Requested the sanding and painting for 2 doors on the outer sides only and caulking around the frames of both doors. No caulking was done around the door frames except the doorbell side. They sanded an inner door that I did not request. Needed stair handrail installed, 2 pairs of exterior window shutters, and fix for exposed doorbell wires. In the beginning, they were polite with manners. In the end, they were desperate for money and expected to be paid for their efforts and not quality.
Arrived at 12:30pm instead of 9am and were still here after 10pm. Did not properly prepare doors for painting. Had no sander as stated during the estimate and hand sanded the whole time which was not good enough. Chipped paint and indentations remained after sanding so I FaceTimed an out of town friend who has a home improvement business and confirmed my doors were not properly prepared for painting and he also provided a lesson to us on paint.
My friend spoke to Chris and explained why the doors were not ready and advised me not to do it because it wasn’t the proper way. I did not have faith in them to paint. Regret I did not stop the entire job.
I requested a revised invoice because the painting wasn’t done. Installed my stair handrail and put 12 unsightly screw holes in my wall due to incorrect measurements. ADT cut 6 inches in my door frame to install doorbell camera and informed handyman needed to replace the strip as they did not have cover for the wires. Chris’ fix for the exposed wires was to fill the cavity of wires with caulk. I purchased shutters that were too small.
The shutter install in the front of my home was the worst of all. Chris volunteered to go to the store to make the exchange. Could not find my receipt and thought they would have difficulty with an exchange purchased on my Home Depot account. Provided him cash for the purchase. Informed Chris the Oxon Hill, MD store was closest and checked the cost on the website for the larger shutters. Store less than 20 minutes away where I purchased the others. They decided to go to the Rhode Island Avenue store instead then text to say the store didn’t have any.
Next they wasted more time going to the Hyattsville, MD store that didn’t have any. Lastly to Oxon Hill and made a purchase. They returned with the shutters but worked on the railing. They left shutters in car so I didn’t see them before installation. It was raining, late and dark. I have an eye condition where I can’t see at night. The shutters were crooked and he wanted to be paid.
One of the shutters had such a big gap from the window and slanted at an angle with my poor vision I could see a lot of brick. I suggested a compromise of 1/2 now and the other half the next day when I could see after he corrected the shutter. He informed that was unacceptable and he had bills that needed to be paid that night. He decided to make the adjustment to the shutter. I directed a flash light where he was adjusting so that he could see. He informed me rudely that it was distracting and not to do that. I could not see and asked my neighbor to take a look.
She had difficulty seeing too. I live on a quiet street with seniors and other working professionals and Chris accused me outside of my home as running a scam and trying to get free work from him. The next morning, I realized that he purchased and installed the wrong type of shutters unlike the ones I had and inconsistent with the others on my street, 3 have a gap between the windows including the one that he made the adjustment late at night, the screws are not aligned on shutter 4, and only put 4 screws in each when they required 6.
Chris did not know that you measure the screw holes and drill first and then drill them into the brick. He drilled while holding them up directly against the brick. Notified MI the next day to give them the opportunity to correct the shutters and no response. I do not want anyone else to have this experience. Hopefully, they will read my experience to see the mistakes they made and how I feel now after placing some trust in them. They knew my concerns before hiring them and they promised quality work and honesty. Against my better judgment, I gave them a chance.
They were unprofessional, unreasonable, and disrespectful. Stereo-typed and insulted my character because of where I live. This was captured on my doorbell camera. I was patient with them still being at my home after 10pm. A professional would have returned in the morning to guarantee quality workmanship. I am an older, honest, and professional woman with a security clearance and gave them no reason that I would not pay them. I felt bad for them running around to get the shutters was to compensate them for that time even though they wasted additional time doing this. MI felt they were entitled to a pay day for effort and not quality of their work.