apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have been dreading the day when someone will ask me this question. I like to give people reliable recommendations. My contractors, a married Polish couple, had serious communication problems. As in, the wife would tell me her husband and crew were coming one day, I'd wait around and they'd never show. Or they would say they're coming at 10am, so I waited, and they came at 1:30. Once, fine, but this happened often. They blamed lines at Home Depot, or parking problems. My repeated request was simply to communicate with me if there are changes in time. I made no demands about what time they should show up. I have cats so I can't just leave them locked up all day and go about my business. For a while it felt like I was working for them. I blame myself partly for not setting the standard in the beginning, and being too flexible. Sometimes she would blame problems on a language misunderstanding, but her English is very good and I have a low tolerance for bullshit excuses like that.

Unfortunately, I am not a bitch, and people often confuse nice with stupid. They took on several jobs at once and put new jobs ahead of my home's unfinished work. When my husband played bad cop and threatened to fire them, they kicked it up a notch and worked faster. We had to do that twice.

But, after talking to my neighbor who has the exact same apartment as me, I've found that their prices are very reasonable, and they do high quality work. She sub-contracts for painting, flooring and electrical work. Her husband and another worker do carpentry (baseboards, crown molding, custom banister and threshold) and plumbing.

The work consisted of paint, baseboards, refinishing floors, electrical work, replacing a sink. They also ripped out some built-ins, and removed a pantry to convert it to a bar. There are a couple of things that are not to my satisfaction, such as the fact that our hand rails are glossy while the newel posts and floors are satin finish. Nothing major, though, and they claim they can't fix it, so I am going to do it myself, because I find that answer unacceptable.

The other contractor I called never showed up, so I didn't get any competitive offers. In the end, it took 3 times as long as they told me it would, and cost more, but that's partly because I underestimated the cost of materials (lots and lots of paint), and added small projects and upgrades as we went along.

After 10 weeks, we're basically done; they're just coming back to stain the threshold which they seemingly overlooked, and I will complain about the handrail again, but honestly I just want people out of my house so I can feel like it's mine. I'm happy with most of the results and learned a lot about how to manage a contractor. I also got the contact info for her painters, with whom she had an argument and fired, but I was very pleased with them and plan to use them to paint my kitchen cabinets and for some exterior work. I look forward to getting more contacts in their network.

So, you can understand my reluctance to recommend this couple, though I am happy to recommend the painters. They understand the appropriate level of respect necessary between an employer and employee. You might want to meet the contractors and see how you feel about the situation and their abilities to do the work you require. I found the process very invasive and stressful as a whole, but there is nothing like seeing your home improve and change to your specifications.

I hope this helps, and if you'd like their contact info please email me: jenhorn@jenhorn.com

Short answer: Angie's List.

I second that. Angie's List is awesome, and the $60-ish fee will pay for itself if you use one of the many contractors that offer coupons.

the problem with angies list is that it can be "hacked"
or engineered, all you do is keep posting positive comments,
i take angies with a grain of salt

jennie, you're to be commended for your well-stated and very thorough answer. I've heard so many stories like yours and found it impossible to get any recommendations from friends for a decent contractor. I've found angie's list is very helpful if you're looking for repairmen or painters for any job that's pretty straightforward, but I had NO luck finding a contractor for a big, somewhat complex gut rehab job. Read my husband's blog rant if you want some insight into the hair-pulling process. (click my name and then scroll to the bottom of the page) I think we may, at long last have a contractor for our building, but I'm so skittish, I prefer to not heave any sighs of relief until the paper work is signed and the hammers are a-swinging. And THEN who knows what's in store?!

cloverstar,

I wonder if having a different payment system would have been wise. I paid them for things that were in progress. "That's done. Well, yes of course, we have one more coat but it's almost done." I think it would have been wiser to withold payment until I was completely satisfied.

I would love to hear your stories and will check out the blog. I see many renovations in my future so it's all part of the learning process.

Hi - I am an architect and used to work in Evanston for Rockwell Associates (a small but really good residential architecture firm).

I am sure they could recommend some firms to you. I do know one that I worked with previously and looks to still be doing good work is Zigmil. I would think they would be good to talk to for a job like yours.

http://zigmil.com

Feel free to email me if you want more info.

oops - here's my email address -
hmsalisbury@yahoo.com

I can tell who NOT to use. I have also reported them to Angie's list and filed a complaint.

Peter Klassic. Yes, classic with a K.
He gave me a week and it's taken be almost a month to find people to correct his mistakes.
Paint on woodwork, a chair rail put in UPSIDE down,
dry wall put up with nails, etc.
I now have a great painter. Mike Magano First Class Deocrating and carpenters VW Remodeling.

My husband Scott and I are using a contractor, Roy Donoso, for a total gut job on our condo in downtown Chicago. He is AMAZING. He and his wife, Nicole, are both classically trained architects, but work together now she does the CAD and design work for the remodeling plans, and he executes the projects...
They have been attentive every step of the way and we have had no headaches or stress whatsoever. Also--their prices are EXTREMELY reasonable and they encourage creative use of IKEA products within design plans!!
http://www.donosoinc.com/

DON'T USE DON PERRONE based in Brooklyn. His company did a bathroom renovation mid-January which he said would take 6-8 days to finish. He even listed on his website that it's done, which it clearly is not. 2 months later and I'm still waiting for his plumber Doug to come replace the shower body that he broke. I call and text and email and they either don't return my calls or they don't show up when they say they're coming or they keep saying tomorrow, tomorrow. Not to mention, Doug put in my new tub not knowing how to install the trip lever (which stops the drainage), and I wound up with a really cheap push drainer because the trip lever will not function unless he removes the tub. STAY AWAY from these guys.