LaSalle Home Improvement

Review: Gave contractor explicit directions on what had to be done to that side of the house and when I got there to look at the job half the work was done and he said he forgot about the crooked window.he charge them $600 plus material to do a $200 job very unprofessional and very very poor workmanship.I would like some money backDesired Settlement: Billing Adjustment

Review: On September [redacted] and [redacted] of La Salle Home Improvements did work in our home. He was hired to paint 3 rooms, change a light fixture, remove an old backsplash and install a glass tile backsplash in our kitchen.

Paint: When giving the quote, [redacted] pointed out many places that would need to be spackled and sanded. When he showed up to paint, he didn’t have any spackle with him. He sent my husband to Home Depot to buy spackle and deliver it back. Two spots in the ceiling were spackled by [redacted], and he never sanded them or painted afterwards. After [redacted] left we needed to sand the area and re-paint. [redacted] also left with the remaining bag of spackle.

Light: [redacted] stated that switching a chandelier to a flush mounted light would be “easy”. After an hour of both he and his worker attempting to install it, they mounted the light. After mounting, he said that I would need an electrician but that it was “fine for now”. Only after they left did I realize that my light is mounted with 1 screw, not 2. I’m concerned about the safety of the light and will now need an electrician.

Kitchen Backsplash: [redacted] installed a glass tile backsplash for us. He assured us several times that he was skilled in this area and had installed them several times. After the first days work, he showed my husband the gap at the top of the tile (in between tile and the cabinet). He said he was going to get “something” to fill it in. On day 2 of his work, he brought wood moulding and said he was going to put it under the cabinet. He assured us that it would look fine. I made a face and he dismissively said “it’ll be fine”. I talked to my husband and we said that we should trust him as he’s a professional. The wood moulding has turned out to be a nightmare. The wood cracked within hours of installation in multiple spots. The moulding is not flush to the cabinets in most areas. There is glue all over the moulding, my cabinets and the glass. When you enter my kitchen, you see a very clear gap between the moulding, the glass tiles and the cabinet. The job is sloppy and unprofessional. By the time he left our home, I had given up on speaking to him as he did not listen to me at all. When my husband saw the work, he contacted [redacted] asked that we email photos. We did so almost immediately. He said he would come that weekend to fix the work. He didn’t show up but instead called us from Home Depot and told us that an employee there recommended that he remove the wood and grout the space. He said he would come the following week. He then texted us to say that he cut his thumb but would come back once the stitches were out. He never did. After we reached out to him he said that he would contact us to reschedule a repair. He again failed to contact us. My husband reached out again and [redacted] texted us to say that he was done working at our home and that if we wanted a repair, we would need to pay him.

[redacted] was consistently unprofessional. He was rude and talked over both me and my husband. He did not listen at all when we spoke to him. His work was sloppy and amateur at best. In attempts to resolve the issue, he has either been unresponsive or has shown no follow through. I will never allow him to set foot in my home again. I am requesting partial reimbursement for the backsplash and the light fixture. As per his email breakdown of the work, this comes out to:

“Kitchen- remove and install backsplash-$450.00

L/R change out light fixture-$100.00”

We now have to hire both a contractor and electrician to fix his work. We are concerned about damage that the removal of the wood moulding may cause as it is adhered to my cabinets. This may equate to a larger issue but financial compensation for the work done thus far would be appreciated. He is not welcome back in our home to “fix” the work as we do not think he is capable and we refuse to deal with someone who is so rude and unprofessional.

*Please note that we do have photos of all work.Desired Settlement: We feel that the business should provide us with a partial refund to cover repair work by another contractor due to the subpar work done by La Salle Home Improvement. We would also like a written apology for his lack of professionalism and customer service.

Business

Response:

In response to this outrageous complaint, I did these people a favor because we have known each other for 3 years. First of all, the ceiling fan was installed correctly with both screws in place on the ceiling mount. At first, I couldn't get both screws in, but persistently I mounted it correctly. Second, the 2 holes in the dining room ceiling were only spackled, at their request. They told me that they would take care of finishing the sanding and painting because they had just recently moved in and weren't sure of the color. Also, they were on a budget and couldn't afford to paint the ceiling. Lastly, when I installed the glass backsplash and I was left with a gap to big to fill in with grout, I bought a piece of molding and I held it in place while both [redacted] and [redacted] saw it and approved that it was okay to install it. I don't install anything without the customers approval. They then called me back a couple of days later because they now didn't like the way it looked. I reminded [redacted] that they approved the molding and were okay with it. I also explained that it would take another day of labor to remove it and try to fill in the gap with something else because it was glued into place. I told him that I could do the additional work for him at the cost of $300.00. and he replied to me that he is not going to pay for something twice. I explained and reminded him once again that he and his wife both okayed the molding installation and that they were fine with it when they paid me the balance of the job. If they didn't like it or want the molding than why did they okay it when I was installing it? I tried to explain to [redacted] that if a customer doesn't like something that they approved ahead of time and then changed their mind a couple of days later that I would be more than happy to rectify the issue, but I couldn't do it for free. I also did other work for them that they raved about. I was able to open a window in their dining room that the previous homeowner had screwed it shut with braces and brackets and that [redacted] couldn't get it open. After working on the window for at least an hour, I was able to get it open and they now have a usable dining room window. I also repaired an anderson window in their den that the handle was broken on. Both of these repairs as well as the spackling on the dining room ceiling were done at no charge to them. I'm sorry that they feel that I was unprofessional, but I wasn't. I did the very best I could.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

Please consider this text a formal notification of the rejection of the response from this business.

Please note that several of the statements made in the reply from [redacted] are incorrect.

The quote below is from an email estimate provided by [redacted] on August [redacted].

“D/R fix ceiling and window- No charge”

[redacted] and I agreed that the repair to the dining room ceiling and our window was free of charge.

Please note that his claim of us not being able to afford work is an assumption on his part and not at all factual. We had a set budget for this project. He offered to do that work free of charge.

The light fixture in our living room is attached with one screw. It always has been. He struggled for over an hour. He assured me that it was safe with one screw. It has never been secured with two as per his statement.

In addition, [redacted] mentions fixing a window in our den. While I did not go into this into our complaint, I will now address it. My husband asked [redacted] for advice about this window. On his second day of work, I was home alone with [redacted]. I tried to ask him about it so I could explain to my husband what needed to be repaired. [redacted] proceeded to talk over me and interrupt. I asked him several times not to touch the window. He would not listen to me. I asked him over and over again to please leave it alone. He left it in pieces. If he thinks he repaired it, he’s mistaken. It was left without a handle when my husband came home.

As per our complaint, the primary issue was the molding. Yes, we did agree to the wood molding in the kitchen. We were assured that it would look good. In fact, he said we would never notice it. In reality, it is cracked, loose in certain spots and a total eyesore. If it was installed professionally, it might be acceptable.

In regard to raving about his work, I disagree. I haven’t raved about anything. I would not recommend him to anyone. If I was raving, I’m fairly certain I wouldn't be in contact with the Revdex.com.

His timeline is incorrect. We have screen shots of all text messages exchanged where he first agreed to repair the work and then never showed up. After that, he said we would have to pay for him to fix the molding. If I can forward these, I would be happy to. We also have photos of the work that was done in a sub-par, unprofessional manner. We would also be happy to share these.

Sincerely,

[redacted] And [redacted]