Philadelphia Remodeling Contractors

"Been married 30 years, and I think we both agree that an experience such as moving out of your house could be devastating and it could be even more so if you choose the wrong contractor. I didn't know 's company from . However, he was recommended to me by a larger contractor that uses ...more on many jobs. He indicated that if he ever needed a job done, he would in fact use

for several reasons. - Polite and honorable - you don't get much of that now adays. He will also tell you like it is, and let you decide if you want to fix it or not. - Fair Pricing - he is extremely fair in his pricing. The higher price above reflected me going over to the house daily and saying can you do this or can you do that over and above what we originally requested and that the insurance company allowed. So that was totally on me. That said, he didn't gouge me on any one project. - Hard Working - He has no more than 4 guys working on the job at any one time, but normally two. I will tell you that you would swear that those two guys are equal to a 12-man team. It was amazing what they were able to get done each and every day. And I would go over there every morning or at night home from work to see what they did and I was truly amazed. - Honest - Naturally, we left them the keys to the door and I literally trusted them completely. They are from Romania where their work ethic is second to none. - Professionalism and Perfectionism - What more can I say. He had his guys paint our guys about 7-8 times. Why ??? Our house is over 60 years and the walls are not exactly perfect. So depending on how the sun shines in the room, it may or may not show a slight imperfection on the walls. Both my wife told him that there was nothing he could do. So everytime we would come home, one day it was all painted, the next day it would be respackled in certain places. The ceiling alone he did maybe 5-6 times. We finally yelled at him,

, you can't do anything more. Not your fault, move on. I had never met

before this job and in the first 2-3 weeks, I did not take some of his suggestions as I did later on. It took only 2 or 3 experiences in dealing with other dealers, stores or contractors that I found that everything he was telling me was not only straight on, but done to help me. Whether I liked it or not. From that point forward, if he made a suggestion, I would do it because he did it to make the house better provided it stayed within my budget. I know this is a bit much in terms of explanation, but I wanted to explain to everyone that if you want someone that will work for you, that is too say provide you the best price, hardest work, most creative layout and design, than

is the way to go. Both my wife and agree that is in the TOP 5 of decisions we have made in our marriage. We have also made many mistakes, but this one is definitely a

. I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER WITH THE JOB THEY DID. And he came in several weeks sooner than may neighbor counterparts who had the same level of work as I had."

"I would strongly recommend you stay far away from this contractor. does not stand behind his work and acts as if he is doing you a favor instead of his job for which he is getting paid. During the estimate process, he was very professional, seemed knowledgeable and accommodating. All of that changed once we signed on the dotted ...more line and work began. And then several months later when the tape started coming up and the ceilings cracked again and looked just as they did before the work was done, it took

weeks before he came to look at the damage and tell me that it wasn't his fault. And this was after missing 3 scheduled appointments and not bothering to call and tell me he wasn't coming. His workers were very careless. They damaged furniture and seemed not to be very sorry about it. When I noticed the damage (in the middle of the job), they bought some putty, put it in multiple gashes, and told me it looked fine now. One guy would throw his key ring of 20 keys onto my expensive and well cared for bedroom dresser, scratching the finish. When I asked him to not do this, he said he just hadn't been thinking about it. Point is, if you have valuable furniture, you can't expect his team to take care of it. Many of our hallway walls had to be repainted (that had not been previously damaged) because they were damaged during the work as they knocked ladders and equipment into them walking between rooms.

seemed annoyed that he had to fix this damage, although it was clearly his team's fault. Also, during the estimate process,

seemed to be very understanding of the fact that we had an infant in the house and that this was going to be disruptive to our family and that I would need to know when they would be starting work and about when they would wrap up each day so that I could make arrangements. They showed up late each day with a different excuse like car trouble, would disappear for hours to get paint or to go to a "meeting at the office".

had also overextended himself on the project and it ended up wasting a lot of time. The guy that was doing the

would have to sit and wait for long stretches for someone to come and spot him on ladders or to help him move equipment. So instead of the work taking a few days as promised, it dragged on because the job had not been organized well and there seemed to be no accountability to the schedule that

had agreed to beforehand. Finally the job was done and we were happy it was over. But a few months later, we noticed cracking in the same places that he had ?fixed?. We called

to come look at the cracks. I scheduled 3 different appointments with him, 2 of which he simply didn't show up for and didn't call to cancel, and one he canceled an hour beforehand. He didn't even return my calls or emails to see where he was and why he hadn't shown up. Then about 3 weeks after I contacted him to tell him about the problem, he showed up on my doorstep unannounced and said he could look at the ceilings right then. I think this was highly unprofessional but since I happened to be at home and I worried he wouldn't come out again, I let him in and showed him the problem. He dismissed the reoccurrence of the cracks and said it was a result of "settling" and this kind of thing happened in old buildings. But it looked exactly like it did when I showed him the initial damage to repair and he never used the word settling or mentioned that it was going to happen again a few months after he did the work. Obviously given this information, I would not have chosen to spend the money or deal with the disturbance to our lives if the problem wasn't going to be solved. All in all, he took no responsibility after he was paid. Finally, as I was walking him out of the apartment, he had the nerve to tell me that he was upset that he had tried his best and I hadn't told him he'd done a good job on the last day. I was pretty shocked. I am not his mother and it is not my job to make him feel appreciated. I explained that sometimes doing your best doesn't mean you actually did a good job. What's ridiculous though is that he was looking for a thank you or appreciation after I had just showed him that the ceilings and walls looked terrible and he wasn't taking any responsibility. What exactly should I be appreciating?? I am sure there are more professional and qualified contractors out there."

