Owner of company is very professional. He agreed to do a part of our bathroom reno - the structural changes, electrical, plumbing and drywalling, as a favour to me. He doesn't like to do this and I can appreciate why. All his sub trades were very friendly, courteous and respectful. He was away on a family vacation, planned well in advance. Asked me if OK that his lead guy run the small project, which we were OK with.
I have some disabilities. One of my big wishes was to have a drop down seat able to be mounted in one end of the shower. The only wall possible was one that had a pocket door behind it. I was told that it would not be possible to shore up the new shower structure to permit this. Not being a professional, I had to go along with this. After a few weeks, we realized that there was a solution by ourselves, so contacted the owner who very willingly came to do the solution. It was not what we were thinking, but we deferred to his knowledge. Resulting in a Plumbing piece, a sliding hand held shower unit's handle, not having enough room to clear the wall as it rotated from the bottom, anti clockwise to find the right heat. Also, that same plumbing piece was mounted inside the framing structure so that when it came time to finish and attach the front mechanism and trim, it had been mounted too deeply. We were left to find our own solution, which apparently Moen allows for. We were told it was a simple fix and that any Big Box ie. Home Depot or Plumbing Supply place would know what we needed and order it for us. I contacted the Plumbing supply company that he had insisted I purchase our supplies from (1/2 hr away) and they had not heard of it. They were taking weeks to find a solution, but were very agreeable and tried hard. We visited many different plumbing places or large box stores until someone in Home Depot suggest we go to a specific Plumbing Supply Company. As soon as my husband explained the problem, the sales person knew exactly what it was, ordered it. It was an extra $50. But we had to do all the running around, emailing and phone calls, plus spend more money.
I specifically wanted an electrical outlet inside my vanity, to allow for electric toothbrushes to be stored inside - not be unsightly with long electrical cords on top of counter. The Electrician asked me where I wanted the box - my husband was away. I was expecting the Electrician, the professional, to help me determine where to put it, based on the cabinet drawings, with measurements that I had. He didn't. So, I did not get my inside plug in. Now 10 months or so later, I am having another electrician try to find a solution, after we have tiled all walls and floors before mounting a floating vanity. The toothbrushes are very unsightly. Two of them, each requiring their own outlet.
So, I would say, that when looking for a Professional, in future it is very important to determine their ability and commitment to finding solutions to provide the client with what they want - unless it is totally not able to be done - by code or other engineering impediments.
I did look at his portfolio book which was excellent. I know the family's reputation and know them to be very honest, caring and wanting to do the best work possible. I now understand why he chooses to do the whole project, not part of it. I highly recommend him for his honesty and quality of the work that they did. However, he missed the boat on ensuring that he delivered the items I had expressly wanted to either make my life easier or for aesthetic reasons. Clarity of the quote is something I now focus on. A learning experience for both of us.
