3 Bathroom and Kitchen Renovation
Initial proposal: 3 bathroom renovation, laundry room and Kitchen
Final product: 3 bathroom partially completed, improperly vented laundry room, and Kitchen demolished with drywall installed and nothing more
Joseph/Joey from Jarruda TigerClaw Contracting initially took on our bathroom and kitchen project and everything started off great. Joseph came when expected and was paid by the hour, $45/hr. We thought this was a reasonable rate.
He stated that the bathrooms would be completed in about 5 days each.
Bathrooms took more than 3 weeks each. So when we thought we were getting a good deal on an hourly rate, we actually ended up paying more in total. Also the bathrooms were not complete at the end. No doors were hung. The mirror in the main bathroom was not hung properly and fell shattered onto the floor.
About 3/4 through the project Joseph increased his hourly rate which we did not expect. No reasons were provided.
His biweekly bills were disorganized with simple addition errors. I did not feel I was working with a professional having to correct simple addition errors for hours worked on every bill submitted.
Throughout the project there was pressure to give a "kickback" or tip of 10% which I was informed was industry standard. When I told him I would consider after the work was complete Joseph was not happy.
His subtrades left scratches on our new marble tile, and numerous chips on our bannister. An independent assessment to repair the marble scratches was $600. There were major scratches on our new balcony railing from which he threw out garbage onto a dumpster on our driveway.
When these concerns were brought up to Joseph he decided to abandon us, with incomplete washrooms, and improperly functioning dryer and a torn out kitchen.
Our concerns about the improperly hung mirror were correct. We thought it was unstable and not pivoting properly. Joseph refused to come back to fix our mirror. 2 weeks later it fell to the floor smashed into pieces, damaging our new marble floor and quartz vanity. The mirror cost $700 alone.
We also noticed our dryer was not working properly and had an HVAC expert come in to assess. The new venting Joey installed was all disconnected and torn and the dryer was essentially venting into our wall which explained why our upstairs bedroom smelled of fabric softener whenever the dryer was in use. Since then a new contractor has torn out part of the wall and installed new metallic venting.
Joseph has refused to come back to address these deficiencies.
In summary, the work completed was of substandard quality. Much work was not completed and we were left in a state of disarray especially the kitchen. The work completed took 3 times longer than expected, and costed much more than was discussed. Invoices were not professional with multiple errors on every bill. Hourly rate changed without explanation and most importantly deficiencies were not addressed.
I can provide more details and pictures if desired.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $50,000.00
- Company Response
After reading and assessing this disgruntled clients review, it stands to say that you cant keep all clients happy all the time. I know for a fact that a custom bathroom does not take more than 8to 10 max if all custom material is on site. the facts are that all material had to be ordered in. The time frame for custom quartz counters are min. 3weeks from order to instal not to mention tile, tempered glass and all the other fixtures that were required.Nothing on site!It All had to be ordered in.
it is sad to say that I had to lien the property for final payment.
I was no longer going to be there can you do this guy ...can you do that....what do you think...lets change this..add that ..
the list is to long and I don't feel the need to waste good energy on a lost cause.Notice the well placed mirror the glass facing up nice job, the venting pictures were taken by me to show them what was in there walls.Prior to my repair.
I understand that they were taken for some money from the previous builder and I walked into a complete mess, my conscience is clear ,I gave them back three bathrooms that they wanted I was on time and had trades scheduled on time for services, matter of fact some of my trades completed there tiling, electrical and plumbing,after the home owner decided and agreed to take on the general contractor role,I was on there schedule not mine.It take time to repair other peoples messes.
And I guess not every client is a good client but a change order is exactly that
"an order to Change" thats not done for free.
there will be flags! I am sorry i didn't catch them early.
oh and lastly the floors installed by the previous builder and were damaged prior to even starting the project.that was the first builder that screwed that up!
good luck Jeff and Andrea
the lien stays on till you pay or the courts decide.
it is what it is.
BS flows at the rodeo.