"I called to get an estimate on a small bathroom remodel job in a Philadelphia row home. The gentleman who came out was punctual. We discussed the project, and he had a different vision of the project than I did. After the meeting he followed up with an estimate of 12K for the labor alone, and I would have to buy supplies. I thought the price was way ...more too high and called another contractor that a friend referred me to. The second company's price was $3200 for the labor and I spent about 4K on all the materials (tiles, tub, lighting, cabinets, toilet, faucets, pipes, wiring, etc.). The second company moved the tub, reworked all the plumbing, installed new exhaust vent, moved radiator, installed new wiring, and did an excellent tiling job for a quarter of this company's cost. In addition they repaired old pipes in basement, changed the stack pipe to pvc from bathroom down to basement, and glass blocked a rear basement window for an additional $300. Did I mention that the job was done in 7 days,

estimated 3 or more weeks?

is a rip off. I would suggest hiring a Mexican owned contracting company. The work will be far less expensive, and they will be out of your house in a reasonable time."

"We had called several contractors to ask how they would solve the problem of water leaking into the basement from the back porch. Although we really wanted to add a sunroom by breaking through from the dining room, we thought it would cost too much. We had refinanced and set aside about $20,000 to fix the problem. When W arrived, ...more his original quote was $15,300 (add new sunroom with skylight by breaking through - mostly everything as described above). When the work started, we found there were major structural problems, which didn't surprise us, and we knew this would add to the final cost. We also added other items such as the 200 amp service and ceramic tiles in the new room. Between the structural work, the 200 amp installation and new electric feed line, and the tile work, it added $6,190 to the original price, which we believe was worth it. WeCare's whole team is excellent, conscientious, on time, and they come up with absolutely brilliant solutions to problems. We are planning on using them again in the near future."

"First, I am a novice at home rennovation. This is my first major rennovation. You have to know the whole process is dusty! lol Omgoodness. I also want you to know that when I first call , I received an immediately response and appointment. I told him everything I wanted to do to my house which included my kitchen, basement, ...more porch, hvac. I am doing the rennovation in stages however and decided to install the HVAC and remodel the basement first.

provided me with a proposal within 2 days after our meeting which was impressive. 1. I received the most comprehensive proposal from

. No one else did that. The costs were consistent. There was an extra cost to remove mold from the ceiling. There was an extra cost to update electrical which I actually thought was in the proposal to bring my electric up to code. But it was not an outrageous amount so I didn't bark about it. 2. I initially thought the proposal price was alot UNTIL I saw alllllllll the work involved. They earned every bit of what I was charged. 3. His team was nice and professional. He has a great carpenter, plumber and tile installer. Really, everyone was every good at what they did. So no complaints with his team. 4. The only thing I would have changed was a little more advanced notice on how much tile I needed so I could have been more cost effective. This is particularly true with the bathroom shower tile I needed. I initially thought I need 14 or 21 square feet of shower tile so I picked a pricey tile. I then learned I needed double+ and then the tile became PRICEYYYY! I had locked myself into that style based on the sink I purchased. I didn't have time to find an alternative tile. If I had more time, I still may have chosen the same tile however. I am geometrically challenged. A person who is not probably would not have this issue. :-) 5. The process was to take 23 business days, but it actually took 43 business days to complete everything. A little of the delay was getting my bathroom shower tile and getting the stair railing which is hot. I guess this normal in the rennovation world. I plan for

/deremoding is going to rennovate my kitchen. I will make sure I know square feet for the countertops, backsplash and floors in advance so I can be cost effective in my choices. I recommend

and welcomed people in my neighborhood to come and look at their work."

" was very professional, They were prompt and courteous. was very accommodating and easy to get hold of by phone and email, truly went above and beyond to accommodate us and make us feel comfortable, a true professional. Their quote was much better then others and did much more then expected. Would use again ...more and refer them to others for sure."

"After much discussion my sister and I decided that because of the uncertainty of our economics that we needed to hold on to this money for more pressing issues that may arise since we have no other resource from which to draw and we're both on fixed incomes. If we're able to in the future we would love to work with ."

"My budget was $17000. I gave them a budget and they lived within it. Their price was appropriate. My experience with them was ok. There were some things that they had done which I did not really like. There was a problem with the radiator that they had installed and could not get a level. So, it was coming off separating from the wall. I had some other ...more smaller issues as well. They always knew better than I and that was not what I wanted as it could be frustrating. I got what I wanted. I guess I would recommend them to other members. They would not be a waste and would get the work done. They would be prompt and honest. I would not use them in the future as I found another service provider that I prefer at this point."