised. It looks beautiful The new tub is deeper than the old one and it is so nice. They ran into 2 issues that were not expected and handled both items without incident. The recessed lighting over the tub is so nice. The only lighting in the original bathroom was from the light over the vanity. They installed a bathroom safe GFI outlet which the old bathroom lacked. They put up protective cover to prevent the dust form permeating the entire house. They cleaned up after themselves and took all of the demolition materials away. They installed towel racks and a toilet tissue holder as well as a new recessed medicine chest with a mirror and a beautiful over the sink light fixture. The faucets and shower head are great. The water pressure in the old bathroom was very bad. It took 30 minutes to fill the tub. It now takes 10 minutes and the pressure from the shower is unbelievable.

Hiring this company was one of the worst decisions we have ever made. What was supposed to be the renovation of a bathroom the size of a small walk-in closet ended up putting us out of our home for 3 weeks, without a bathroom or another 8 weeks (we had to shower at gyms and offices during that time) and cost us almost $30,000. What the situation boils down to is that Sand D Improvements seems to have no understanding of the laws and rules governing its trade. Sand D has the lowest class of contractor license offered by Virginia. Because of its license, it's not allowed to do much work in high-density buildings and older buildings that might have asbestos or lead paint. This was a fact the company seemed to be totally ignorant of when it began work in our condo. They rushed the get the work done and assured us they didn't need to pull any permits from the county. We had a third-party come in and test for asbestos in our bathroom. The tests were negative, but it turns out the company tested the wrong place. Since Sand D didn't try to get a permit, none of that was caught by inspectors that would have known better, and Sand D tore down a wall that was lined floor to ceiling with asbestos. We think the burden of complaince falls on a professionally certified contractor, not the client. The bathroom demolition wasn't contained at all and the entire unit was contaminated with asbestos. They could have also contaminated the entire common hallway on our floor and one of the elevators because they did not correctly seal debris removed from our bathroom, but luckily the exposure was contained to our unit. Everything fabric in our house was thrown away. Couches, office chairs, mattresses, blankets, carpets, house plants. We paid almost $10,000 to have the entire unit, which is less than 900 square feet, cleaned, tested and re-certified for occupancy. We then paid another $10,000 to replace our belongings, on top of $5,000 for hotel costs (try finding a last-minute place to stay between our offices in Farragut and Old Town that takes two pets). Initially after the exposure, we decided to let Sand D try to fix things. They were required to pull permits, and after stringing us along for two weeks while we were in a hotel, we fired them. They agreed to return our $5,500 deposit but never did. We tried to settle with Sand D out of court and without attorneys, and Sand D directed all communication through its criminal defense attorney working at a Fairfax firm that represented one of the D.C. Snipers. After we retained an attorney, Sand D still refused to pay any damages and refused to return our deposit without a full settlement, basically without us signing something saying Sand D didn't do anything wrong. To this day we have not recouped our damages or payment for services that were never rendered.

Working with Sand D was almost stress free. Sam is transparent about costs and is not in the business of creating unnecessary change orders. His estimate is accurate and he stands by it. We had 3 contractors come in to give estimates on October 3rd. Sam was great right from the start. He set up appointments at the cabinet and tile shops to select our materials on October 4th. He wanted us to see the materials and be able to visualize the real thing. He did not think we should pick out material from a catalog. I am so glad he insisted on us visiting the cabinet and tile shops. He went with us to the cabinet store to look at cabinets, tile, backsplash and countertop. He planned the visits at the cabinet shop and the tile and granite shops. They were expecting us and ready to help. Once I picked out the cabinet, we were able to pick out tile, backsplash and granite countertop. I also saw and selected a 70/30 stainless steel sink. The entire process was smooth and when we left we had picked out cabinets, tile, backsplash, countertop and the new sink. We were able to see the cabinet, tile, backsplash and countertop all together. It really helped to visualize what my new kitchen would look like. He did all of this before I signed any contract so he did not know for sure that we would select him to be our contractor. He was insistent that we see what we were getting and be comfortable before we starting writing checks. The cabinet designer came out on October 8th to get measurements and suggest which cabinet to put where. We had the estimates for tile, countertop, backsplash, cabinets and the rest of the work by end of the day on October 9th. The cabinet estimate included several layouts showing what the new cabinets would look like from every angle in the new kitchen. There were no surprises. We knew what we were getting up front. We compared our estimates and chose Sand D. The deciding factor was that the cost was reasonable and Sam was meticulous about every detail. He answered all of our questions and considered all of our ideas. For example, as part of the work, Sam insisted on demolishing the kitchen including the existing dry wall. He wanted to be sure there was no mold because he guarantees his work. In fact, he did find that a previous plumbing leak had caused some mold issues which he fixed. Sam ordered the cabinets on Thursday and demoed the kitchen on October 12th. The existing electrical service was only 100amp and was old and could not handle the new lights and microwave we wanted to put into the kitchen. We decided to replace it and Sam was able to get that done within a week. We feel mush safer with the new service. While remodeling the kitchen, a leak was discovered in the adjoining bathroom. Sam also accomdated that additional work for a small charge -- he installed a brand new sink because the old one was cracked, causing the leak. By Wednesday, October 17, the new wall was up, the walls were painted, the new casements were in, the new plumbing were complete and the tile had been installed. The cabinets were delivered on October 22 and installed the next day. By the end of the day on October 23rd, the painting touch up done, baseboards installed and painted, new electrical service was completed and ready for inspection. The countertop was installed on October 26, the dishwasher and microwave/convection oven installed and the sink was hooked up. The backsplash was installed and grouted, all cabinet hardware was installed and the paint was touched up before they left on Friday October 26th. The job started on October 12th. They work Saturdays but not Sundays. The entire team were experts in their respective trades. Sam started the job when he said he would. Sam was there every day to be sure the team had everything they needed to do a great job. They did not cut corners but they did not push extras that I did not want or were not needed. The teams showed up on time every day that they said they would be there. The only days there were not there were Sundays and the 2 days waiting for the granite to be delivered and installed. The granite installers were excellent as were the plumbers, carpenters and electricians. Sam has assembled a very talented team that take there work seriously and are perfectionists. Sam did a great job coordinating all all of the purchases and ensuring the team was efficient. - time was not wasted. The draws Sam requested were for material or for work already completed. At no time was I asked to provide a draw on work to be completed like I have had other contractors do. We are looking forward to working with Sam and his team again in the near future on some other projects we are now looking into doing. We know Sand D will add value to our home with the next project tool. Adding pictures.

The leak was not in the pipe I thought it was. The workman located the source at a T in a larger pipe necessitating a trip for material. He returned in a timely manner and completed the work. He did not wipe down the solder joints as Richard Trewethey does on the PBS program "Ask This Old House."

Their work is wonderful. I had two very outdated bathrooms that had leaking problems. They were really incredible in helping picking out colors and designs. It took about a week for each bathroom because I had custom glass made for one of them. They are thorough, friendly, personable, and have beautful results.

My experience was very positive. The job was done on schedule and was done exactly the way I wanted it. More details above.

The original floor had two layers of tile, so demolition took longer. They were great about it. They also installed a dedicated outlet for the sauna we are installing where the monster soaking tub used to be. They had to remove the toilet to redo the sub-flooring and retile. Project took a little longer because of some changes I made (bedroom). Bathroom looks great. For a little extra they installed new faucets. The glass company will now have to come out to install the frame-less shower door but we are happy.