Wood Railing and Metal Spindles for Main Entry Stairs
This company is a father and son team. Don't get me wrong: I would have the two of them over for dinner any time. They are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. However, I would not recommend using them for your railing project.
First, this company charges $50 to produce a badly written quote. We were told that this fee makes it worth their time when one of them comes out to estimate the job. We were also told that, if hired, this fee would be put towards the final cost of the project.
Second, they were forgetful. We supplied wood samples on three separate occasions. Once the job started, they did not remember that we actually had actually met with them twice to provide colour samples and had extensive conversations about the project. Mind you, we mainly dealt with the father of this team who is older, which means he was often forgetful. He was also not very steady .
Finally, although the end product looked fine from afar, the detailed workmanship was quite poor:
-None of the cuts were clean
-All the holes drilled for the spindles were rough and uneven with some of the spindles themselves installed quite loosely
-There was a lot of glue residue left to dry on the surfaces
-Areas that required wood filler were quite messy
-There was a multitude of chips, rips, and tears in the wood veneer that finished our brand new steps.
-A straight section of rail was not installed as tightly as we expected.
-The team often asked if we had tools they could use where I expect contractors to supply their own.
-The team did *not* clean up after themselves and left everything for us to dispose.
Needless to say, it's taken a number of weeks for us to touch up the deficiencies on our own. Despite being told they guarantee their work for life, we fear it would take more time than needed to have them fix up everything. (Normally a two day job, it took a solid week to complete the job.)
The $50 fee was *not* put towards the final cost of the project. Their reason we were given was that a post required an extra two hours of work. (In my mind, it's part of the installation and the original scope of work, so I felt we were being taken advantage of). We decided to not argue because they did give us a break on the tax.
Again, nice people, but would not recommend.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,400.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Suggest that Dad drum up business and have Son physically execute the work for quality control. Installation is installation regardless of what issues arise. (Especially when at least two site visit were done ahead of time.) There should not be additional costs placed on the owners without prior approval. Bring your own tools and ensure that drills and saw blades are sharp. Damage to other parts of the house as a result of your work is not acceptable. Utilize email or at least print up quotes on a standard form. Please dispose of waste and clean up the job site when complete!
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Check Homestars to review customer feedback. If you can, stay on site when a small job like this is being done. Don't be afraid to interrupt the work to have something fixed or changed...especially if something else in the house is being damaged. It's your hard earned money! Do not be afraid to push back when extra costs are being charged to you during the project. You are under no obligation to supply your contractors with tools. Ask the contractor to clean up if they do not.