Pro A & R Renovation Group Inc.

Three years ago, I hired Hamid to perform a full bathroom renovation based on his reviews. This decision turned out to be a regrettable one because it was nothing but a horrible experience dealing with him from start to finish. Recently, some of his work had to be redone, which is why I can no longer in good conscience remain silent about him.

Just a few days prior to the contractual start date, Hamid notified me that there would be a starting delay due to being unable to complete his current project on time. He reassured me the delay would be no more than two days and that he would make up the lost time on the weekends – He refused to amend the contract with new start/completion dates because he claimed that he was going on vacation shortly after the renovation. In the end, the starting delay turned out to be three days and Hamid never bothered to make up any of the lost time. To make matters worse, two additional days were lost during the renovation due to poor planning and trying to end early because he wanted the final day off for unknown reasons. To put things into perspective, the total days lost accounted for more than 40% of the allotted time for the renovation.

Due to Hamid’s self-imposed time constraints, corners were cut during the installation of at least one building material (cement backer boards). These backer boards served the purpose of holding up the heavy shower tiles and I could spot the corner cutting because I had installed them myself in a past DIY project. When asked to correct his deficient work, Hamid threatened to void the workmanship warranty on the installation. This spurred me to call the backer board manufacturer to settle the dispute. The manufacturer confirmed that Hamid had not installed the boards in accordance with their installation guidelines. They told me that if left improperly installed, they would not honour their 30-year warranty on the boards. They also made me aware of some issues that could potentially arise down the road due to his negligence, such as the shower tiles cracking or popping loose. Angered by my unexpected call to the manufacturer, Hamid gave me an unfair ultimatum and made the demand that I not periodically check up on his work.

I believe that Hamid tried to squeeze my project in between two of his other projects with no intention of starting on time and working to the completion date. I am convinced that he knew well in advance that he was not going to work for the agreed upon time and that his work was going to be rushed and second-rate. I have come to this conclusion based on the following: (1) when I questioned his helper about the late start, I was told that they did not fall behind schedule on their previous project, (2) when it came time to reviewing the contract, Hamid tried to pass one by me that did not include provisions for workmanship warranty, liability insurance and worker’s compensation coverage. I had to ask for the respective coverage terms to be added into the contract. However, I was never provided the requested proof that he was, in fact, insured and (3) he did not include a physical address in the contract or in any of the paperwork. I made the mistake of believing the address that was being displayed on this very HomeStars page, at the time, because of his reviews (see pictures). It turned out that this address is an incomplete one for a high-rise apartment unit. I have also included a picture of a receipt issued by one of Hamid’s own building suppliers, from the time of the renovation, that shows that he gave them the same address without a unit number. This lack of transparency is the only reason why I complied with Hamid’s ultimatum and gave in to his demands – I feared that I would not be able to locate him in the event that he walked off the job. My situation was greatly exacerbated by the fact that the only full bathroom in my home had just been demoed. Moreover, he had been paid 40% of the labour costs upfront.

For the remainder of the renovation Hamid was unapproachable. The few times that I would try to discuss the project with him, he would rudely take a deep sigh to let me know that I was bothering him. Towards the end, he began making executive decisions in an effort to save time. For example, he decided to tile the shower niche and walls in a different layout than I had wanted. In his haste, he also installed the toilet crooked, damaged the bathroom door while shortening it and chipped several shower tiles while banging them into place (see pictures). These are only a few examples to give you an idea of the hurried pace at which the work was being carried out. Since Hamid was still not working diligently and was unwilling to fix any part of his work, I fired him and hired another contractor to complete the renovation.

I would have left a review a long time ago if it were not for the bullying and intimidation tactics that Hamid employed to deter me from posting one. Do not waste your time, energy and money with this contractor. You have been warned.

REPLY TO HAMID’S RESPONSE:

You ask that I show some understanding about the 3-day starting delay. That is utter nonsense. If I was not understanding about the delay, why did I agree to let you make up the lost time on the weekends? You are clearly trying to shift the focus away from the real issue at hand. That is, you chose not to make up the lost time, but instead decided to cut major corners on the job. Interestingly, not only did you not address the corner cutting, you conveniently neglected to address many of my other accusations. What is equally telling is that after spending some time “analyzing” my review, you could not provide any reasoning/evidence to support your finding that it is “inaccurate and false”.

What is also revealing is that out of all the shoddy work shown in the pictures, you only address the damage to the tiles. You try to justify this damage by erroneously pointing out that the size of the grout line is 1/18 inch. In doing so, you understate its size by a factor of 2.25, which makes the damage seem much less severe. The actual size of the grout line is the standard 1/8 inch. The fact that you even reference the grout line to gauge whether or not the damage is acceptable, speaks to the quality of your work.

What I also find disingenuous about your response is that you imply that the start/completion dates for my project were flexible when, in reality, they were fixed. Your intent here is to confuse the issue to cover up the fact that the late start was a breach of contract. This breach of contract was one of the reasons why you did not contest your termination. It is also one of the reasons why you resorted to bullying and intimidation tactics – you did not want it, among other things, made public. Now here you are, once again, trying to sweep this contract breach under the rug, but this time, by creating a false impression of the facts. I hope prospective clients are taking note of your deliberate attempts to mislead, the evasive nature of your response, and your dismissive attitude towards your poor quality work. These things say a lot about you as a contractor.